Hussain Shameem

Hussain Shameem is the Maldivian calligrapher whose handwriting is the basis of Magey Huseynu, a free Thaana font made with Loopcraft's RaajjeType foundry and launched in February 2024 with an exhibition at the art gallery in Malé. The font's name, 'Magey Huseynu' ('my Husain'), is what his mother called him.

He learned to love writing as a child, sitting beside his father, the late Gonbili Mohamed Shameem. His father was a calligrapher of Thaana and Arabic who spent hours each day hand-lettering the newspaper Haveeru while it was still produced by hand. His handwriting developed over many years. In 2023 he entered the Dhivehi Language Academy's national handwriting competition; his entry did not place, but the judges chose it for public display.