Kanthapuram Aboobacker: The cleric who shaped Kerala's Sunni landscape
A profile of Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar, examining his five-decade influence, his role in a major community split, and his recent controversial remarks on women.
For over five decades, Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar has been a towering figure in Kerala's traditional Sunni Muslim community. As the Grand Mufti of India, his influence is vast, yet his recent directive regarding women's participation in Islamic celebrations has sparked a fresh wave of controversy.
The circular, issued in his capacity as general secretary of the Samstha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, advised mahallus (local mosque committees) against exhibiting women before men on streets or stages during Milad festivities. Defending the decree, Kanthapuram argued that such public appearances would lead to 'chaos' and that purdah is prescribed in Islam to prevent it. The remarks drew sharp criticism from political leaders, including Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, who deemed them unsuitable for a modern, progressive Kerala. Even his long-time ally, the CPI(M), publicly attacked the statement.
However, this controversy is but a single chapter in the story of a scholar whose reach extends across India and to Muslim communities abroad. Known as Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad in the wider Muslim world, he is the founder of Jamia Markaz at Karanthur near Kozhikode. Around this institution, he has built a vast religious, educational, and social network. At 89, he continues to teach the Hadith collection considered the most authentic by Muslims.
Kanthapuram's rise began within the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, where he served as a prominent secretary under Shamsul Ulama E.K. Aboobacker Musliar. In 1989, differences over the influence of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) led to a split. Kanthapuram and his followers formed a separate faction, dividing the traditional Sunni community into the E.K. and A.P. groups. He built his organisation around Markazu Saquafathi Sunniyya, founded in 1978.
His political influence grew after the split, with his group developing close ties with the CPI(M)-led establishment. Yet, he has maintained relations across party lines, meeting leaders from the Congress, IUML, CPI(M), and BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His network extends to international initiatives like the Amman Message and A Common Word, which promote Islamic unity and Muslim-Christian understanding.
Kanthapuram has also leveraged these connections for humanitarian causes. In 2025, he intervened to save Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya from execution in Yemen through contacts with influential religious figures there. A more difficult chapter remains the 1993 disappearance of Islamic reformist Chekannur Moulavi. Kanthapuram was questioned by the CBI but was not made an accused, and a subsequent petition to arraign him was rejected by the Kerala High Court for lack of evidence.
From a young scholar in Kozhikode to the head of an international network, Kanthapuram's influence is undeniable. To his followers, he is a scholar, teacher, and institution-builder; to his critics, a conservative cleric with deep influence over public and political life.