Malabar History journal

Valanchira Kunhahammed (1842-1912) of Manjeri was a prominent Muslim reformer of South Malabar. He was a disciple of Makti Thangal, and wrote books comparing the beliefs of both Islam and Christianity and engaged in debates with Christian missionaries. He was a staunch critic of the blind beliefs of the Mappilas. He was the brain behind the first Muslim organization in South Malabar called Hidayathul Muslimeen Sabha of Manjeri, established in 1897. He went to Madras to meet the governor and got permission to build two mosques at Manjeri. Musliyarakathu Abdulla Musliyar, a distinguished Islamic scholar from the Manjeri region, served as the first president of the Sabha. Mr. K. Kunholan served as the first secretary, and Mr. K. Pokker was the treasurer. Mr. N.K. Alavi, V.Kunhahammed, K. Mammad Mayan Kurikkal, Kormoth Pokkar, and Korambayil Mammad Haji were notable individuals who participated in the activities and meetings of the sabha.. The Sabha operated in such a democratic manner that committees were chosen to carry out certain activities, and office bearers were chosen on an annual basis. The Madrassa Committee, Rules Committee, Building Committee, and Deputation Committees were among the several committees that were established over time. Furthermore, the void left by the passing of members was immediately replaced. There were between fifteen and twenty-five members of the Sabha. Furthermore, there were frequent non-Muslim attendees at the Sabha meetings. This may have ingrained in them a culture of thoughtful discussion on matters about the well-being of everyone, bridging barriers of isolation. This was also evident at Madrassa Hall, which was also utilized as “Sabha Hall,” a place for public meetings in Manjeri where conferences and conventions of different organizations were hosted. Consequently, Muslims were encouraged to engage in the secular public arena. Sessions were continually convened to assess the body’s work and to deliberate and devise plans of action and policies for further actions. They were as follows.

• To promote religious and secular education, civilization, unity, and loyalty to the king (Rajabhakthi).
• To extend charity and alms for the welfare of the Muslim community.
• To extend assistance and guidance to the new converts and orphan boys.
• To buy properties and build structures to attain the objectives.
• To run Madrassah.
• To establish a library, night school, reading room, etc.
• To print and publish textbooks for Madrassah.
• To work for the goodness and betterment of Islam in accordance with the objectives of the Sabha as well as the Shariat.

In achieving its goals, the Sabha could do a lot with such a structured and disciplined organization. The government order to build a mosque in Ernad Taluk was passed, which was Sabha’s first noteworthy success. To draw the attention of the government to the issue of land scarcity for mosque construction, Sabha dispatched a delegate to the Madras Governor on August 8, 1901. After accepting the delegation, the government adopted additional measures, including an authority to ratify the construction of a mosque. Reportedly, the GO? made it possible for mosques to emerge in the Manjeri and Nilambur regions without facing any opposition from Janmis. A mosque in Kutcherippadi and the Manjeri Central Mosque were built in 1906 and 1907 respectively.

The Sabha focused much of its efforts on improving the Mappila community’s educational system. The Sabha worked to educate the people on a secular and religious level. The building of the mosque led to the establishment of a traditional mosque school (dares) where prominent scholars of the area taught. Many of the scholars who later became the leaders of Muslim reform movement were students in these dares. In 1917, Sabha established a Madrassa in Manjeri. It was first started at the Mappila U.P. School of Manjeri building before moving to its own building in 1919. The Madrassa, a modern edifice, was built in 1927. It is also referred to as the Sabha Hall, and it developed into a hub for the diverse methods of religious information distribution. It was utilised as a location for sporadic religious services, unofficial educational initiatives, and a library.

The use of modern instructional techniques in the Madrassa is one of the Sabha’s major contributions to education. Malayalam and English were frequently rejected by Muslims. The most significant initiatives at the time were made by Sabha to adopt the concept of class standardization and contemporary classrooms and texts (even in Malayalam). Textbooks were created with the approval of the Sabha to instruct according to various Madrassa norms. The Sabha presumably had a significant influence on the Madrassa movement’s subsequent expansion throughout Kerala after 1921.

The Sabha also tried to introduce Mappilas to contemporary secular education. However, the primary purpose of this was to implore the government to increase the availability of secular public education in the region. Since the Sabha leaders had a great deal of access to government buildings, their primary tactic in this respect was to try to get the state authorities involved in the educational system. Their participation in Taluk Boards and other groups frequently provided them with significant support for the same. This effect was seen in the government’s readiness to allow religious instruction for Mappila students in public schools. The government gave the go-ahead for Vallanchira Kunhimoyin’s religious education textbooks to be used in schools. Sabha was able to persuade the administration that offering religious teaching in schools would draw in Mappila students. Additionally, the government granted the Sabha’s request to assign Mappila instructors to Mappila Schools, and directives were issued in this respect. There are several accomplishments attributed to the Sabha’s endeavor. The creation of the Mappila Higher Elementary School in Malappuram, the training of Higher Elementary Teachers, the provision of Mullas with preparation classes and specific training, and the assignment of Arabic Munshis to high schools and training institutes were a few. The initial phase of Sabha’s work is said to have included the establishment of separate schools for boys and girls as well as scholarships for students from the Mappila community. One of the Sabha’s accomplishments was the founding of a high school in Manjeri in 1920.

The most important demands which were presented by one deputation of the Sabha to the government of Madras in 1917 were (1) the passage of tenancy law to rescue the peasants of Ernad from “the heart-rending experiences” born out of the existing tenurial system, (2) the setting up of a modern agricultural farm at Manjeri, (3) sanction of a more liberal distribution of arms license for both agricultural and sporting purpose,(4) introduction of Arabic teaching in Mappila Schools, (5) increase in the scholarships to Mappila students, (6) the retention of the Mappila Act, (7) laying of Railway line through the Ernad region. This demonstrates how concerned the Sabha was in the overall modernization of the area as well as the elimination of many of the social, economic, and cultural challenges faced by the local Mappila people.

The Sabha respected and supported the colonial rule, celebrating the king’s coronation on 12 December, 1911, holding a public gathering on August 13, 1914, to show support for the British king, and commemorating the British victory in World War I by giving tea and sweets to Sabha students. Most significantly, on August 23, 1921, a big gathering was called to convince the rebels to abstain from the uprising that they had started. Simultaneously, the Sabha appears to have grown concerned about events in Turkey, the home of the Ottoman Caliphs, where imperialist politics were coordinating the dismemberment of Turkey.

The activities of Hidayathul Muslimeen Sabha, though lacking theological backing, redefined the Mappila lifeworld by the demands of modern times. Showing a strong commitment to the British, the Sabha attempted to use the government’s goodwill to solve the problems that the Muslims in the region faced. It is noteworthy that the Sabha’s leadership was unable to develop into charismatic figures, likely due to a lack of religious authority bestowed upon them to address the larger Muslim community. Additionally, they showed very little interest in theological discussions. Their engagement with modernity was focused on the issues that affected the locality, with little chance of them directly addressing other regions.

References

• LRS Lakshmi, The Malabar Muslims; a Different Perspective, Cambridge University Press India, Bengaluru, 2012.
• Razak P. P. Adul, Colonialism and Community Formation in Malabar: A Study of Muslims of Malabar, unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Calicut, 2007.
• T. Muhammedali, Islamic Reform and Modernity in Kerala; Reflections from a Local Movement in Malabar,
  Read online
  .