Syed Sadikali’s historic visit to Madin Academy has a wider message for Samastha

Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal (left) shares a relaxing moment with Madin Academy President Syed Ibrhaim Khalil Bukhari during a lecture on Sadat organized by Madin Academy. | Photo credit: SAKEER HUSSAIN

When Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state president and Sunni leader Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal attended a state-level conference in Sadat (Thangal) organised by Madin Academy here last Wednesday, he created a history of sorts for the traditional Muslim community of Malabar.

Syed Sadikali’s visit was the first visit by a prominent member of the Panakkad Shihab Thangal family to the Madin Academy campus in its 27-year history. Madin Academy, founded and headed by its chairman Syed Ibrahim Khalil Bukhari Thangal, was widely regarded as a flagship institution of the Sunni group led by Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar, and was therefore deliberately ignored by the rival Sunni group of Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama and its political associate, the Muslim League.

What Syed Sadikali ended on his first visit to Madin Academy was a 35-year disconnect and perceived bitterness between the Muslim League and the Sunni faction in Kanthapuram.

Syed Khalil Bukhari is arguably the most revered leader of the Kanthapuram Sunni group, perhaps after Aboobacker Musliar. By accepting Syed Bukhari’s invitation to Sadat’s conference, Syed Sadikali sent a clear message that the Muslim League is no longer hostile to the Kanthapuram Sunni group.

“We can cooperate in every possible way for the betterment of the Muslim community,” Syed Sadikali said. The large gathering on the Madin Academy campus greeted the IUML chief’s call with a thunderous “Allahu Akbar,” a customary manner of approval practiced by orthodox Islamic groups instead of the usual applause or clapping. Syed Sadikali went on to say that he wanted a symbiotic relationship.

Who has the last word?

Syed Sadikali’s visit to Madin Academy came at a time when a simmering tug-of-war was raging between the Muslim League and a section of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, the largest group of traditional Muslim clerics in the state, over who should lead the Muslim community and who should have the final say. A small section of the Samastha could not stomach the idea of ​​a young leader like Syed Sadikali taking over the leadership of the community from the venerable Samastha president, Syed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal.

Relations between the Muslim League and the Sunni Kanthapuram group have often been disrupted by obstacles thrown up by Samastha leaders in recent years. For the Muslim League, the Kanthapuram faction is a potential reserve of votes with deeper influence in the community. And for Samastha, Kanthapuram is a rival.

The recent Lok Sabha elections have once again reaffirmed the hegemony of the Muslim League in the Muslim socio-political milieu of Kerala. Syed Sadikali’s visit to Madin Academy has further strengthened his leadership within the Muslim community. His visit was calculated. He was serious. The most important message that Syed Sadikali sent to the Samastha was that Panakkad will continue to hold the reins of the Muslim community in Kerala.