Dusé Mohamed Ali
Encyclopedia
Dusé Mohamed Ali (November 21, 1866 - June 25, 1945)
(دوسي محمد علي), was an African nationalist. He was also an actor, historian, journalist, editor, lecturer, traveller, publisher, a founder of the Comet Press Ltd. and The Comet newspaper (Nigeria
).
, Egypt
. His father, Abdul Salem Ali, was an Officer in the Egyptian Army
and died in active service at the battle of Tel-el-Koiber, Egypt
, in the year 1882. His mother was Sudanese. Ali would eventually lose his knowledge of Arabic
and contact with his family in Egypt.
where he was pursuing his education until the death of his father forced him to return to his homeland. Having settled his affairs at home he returned to England again, still as a young boy and as the ward of Canon Berry, he pursued his studies at King's College London
.
Ali originally intended to take up the medical profession and had actually started on his medical studies when the news of his father's death came to him. Left to make his choice, he felt strongly the urge to write and also to go on the stage and so he left his medical studies. On completing his studies at the University of London, he went on the stage where he soon distinguished himself and it was not long before he ranked with the foremost actors of his time.
Besides Ali’s strong nationalist and Pan-Africanist views, he was an active proselytizer to Islam
, having in 1926 established the Universal Islamic Society in Detroit, Michigan
. It is said that this organization was the precursor to both Noble Drew Ali's Moorish Science Temple and Wallace Fard Muhammad
's Nation of Islam
, and a source for their beliefs and information. This Islamic influence can be seen in Marcus Garvey
's motto "One God, One Aim, One Destiny".
The lasting effects of Ali’s social and academic efforts are far-reaching, being seen in not Garvey but in those whom Garvey was mentor to, such as Noble Drew Ali and Elijah Poole
(who was reportedly involved with the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
's (UNIA) Detroit chapter before joining the Nation of Islam and becoming Elijah Muhammad). Both of Malcolm X
’s parents were also members of UNIA. A continuum of claims and beliefs can be found among these movements and their leaders, such as Black Pride, the idea of a land base, Black Supremacy, and return to the primordial religion.
and in Mrs Langtry
's Antony and Cleopatra production, at the Royal Princess Theatre, London.
Mr. Ali also toured England, Ireland
and Scotland
. He produced Othello
and The Merchant of Venice
at Hull
, Yorkshire
in 1902, playing the parts of Othello
and the Prince of Morocco, and winning the plaudits of the British Press.
Among his credits as a playwright, he produced, The Jews Revenge at the Royal Surrey Theatre in London, in 1903, A Cleopatra Night at Dundee
in 1907, and the Lily of Bermuda, a musical comedy which he produced at Theatre Royal, Manchester
, in 1909.
Every production of his received the enthusiastic welcome of the British and American Press, but perhaps the most outstanding of his productions and performances was A Daughter of Judah which was first produced in the Glasgow Empire Theatre
, in 1906. Reviewing the production, the London Daily Telegraph wrote: "Duse Mohamed is an actor of outstanding merit."
He also produced many plays in America where he won fame as an actor. He won fame also in England as a social worker.
He founded the Hull Shakespeare Society of which Sir Henry Irving
was the first President; the Anglo-Ottoman Society, London which included Lords Newton, Lamington, Stourton and Mowbray.
He founded and was Secretary of the Indian Moslem Soldiers' Widows' and Orphans' War Fund, in 1915, and among the patrons were Consuelo, the Duchess of Marlborough, the Right Hon. D. Lloyd George, Sir Edward Grey, Lord and Lady Lamington, Lord and Lady Newton, the Marquis and Marchioness of Crew, Mrs. H.H. Asquith, Sir Austen and Lady Chamberlain, Lord Curzon, and almost all the members, of the British Cabinet.
In 1911, after the First Universal Races Congress
held at the University of London
,
he founded the African Times and Orient Review in London. He was assisted financially in launching the paper by some West Africans who were visiting London, including Casely Hayford, Francis T. Dove and C.W. Betts from Sierra Leone
and Dr. Oguntola Sapara
from Lagos
.
As a political, cultural, and commercial journal advocating Pan African-Asian nationalism and a forum for African intellectuals and activists from around the world it drew the attention of a wide variety of contributors. Among the writers in the ATOR were George Bernard Shaw
, H. G. Wells
, Lord Lytton, Annie Besant
, Sir Harry H. Johnston, Henry Francis Downing
, William H. Ferris
and Marcus Garvey
. The journal covered issues in the United States
, the Caribbean
, West Africa
, South Africa
, and Egypt, as well as in Asia, including India
, China
, and Japan
. Marcus Garvey, who was living in London at the time, briefly worked for Ali and contributed an article to the journal's October 1913 issue. It ceased publication in October 1918, succeeded by the African and Orient Review, which operated through most of 1920.
Ali was a contributor to several leading European and American periodicals and his articles were translated and published in Germany
, France
, Austria
, Turkey
, Egypt
and Japan
. In the year following the demise of the African and Orient Review, Ali traveled to the United States, never returning to Britain. There he briefly worked in Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association movement, contributing articles on African issues to the Negro World
, and heading a department on African affairs.
He wrote and published "The Hull Coronation Ode," a history of Hull in verse, in 1902, a copy of which was presented to his Majesty King Edward VII
.
In Europe he was recognized as an authority on Oriental affairs, political and social.
.
On Monday, October 3, 1932, Mr. Ali reproduced in the Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos
, Nigeria
, the play A Daughter of Pharaoh which according to The Daily Times "Set a new standard in Lagos entertainment, introducing real stagecraft."
It was not very long before Mr. Ali crossed over to assume the editorial chair of the now defunct daily Nigerian Daily Telegraph having as his immediate assistant Mr. Ayo Lijadu, now editor of the Daily Times
. He began publication of The Comet as a weekly newspaper on July 27, 1933. He took great interest in the educational and general welfare of the Muslim community.
He died at the age of 78 following a protracted illness in the African Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria on June 25, 1945. The funeral of Duse Mohamed Ali took place the afternoon of Wednesday, June 27, 1945. It was attended by a large group of sympathizers numbering well over 5,000 consisting of people from various walks of life including political, social and religious leaders.
A short Khutba
(sermon) in English was delivered by Mr. L.B. Agusto, B.L., President of the Islamic Society of Nigeria, who paid glowing tributes to the life of the deceased. A short oration in Arabic was also delivered by Mr. D Couri, a friend of the deceased.
Led by the Ansar Ud Deen
school children, boy scouts and girl guides, Muslim women, the exeutives of all Muslim Societies taking the rear, the funeral procession went through Victoria streets and other prominent throughfares watched by a teeming crowd who lined the Streets to Okesuna Muslim Cemetery where what was once Duse Mohamed Ali, the veteran journalist, author and actor was committed to mother earth.
Wreaths were laid by Madam Gertrude La Page (wife), Mr. and Mrs. A. S. W. Shackleford, Mr. and MRs. V. Renwick, Mr. and Mrs. B Gbajabiamilla, Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Ogun and staff of the Nigerian Bureau of Publicity, Miss Moss, The Rosicrucian Fellowship Lagos Group Centre, Young Moslem Society, Federation of Master Printers, Mrs. Otunba Payne, Moslem Reading Circle, and staff of the Comet Press Ltd., Mr. and Mrs. S. H. PEarce and Miss Remi Pearce and many others.
Among those present were Messrs. Herbert Macaulay
, Karimu Kotun, J. T. White, Dr. I. Nimbe, Messrs. S. L. Akitola, and Olatunji Idewu (Daily Service), I. B. Thomas, (Akede Eko), Tony Enahoro, (Daily Comet), Delu Akitoye, C. N. Jellicoe Johnson, S.M. Kadiku, M. S. Jibril Martin, Messrs. F. I. George, M. A. Ogun, Ferdinand Stine Morocco-Clarke, John Adebayo, Revs. J. A. Idowu, and D. A. Bababunmi.
(دوسي محمد علي), was an African nationalist. He was also an actor, historian, journalist, editor, lecturer, traveller, publisher, a founder of the Comet Press Ltd. and The Comet newspaper (Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
).
Early life
He was born in AlexandriaAlexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. His father, Abdul Salem Ali, was an Officer in the Egyptian Army
Egyptian Army
The Egyptian Army is the largest service branch within the Egyptian Armed Forces and holds power in the current Egyptian government. It is estimated to number around 379,000, in addition to 479,000 reservists for a total of 858,000 strong. The modern army was created in the 1820s, and during the...
and died in active service at the battle of Tel-el-Koiber, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, in the year 1882. His mother was Sudanese. Ali would eventually lose his knowledge of Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and contact with his family in Egypt.
Studies abroad
He received his early training in Egypt, but whilst still young he proceeded to EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where he was pursuing his education until the death of his father forced him to return to his homeland. Having settled his affairs at home he returned to England again, still as a young boy and as the ward of Canon Berry, he pursued his studies at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
.
Ali originally intended to take up the medical profession and had actually started on his medical studies when the news of his father's death came to him. Left to make his choice, he felt strongly the urge to write and also to go on the stage and so he left his medical studies. On completing his studies at the University of London, he went on the stage where he soon distinguished himself and it was not long before he ranked with the foremost actors of his time.
Besides Ali’s strong nationalist and Pan-Africanist views, he was an active proselytizer to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, having in 1926 established the Universal Islamic Society in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It is said that this organization was the precursor to both Noble Drew Ali's Moorish Science Temple and Wallace Fard Muhammad
Wallace Fard Muhammad
Wallace Fard Muhammad was a minister and founder of the Nation of Islam. He established the Nation of Islam's first mosque in Detroit, Michigan in 1930, and ministered his distinctive religion there for three years, before mysteriously disappearing in June 1934. He was succeeded by his follower...
's Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
, and a source for their beliefs and information. This Islamic influence can be seen in Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
's motto "One God, One Aim, One Destiny".
The lasting effects of Ali’s social and academic efforts are far-reaching, being seen in not Garvey but in those whom Garvey was mentor to, such as Noble Drew Ali and Elijah Poole
Elijah Muhammad
Elijah Muhammad was an African American religious leader, and led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975...
(who was reportedly involved with the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League is a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey. The organization enjoyed its greatest strength in the 1990s, prior to Garvey's deportation from the United States of America, after which its...
's (UNIA) Detroit chapter before joining the Nation of Islam and becoming Elijah Muhammad). Both of Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
’s parents were also members of UNIA. A continuum of claims and beliefs can be found among these movements and their leaders, such as Black Pride, the idea of a land base, Black Supremacy, and return to the primordial religion.
Actor and playwright
He was also in the company of Herbert Beerbohm TreeHerbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
and in Mrs Langtry
Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...
's Antony and Cleopatra production, at the Royal Princess Theatre, London.
Mr. Ali also toured England, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He produced Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
and The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
at Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
in 1902, playing the parts of Othello
Othello (character)
Othello is a character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's origin is traced to the tale, "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor....
and the Prince of Morocco, and winning the plaudits of the British Press.
Among his credits as a playwright, he produced, The Jews Revenge at the Royal Surrey Theatre in London, in 1903, A Cleopatra Night at Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
in 1907, and the Lily of Bermuda, a musical comedy which he produced at Theatre Royal, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, in 1909.
Every production of his received the enthusiastic welcome of the British and American Press, but perhaps the most outstanding of his productions and performances was A Daughter of Judah which was first produced in the Glasgow Empire Theatre
Glasgow Empire Theatre
Glasgow Empire Theatre, known as The Glasgow Palace Empire until the early 1900s, was a variety theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, which opened in 1897 on the site of the Gaiety Theatre at 31-35 Sauchiehall Street....
, in 1906. Reviewing the production, the London Daily Telegraph wrote: "Duse Mohamed is an actor of outstanding merit."
He also produced many plays in America where he won fame as an actor. He won fame also in England as a social worker.
He founded the Hull Shakespeare Society of which Sir Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
was the first President; the Anglo-Ottoman Society, London which included Lords Newton, Lamington, Stourton and Mowbray.
He founded and was Secretary of the Indian Moslem Soldiers' Widows' and Orphans' War Fund, in 1915, and among the patrons were Consuelo, the Duchess of Marlborough, the Right Hon. D. Lloyd George, Sir Edward Grey, Lord and Lady Lamington, Lord and Lady Newton, the Marquis and Marchioness of Crew, Mrs. H.H. Asquith, Sir Austen and Lady Chamberlain, Lord Curzon, and almost all the members, of the British Cabinet.
Lecturer and journalist
In 1925, at Detroit, Ali founded the Universal Islamic Society, of which he was President, and in 1926 he founded the America-Asia Association. He was a great authority on modern Egypt. He wrote In the Land of the Pharaohs, a history of modern Egypt, published in London and New York in 1911.In 1911, after the First Universal Races Congress
First Universal Races Congress
In 1911 the First Universal Races Congress met in London at the University of London as an early effort of Anti-racism, at which distinguished speakers from many countries for four days discussed race problems and ways to improve interracial relations. The Congress was initiated on comments of...
held at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
,
he founded the African Times and Orient Review in London. He was assisted financially in launching the paper by some West Africans who were visiting London, including Casely Hayford, Francis T. Dove and C.W. Betts from Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
and Dr. Oguntola Sapara
Oguntola Sapara
Oguntola Odunbaku Sapara was a doctor, originally from Sierra Leone, who spent most of his career in Nigeria. He was best known for his campaign against secret societies that were spreading smallpox.-Birth and education:...
from Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
.
As a political, cultural, and commercial journal advocating Pan African-Asian nationalism and a forum for African intellectuals and activists from around the world it drew the attention of a wide variety of contributors. Among the writers in the ATOR were George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
, Lord Lytton, Annie Besant
Annie Besant
Annie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
, Sir Harry H. Johnston, Henry Francis Downing
Henry Francis Downing
Henry Francis Downing , , was an African American sailor, politician, dramatist and novelist. He served in the U.S. Navy . In 1887, Grover Cleveland appointed him consul to Luanda, Angola, but Downing resigned in 1888. In 1895, Downing traveled to London, where he remained until 1917...
, William H. Ferris
William H. Ferris
William Henry Ferris was an author, minister, and scholar.He was born in New Haven, Connecticut as the son of David H. and Sarah Ann Jefferson Ferris. His grandparents were free at the time of his father's birth. His father joined the Union Army voluntarily at the age of 17 years...
and Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
. The journal covered issues in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and Egypt, as well as in Asia, including India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Marcus Garvey, who was living in London at the time, briefly worked for Ali and contributed an article to the journal's October 1913 issue. It ceased publication in October 1918, succeeded by the African and Orient Review, which operated through most of 1920.
Ali was a contributor to several leading European and American periodicals and his articles were translated and published in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In the year following the demise of the African and Orient Review, Ali traveled to the United States, never returning to Britain. There he briefly worked in Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association movement, contributing articles on African issues to the Negro World
Negro World
Negro World was a weekly newspaper, established in January 1918 in New York City, which served as the voice of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, an organization founded by Marcus Garvey in 1914...
, and heading a department on African affairs.
He wrote and published "The Hull Coronation Ode," a history of Hull in verse, in 1902, a copy of which was presented to his Majesty King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
.
In Europe he was recognized as an authority on Oriental affairs, political and social.
Travels to Nigeria
His first visit to Nigeria was in July 1921. He was accorded a big reception by the entire Lagos Community at the Shitta Mosque and the occasion was historic. He was back in Lagos again in 1931 primarily for the cocoa business. He got back to his old profession and was appointed editor of the Nigerian Daily TimesDaily Times of Nigeria
The Daily Times of Nigeria is a newspaper with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria.At its peak, in the 1970s, it was one of the most successful locally owned businesses in Africa....
.
On Monday, October 3, 1932, Mr. Ali reproduced in the Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, the play A Daughter of Pharaoh which according to The Daily Times "Set a new standard in Lagos entertainment, introducing real stagecraft."
It was not very long before Mr. Ali crossed over to assume the editorial chair of the now defunct daily Nigerian Daily Telegraph having as his immediate assistant Mr. Ayo Lijadu, now editor of the Daily Times
Daily Times of Nigeria
The Daily Times of Nigeria is a newspaper with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria.At its peak, in the 1970s, it was one of the most successful locally owned businesses in Africa....
. He began publication of The Comet as a weekly newspaper on July 27, 1933. He took great interest in the educational and general welfare of the Muslim community.
He died at the age of 78 following a protracted illness in the African Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria on June 25, 1945. The funeral of Duse Mohamed Ali took place the afternoon of Wednesday, June 27, 1945. It was attended by a large group of sympathizers numbering well over 5,000 consisting of people from various walks of life including political, social and religious leaders.
A short Khutba
Khutba
Khutbah serves as the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the Islamic tradition.Such sermons occur regularly, as prescribed by the teachings of all legal schools. The Islamic tradition can be formally at the dhuhr congregation prayer on Friday...
(sermon) in English was delivered by Mr. L.B. Agusto, B.L., President of the Islamic Society of Nigeria, who paid glowing tributes to the life of the deceased. A short oration in Arabic was also delivered by Mr. D Couri, a friend of the deceased.
Led by the Ansar Ud Deen
Ansar Ud Deen
Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria is a Muslim organization established for the purpose of the educational development of Muslims and also as a body to enhance the moral and social development of the Muslim community in Lagos...
school children, boy scouts and girl guides, Muslim women, the exeutives of all Muslim Societies taking the rear, the funeral procession went through Victoria streets and other prominent throughfares watched by a teeming crowd who lined the Streets to Okesuna Muslim Cemetery where what was once Duse Mohamed Ali, the veteran journalist, author and actor was committed to mother earth.
Wreaths were laid by Madam Gertrude La Page (wife), Mr. and Mrs. A. S. W. Shackleford, Mr. and MRs. V. Renwick, Mr. and Mrs. B Gbajabiamilla, Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Ogun and staff of the Nigerian Bureau of Publicity, Miss Moss, The Rosicrucian Fellowship Lagos Group Centre, Young Moslem Society, Federation of Master Printers, Mrs. Otunba Payne, Moslem Reading Circle, and staff of the Comet Press Ltd., Mr. and Mrs. S. H. PEarce and Miss Remi Pearce and many others.
Among those present were Messrs. Herbert Macaulay
Herbert Macaulay
Herbert Samuel Heelas Macaulay was a Nigerian nationalist, politician, engineer, journalist, and musician and considered by many Nigerians as the founder of Nigerian nationalism.- Early life :...
, Karimu Kotun, J. T. White, Dr. I. Nimbe, Messrs. S. L. Akitola, and Olatunji Idewu (Daily Service), I. B. Thomas, (Akede Eko), Tony Enahoro, (Daily Comet), Delu Akitoye, C. N. Jellicoe Johnson, S.M. Kadiku, M. S. Jibril Martin, Messrs. F. I. George, M. A. Ogun, Ferdinand Stine Morocco-Clarke, John Adebayo, Revs. J. A. Idowu, and D. A. Bababunmi.