Sri Lanka Memon Family Genealogy

DANGRA- Family #282

Abdul Karim Aboobucker Dangra, is said to have been a hawker of textiles in the Colombo area before starting a textile shop of his own under the name of A K Aboobucker & Company in High Street (present W A Silva Mawatha) Wellawatte in the 1930's. In 1936, he and his three brothers, took over Noorani Drapery Stores in Wellaatte, whch yielded a considerable business but eventually closed down in the 1970's.

Mohammed Dangra, eldest son of Abdul Karim, ventured into business, setting up City Industries in Wellawatte, with the help of his two sons, Aboobucker and Afzal, in 1977. The Company which initially, took to the manufacture of garments for the domestic industry, presently focuses on importing textiles for the local market. Hameed Karim, younger son of Abdul Karim, has contributed immensely to the cause of Islam. A founder member and livewire of The Center for Islamic Studies down Rohini Road a Wellawatte. Hameed was greatly influenced by Ahmed Deedat, he well known South African Islamic Missionary, who did much to propogate the noble message of Islam to the world. It was in 1984 that Deedat took the Muslims of Sri Lanka by storm with his bold and thought provoking speeches which were taped and distributed over a good part of the country, thanks largely to the generosity of the Memon Community which funded much of it.

It was then that the seeds of the CIS were sown, under the guidance and able management of Hameed, who was even able to get a local philanthropist to donate the newly formed Center, a building of its own. It has since seen visits by distinguished Islamic Scholars, viz; Ahmed Deedat, Jamal Badawi, Ahmed Von Denfer & Gary Miller, and in recent times the famous Yvonne Ridley who was captured by the Taleban in Afghanistan and who reverted to Islam thereafter, whose lectures were well attended and appreciated by local audiences. The CIS has also been instrumental in distributing a variety of literature dealing with Islamic topics and has also engaged in a good many community service projects, viz; Amal International School, the setting up of which was largely facilitated by funds raised by the Memon Community both in Sri Lanka and overseas by Mohammed Dangra, also a member of the Memon Community, and a housing scheme at Kahatowita in Nittambuwa, the brainchild of Ahmed Von Denfer, a German Muslim convert who donated funds for purchasing land for the scheme.

1 Dangra

    2  Abdul Karim Aboobucker Dangra

        3 Mohammed Karim Dangra

4 Aboobucker Karim Dangra

4 Afzal Karim Dangra

        3 Hameed Karim Dangra, founder of CIS, Rohini Road, Wellawatte

Compiled by the Webmaster of the Sri Lanka Genealogy Website from available data in Sri Lankan archives together with data extracted from "Memons of Sri Lanka" - Men Memoirs Milestones, by Asiff Hussein & Hameed Karim Bhoja, May 2006, iSBN 955-1408-00-4, Published by The Memon Association of Sri Lanka