Abd al-Aziz of Mogadishu

Abd al-Aziz Maqdshāvi (Arabic: عبد العزيز) was a 14th-century island chief or katheeb of Kinolhas^[1][2] island of the Maldives. When Ibn Battuta came to the Maldives on his second visit, the chief of the island of Kanalus at that time was Abd Aziz-al Makdashawi.

Descent or Ancestry

According to Purnima Mehta Bhatt, the term Makdashawi originates from Mogadishu in Somalia^{[3][relevant? ]} His name Abd al-Aziz Al-Makdashawi suggests a clear connection with the Somali coastal city of Mogadishu^[4] and a Somali ethnic origin.^[2]

Biography

Abd al-Aziz was a Somali island chief of Kinolhas island in the Maldives.^[4][3][5] After him is named the Abdul-Aziz Mosque in Mogadishu which has remained there for centuries.^{[6][verification needed]} However, according to the inscriptions carved inside the mosque, the mosque was built a century earlier in 636AH (1238CE) by Mohamed the son of Abdul Aziz and was referred to as Mohamed Al-Awal. ^[7][8]

When Ibn Battuta's first arrived to the Maldives in 1344, he stayed in Kinolhas for 10 days at the house of a man named Muhammad of Dhofar (Zafr-ul-humuz). It is not known who held the post of island chief of Kinolhas during his first stay.

In 1346, Ibn Battuta returned to the Maldives to fetch his son who was born two years earlier when he was the Chief Judge. After 10 days of voyage, he reached the islands of Maldives and disembarked on the island of Kinolhas. Abd al-Aziz, who was the warden of this island welcomed him warmly with great honor and made him a guest at his home.^[9] He then fitted him a boat to continue his journey to the Male.^[10][11] His next stop before Male was on the island of Halali (Hulhulé Island) where he met Muhammad the orator, the Sultana's half-sister, her spouse and her mother who was also one of Ibn Battuta's former wife.^{[relevant? ]}

See also

• Ibn Battuta
• Culture of Somalia
• Demographics of Somalia

References

1. Mahdi, Hussain (1976). Rehla of Ibn Battuta (India Maldives and Ceylon) (PDF). MS University of Baroda: Oriental Institute. p. 233. ASIN B0006AW8R2.
2. Ali, Fawzia; Forbes, Andrew. The Maldive Island and their historical links with the coast of Eastern Africa.
3. Bhatt, Purnima Mehta (2017-09-05). The African Diaspora in India: Assimilation, Change and Cultural Survivals. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-37365-4.
4. Forbes, Andrew; Bishop, Kevin (2004). The Maldives: Kingdom of a Thousand Isles. Odyssey. ISBN 978-962-217-710-9.^{[permanent dead link]}
5. Kenya Past and Present. Kenya Museum Society. 1980.
6. The Somali Nation and Abyssinian Colonialism. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Somali Democratic Republic. 1978.
7. Anita, Adam (2011). Benadiri people of Somalia : with particular reference to the Reer Hamar of Mogadishu (Ph.D. thesis). School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). pg 59
8. Scikei, Nuredin Hagi (2018-01-23). Exploring the Old Stone Town of Mogadishu. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-5275-0685-5.
9. Ibn Batuta (1986). Ibn Battúta : travels in Asia and Africa : 1325-1354. Internet Archive. New Delhi : Oriental Books Reprint Corporation.
10. The voyage of François Pyrard of Laval: to the East Volume 2, Part 2 By François Pyrard pg 467
11. Defremery, C. (1999). Ibn Battuta in the Maldives and Ceylon. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120612198.^{[permanent dead link]}

External links