Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama of AP Sunnis, also known as Samastha and AP Samastha, is a

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

Muslim scholarly body in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. The council administers Shafi'ite mosques, institutes of higher religious learning (the equivalent of north Indian

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

s) and madrasas (institutions where children receive basic

Islamic education Islamic education may refer to: *Islamic studies, the academic study of Islam and Islamic culture *Madrasah, the Arabic word for any type of educational institution * Islamic Education Society, an Islamic organization in India *Education in Islam ...

) in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. There are two organisations known as Samastha, one named after E. K. Aboobacker Musliyar and the other after Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar, both of which emerged in 1989, due to organisational disagreement in Samastha. Similar to EK Sunnis, a forty-member council also known as the 'mushawara' functions a high command body of AP Sunnis. As of December 2023, the council includes Samastha general secretary

Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar, officially known as Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad (born 22 March 1931), is the tenth and current Grand Mufti of India. and General Secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama (the Indian Muslim Scholars ...

; Samastha president E. Sulaiman Musliar; vice presidents Sayyid Ali Bafaqi Thangal, P. A. Aidrus Musliyar Kollam and K. S. Attakoya Thangal Kumbol; treasurer Kottur Kunjammu Musliyar; secretaries

Sayyid Ibraheem Khaleel Al Bukhari Sayyid Ibraheem Khaleel Al Bukhari (Malayalam: സയ്യിദ് ഇബ്റാഹീം ഖലീല്‍ അല്‍ ബുഖാരി) (Arabic: السيد ابراهيم الخليل البخاري) is founder and chairman of Ma'din ...

, Ponmala Abdul Khadir Musliyar and Perod Abdurahman Saqafi.

Population makeup

Traditionally Muslims of Kerala are

Sunnis Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

, predominantly

Shafi'is The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionist ...

where around two-thirds of the Muslim population is AP and EK Sunnis, respective Samasthas of which emerged in 1989 due to disagreement in Samastha. The reformist Mujahids, belonging to the

Salafi movement The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" is a self-designation, claiming a retu ...

, make up around 10 percent of the total Muslim population of Kerala. Though there is presence of groups like Tabligi Jamaat and Jamaate Islami, by far biggest groupings are Sunnis and Mujahids. Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama (AP faction),

Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama of EK Sunnis also known as Samastha, and EK Samastha, is a Sunni-Shafi'i Muslim scholarly body in Kerala. The body administers Shafi'ite mosques, institutes of higher religious learning (the equivalent of ...

(EK faction), Dakshina Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama and Kerala Samsthana Jem-iyyathul Ulama are different factions of Sunnis in

, while Dakshina Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama is the dominant group in the southern part of the state.

Ideological difference

Samastha began in 1926 to counter Vakkom Moulavi's Kerala Muslim Aikya Sangam—the precursor of KNM and the wider Mujahid movement. Only traditionalist Sunnis are called Sunnis in Kerala in contrast to the reformist ones. The four different factions of

have "almost the same ideology and beliefs". Haris Madani, a young scholar belonging to AP Sunnis, in 2022, said the difference between AP and EK Sunnis is purely organisational whereas Husain Madavoor, a Mujahid leader, considers ''

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

'' to be irrelevant.

Samastha in AP Sunnis' words

Change of name

Kanthapuram Poonoor ( പൂനൂർ ) is a town in Kozhikode District, Kerala, India. The town is part of the Unnikulam Panchayath, within the Thamarassery Taluk of the Kozhikode District. Poonoor can be found on the banks of the Poonoor River 4.5 ...

, a leader of AP Sunnis says Sunnis formed an organisation to counter the religious

reformists Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political establishment , political or religion , religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. ...

with the name Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama. But the reformist people had registered the same name. So Sunnis had to add the term "Samastha" to the name of the organisation at the conference held at Kozhikode Town Hall on 26 June 1926.

Reorganisation

further says Samastha was reorganised and went ahead with the interests Samastha had at the time of its formation, when there were attempts to join with the

and deviate in Samastha around 1989.

Success

explains people unitedly supported Samastha after its formation. He also says after the reorganisation in 1989, the Samastha went ahead with strong force, with all policies and ideologies of Samastha all over

and outside.

Affiliated entities

Samastha of AP Sunnis have several affiliated entities. They include: * Kerala Muslim Jama'ath * Sunni Management Association (SMA) * Educational board – Samastha Kerala Sunni Vidhyabhyasa Board * Madrasa teachers' association – Sunni Jam-iyyathul Muallimeen (SJM) * Youth wing – Samastha Kerala Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS) * Student wing – Sunni Students Federation (SSF) *Jamiathul Hind

Other entities of AP Sunnis

Organisations

* Scholarly bodies ** All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama * Children's wing **Sunni Bala Sangham (SBS)

Periodicals

* ''Siraj'' * ''Risala'' * ''Sunni Voice'' * ''Kusumam'' * ''Sunnath''

Notable institutions

* Jamia sa-adiya * Markazu Saqafathi Sunniyya * Markaz Knowledge City *

Ma'din Academy Ma'din Academy registered as Ma'dinu Ssaquafathil Islamiyya under Societies Registration Act of 1860. No: 1004/99, established in 1997, is an institution which runs 45 educational institutions and charity with 25,000 students. Its headquarters ...

* Jamia ihyaussunna

Footnotes

References

{{Islam in Kerala Sunni Islam in India Islamic organizations established in 1926 1926 establishments in India Samastha (AP Faction)