A. P. Aboobacker Musliar

Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musalyar

Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musalyar
Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musalyar
Born	March 22, 1939 Kanthapuram, Kozhikode District, Kerala, India.(age 72)
Occupation	Religious Leader of A. P. Sunnis, General Secretary, All India Sunni Jam-Iyyathul Ulema.

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Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musalyar (Malayalam: കാന്തപുരം എ.പി. അബൂബക്കര്‍ മുസ്ലിയാര്‍, born Aboobacker Ahmed) is leader of one of the traditionalist Sunni factions of Muslims in Kerala state, India called A. P. Sunnis and is one of the most famous Muslim personalities in Kerala. Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musalyar is known for his professionalism, which was not known among the Muslim scholars of Kerala.

He is presently the General Secretary of All-India Jamiyyathul Ulama, the organisation Muslim scholars and clerics under A. P. Sunnis and Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama (Kanthapuram). Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musalyar is also the General Secretary and Principle of Karanthur Markaz, a charitable and educational institution in Karanthur, Calicut, Kerala. He was appointed as a member of the NAC for the implementation of the RTÉ act in 2010.

The split in Samastha

He came to prominence in late 1980s when he broke away from Samastha Kerala Jamiyatul Ulema, the 40-member supreme council of traditional Sunni scholars in Kerala, and formed a parallel organisation. A good organiser and pragmatist, Kanthapuram had disagreed with most of the Ulemas in the council on many issues including the support given to Indian Union Muslim League(IUML). Then a staunch opponent of IUML, Kanthapuram called on his followers to vote against all IUML candidates, especially those who are not Sunnis, in the elections. He also criticised Samastha leaders’ soft corner for IUML and the alleged dilution of their Sunni spirit. He asked the supreme leader of Samastha E.K._Aboobacker_Musliar to apologise for sitting with non-Sunnis in an all-Muslim meeting to discuss Sharia issues in late 1980s. During this time Kanthapuram was also accused of misappropriating the fund for constructing a mosque in Azheekad near Calicut. A UAE citizen who donated the money said he had given to Kanthapuram more money than Kanthapuram had claimed. This has intensified criticism against him in Samastha. To cap it all, he and his followers organised a conference of the Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS) the youth wing of the Samasta, notwithstanding the opposition from the supreme council. This was followed by his ouster from the council along with six others who supported him on this issue.

Kanthapuram formed a new Samasatha and announced himself as its secretary. This was followed by a deep polarisation among the traditional Sunnis in Kerala. Kanthapuram could also mobilise the support of all those who opposed the IUML as a political party. The split has brought about many a social problem in the society with those who supported Kanthapuram building their own mosques in close proximity to other Sunni Mosques and dividing Madrassa. However, as a charismatic leader Kanthaparam could lead his breakaway faction from the front and make it a force to be reckoned with in Kerala’s political and social life.

Name

Known in Kerala as Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musalyar, the first part of the name 'Kanthapuram' comes from the name of his village, Kanthapuram situated in the Kozhikode District of Kerala. The initials A. P., by which he is better known among the traditionalist Muslims of Kerala, stands for his family name 'Alangam Poyil'. Musaliyar is a usual suffix in Kerala attributed to a religious scholar in the Muslim community.

Biography

Born in Kanthapuram, a village in the Kozhikode District of Kerala, on 22 March 1939, Kanthapuram hails from a mediocre peasant family, 'Alangam Poyil'. His father, Mouthariyil Ahmed Haji, was very pious and so was his mother, Kunheema Hajjumma, who was the daughter of Kuttoosa Molla, a teacher of Quran in the locality of Mangad, where reaches the family routes of his father too. He has two brothers and three sisters. His father died when he was twelve. Zainab is the wife and he has six children, namely, A.P. Abdul Hakeem Azhari, Maymoona, Hafsa, Sakeena, Rayhana, and Najma Firdousi. C. Muhammed Faizee, Abdul Bari Musliyar, Muhmmed Koya Saqafi and Obeidullah Saqafi are his inlaws.

He completed his elementary studies from A.M.L.P. School of Kanathapuram, where both Islamic and public instruction system coexisted. Later he completed his higher Elementary education.

Kanthapuram completed his course in Qur'an studies from Vennakkode Abdulla Musliyar, who was a scholar and qari'a, (one who recites Quran phonetically). He persuaded his studies in the Darses (the form of schools exist in mosques for religious and spiritual education) of Kanthapuram, Vavad, Kolikkal, Chaliyam and Thalakkadathur. He was awarded the degree of Moulavi Fadhil Baqavi from the renowned Islamic study centre of Baqiyath Swalihath, Vellore, in 1963. Sheikh Hassan Hazrath, Muhammed Abubakkar Hazrath, O.K. Zainudheen Kutty Musliyar, Puthoor Abdulla Musliyar, Kizhakoth Abdul Hameed Musliyar, Vavad Pocker Kutty Musliyar, Kuttikkattor Bichali Musliyar are some of his famous teachers in different institutions and disciplines.

Starting his career as a Mudarris, (Principal of Dars) at the Juma Masjid of Mangad (Elettil), in 1964, he served the same in Kolikkal Juma Masjid between 1970–76 and in Kanthapuram Juma Masjid during 1976 to 1981. In 1978, he among other prominent leaders, founded the Markazu-Ssaquafathi-Ssunniyyah or the Sunni Cultural Centre, at Karanthur, near Calicut. Since 1981 he is the chief instructor at the Markaz Shariath College.

Position

Since Islam reached Malabar as early as 7th century it had almost mixed with the culture and traditions of Keralites . So, ultimately the Islahi Movement in Kerala, part of the renaissance of the community, resulted in the division of Mappilas as "Sunnis" (more orthodox sect than the other) and "Salafis" (both of these belong to the Sunni branch of Islam) in 1925. It's interesting to note that the faith of the Mappilas was a mixture of "Sunnis" and "Salafis" before these renaissance. The Shia branch is almost absent amongst the Muslims of Kerala.

The modern theological orientations amongst the Muslims of Kerala are primarily divided into three, though all these belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. They are; 1) Sunni orthodox sects of Shafi school (A. P. Sunni-Kanthapuram, E. K. Sunni etc.), 2) Adherents of Mujahid -Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (A. P. Mujahids, Madavur etc.), and 3) Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (simply Jama'at). The Sunni classification referred to here are identified by their conventional beliefs and practices and adherence to Shafi school of law, while the other two theological orientations,the Mujahids and the Jama'ats, are seen as reform movements within the community.

Books And literary works

kanthapuram wrote about 100 books In Arabic

(اظهار الفرح والسرور بميلاد النبي المبرور)

(فيضان المسلسلات في بيان الاجازة المتداولة)

(البراهين القطعة في الرد على القاديانية)

In Local language (Malayalam)

Seminars and conferences attended

Award and Facilitations

And He Visited All GCC Countries

He called on

International heads of states like President Husni Mubarack of Egypt, Sultan Qaboos of Oman, Late King Hussain of Jordan, Shaikh Khalifa bin Zaed Al Nahyan of UAE, Present UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Shaikh Hasan VI of Morocco Prince Muhammad bin Naif

The Prime Ministers of India namely, Atal Bihari Vajpeyi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao, V.P.Singh , Deve Gowda & Dr. Manmohan Singh and Chief Ministers of different states and cabinet ministers.

Political view

Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar has confirmed and announced a policy of "helping those who help us" to support any political party. In recent years his role in Parliament and assembly election was noted by almost every politician in Kerala, but noted for an A. P. Sunni alliances with the Left Front. It's important to note that, the traditional rivals of the A. P. Sunnis and Kanthapuram, the E. K. Sunnis, always supported the Indian Union Muslim League in the United Democratic Front (India).

Controversies

Chekannur Moulavi case

Kanthapuram A.P. Abubackker Musaliar is often associated with the disappearance of Chekannur Maulavi. Chekannur Moulavi was a progressive Islamic cleric who lived in Edappal in Malappuram district of Kerala. He was noted for his controversial and unconventional interpretation of Islam based on Quran and Hadeeth. He disappeared on 29 July 1993 under mysterious circumstances and is now widely believed to be killed.

Holy Hair Controversy

According to A. P. Sunnis, India's largest mosque is being built in Kozhikkode under the patronage of Kanthapuram.. He claims to have the Muhammed's hair, but the rival Sunni outfit, the E. K. Sunnis, has contested this and demanded proof. Addressing a press conference in Kozhikode, secretary of the Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation (SKSSF), Onamballi Mohammed Faizi, and secretary of Sunni Yuvajana Sangham, Abdul Hamid Faizi Ambalakkadavu, dubbed Kanthapuram's claim that he was in possession of a " holy relic" as "false". But, Kanthapuram clarified that the Markaz was safekeeping the “holy hair” not to worship, but as a mark of respect to the “beloved Prophet.”

According to him, it was Shaikh Ahmad Al Khazraji, son of Shaikh Muhammed Al Khazraji, former Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, United Arab Emirates, who had handed over one of the “holy hair” to Markaz during its last annual convocation conference in January 2011. The leader of the rival Sunni faction and Muslim League leader, Panakkad Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal, had while speaking at a Sunni (E.K. Faction) scholars' conference in the city accused Aboobacker Musaliyar of “cheating the believers” in the name of sacred hair.

References

Sources

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