Zahirul Haq Ansari: A Life Rooted in Faith, Learning, and Service

Nestled in the fertile plains of eastern Uttar Pradesh lies Tamkuhi, a historic village in the Kushinagar district, renowned for its royal lineage and vibrant religious and educational life. Once the seat of the Tamkuhi Raj, the region carries a legacy of enlightened leadership and cultural harmony. The estate’s founder, Babu Ranbahadur Shahi, younger son of Maharaja Fateh Shahi Bahadur of Hussepur (later Hathwa), made Tamkuhi his capital in 1765, establishing a lineage that blended nobility with reform.

Among its distinguished rulers was Raja Indrajit Pratap Bahadur Shahi (1892–1947), who ascended the gadi in 1898 and ruled until independence. A visionary administrator and patron of learning, he founded Fateh Memorial Higher Secondary School (now Fateh Memorial Intermediate College). He supported institutions such as Benares Hindu University, St. Andrews College (Gorakhpur), and Maharana Pratap College. Remarkably, he made education compulsory in the 1920s—a progressive act in colonial India. Though a patron of the Hindu Mahasabha, he embodied a secular spirit, championing education, infrastructure, and the arts. Under his reign, Tamkuhi blossomed with schools, hospitals, and civic buildings, becoming a model of inclusive progress.

Within this plural and progressive milieu, Tamkuhi’s Muslim community thrived. Its mosques and madrasas—Jamiya Islamiya Chashme Rahamat, Arabia Manzare Islam, Islamiya Anwarul Uloom, and others—became nurseries of faith and learning. These institutions produced generations of scholars and community leaders, embodying the idea that education is both worship and service.

It was in this atmosphere—where the pulpit and the classroom were twin pillars of society—that Zahirul Haq Ansari was born. He hailed from a deeply religious and service-oriented family. His father, a respected school headmaster and trustee of the central mosque, exemplified Tamkuhi’s synthesis of piety and pedagogy. Among Zahir’s siblings, one rose to lead Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, carrying forward the family’s moral and intellectual legacy.

A bright and disciplined student, Zahir pursued Mechanical Engineering at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)—an institution that not only sharpened his intellect but also infused in him the ideals of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan: faith, reason, and reform. After a brief stint working in India, he immigrated to the United States in 1972, part of a generation of Aligarians who brought their learning to global frontiers. His professional career spanned continents—from India’s workshops to Libya’s oil fields and the industrial centers of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. When President Ronald Reagan ordered American citizens to leave Libya in 1983, Zahir returned to the U.S., marking a turning point toward deeper community service.

In Southern California, Zahir became a cornerstone of the Indian Muslim diaspora. Along with Rashid Zaman Khan, late Mohammad Javed Masood, Naeem Masood, and Nargis Hasan, he co-founded the Aligarh Muslim University Alumni Association of Southern California in 1989. Under his leadership as president until 2021, the association blossomed into a hub of educational and cultural exchange. It offered scholarships to deserving students from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh—helping hundreds pursue higher education and embodying the enduring Aligarh spirit of enlightenment and service.

Being the President of the organization, his efforts caught the attention of civic leaders beyond the community. On October 10, 1989, the City Council of San Dimas, California, issued an official Proclamation recognizing Aligarh Muslim University for its unique contribution to the global academic community. The document, signed by Mayor Terry C. Dipple and City Clerk Pamela Jackson, commended AMU’s role in shaping scholars who enriched the United States in “academics, medicine, engineering, and related fields.” This rare civic honor symbolized not only the esteem of Aligarh but also the standing of Zahir and his associates, who carried its torch abroad.

Beyond education, Zahir’s heart remained devoted to the unity and uplifting of Indian Muslims. He followed developments in India with concern and compassion, recognizing that disunity among leaders weakened the community’s voice. In a remarkable gesture of patriotism and generosity, he offered to bring Muslim leaders from India to the United States at his own expense, to help them reconcile differences and work together under the umbrella of the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat—India’s premier federation of Muslim organizations. His proposal reflected a rare blend of idealism and practicality: the conviction that education, dialogue, and faith in common purpose are the actual paths to reform.

Zahir also extended his influence into interfaith engagement. Believing that coexistence must be cultivated through dialogue, he hosted a World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations (WCMIR) gathering at his residence—a landmark event attended by over fifty people representing diverse faiths and philosophies. The session was addressed by the eminent scholar Dr. Ahmadullah Siddiqi, whose reflections on Islam’s universal message of peace inspired all present. Through such initiatives, Zahir transformed his home into a space of understanding, where faiths met not in debate but in shared reverence for truth and compassion.

At home, his devotion to education and nurturing continued through his wife, Salma Zahir Ansari, a dedicated teacher who shared his passion for shaping young minds. Their daughters—Bushra, Salwa, and Farah Ansari—stand as living embodiments of their parents’ belief that knowledge and character are the highest inheritances. In the spirit of the Prophet Muhammad’s teaching that “whoever raises daughters with love and dignity will stand beside me on the Day of Judgment,” Zahir’s family life remains a quiet sermon on the sanctity of education and equality.

Today, in his seventies, Zahirul Haq Ansari remains an active, wise, and humble mentor to younger generations, serving as a bridge between the past and the present. From the historic soil of Tamkuhi to the civic halls of California, his journey tells a larger story: that faith, when joined with learning, becomes service—and that the noblest legacy is not one of lineage, but of contribution.