Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama (1926–1989)

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Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama
Formation1925–26[1]
Founders
Founded atKozhikode
TypeScholarly body[1]
Legal statusRegistered in India as per Society Registration Act
Region
Kerala
Founding President
Varakkal Mullakoya Thangal[2]
Founding Vice Presidents[2]
Founding Secretaries[2]
  • P. V. Muhammad Musliyar
  • P. K. Muhammad Musliyar
Website

The Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama (informally abbreviated as the Samastha[4]), 1926–1989, was the principal Sunni-Shafi'i scholarly body in northern Kerala.[5][1][6] Most of the ordinary Sunnis of Kerala, adhering to Shafi'i Law, largely followed the Ulama.[7] A forty-member 'mushawara' was the high command body of the Sunni council.[8][9] The council administered thousands of Shafi'ite mosques, madrasas (institutions where children receive basic Islamic education) and Arabic Colleges (the equivalent of north Indian madrasas).[5]

The council was organised in the aftermath of the 1921 Mappila Uprising as a response to the growing Salafi Movement in Kerala.[5][1] Prominent community leaders Pangil Ahmed Kutty Musliyar and Varakkal Mullakoya Thangal first convened to form an Ulama at Valiya Jum'ah Masjid, Kozhikode in 1925.[2] Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama was formally constituted at Kozhikode Town Hall in June, 1926 (registered in November, 1934).[2][10] The council, in the presence of Abdurrahiman Bafaqy Thangal, introduced the "madrasa system", as an alternative to the existing system for children's Islamic education, in September 1949.[10] Religious education and the mahals were organised in 1951 and 1976 respectively. Jamia Nooriyya and the Markaz, premier Shafi'ite institutes of higher religious learning in Kerala, were established in 1965 and 1978 respectively.[11][12] Darul Huda was founded at Chemmad in 1986. The body witnessed an organisational division during the late 1980s, resulting in the presence two separate Shafi'i scholarly bodies in northern Kerala (the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama and the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama affliated to All India Sunni Jem-iyyathul Ulama).[5][1][13]

History[edit]

Early years[edit]

Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, a council of principal Sunni-Shafi'i scholars of Malabar District, was organised in 1926 as a response to the growing Salafi Movement in Kerala.[5][1][14]

A nascent form of the Ulama was formed at Valiya Jum'ah Masjid, Kozhikode in 1925.[2] This was organised by Pangil Ahmed Kutty Musliyar and Varakkal Mullakoya Thangal with K. P. Muhammad Miran Musliyar as the President and Parol Husain Maulavi as the Secretary.[2] The Ulama was formally constituted on 26 June 1926 at Town Hall, Kozhikode.[2]

Structure of the Ulama (1926)
President[2] Varakkal Mullakoya Thangal
Vice Presidents[2] Pangil Ahmed Kutty Musliyar
Abulhaq Muhammad Abdul Bari Musliyar
K. M. Abdul Qadir Musliyar, Pallippuram
K. P. Muhammad Miran Musliyar
Secretaries[2] P. V. (Palli Veettil) Muhammad Musliyar
P. K. Muhammad Musliyar

Wings (prior to 1989)[edit]

  • Scholarly body — Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama
  • Education Board — Samastha Kerala Islam Matha Vidhyabhyasa Board
  • Mahallu Federation — Sunni Mahallu Federation
  • Youth wing — Sunni Yuvajana Samgham (S. Y. S.)
  • Students wing — Sunni Students' Federation (S. S. F.)
  • Mouthpiece — "Al-Bayan"

Timeline[edit]

Councils[edit]

The two current Shafi'ite councils in northern Kerala are named after the initials of leading scholars of each wing (E. K. Aboobacker Musliyar and A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar).[13] Both of them were the leading intellectuals of Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, until they were divided in 1989.[13][16]

Educational activities[edit]

Madrasa in Kerala refers to an extracurricular institution where children receive basic Islamic and Arabic language education.[5] The council managed thousands of Shafi'ite madrasas with millions of enrolled students (the Salafi movement-oriented organisations also manage madrasas in Kerala).[5] Thousands of teachers were also registered with these madrasas.[5] The organisation also run a chain of Arabic Colleges in Kerala (equivalent of north Indian madrasas).[5]

Publications[edit]

Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama started publishing a Malayalam language monthly called "Al-Bayan" in 1929. The magazine was printed in Arabi-Malayalam script. It later ceased publication and started again in October, 1950 in Malayalam script.[19][10] The council also published short-lived magazines such as "Sunni Times" or "Sunni Voice" (from 1964) and "Muslim" (from 1987, in both Malayalam script and Arabi-Malayalam scripts).[19]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Santhosh, R.; Visakh, M. S. (2020). "Muslim League in Kerala: Exploring the Question of 'Being Secular'". Economic and Political Weekly. 55 (7): 7–8.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 "Karma Bhumiyil (Malayalam)". Samastha Kerala Islam Matha Vidhyabyasa Board.
  3. "Sunni factional feud takes a violent turn – The Hindu". 29 May 2020. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  4. Miller, Roland E. (1976). Mappila Muslims of Kerala: A Study in Islamic Trends. Orient Longman. p. 283.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 Osella, Filippo; Osella, Caroline (2008). "Islamism and Social Reform in Kerala, South India". Modern Asian Studies. 42 (2–3): 317–346.
  6. Kooria, Mahmood (2018). "An Ethno-History of Islamic Legal Texts". Oxford Journal of Law and Religion. 7 (2): 313–338. ISSN 2047-0770.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Philip, Shaju (1 September 2014). "In Kerala's Old Sunni vs Sunni Rivalry, a New Daily". The Indian Express.
  8. Naha, Abdul Latheef (18 January 2018). "Sunni Factions to Bury the Hatchet". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  9. Alingal, Shafeeq (7 January 2018). "Kerala: League of Factions". The New Indian Express.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 "History of Samastha Kerala Jam-iyyathul Ulama: Timeline". Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama.
  11. 11.0 11.1 Miller, Roland. E (1987). "Mappila". The Encyclopedia of Islam. Vol. VI. E. J. Brill.
  12. 12.0 12.1 Miller, Roland E. (2015). Mappila Muslim Culture. State University of New York. p. 214.
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Kooria, Mahmood (2018). "An Ethno-History of Islamic Legal Texts". Oxford Journal of Law and Religion. 7 (2): 313–338. ISSN 2047-0770.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Miller, Roland E. (2015). Mappila Muslim Culture. State University of New York. pp. 101–103 and 330.
  15. "Samastha Kerala Jam-iyyathul Ulama: First Mushavara". Samastha Kerala Jam-iyyathul Ulama.
  16. Alingal, Shafeeq (7 January 2018). "Kerala: League of Factions". The New Indian Express. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  17. Naha, Abdul Latheef (3 January 2018). "No action against Panakkad scions". The Hindu. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  18. "Aradhanalayangal Thurakkanam: Samastha". Media One. 3 June 2020.
  19. 19.0 19.1 Miller, Roland E. (2015). Mappila Muslim Culture. State University of New York. p. 330.

External links[edit]