Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar

Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar known as Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad[4][5][6] (/ʃɑːjx ɑːbuːbɑːkr ɑːhmɑːd/ (listen); Born as A. P. Aboobacker at Kanthapuram on 22 March 1931)[1][lower-alpha 1] is the Grand Mufti of India[7][8][9][10][11] and President of the Islamic Community of India.[12] He is also the Chancellor of the Jamia Markaz, Chairman of the Siraj Daily[13][14][15] and General Secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama, (the Indian Muslim Scholars Association).[16]

Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad
A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar
Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad receiving an Award by OIC Today, Malaysia
PronunciationŠayḫ Abūbakr ʾAḥmad (/ʃɑːjx ɑːbuːbɑːkr ɑːhmɑːd/)
Born
Aboobacker

(1931-03-22) 22 March 1931[1][lower-alpha 1]
Kanthapuram, Kozhikode district, Kerala, India
NationalityIndian
Other namesSheikh Aboobacker Ahmed
CitizenshipIndian
OccupationGrand Mufti of India
EraContemporary
OrganizationAll India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama
Notable work
Fatwa of Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad on ISIS
StyleGrand Mufti
TitleGrand Mufti of India
MovementSunni Islam
Spouse(s)Zainab
ChildrenAbdul Hakeem Azhari
Parents
  • Mouthariyil Ahmad Haji (father)
  • Kunheema Hajjumma (mother)
RelativesC Muhammed Faizy (son-in-law)
HonorsListed in The 500 Most Influential Muslims (2009–2020)
Grand Mufti of India
In office
24 February 2019 -
Preceded byAkhtar Raza Khan
Official nameمفتي جمهورية الهند، الشيخ أبوبكر أحمد
Personal
ReligionIslam
Home townKanthapuram
EthnicityMalayali
JurisprudenceShafi‘i
Notable work(s)Established more than 500 educational and charitable institutions across India, Middle East and Malaysia.
Alma materBaqiyat Salihat Arabic College
Known forEducational leadership
Founder ofAll India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama and Markaz[3] (Musliyar is current Chancellor)
Muslim leader
Literary worksSee the list
WebsiteSheikh Abubakr Ahmad
Grand Mufti styles
Religious styleMufti Azam-e-Hind, and Mufti al-Diyar al-Hindiyyah
Part of a series on
Islam in India

Grand Mufti of India
Main articles: Grand Muftiship of Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad and Grand Mufti of India

Musliyar was chosen as the Grand Mufti of India by the All India Tanzeem Ulamae Islam in a programme conducted at Ramlila Maidan after the death of Grand Mufti Akhtar Raza Khan, following an illness on 20 July 2018.[7][17][7][18][19][20][21] After his election conducted several receptions in various countries including UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Malaysia and Indonesia especially at his birthplace in India, Kozhikode. Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly Sri P. Sreeramakrishnan, Kerala Minister TP Ramakrishnan, Karnataka Ministers UT Khader and Rahim Khan, and A Pradeepkumar member of 14th Kerala Legislative Assembly, Kerala Haj Committee chairman C Mohammed Faizi, Tamil Nadu Haj Committee chairman Haji Abdul Jabbar, Mayor of Kozhikode Thottathil Raveendran, Zamorin K.C. Unniyanujan Raja and Dr MGS Narayanan, politicians, religious and cultural leaders including from other Indian states participated in the civil reception.[22][23] In the function, Minister T. P. Ramakrishnan expressed appreciations to the Grand Mufti for the Government of Kerala.

Peace and interfaith dialogue work

Musliyar has conducted and attended many national and international conferences for peace and interfaith dialogue.[24][25][26]

He is the Chairman of the Sheikh Zayed International Peace Conference and was one of the speakers at the First World Tolerance Summit, conducted by the International Institute for Tolerance Dubai, UAE.[27][28][29][30][31][32] The tagline of the second Sheikh Zayed International Peace Conference was "Renaissance of the World Through Peace".[33] In 2019 he attended Global Conference of Human Fraternity[34][35] and met with Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church.[36][37]

In 2014 he launched a campaign to plant 100,000 trees throughout India as part of preparations for the Sheikh Zayed International Peace Conference, held in New Delhi.[38]

Educational revivalist

Musliyar educated several scholars from different parts of India.[39][40] He is involved with Markaz Knowledge City, Unani Medical College, and with higher education and research.[41][42][41] He said in an interview with Khaleej Times that the "Education is key to peace".[43]

Views

Musliyar has condemned Islamic extremism. He says that "Militant groups such as the Islamic State (IS) are trying to defame a religion that advocates peace and tolerance."[44][45] In November 2015, he commented on gender equality, saying: "Gender equality is something which is never going to be a reality. It is against Islam, humanity and was intellectually wrong."[46][47][48]

Fatwa against ISIS
Main article: Fatwa of Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad on ISIS

Musliyar was the first to issue a fatwa against ISIS.[49][50][51]

On CAB and CAA

Musliyar opposed the Citizenship Amendment Bill[52][53] and Citizenship Amendment Act,[54][55] and he organised and attended in many protests against the act.[56][57][58][59] He has not supported the hartal was organised by SDPI[60][61][62][63] and said the hartal is needless.[64][65][66][67] He visited the family members of protesters killed in police firing at Mangalore to expressed his condolences.[68]

On Babri Masjid Verdict

Musliyar appealed to the Islamic Community of India to welcome the Supreme Court verdict in the Babri Masjid dispute case before the verdict[69][70] and accepted after. He said "We respect the Supreme Court. Everyone must strive for peace in India.[71] The victory or defeat over the Babri Masjid incident may be significant to every party, but the protection of India and its sovereignty is much more important."[72][73] "Babri Masjid is a place of worship for Muslims,[74] but equally important is that all people live peacefully in India."[75]

Organisations
See also: Samastha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema § Current Sunni bodies

In the late 1980 Musliyar was a leader of the Samastha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema together with E. K. Aboobacker Musliyar but due to personality differences chose to split off a group which came to be known as the AP Faction; the residual group becoming referred to as the EK Faction.[76]

Both factions, which are pre-dominately based in Kerela, have set up a set of broadly parallel organisations at both All India and state level, with Musliyar dominant in those of the AP Faction.

In January 2018 committees were formed to re-unite the factions with the objective of re-uniting the groups to achieve an improved political influence,[76]. As of June 2020 there has been no merger.

At the time of his assumption of the title of Grand Mufti of India in February 2019 he was variously described as general secretary of the All-India Muslim Scholars Association for over 25 years,[17] and as general secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama.[7]

Honours, awards and international recognition

See also

References
  1. His data of birth is given twice in the current and May 2019 versions of the source, once as 22 March 1931 and once as 22 March 1939. This was a change from a 2018 version of the same source, which said 22 March 1939 in both places that mentioned his date of birth.[2]
  1. "About Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad". Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  2. "About Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad". Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  3. Filippo Osella & Caroline Osella. "Islamism and Social Reform in Kerala, South India" (PDF). Modern Asian Studies. 42 (2/3): 327. JSTOR 20488022.
  4. Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad (Šayḫ Abūbakr ʾAḥmad) is the official name of the Grand Mufti. The Sheikh, the first part of the name like the name of Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, is not a honorific prefix. His official website is also sheikhabubakrahmad.com
  5. Pickles, Katie (12 February 2020). "A mufti day is enormous fun. But time to give it a new name". The Spinoff. Retrieved 4 April 2020. Grand Mufti Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad is the Indian Islamic community's current most senior religious authority. Mufti interpret Islamic law and then issue fatwa (legal opinion).
  6. "Indian subcontinent religious leaders hail Pope Francis and Sheikh Al Azhar meeting". wam. Retrieved 4 April 2020. Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, General Secretary of the Muslim Scholars Organisation of India and President of the Islamic Education Board of India, told WAM that...
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  10. "കാന്തപുരം എ.പി. അബൂബക്കർ മുസ്‌ലിയാർ ഗ്രാൻഡ് മുഫ്തി". Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
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Bibliography

Works

Works by Musliyar include:

  • Musliṃ lōkattint̲e vicāradhāra [Thoughts of the Muslim World] (in Malayalam). Kozhikode: SYS Books. 1995. OCLC 37115589.CS1 maint: display-authors (link)
  • Mind of Islam (in Malayalam). Kozhikode: Poomkavanam Publications. 2010.

Further reading

He has consecutively been ranked for many years as an influential Muslim from India by the prestigious Directory, The 500 Most Influential Muslims published by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan.

Religious titles
Preceded by
Akhtar Raza Khan		 Grand Mufti of India
2019–present		 Succeeded by
not elected yet
Academic offices
Preceded by
E. K. Aboobacker Musliyar		 Chancellor of the Markazu Ssaqafathi Ssunniyya
1996–present		 Succeeded by
  1. "കാന്തപുരത്തെ പറ്റിയുള്ള പഠനത്തിന് ജെ.എൻ.യുവിൽനിന്ന് ഡോക്ടറേറ്റ്" [Doctorate from JNU for a study about Kanthapuram]. Malayalam News. 20 September 2018. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  2. "കാന്തപുരത്തെക്കുറിച്ച് പിഎച്ച്ഡി,ജെഎൻയുവിൽ നിന്ന് യുവാവിന് ഡോക്ടറേറ്റ്" [PhD on Kanthapuram, Doctorate for a young scholar from JNU]. Asianet News (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
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