The Anjuman Sunnat-ul-Jamaat Association was founded mainly on account of the differences caused by the preaching and reforms of the Tackveeyatul Islamic Association. After a controversy on the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Bill around the year 1933, a few members "seceded" from the T.I.A. and formed the Sunnat-ul-Jamaat Association.

This association represented the Hanafi School of Thought who formed the bulk of the Muslim community and administered to the needs of their particular section. It was incorporated in 1935.

This association carried on a relentless propaganda against Moulvi Ameer Ali and opposed him in even those things which were of common interest to both associations. This attitude of opposition began to eat at the core of the Muslim Community and hampered both associations from making any appreciable progress. Slowly a gulf began to open which in a quarter of a century became so wide that there were two distinct communities in the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Sunnat-ul-Jamaat sent a representative to India to select a Moulvi who could successfully bolster up the waning spirit of the Anjuman which was now growing lethargic. Moulvi Nazeer Ahmad Seemab came in the latter part of 1935. The failure of his mission and the weakness of his leadership was discerned from the very first week of his arrival, when he failed to persuade his organisation to accept an invitation of welcome for him from the Tackveeyatul Islamic Association. Instead of bridging the gulf he left it just the same or made it a little wider. He had to suppress many of his ideas which blended with those of the T.I.A. in order to appease his benefactors, but whatever of his ideas he divulged in secret bred a new section within his own community. He left for his homeland around 1937.

In 1939 Maulana Nazeer Ahmad Seemab B.A. returned at the bidding of some of his secret followers and established his headquarters at Arouca. He was well aware of conditions in Trinidad from his first visit, but now that he had exposed the predicament in which he was placed by his first importers, he lost favour with them and hence arose the danger of forming a third community.

He founded the Tablighul-Islam Association in 1940 which subscribed largely to the Hanafi School of Thought in religious matters. As would be seen from the name of his association he laid its foundation on Tabligh-"Propagation by Education". He was the pioneer of tangible progress in Muslim education. He maintained a regular daily elementary school at El Socorro, San Juan, with a similar curriculum in the other Denominational schools of the Colony by subscriptions solicited by his organisation. This continued for a few years but he never lived to see Government aid granted to his school. He died in 1942 and left his association like an infant babe. The president at that time was Mr. Abdul Ghany and the secretary was his son Noor M Ghany.

On the death of Moulvi Nazeer Ahmad his association had a total of 233 members. This was but a drop in the ocean of the Muslim population and it was not possible for them to carry on without a leader. A committee headed by the president, Mr. Abdul Ghany made negotiations with the Tackveeyatul Islamic Association and after ironing out several differences both these associations were amalgamated on February 7, 1943. The Tabligh ul Islamic Association was dissolved and its membership absorbed by the Tackveeyatul Islamic Association, Inc.

Many months had not passed before trouble began anew. Differences of opinion began to manifest themselves in partisan feelings, sectarian wrangling, modern reforms, educational policies etc, etc. The amalgamation, which had been ushered in with such high hopes, was smashed to pieces and exactly one year after in February 1944, there was a distinct split. The association was divided into two, and physical violence was avoided only by the intervention of the Law. A chain of litigation and injunctions followed which lasted for about three years.

Finally the party headed by Moulvi Ameer Ali again showed their magnanimity and relinquished their connection with the Tackveeyatul Islamic Association for whose development they had laboured for over fifteen years. There is nothing to stop the march of progress and truth and Islam was not to he stifled within the narrow limits of sectarian boundaries.  Moulvi Ameer Ali and his party were undaunted, and on Pakistan Day August 15, 1947 the Trinidad Muslim League was founded as a Non-Conformist (Ghair Mukallid) body.

Its foundation was laid only after a thorough survey of world Islamic conditions. The Universal Brotherhood of Islam was preserved by the proclamation that any one who accepted the Holy Kalima "La-ilaha-illallah Muhammad-ur-Rasool Allah". "There is no God but one God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God", is a Muslim. There is nothing to make one a Kafir except denial of the above formula. The authorities on religious matters were the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace). "Paradise lies at the feet of Mothers" said the Prophet, and women must be placed back on a high pedestal. The history of the Trinidad Muslim League during the brief span of six years can fill a volume. I shall not deal with that, since this will appear elsewhere in this Brochure under a separate title. This, however, I shall say, that during the past, internal wrangling were responsible for keeping alive the spark of religion among a community rising in stages from the ground. This was a necessary feature for self preservation, but today with the high standard of education and the realization of tolerance in religion there is an open avenue very wide in expanse for the younger generation, and for this reason I say that the foundation laid by the Trinidad Muslim League is not only a lesson for Muslims in Trinidad hut provides food for thought to Muslims in any part of the world.

There was a very great disadvantage in educational affairs for both Muslims and Hindus, which lasted for over a hundred years. I refer to the fact that neither the Hindu nor Muslim religions were recognized by Law as candidates for running Government assisted schools. The only religious body considered for such a privilege was the Christians.

In the early days the Canadian Mission did much for Indians in the field of education even though their central idea may have been one of proselytizing the Indians and bringing them within their own Presbyterian fold. These two communities owe much to the Canadian Mission. The Canadian Mission taught Christianity in the Hindi language at schools. This helped in preserving the Hindi language. In this respect the Muslims were handicapped but they were not backward, for they established their own Maktabs and taught Arabic and Urdu in a system best known to themselves. This assisted greatly in the preservation of their religion.

The Indians however embraced every opportunity as it came by, and from time to time proved they were none the worse in literary and educational affairs if fair opportunities were given to them. Among them were doctors, lawyers, clerks, artisans and they were forging ahead side by side with the other communities. For so long they had been learning from others, but it was now dawning upon them they also could be teachers of knowledge. The Marryat and Mayhew report recommended that the Indian community could have their own schools like the Christian denominations by forming an association for that purpose. The idea was also supported by the Lord Moyne Commission. Moulvi Ameer Ali, therefore, began to agitate in this matter and the Indian Educational Association was formed in 1938. But when an application for a school was submitted for the Governor's approval, Sir Hubert Young, the then Governor, put his heels on the application and very strongly disapproved the granting of a school on a national or racial basis and the matter was again shelved.

Moulvi Ameer Ali was made a member of the Education Board in 1936. To drive a thin wedge somewhere in the Education Department for the Indians was the Moulvi's chief aim and he never left anything undone to achieve this purpose. At one of the meetings of the Board he moved the resolution that the Hindu and Muslims religions should be eligible to receive Government aid in running schools in the Colony.

His arguments were a masterpiece, but either through fear or prejudice the vote went against him; he received only a single vote on his side and his motion was defeated.

He had fought in every quarter for schools to be run by Muslims and Hindus and had done a great deal of spadework on this important question. It was during this period that a school was being run by the Tackveeyatul Islamic Association of which Moulvi Ameer Ali was President. It was also at this period that a split in the T.I.A. occurred, and Moulvi Ameer Ali and his party showed their magnanimous qualities and surrendered the T.I.A. to Mr. Abdul Ghany and his party. The school trudged along and Mr. Noor Ghany, the secretary of the T.I.A., took up the trail. After a short while, the continued labours and persistence of Mr. Noor Ghany bore fruit when Government aid was granted in 1949 to the El Socorro Islamia School, the first non-Christian school of the Colony. Both Hindus and Muslims are now recognized as denominations fit to run schools in the Colony. To these communities it was as if stored energy was released from somewhere and in a short period more than a score of schools were opened up by Hindus and Muslims through the good graces of Mr. Roy Joseph, the Minister of Education and Social Services at that time.

With the dawn of a rising consciousness in both educational and religious fields the way is now open for the preservation of our religion and culture. This is a challenge to the younger generation. Are they bracing themselves for the task? I am sure they are.