>Shadowwarrior8: Link fix

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{{Short description|Freedom fighter}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Vakkom Abdul Khader Moulavi
| image = Mygrandfather1.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Shaykh Vakkom Abdul Qadir Al-Malabari <ref>{{Cite web|title=Vakkom Moulavi: My Grandfather, the Rebel|url=https://openthemagazine.com/essay/vakkom-moulavi-my-grandfather-the-rebel/|date=9 August 2019|author=Sabin Iqbal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124014513/https://openthemagazine.com/essay/vakkom-moulavi-my-grandfather-the-rebel/|archive-date=24 November 2020|website=open magazine.com}} Many fake photographs of Vakkom Moulavi are circulated. Here, the Moulavi's own grandson presents us with a real portrait</ref>
| birth_name = Mohammed Abdul Khader
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1873|12|28}}
| birth_place = [[Travancore| Travancore Princely State]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1932|10|31|1873|12|28}}
| death_place = [[Travancore| Travancore Princely State]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_cause =
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| nationality = [[British Raj|India]] (former [[Travancore]] state)
| known_for = Islah, [[islamic]] leader, [[Freedom fighter]],Founder and Publisher of ''[[Swadeshabhimani(newspaper)|Swadeshabhimani]]'', Scholar, Social leader and reformer.<ref name="IM3">{{cite book |last1=Muhammed Rafeeq, T |title=Development of Islamic movement in Kerala in modern times |location=Abstract |page=3 |url=https://sg.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/52387/2/02_abstract.pdf#page=3 |access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref>
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| movement = [[Salafism|Salafiyya]]
| boards =
| spouse = Aamina Umma
| partner =
| children = Abdul Salam, Abdul Hai, Abdul Vahab, Abdul Kadar ( Junior), Obeidullah, Haque, Yahiya, Ameena Beevi,Sakeena, Mohammed Eeza, Mohammed Iqbal
| parents = Aash Beevi (Mother)<br />Muhammad Kunju (Father)
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}}
{{Renaissance of Kerala}}
'''Vakkom Mohammed Abdul Khader Moulavi''' ({{birth date|df=yes|1873|12|28}} - {{death date|df=yes|1932|10|31}}) , popularly known as ''Vakkom Moulavi''<ref>Koya, S. M. Mohamed. (1983). ''Mappilas of Malabar: Studies in Social and Cultural History''. Calicut (Kerala): Sandhya Publications. pp. 80.</ref> was a [[social reformer]],<ref name="IL147">{{cite journal |last1=Gopalkrishna Gandhi |title=Kerala and Gandhi |journal=Indian Literature |date=2012 |volume=56 |issue=4 |page=147 |jstor=23345936}}</ref> teacher, prolific writer, Muslim scholar, journalist, [[freedom fighter]] and newspaper proprietor in [[Travancore]], a [[princely state]] of the present day [[Kerala]], India. He was the founder and publisher of the newspaper ''[[Swadeshabhimani(newspaper)|Swadeshabhimani]]'' which was banned and confiscated by the Government of Travancore<ref name="IL147"/> in 1910 due to its criticisms against the government and the [[Diwan (title)|Diwan]] of Travancore, [[Perungavur Rajagopalachari|P. Rajagopalachari]].<ref name="EndeNaadukadathal">{{cite book|author=Pillai, Ramakrishna.|title=Ende Naadukadathal|publisher=Kottayam (Kerala): DC Books|date=1911|edition=5 (2007)|isbn=81-264-1222-4}}</ref> He was an avid reader of [[Rashid Rida]]’s Islamic magazine, ''[[Al-Manar]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=വക്കം മുഹമ്മദ് അബ്ദുല്‍ ഖാദിര്‍ മൌലി|url=http://knm.org.in/kerala-islahi-nethakkal/vakkam-abdul-khadar-moulavi-ml.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202232608/http://knm.org.in/kerala-islahi-nethakkal/vakkam-abdul-khadar-moulavi-ml.html|archive-date=2 February 2020|website=KNM Official Portal}}</ref> Vakkom Moulavi is known as the father of Islamic renaissance in Kerala.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CHAPTER III. Religious Groups and their Theological Differences|url=https://religiondocbox.com/amp/71591307-Islam/Chapter-iii-religious-groups-and-their-theological-differences.html|url-status=live|website=Religiondocbox.com}}</ref>

==Early life and family==
{{Main|Poonthran}}
Moulavi was born in 1873 in [[Vakkom]], [[Chirayinkil (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chirayinkil]] Taluk, [[Thiruvananthapuram]] in Travancore. He was born into a prominent Muslim family Poonthran which had ancestral roots to [[Madurai]] and [[Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh|Hyderabad]], and many of his maternal ancestors worked for the military of the state government.

His father, a prominent merchant, engaged a number of scholars from distant places, including an itinerant Arab savant, to teach him every subject he wished to learn. Moulavi made such rapid progress, that some of his teachers soon found that their stock of knowledge was exhausted and at least one of them admitted that had learnt from his student more than he could teach him. In a short time, Moulavi had learnt many languages including Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Tamil, Sanskrit and English.

In early 1900s, Moulavi was married to Haleema, daughter of Aliyar Kunju Poonthran Vilakom and Pathumma Kayalpuram. Moulavi - Haleema couple had one son Abdul Salam. Haleema died soon after the birth of their first child. A year later, Moulavi married Aamina Ummal. The couple had ten children, includes Abdul Hai, Abdul Vahab, Abdul Khader Jr. Abdul Haque, Obaidullah, Ameena, Yahiya, Sakeena, Mohammed Eeza and Mohammed Iqbal. His sons, Abdul Salam, Abdul Vahab and Mohammed Eeza were writers and scholars of Islamic studies, and Abdul Khader Jr was a writer, literary critic and journalist. One of his nephews, [[Vakkom Majeed]], was an Indian freedom fighter and a former member of [[Travancore-Cochin]] State Assembly and another nephew, [[P.Habeeb Mohamed]], was the first Muslim judge of the Travancore High Court of Kerala. His disciples included K.M Seethi Sahib, the former Speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly and a social reformer among kerala Muslims.

==Journalism and Swadeshabhimani==
{{See also|Swadeshabhimani (newspaper)}}
Maulavi started the ''[[Swadeshabhimani(newspaper)|Swadeshabhimani]]'' newspaper on 19 January 1905, declaring that "the paper will not hesitate to expose injustices to the people in any form", but on 26 September 1910, the newspaper and press were sealed and confiscated by the British Police, and the editor [[Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai|Ramakrishna Pillai]] was arrested and banished from Travancore to [[Thirunelveli]].<ref name="EndeNaadukadathal"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Koshy, M. J.|title=Constitutionalism in Travancore and Cochin|publisher=Trivandrum (Kerala): Kerala Historical Society|date=1972|pages=18–19}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Nayar, K. Balachandran|title=In Quest of Kerala|publisher=Trivandrum (Kerala): Accent Publications|date=1974|pages=65, and 160}}</ref>

After the confiscation of the press, Moulavi concentrated more on social and cultural activities, becoming a social leader, also writing several books. ''Daussabah'' and ''Islam Matha Sidantha Samgraham'' are original works, while ''Imam Ghazali's Keemiya-e- Saadat'', ''Ahlu Sunnathuwal Jammath'', ''Islamic Sandesam'', ''Surat-ul fathiha'' are translations.

==Social Reformation==

Moulavi is considered as one of the greatest reformers in the Kerala Muslim community, and is sometimes referred to as the "father of muslim renaissance".<ref name="proceedings"/> He emphasised the religious and socioeconomic aspects much more than the ritualistic aspects of religion. He also campaigned for the need for modern education, the education of women, and the elimination of potentially bad customs among the Muslim community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.education.kerala.gov.in/englishmedium/historyeng/chapter9.pdf|title=Leaders of Renaissance ( Social Studies Textbook,Standard X,)|publisher=Department of School Education, Government of Kerala|access-date=24 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217193847/http://www.education.kerala.gov.in/englishmedium/historyeng/chapter9.pdf|archive-date=17 December 2008|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Influenced by the writings of [[Muhammad Abduh]] of Egypt and his reform movement, Moulavi started journals in [[Arabi-Malayalam]] and in [[Malayalam]] modelled on [[al-Manar (journal)|Al Manar]].<ref>Pg 67, Islam in Kerala: groups and movements in the 20th century- M. Abdul Samad,Laurel Publications, 1998</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=K M Bahauddin|title=Kerala Muslims: The Long Struggle|publisher=Sahitya Pravarthaka Cooperative Society ; Modern Book Centre|date=1992}}</ref> The ''Muslim''<ref name="IL147"/> was launched in January 1906 and was followed by ''Al-Islam''<ref name="IL147"/>(1918) and ''Deepika''(1931). Through these publications, he tried to teach the Muslim community about the basic tenets of Islam. ''Al-Islam'' began publishing in April 1918 and played a pivotal role in Muslim renaissance in Kerala. It opposed ''Nercha''s and [[Urs|Uroos]] festivals amongst the Muslim community, thereby attracting opposition from the orthodox [[ulema]] to the extent that they issued a [[fatwa]] declaring the reading of it as sacrilege. Financial troubles and lack of readership led to the closure of the journal within five issues, but it is regarded as the pioneer journal that attempted religious reform amongst the [[Mappila]]s of Kerala. While it was published in [[Malayalam]] language using [[Arabi-Malayalam]] script, ''Muslim'' and ''Deepika'' used [[Malayalam]] in script also.<ref name="proceedings">[https://books.google.com/books?id=_RBuAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Arabi-Malayalam%22+%22al-islam%22 Pg 239, Pg 345 – Proceedings of the 19th Annual conference, South India History Congress, 2000]</ref><ref>Pg 134, Journal of Kerala studies, Volume 17,University of Kerala.,1990</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Malayalam Literary Survey|publisher=Kēraḷa Sāhitya Akkādami|date=1984|pages=50}}</ref>

As a result of the continuous campaigning of Moulavi throughout the State, the Maharaja's Government introduced the teaching of Arabic in all state schools where there were Muslim pupils, and offered them fee concessions and scholarships. Girls were totally exempted from payment of fees. Moulavi wrote text books for children to learn Arabic, and a manual for training Arabic instructors for primary schools. At the instance of Moulavi Abdul Qadir the State Government soon instituted qualifying examinations for Arabic teachers of which he was made the chief examiner.<ref name="UM">Pg 36, Pg 56–58,Educational empowerment of Kerala Muslims: a socio-historical perspective By U. Mohammed, Other Books, Kozhikode</ref>

There were many other dubious practices in the Muslim community of the time, such as the dowry system, extravagant expenditure on weddings, celebration of annual "urs" and Moharrum with bizarre unIslamic features bordering on idolatrous rituals. Moulavi launched his campaign against such practices with the help of his disciples, and with the co-operation of other learned men who shared his views and ideals.<ref>{{cite book|author=A. Sreedhara Menon|title=Social and Cultural History of Kerala|publisher=Sterling|date=1979|pages=210}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=K. V. Krishna Ayyar|title=A Short History of Kerala|publisher=Pai|date=1966}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Siba Pada Sen|title=Social and Religious Reform Movements in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries|publisher=Institute of Historical Studies, Calcutta, Institute of Historical Studies|date=1979|pages=389}}</ref> As the campaign developed into a powerful movement, opposition was mounted by the [[Mullahs]]. Some issued "[[fatwas]]" that he was a "[[kafir]]", others branded him as a "[[Wahhabi]]".{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}

He also tried to create unity among Muslims, starting the ''All Travancore Muslim Mahajanasabha''<ref>{{cite book|author1==Asanaru Abdul Salim|author2= Salim, P R Gopinathan Nair|title=Educational Development in India|publisher=Anmol Publications PVT. LTD.|date=2002|pages=23|isbn=9788126110391}}</ref> and ''Chirayinkil Taluk Muslim Samajam'', and worked as the chairman of the Muslim Board of the Government of Travancore. His activities were further instrumental in the establishment of "Muslim Aikya Sangham",<ref>{{cite book |last1=SIHC 1981 PRO VOL II |editor1-last=Dr. Narinder Sharma |title=Muslim Resurgence in Kerala |page=[https://archive.org/details/SIHC1981PROVOLII/page/n177 183] |url=https://archive.org/details/SIHC1981PROVOLII |access-date=17 July 2019}}</ref> a united Muslim forum in Eriyad, Kodungalloor for all the Muslims of the Travancore, Cochin and Malabar regions,with K M Moulavi, K M Seethi Sahib, Manappat Kunju Mohammed Haji and helped guide the Lajnathul Mohammadiyya Association of Alappuzha, Dharma Bhoshini Sabha of Kollam amongst others.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}
In 1931, he founded the ''Islamia Publishing House'', with his eldest son Abdul Salam supervising the translation into Malayalam and publication of Allama Shibli's biography of Omar Farooq in two volumes under the title ''Al Farooq''.

==See also==
* [[Swadeshabhimani (newspaper)|''Swadeshabhimani'']] newspaper
* [[P. Habeeb Mohamed|Justice Habeeb Mohamed]]
* [[Vakkom Majeed]]
* [[Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai|Ramakrishna Pillai]]

==Further reading==
* ''Vakkom Moulavi'' – (1981) Haji M. Muhammedkannu.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.keralahistory.ac.in/bio1.htm|title=The following biographies are available at the KCHR archives}}</ref>
* ''Vakkom Moulaviyude thiranjedutha kritikal''(വക്കം മൗലവിയുടെ തിരഞ്ഞെടുത്ത കൃതികള്‍) (The Collected Works of Vakkom Moulavi – Malayalam) Published by Vakkom Moulavi Publications, 1979
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=W4OKaz5dzdYC&pg=PA314 Muhammad Abdul Khader Moulavi, Pg 314, Modernist Islam, 1840–1940: a sourcebook By Charles Kurzman]
* [https://www.academia.edu/5756474/Swdeshabhimani_Vakkom_Abdul_Khadar_Moulavi_1873-1932_Book_note_about_a_biography_by_Dr._T._Jamal_Muhammed_2013_ സ്വദേശാഭിമാനി വക്കം മൗലവി (ജീവചരിത്രം) ഡോ. ജമാല്‍ മുഹമ്മദ് (2013), കോഴിക്കോട്: ഇസ്ലാമിക് പബ്ലിഷിംഗ് ഹൗസ്, പേജ് 216.]
* [https://www.academia.edu/5756474/Swdeshabhimani_Vakkom_Abdul_Khadar_Maulavi_1873-1932_Book_note_about_a_biography_by_Dr._T._Jamal_Muhammed_2013_ ചരിത്രത്തെ സമ്മര്ദ്ദaത്തിലാക്കുന്ന ജീവചരിത്രം by പി. ശ്രീകുമാര്‍]

== See Also (Social reformers of Kerala) ==

* [[Narayana Guru|Sree Narayana Guru]]
* [[Padmanabhan Palpu|Dr. Palpu]]
* [[Kumaran Asan|Kumaranasan]]
* [[Ayyathan Gopalan|Rao Sahib Dr. Ayyathan Gopalan]]
* [[Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi]]
* [[Vagbhatananda|Vaghbhatananda]]
* [[Mithavaadi Krishnan]]
* [[Moorkoth Kumaran]]
* [[Ayyankali]]
* [[Ayya Vaikundar]]
* [[Pandit Karuppan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Indian Independence Movement}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moulavi, Vakkom}}
[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:1932 deaths]]
[[Category:Journalists from Kerala]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian social reformers]]
[[Category:Indian newspaper publishers (people)]]
[[Category:Malayalam-language writers]]
[[Category:Muslim writers]]
[[Category:People of the Kingdom of Travancore]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian journalists]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Kerala]]

Vakkom Moulavi - Revision history

>Shadowwarrior8: Link fix

imported>Sameertkmce at 08:53, 11 July 2021