Scholars need no approval to speak on faith, says Kanthapuram
Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar says religious scholars need no one's permission to speak on matters of faith, as Samastha prepares for its centenary.
Religious scholars require no external sanction to speak on matters of faith once they have acquired the necessary learning, All India Jamiyyathul Ulama general secretary Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar has said.
Speaking at Chemmad on Saturday evening, he said a scholar's right to address religious questions cannot be revoked, and that no permission or endorsement is needed for the exercise of that right. His comments appeared to answer criticism of an earlier statement he had made about the participation of Muslim women in public spaces.
He was inaugurating a meeting convened to constitute a reception committee for the centenary celebrations of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama.
Mr. Kanthapuram credited religious scholars with a central role in the social, cultural, educational and spiritual advancement of Muslims in Keralam. The Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, he said, had sought to bring together people across social groups and to foster self-respect among those at the grassroots.
Among the scholars' principal contributions, he noted, was the creation of madrasa networks and institutions that combine religious instruction with secular education across the State. Efforts to diminish or write that legacy out of the historical record would not succeed, he cautioned.
Muslims in Keralam have conventionally looked to religious scholars for guidance, he observed, adding that the scholars had maintained a tradition of steering the community towards moderation rather than allowing emotional interventions to produce divisions. They had also been instrumental in preserving the identity of Muslims in the State, he said, and their grounding in religious study and fidelity to the practices of their predecessors underpinned their authority to speak on matters of faith.
Samastha president E. Sulaiman Musliyar presided over the meeting. Among the scholars who spoke were Syed Ali Bafaqi, Ponmala Abdul Qadir Musliyar, Syed Ibrahimul Khaleel Bukhari, Perode Abdurahman Saquafi, Abu Haneefa Faizy Thenala, K.P. Muhammad Musliyar Kombam, Abdurahman Faizy Marayamangalem, Vandur Abdurahman Faizy, Rahmathullah Saqafi Elamaram and Syed Muneer Ahdal Ahsani.
The Samastha centenary conference is scheduled to be held at Kooriyad on January 28, 29 and 30, 2027.