Malabar History journal

The objectives of Samasta were put as :

Propagate and spread the beliefs and rites of Islam according to the view of Ahlu Sunnah Wal-Jama’a.

Confront the organizations and campaigns which are against the rites and beliefs of Ahlu Sunnah Wal-Jama’a.

Encourage religious education and do the needful for secular education to make it compatible with religious beliefs and culture.

Work for the welfare and progress of Muslim society by abolishing superstitions, immorality, disunity, and anarchy.

The other founding figures of Samasta were Abdul Bari Musliyar, KP Muhammed Meeran Musliyar, KM Abdul Qadir Musaliar, PV Muhammed Musliyar and PK Muhammad Musaliar. In 1934, Samasta registered itself under the Societies Act.

The Split in Samasta

In the late 1980s, a split occurred in Samasta due to difference in opinions among its council members. Consequently, A.P Aboobacker Musalyar, a prominent Sunni scholar moved out of the then council. This led to the birth of two factions of Samasta one of which was led by E. K. Aboobacker Musliyar (1914–1996) also known as the “EK group” and currently headed by Sayed Jifri Muthukkoya Thangal. The other led by A.P Aboobacker Musliyar is called “AP group”.

Samasta has different sub-organizations such as the ‘Sunni Yuvajana Sangam’ (Sunni Youth Federation), ‘Sunni Students Federation’, ‘Sunni Bala Sangam’ (Sunni Children’s Organization), ‘Sunni jam’iyathul muallimin’ (Sunni Teachers Organization), and ‘Sunni Management Association’. All these sub-organizations are directly controlled by the core council of Samastha comprising of Scholars.

Flag

The 22nd Mushawara of Samasta gave recognition for a flag to represent Samasta.

Functions

Consultative body (Mushawara)

Samasta has a core council of 40 scholars as its permanent members who are above the age of 40 and are experts in the Islamic science. The council is referred to as “Mushawara”. It organizes meetings to discuss issues related to Islam and Muslims in Kerala, address questions of Malayali Muslims regarding religion and also plans the important programs of Samastha.

Activities

Samasta does the following activities to ensure the propagation of Sunni ideology. It involves the establishment of sub-organizations, institutions, education boards, publication of literature, etc.

Sub-organizations

Samasta Kerala Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SKSYS)

Founded in 1961, SKSYS is an organization for youths under Samasta. Its objective is to preserve Sunni ideology, guide the youth in the light of religious knowledge, and equip them to confront Islamic reformist organizations such as the Qadiyanis, Wahabis, Maududis, etc.
Markaz-Al Sakafatu- Sunniyya or Markaz, an institutional complex located in Karanthur of Kozhikode district of Kerala is a notable contribution of SKSYS. It was established under the leadership of A.P. Aboobacker Musaliar in 1978. Markaz was the centre of Sunni activities until the Sunni split in 1989.

Sunni Students Federation (SSF)

Sunni Students Federation, also called SSF, was formed in 1973. It was established under the leadership of A.P Abubakr Musaliar to guide students in religion and to train them in organizational skills. SSF conducts programs for students in both educational campuses and outside. After the split in Samasta, SSF affiliated itself with All India Sunni Jam’iyyatul Ulema led by AP Aboobacker Musaliar. The other faction known as the EK group formed a student wing on 19 February 1989 called Samasta Kerala Sunni Students Federation (SKSSF).

Sunni Jam’iyathul Muallimin

Sunni Jam’iyyatul Muallimin is an organization of teachers who teach at Madrasas (religious schools) under Samasta which lie all across Kerala. There are about 1 lakh teachers all over the state at present. The organization has State Committees, District Committees, Regional Committees and Range Committees within and outside of Kerala. It works for the betterment of teachers by collecting funds, providing pension, welfare funds, deposit schemes, and awards such as Service Award, Memorial Award, etc. It also provides grants for the development of Madrasas and organizes learning camps and literary fests for both teachers and students. It releases a monthly magazine called Al Muallim which serves as its mouthpiece. Apart from that, it releases ‘Santhushta Kudumbam’ a women’s magazine, and ‘Kurunnukal’ a children’s magazine.

Sunni Mahallu Federation

Samastha Kerala Sunni Mahallu Foundation (SKSMF) was formed on April 26, 1976. The wing is involved in activities such as the registration, coordination and providing of essential services to Mahals.

Sunni Bala Sangham

Sunni Bala Sangham was formed in 1993 to inculcate organizational skills, service mindedness and help children develop an association towards Samasta from their very young age.

Sunni Management Association (SMA)

Sunni Management Association does services such as providing grants for Mahallu Masjids, publication of books, Employment Bureau, Information Bureau, Masjid Employees Services Register, Emergency training, Family Programme for Madrasas, and Madrasa Cultural Day.

Institutions

Madrasa

Madrasa or religious school refers to an institution set up for imparting religious education and inculcating religious values in the people from a young age. Samastha runs several madrasas in Kerala. It is the organization with the largest number of madrasas (about 92063) with 10 lakh students all over the State.

Education Board

Samasta Kerala Islam Mata Vidyabhyasa Board is one of the prominent contributions of Samasta in the field of education. The board aims to build and develop religious awareness among Muslims of Kerala. To fulfill this, the board is involved in activities such as the preparation of a uniform curriculum from primary educational institutions such as madrasas to higher Islamic learning institutions such as the Dars and establishes Arabic colleges such as the Jami’a Nooriyya in the Malappuram district.

Sunni Literature

At a time when journals were a highly influential medium to propagate ideas, the Sunnis started a monthly journal named ‘Al Bayan’ . It was published first in Arabic-Malayalam, and from 1954 in Malayalam language. The journal served as the mouthpiece of Samasta. In 1959, Jam’iyyatul Muallimeen, the association of teachers under samasta started Al Mu’allim quarterly magazine. It is sent without any charge to all Madrasas. The Samasta Kerala Jam’iyyatul Muallimeen Central Council (SKJMCC) started publishing two magazines. One for Children titled “Kurunnukal(Kids)” and the other for Women and Families titled “Santhushta Kudumbam(Happy Family)”. Apart from this, there are two other magazines; Sunni Afkar Weekly published by SYS and Sathyadhara fortnightly published by SKSSF. Samasta also publishes a newspaper since 1984 titled ‘Siraj’ from Kozhikode.

References

Dr. M. Abdul Samad. Islam in Kerala: Groups and Movements in the 20th Century (1997), pp. 131–141.

K. M. Seethi. Muslim Navothaanam, Prasthaanangal, p. 55.

Sadiq Faizy Thanoor. Samasta Charithraththinte Naal Vazhikal.

Samasta Kerala Sunni Vidyabhyasa Board. Webpages: https://samastha.in, https://samastha.info.

SSF Kerala Webpage: https://ssfkerala.org.