Hajee Mahboob Kassim was born in 1920. He studied at St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Calcutta, India. Subsequently, he joined his father’s marine transportation business, became a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, London, and became a Fellow of the Institute of Arbitrators, London. He was a trustee of the Calcutta Port and a key member the Haldia Anchorage Subsidiary Port development team. He guest lectured at the Shri Narottam Morarjee Institute of Shipping, at Scindia’s Calcutta.

 

Besides being a gifted businessman, he was also a generous philanthropist and deeply religious person. He authored several books on religion and his notes on shipping law and practice were widely sought by students and professionals in the field. He founded the Kalanga Bazar Educational Trust in Ranchi, Jharkhand which runs numerous charitable programs such as micro lending, health fairs, blanket distribution and an English Medium primary school for impoverished children.

 

It was his deep spiritual awareness and concern for his fellow men that prompted him to write Destruction or Peace. The book is the result of 12 years of research and is based on extracts from works of learned scholars and several rare manuscripts. He was inspired by the teachings of the Sufi Saint, Sheikh Moinuddin Chisty to write this book. His interpretation of Islam was based on his definition of “ISLAM” standing for “I Shall Love All Mankind”.

Hajee Mahboob Kassim passed away on 9th. December 2000. His legacy lives on in the books he wrote, the spiritual and charitable organizations that he founded and International Blanket Day (December 12th) when blankets are distributed all over the world to those in need. In his words, we pray that "The Good God, Almighty and Kind; make this book a blessing for humankind."