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Kerala Jam’iyyatul Ulama

“Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama Ahlussunna wal Jamaat”, also known as Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama (KJU) is an organization of Muslim scholars in Kerala, India. It was formed in 1924 at Aluva to address the pressing need for a scholarly council in Kerala for various scholars to sit together and discuss religious matters. The first conference of the council was held in February 1927. It was formally recognized as a full-fledged organization at a conference of scholars held in Pulikkal of Malappuram district in 1933. At the conference, NCC Abdurahman Moulavi, one of the chief architects of the council proposed its title as the ‘Kerala Jam’iyyatul Ulema’. Since then, it acted as the advisory body of the Aikya Sangam until the latter was dissolved in 1934. The strong criticism raised by the organisation of the superstitious practices within the Muslim community provoked a group of scholars and led them to establish another organisation named ‘Samastha Kerala Jam’iyyatul Ulema’ in 1926 in Kozhikode. It was formed to educate the people against reformist attempts.

Background

The second annual conference of Aikyasangham was held in Aluva from 10 to 12 May 1924. The conference passed a few resolutions, one of which was to form a sub-organization exclusively for Islamic scholars all over the state. ‘Kerala Jam’iyyatul Ulema’ was formed as a result. M.Abdul Qadir Moulavi was elected as the President and C.Abdulla Koya thangal and K.K Muhammad Kutty Moulavi as vice presidents. C.K Muhiyiddin Kutty Moulavi served as the Secretary. KJU was the first association for religious scholars in the state. It acted as an advisory body of the Aikhya Sangam till 1934.

KJU after the dissolution of Aikyasangham

After the 12th conference of Aikyasangham held in Kannur in 1934, the organization dissolved itself into Kerala Muslim Majlis. Kerala Muslim Majlis was formed in the 1930s by Muslims in the British Malabar, South Karnataka, Cochin and Travancore. It was formed at the Kerala Muslim conference held at Thalassery on Aug 22 to 23, 1931. It was formed for the protection of the rights of Muslims and the reformation within. It resembled Aikyasangham in its objectives. However, it did not turn out to be successful as it focused only on countering other Muslim religious organizations in Kerala. However, the Majlis had limited aims. It was primarily concerned with protecting the socio-political interests of the Muslim community. This led to a situation where there was a deviation from the prime concern of reform i.e, theological reform which the Aikyasangham initially set as the basis of all reforms. It stirred dissatisfaction among the leaders.

At this point, K.M. Moulavi emerged and made the decision to reactivate Kerala Jamiyyatul Ulama. Although KJU developed a common platform and addressed general issues, it had a major drawback in that it was constituted exclusively by scholars. It was found that to reach the masses, a platform needed to be created which allowed the common man to engage with the scholars. Followed by the discussions in 1947, the Kerala Nadvatul Mujahideen (KNM) was formed in 1950. Currently, KJU serves as an active religious body in providing religious leadership to KNM.

Major Contributions

The KJU adopted different programs, primarily through public lectures with the support of its local organizations to educate people about the threat posed by superstitious beliefs and practices in the name of Islam. It held active campaigns to clarify the basic concept of Tauhid (or monotheism) and Shirk (or polytheism).

It sought to reform religious education from primary to a higher level and encourage public education. It also established religious educational institutions like madrasas and Arabic Colleges such as the Madeenatul Uloom College affiliated with Madras University. Those who completed their study at this institution were given the title ‘Madari’. They also propagated that religious educational institutions should follow a public education institutional model.

It also advocated for the education of women and published magazines and translations of the holy Quran. The notable publication of KJU was Al Murshid magazine, published in 1935. The KJU also articulated a socio-political agenda, called for the unity of Muslims and strove for the protection of their rights in public.

References

  • “Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen.” Wikipedia. (2022, September 28). Retrieved from
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala_Nadvathul_Mujahideen
  • Abdul Vasih Lakkal. (2013). Salafism in Kerala with Special Reference to the Discourse on Naqudah [Unpublished Master’s thesis]. International Islamic University Malaysia.
  • Samad, M. (1998). Islam in Kerala: Groups and Movements in the 20th Century. Kollam, Kerala.