MALAPPURAM: Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama General Secretary Prof. K. Alikutty Musliyar passed away on Thursday at the age of 81. He died at his residence in Tirurkkad due to age-related ailments.
A prominent Islamic scholar, educator and organisational leader, Alikutty Musliyar had been serving as the General Secretary of Samastha since 2016, succeeding the late Cherusseri Zainuddin Musliyar. He was also the Kasaragod District Qazi since 2013 and the Principal of Jamia Nooriya Arabic College, Pattikkad, from 2003.
Born in 1945 at Irumpuzhi Thekkummuri in Malappuram district to Kunnath Moosa Haji and Madambi Iyyathutty, he received his early religious education under his grandfather Kunnath Ali Haji before pursuing higher Islamic studies at several renowned dars institutions. He joined Jamia Nooriya in 1964 and graduated with the Faizi degree in 1968. Among his prominent teachers were Shamsul Ulama, Kottumala Abubacker Musliyar, Tezhakode Kunjalavi Musliyar, Perinthalmanna Saithali Musliyar, Valapuram K.T. Muhammed Musliyar, Abdul Khader (Kayi) Musliyar and Perumbalam Baputti Musliyar.
Displaying leadership from a young age, he became Khatib of the Tirurkkad Mahal Mosque at 16 and Mahal Qazi at 20. After beginning his teaching career at Meenarkuzhi Dars, he later served at Chemmankadavu Dars before joining Jamia Nooriya as a teacher in 1979, eventually becoming its principal in 2003.
Alikutty Musliyar held several key positions in Samastha and its affiliated organisations over the decades. He served as Samastha Perinthalmanna Taluk Secretary, Malappuram District Vice President, member of the Samastha Mushavara, SYS General Secretary from 1992 to 2016, Samastha Joint Secretary from 2010, and General Secretary of Samastha from 2016. He also served as Vice President of the Samastha Education Board and led the Jamia alumni organisation, Osfojana.
An internationally recognised scholar, he represented Indian Muslims at conferences across Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Senegal, presenting papers on Islamic studies and Sufism. He was a member of the Islamic Fiqh Council of the Muslim World League and also served on the syllabus formulation committee of the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad.
He was Chairman of the Kerala Hajj Committee from 2003 to 2006—the first non-minister to hold the post—and later served as Vice Chairman of the Central Hajj Committee from 2006 to 2009. He was also Vice President of the State Muslim Orphanage Coordination Committee and Chief Editor of Al Muallim, Al Noor and Sunni Afkar magazines.
His funeral prayers and burial will be held at the Juma Masjid cemetery in Tirurkkad, his native place in Malappuram district.
