Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker | Power beyond the pulpit

Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar, the Grand Mufti of India, has been a leading figure in Keralam’s traditional Sunni Muslim community for more than five decades. Not a stranger to controversies, Kanthapuram, as he is popularly known, recently hogged the headlines for jointly issuing a circular to mahallus in his capacity as general secretary of the Samstha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, asking them “not to exhibit women in front of other men on the streets or stages” during Islamic celebrations.

Issued in the context of the Milad festivities, the circular courted controversy, following which Kanthapuram said bringing women to public forums would cause serious “chaos” and that Islam prescribed purdah for women to prevent this. The comments triggered sharp criticism from different sections and leaders, including from Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, who said the cleric’s comments were unsuitable for modern, progressive Keralam. The CPI(M), his long-term ally, too, sharply attacked the decree.

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But that controversy is only one part of the story of a scholar whose influence extends across India and to Muslim communities abroad. Kanthapuram, Ustad in Keralam, is known as Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad in the wider Muslim world. He is the founder of Jamia Markaz at Karanthur near Kozhikode, around which he has built a large religious, educational and social network.

At 89, he continues to teach the Hadith collection regarded by Muslims as the most authentic collection of reports on Prophet Muhammad’s teachings and practices.

Watch: Why Kanthapuram’s remarks on women have triggered a debate in Kerala

Kanthapuram’s rise began within the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, the traditional body of Islamic scholars in Keralam. He was one of its prominent secretaries 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 walked out and formed a separate organisation. The division continues, leaving Keralam’s traditional Sunni community broadly divided between the E.K. and A.P. factions. He built his organisation around Markazu Saquafathi Sunniyya, founded at Karanthur in 1978.

His project Markaz Knowledge City near Kozhikode became controversial after a strand of hair claimed to belong to Prophet Muhammad was brought there. His followers regard it as a sacred relic; critics have questioned its authenticity. CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan famously called it “body waste”. Kanthapuram has repeatedly faced criticism over his conservative views on women.

Political influence

His political influence grew after the 1989 split, when his group developed close ties with the CPI(M)-led establishment in Keralam. Yet Kanthapuram has maintained relations across party lines. Leaders of the Congress, the IUML, the CPI(M) and the BJP have met him. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met him several times.

His reach extends well beyond politics. He was associated with the Amman Message and A Common Word, international initiatives promoting Islamic unity and Muslim-Christian understanding.

He has used these networks for humanitarian causes. In 2025, he intervened in the case of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who was facing execution in Yemen, and saved her from the gallows through contacts with influential Yemeni religious figures.

The disappearance of Islamic reformist Chekannur Moulavi in 1993 remains a difficult chapter. Kanthapuram was questioned by the CBI but was not made an accused. The Kerala High Court later rejected a petition seeking to arraign him for lack of sufficient evidence.

Few religious leaders in Keralam have remained so influential for so long. From a young scholar in Kozhikode to the head of an international network, Kanthapuram’s influence extends far beyond Karanthur. 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.