Samastha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema is the principal Sunni-Shafi'i scholarly body in Kerala. It was organised in the aftermath of the 1921 Mappila Uprising as a response to the growing Salafi movement in Kerala. The body witnessed an organisational division during the late 1980s, with a set of scholars forming a new group. The official group is now known as E. K. or the Samastha Sunni. Samastha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema is headquartered at Chelari, near the University of Calicut. Sayed Jifri Muthukkoya Thangal is the current President of the Samastha. Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal, the Kerala state President of Indian Union Muslim League, is the current Vice President and K. Ali Kutty Musliyar is the current General Secretary of Samastha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema. Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar is the current General Secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiat-ul-Ulema. A forty-member 'mushawara' is the high command body of both the Sunni groups. The administration of Islamic education in Kerala is not managed by Government of Kerala. The two Sunni bodies run thousands of mosques, madrasas and Arabic Colleges. They run regular Malayalam and English medium arts-and-science and technology colleges also. Ordinary Sunnis of Kerala are largely identified with either the "E. K." or the "A. P." group. The Samastha is often described as 'a grouping, and not a cadre-based organisation'.
History
Early years
Samastha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema, or the Samastha, was organised in 1926 as a response to the growing Salafi movement in Kerala. A nascent form of the Ulema was formed in Kozhikode in 1925. This was organised by Maulana Pangil Ahmad Kutti Musliyar and Varakkal Ba Alavi Mullakkoya Tangal with K. P. Muhammad Miran Musliyar as the President and Parol Husain Maulavi as the Secretary. The Ulema was formally constituited on 26 June, 1926 at Town Hall, Kozhikode.
Timeline
1925 — a nascent form of the Ulema formed at Valiya Juma Masjid, Kozhikode.
1926 June 26 — S. K. J. U. formed at Kozhikode Town Hall in the presence of Sayyid Shihabuddin Cherukunjikkoya Thangal
1927 Feb 7 — First conference at Tanur in the presence of Liyauddeen Hazrath
1929 Dec — S. K. J. U. published its first periodical al-Bayan.
1932 June — Pangil Ahmad Kutti Musliyar appointed as the President of S. K. J. U.
Madrasa in Kerala refers to institution where children receive basic Arabic language and Islamic instruction. As of 2008, the Samastha runs over 8,000 Kerala madrasas with around one million students. Around 72,000 teachers are registered with these madrasas. The Samastha also runs a chain of Arabic Colleges in Kerala. Both the Sunni organisations are running regular Malayalam and English medium arts-and-science and technology colleges also. The A. P. group runs educational institutions outside the Kerala state too.
Publications
The Samastha is known for publishing a short-lived Malayalam monthly magazine in the late 1920s. The periodical — known as al-Bayan — was first printed in 1929. The magazine reinvented itself in Malayalam Script for a short period in the 1950s.
al-Bayan
Sunni Times or Sunni Voice
Muslim
A. P. and E. K. groups
The two 'traditional' Sunni groups are named after the initials of leading scholars of each group. Both of them were the leading scholars of Samastha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema, until they were divided in 1989 over some political, organisational and legalistic issues. Led by A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar ten members separated themselves from the 40-member mushawara in 1989, forming a parallel organisation. The scholars claimed their organisation is the 'original' Samastha.
The E. K. group is named after E. K. Aboobacker Musliyar.
The A. P. group is named after A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar.
The E. K. group, in general, is politically aligned with the Indian UnionMuslim League while the A. P. group generally supports the Left Democratic Front. The A. P. group has also tilted and shifted its political support several times in the past.
