Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen

Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen
AbbreviationKNM
Formation1950[1]
TypeReligious based organization
HeadquartersC D Tower, Calicut
Location
Region served
India
Official language
Malayalam
Parent organization
Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama
AffiliationsMujahid Movement

Salafiyya Movement

All-India Jamaat-e- Ahl-i Hadith[2]
Websiteknm.org.in

Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM) is an Islamic organization in the state of Kerala founded in 1950.[1] The organization is part of the Islamic reformist Mujahid Movement and follows the principles of Salafism. The Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen was formed as a result of renaissance activities among Keralite Muslims led by scholars and clerics such as Sheikh Hamadani Thangal, K.M. Moulavi and Vakkom Moulavi and E. Moidu Moulavi and Ummer Moulavi. Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen is considered as the successor of Kerala Muslim Aikya Sangam,[3] the first Muslim organization in the state of Kerala, founded in 1924. The Mujahid movement laid the foundations of Islamic renaissance in Kerala by campaigning against corrupted practices of the Sufi orders, superstitions, false beliefs, polytheism etc., and called for the revival of true Islamic practices to the Muslim community in Kerala which had until then been severely lacking in crucial aspects of religious and socio-civic knowledge. The Mujahids consider themselves as proponents of authentic Islamic reform, pursuing a purified concept of Tawhid.[4]

The social, cultural, educational, and religious activities of Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen enhanced the Islamic renaissance, and enabled the state's Muslims to create their own characteristics and peculiarities that distinguished them from other Muslim communities in India by achieving high rates of literacy and a prestigious status in Kerala society.[5][6] The Mujahid movement continues the Islamic reform traditions of the scholars Taqi al-Din ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328 C.E/661-728 A.H), Ahmad Sirhindi (1564-1624 C.E/ 971-1034 A.H), Shah Waliullah ad-Dehlawi (1703-1762 C.E/ 1114-1176 A.H), Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1792 C.E/ 1115-1207 A.H) and Muhammad Rashid Rida (1865-1935 C.E/ 1281 A.H-1353 A.H).[7]

The theological reformation initiated by Vakkom Abdul Qadir Moulavi and his disciples was a conservative reform movement directly influenced by the Arab Salafiyya scholarly circles and trends popular in Syria, Egypt, etc. Although the Mujahids often visited the scholars of Saudi Arabia, the movement differed from both the militant Puritanism of the Arabian Wahhabi reformation as well as the "Neo-Mu'tazilism" of the culture-oriented North Indian Muslim modernists like Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan. Instead, it was closer in spirit to the Arab Salafiyya movement, advancing a Keralite adaptation of reformist doctrines that focused on awakening Pan-Islamic consciousness; which became a major reason for its popularity.[8]

  1. ^ a b The Encyclopaedia of Islam Volume 6. E.J. Brill. p. 462. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  2. ^ Miller, Roland E. (1976). Mappila Muslims of Kerala: Study in Islamic Trends. 160 Anna Salai, Madras 600 002: Orient Longman Limited. p. 337. ISBN 0-86311-270-6. ..the Mujahīd Movement, also known as the Salafīyya or Wahhābi Movement, strengthened its criticism of practices that it regards as superstitious and pursued its struggle for a purified concept of tawhid... The movement is organised on a functional basis. The clergy unit is the Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema (1932), while the wider organisation is the Nadvat-ul-Mujahideen (1952)... The Mujāhids are affiliated the all India Jamaat-e-Ahl-Hadith."{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^ Filippo Osella & Caroline Osella (2008). "Islamism and Social Reform in Kerala, South India". Modern Asian Studies. 42 (2/3): 321. JSTOR 20488022.
  4. ^ Miller, Roland E. (1976). Mappila Muslims of Kerala: Study in Islamic Trends. 160 Anna Salai, Madras 600 002: Orient Longman Limited. p. 337. ISBN 0-86311-270-6. "..the Mujahīd Movement, also known as the Salafīyya movement, strengthened its criticism of practices that it regards as superstitious and pursued its struggle for a purified concept of tawhid...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  5. ^ "Kerala's Muslims record highest literacy". Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  6. ^ Lakhani, Abdul Hafiz. "Muslim literacy lowest: demographic report". Milligazette.com. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  7. ^ Osella, Osella, Filippo, Caroline (March 2008). "Islamism and Social Reform in Kerala, South India". Modern Asian Studies. 42 (2–3): 330–331. doi:10.1017/S0026749X07003198. S2CID 143932405 – via Research Gate.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Miller, Roland E. (1976). Mappila Muslims of Kerala: Study in Islamic Trends. 160 Anna Salai, Madras 600 002: Orient Longman Limited. pp. 265, 274–275. ISBN 0-86311-270-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)