Modernity of Kerala Muslims Through Secular Education – Contributions of Islahi Movement

Shajeer. S, H.O.D & Assistant Professor, Dept. of Islamic History, University College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

The term modernity refers to the quality of being modern or up-to-date, which implies a modern approach of living or thinking. This term was conceived by Charles Baudelaire in his article ‘The Painter of

Modern Life’ which was published in 1863 (see Kelley, J. D. p. 267). It is frequently portrayed as a period noted by a questioning or rejection of tradition and its normative uniformity as well as structural homogeneity in favour of new or proliferating standards and systems as rationalism, personal freedom, individualism, etc. It bears a deeper meaning which indicates the possibility of a new beginning based on human autonomy. At the heart of modernity stands, cultural and intellectual realization which ultimately leads to release from ignorance and superstition.

The dawn of 20th century witnessed such a spirit that questions the traditional systems, ignorance, superstitions and an attempt to remodel the socio- spiritual life of the Kerala Muslims sprang up due to the attempts of some great visionaries. In Islam the measures like reform, repair, restoration is generally called

‘Islah’ (See Abdul Hameed Cheriyammudem. P.7) and the reform movement started by individual scholars at the beginning of the 20th century generally known as the ‘Islahi Movement’. In fact the concepts of renewal (Tajdid) and reform (Islah) are the major components of Islam’s world view which are rooted in the

Quran and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (See John L. Esposito. P.33). Sanaullah Makti Tangal,

Chalilakathu Kunjahammad Haji, Hamadani Tangal and Vakkom Moulavi were the preeminent figures of

Islahi movement. They generally focused on the socio- religious life of the Muslims, but at the same time paid special attention to the remodelling of their education system. Because they were aware of the fact that the deficiency of modern and secular education was the real factor behind all the problems of the Muslim community of Kerala in particular and the world in general. The system of education existed among the

JETIR1809278 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 961

Muslims was outdated and naturally they failed to detect out a more respectable position in the then social structure of Kerala.

Educational Condition of the Kerala Muslims at the dawn of 20th Century:-

In Islam seeking and imparting knowledge is forever cherished as something sacred and the Quran itself laid emphasis upon its importance by saying “Say: Are they equal- those who know and those who know not”(See Holy Quran, Surah Assumar 39:9). This verse alone is enough to makes it shed light on the significance of education and the divergence between the learned and the unlearned. The early educational institutions built up by the Muslims were called Madrasas which taught different subjects. Among them the

Madrasas of Cordova, Baghdad, Cairo, Tunis, etc. are still thought back and some stands still today (See,

Philip K. Hitti pp.410, 527,530). These madrasas played a critical part in the rational maturation of the

Muslims and made them the torchbearers of knowledge of the mediaeval period.

Nevertheless, in course of time these institutions failed to keep the pace with the on-going time and development and consequently the Muslims lost vitality and position in the modern social life .Thus at the dawn of the 20th century the condition of the madrasas or Ottupallis and the Muslim community were very deplorable. William Logan , in his Malabar Manual rightly observed that “the only academic activity conducted in these madrasas was a parrot –like recitation of the Qur’an. Since the Quran was in Arabic, the students could not understand its meaning (See William Logan ,p.233). The training system employed by these Ottupallis was also very out dated. The teacher called Mullas reading the lessons and the pupils were required to iterate it until they get memorize the lesson (See Ibrahim Kunju,A P p.249). Some other characteristic of these institutions was the absence of the division system. Students belonged to different age groups were clubbed together in a single room (See Abdul Samad ,p.21). Teaching aids like black boards, chalks and other furniture were not used in classrooms. Apart from Ottupallis, there were institutions for higher training. They were called Dars which were attached to important mosques. Even in these so called institutions of higher education the syllabi and curriculum were mediocre and intended to provide the religious needs and routine as a qualifying class for the aspirants to the job of musaliyar (See Ibrahim

Kunju, A P ,p.249).

JETIR1809278 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 962

The Madrasas and the Dars, though rendered services to the cause of religion, gave way to uplift the community from their decaying stage. Because they followed outdated syllabi and curriculum which were inefficient to bring the people on par with the pace of the time. As the students were trained merely to recite and memorize the Quran without understanding its meaning, there was no scope of developing the literary ability of the students. Further, this education system was strictly limited to the spiritual circles of the orthodox clergy, which prevented the growth of liberal thinking. Another feature was that the mullas were paid low salaries and they often depended upon the charity of the influential section of the community. To earn the daily bread was the main motive of these people and they deliberately ignored the teaching of the

Quran and the tradition of the Prophet emphasising the significance of education. In this circumstances the only way for the revival of the Muslims of Kerala from further decline was to make use of the western education introduced by the British during 19th century. But the bitter experiences meted out at the hands of the British, the Kerala Muslims, like their fellow members of other parts of India, developed a hatred towards everything British, especially education ( See Kareem, C K. p. 186). The clergy viewed English education with suspicion and depicted it as a device to pollute their religious belief. So, while the remainder of the people of Kerala began to use the opportunity provided by the new education system, the Muslim community opposed the secular instruction and visited English language as the terminology of the inferno

(See Ibrahim Kunju, A P p.251). Their reluctance to impart secular education made them a stagnant community and fell into the posterior of the societal construction. Besides this, they evidenced no interest to learn native spoken language Malayalam and designated it as Aryanezhutt (language of Hindus) (See

Ibrahim Kunju , A P ,p.251).

This was the background that necessitated the emergence of visionaries who had the ability, on the one hand, to liberate the community from ignorance and the consequent decay and, on the other hand, to challenge the orthodox clergy who always creates obstacles in the way to status consciousness, modernity and free thinking.

JETIR1809278 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 963

The Islahi Movement:-

In Kerala the Islahi Movement was begun at the outset of the 20th century by individual reformers with the thrust purpose of purifying the Muslim community from alien practices and to make them capable enough to cope up with the varying conditions. Syed Sanaullah Makti Tangal, Chalilakathu Kunjahmad

Haji, Hamadani Tangal and Vakkom Abdul Qadir Malawi were the passing digits of this trend (See Abdul

Samad ,p.42) . Their travails in the later period developed as a massive campaign called the Kerala Muslim

Aikya Sanghom. These reformers envisaged the overall maturation of the Kerala Muslims, but this paper concentrates only on the services rendered by them in the realm of teaching, in which places the possibility of progress and modernity.

A. Sanaullah Makti Tangal (1847- 1912)

Sanaullah Makti Tangal was the man who spearheaded the Islahi movement in Malabar (See Althaf ,K

M. P.44). He was an outstanding religious and social reformer of Kerala. Makti Tangal got both religious and secular educations and in addition to Malayalam ,he was well -versed in Urdu, Persian, Tamil and

English(See Ibrahim Kunju, A P ,p.227). Being a reformer he had to struggle hard to achieve his objectives and realized the lack of secular education as the radical cause of the ignorance, superstition and decline of the Muslim community. Hence he highlighted the necessity of secular education along with religious training.

Makti Tangal published a good number of articles in Arabi-Malayalam as well as in English emphasizing the significance of modern education. He strongly recommended the study of Malayalam as a religious duty, because it is their native spoken language which enables them to communicate with God in this world and in the hereafter (See Gangadharan, p.43). He vehemently opposed the education system existed among the Muslim community and pointed out the inability of students to read or write a single sentence either in Arabic or in Malayalam (See Abdul Samad ,p.46). He also requested the government to encourage Muslim education including the learning of Malayalam.

JETIR1809278 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 964

Tangal himself prepared a scheme for the education of the Muslims which included Malayalam,

Arabic, English and Arithmetic. Another contribution of Makti Tangal in this realm was the preparation of an Arabi- Malayalam- Sanskrit trilingual dictionary for the use of teachers. He also paid proper attention to the liberation of the women folk of his community. For their emancipation he propagated the message of secular education and argued that education was an unavoidable factor for the women as mother and moulder of the future generation. In order to carry forward his reforms, Makti Tangal ,with the help of like- minded youths established a cultural organization called Muhammadiya Sabha in 1889 at Kannur ( See .

Althaf ,K M. P.46 )

Thus Syed Sanaullah Makti Tangal proved to be a real revolutionary who wanted to bring the

Muslim community to its erstwhile glory. He never feared while challenging the orthodoxy and unwrapping their inefficiency to keep the Muslims up to date. He was able to bring noticeable changes in the educational system, both in the syllabi and curriculum.

B. Chalilakathu Kunjahammad Haji

Chalilakattu Kunjahmad Haji was the other reformer who strove hard in creating a status consciousness among the Muslims of Kerala was. He was the first person who tried to take the Muslims to the verge of modern education through the restructuring of religious education. in the history of Kerala Muslims he is known with the sobriquet ‘Sir Syed of Kerala’ as a recognition for his invaluable services in the realm of education. He opposed the prohibition created by the Ulema for reading of newspapers and vigorously propagated the message to read newspapers of all languages as a medium to know the contemporary world and to understand the present status of the Muslim community of Kerala. He also fought for the liberation of Muslim women though education.

Even though Kunjahmad had the opportunity of formal schooling up to primary level ,he overcame this shortcoming by strenuous efforts and became well –versed in Malayalam and basics of grammar ( See

Abdul Samad, M. p.49). he could further expand the horizon of knowledge when he joined the Latifiya

Madrasa at Vellore. When the Madrasa authorities realized his quest for knowledge, they made

JETIR1809278 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 965

Persian and Tamil. He proved to be a worthy student by attaining proficiency in these disciplines.

Kunjahmad Haji soon won the fame as erudite scholar and was appointed as the Principal of the well- known Darul Ulum Madrasa at Vazhakkad (See. Ibrahim Kunju, p.227). Though it was an institution primarily meant for religious learning, Kunjahmad Haji found the possibility of imparting modern education to its students. In a sense this Madras can be considered as the first venue which offered the chance to unwrap foolishness of the Mullas and to introduce his concept of secular education. At the outset he separated the students based on class system and provided furniture for them. Kunjahmad Haji wanted to make the teaching very effective and for this purpose he adopted teaching aids like globe and maps .

One of the major issues that haunted him was that students lacked even the basic knowledge of

Malayalam and Mathematics. Instead of disappointment he found it as a chance to introduce modern education in Madrasas. Accordingly the syllabus and curriculum were restructured which include , in addition to religious subjects, basic arithmetic, general science, Malayalam, Logic, Astronomy and geography. It was a time when the orthodox Ulema prohibited the reading of newspapers. Even though he was a fellow member of the same community, Kunjahmad Haji was not quick to eat up this ignorant attitude of the Ulema and strictly instructed his pupils to read newspapers of all speeches. Besides this he advised the students to study Kerala Paniniyam of A. R. Raja Raja Varma with an aim to acquire proficiency in

Malayalam. Another notable attempt of Kunjahmad Haji was the emancipation of Muslim women from the four walls created by the clergy. He exhorted the need of women's education and to invite the attention of the community he showed an example by sending his own girl children to public schools.

The activities of Kunjahmad Haji created a hue and cry among the clergy and the answer was that he caused to face strong opposition from many quarters. The Ulema could not digest the educational reforms introduced by Haji in Darul Ulum. They fought him by tooth and nail and eventually brought off to influence the management of the Madrasa. The result was that Kunjahmad Haji had to leave that institution.

Yet this was not enough to stop a determined man like him, he soon established a few Madrasas in Malabar and continued his mission as ever ahead.

JETIR1809278 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 966

To sum up Kunjahmad Haji was a committed soul to deliver his fellow men from humiliation and decay.

For this role he launched a vigorous reform measure in the realm of education which made him the sobriquet ‘Sir Syed of Kerala”.

C. Sheikh Hamadani Tangal

Hamadani Tangal occupies a unique position among the Muslim reformers of Kerala. He possessed a strong admiration for Syed Ahmed Khan, the architect of Aligarh Muslim University, and getting hold of inspiration since he commenced his charge for the educational development of Travancore Muslims (( See

Althaf ,K M,p.52). He was also the founder of the ‘Muslim Conference’ which itself reflects the thought of

Hamadani Tangal. As a public leader and a member of the Sri Mulam Popular Assembly of Travancore, he gave his whole life to the emancipation his community from educational backwardness and the consequent inabilities.

Hamadani Tangal interfered in all affairs of the Muslim social-spiritual life of Kerala. Only the most significant among them was in the realm of teaching. He was very much attracted by the career of Syed

Ahmed Khan as a reformer. Hence taking example from him, Tangal also formed an organization called

‘The Muslim Conference’ which dedicated to chalk out ways and means for the promotion of Muslim education. He conceived of the progress of both the spiritual and the secular instruction and wanted to introduce an integrated arrangement of teaching by combining of them (See . Abdul Samad, M. p.54).

Another dream of Hamadani Tangal was the foundation of a college for the Muslim community. He obtained eight acres of land from the Travancore government, but failed to achieve his aim because of the lack of proper support from his people. Later Tangal shifted to Kodungallur for the enlightenment of the

Muslims in that location. Here he established an organization named Lajnatul Hamadaniya for the overall growth of the native Muslims.

In fact Hamadani Tangal was not troubled about any credit or accolades. However, his dedicated service to the cause of the Muslim community won the attention of the Travancore government. Hence, to place their voice before the government, Tangal was nominated as a member of the Sri Mulam popular Assembly in 1911 and consecutively represented the Muslim community for five years up to 1915 (See Abdul Samad,

JETIR1809278 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 967

M. p.55). This membership in the Popular Assembly of Travancore opened him a novel platform to struggle for the lawful rights of the Muslims and their release from the distressing condition. Accordingly invited the attention of the government to the educational backwardness and the consequent lower status of the

Muslims in the then social system of Travancore. He was of the view that introduction of Arabic in secular schools would be a novel idea for attracting Muslim students to public schools and demanded the government to take necessary arrangements for appointment of Arabic teachers in schools.

Thus HamadaniTangal was a leading image in the history of Muslim Renaissance. He was a great visionary who intended the overall development of the Muslim community.

D. Vakkom Muhammad Abdul Qadir Moulavi(1873-1932)

Muhammad Abdul Qadir Moulawi is popularly called by the people Vakkom Moulavi. He is the greatest of the Muslim reformers of Kerala. He is regarded as the ‘Leader of Reformers’ and the ‘Father of Kerala

Muslim Renaissance’. He was adept in many languages like English, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, and Sanskrit.

Malawi was so brave to challenge the orthodox Ulema by publishing many works in Malayalam when it was termed as Aryanezhutt and hence Haram (forbidden) (See Muhammad Kannu, M. p.7).

The status of the Muslims of Travancore during his time was really miserable. In fact their socio- spiritual life was against the actual spirit of Islam. It was the Ulema who controlled the entire life of the

Muslim community of Kerala and stood as an obstacle in the way of modern education and progression.

While the remainder of the people of Kerala made use of modern training and gained some improvement in their social life, the Muslims were the only community who lagged behind and fell into the rear end of the order.

It was in these circumstances Vakkom Moulavi emerged as a crusader. His relation with Sree

Narayana Guru and Rev. Father Samuel Daniel helped him to understand the social changes taken place in other communities and prepared him to shoulder this task of reviving his community (See . Muhammad

Kannu, M. ( 1981) p.15). At the very outset he was able to find that the main reason for the socio-religious

JETIR1809278 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 968

© 2018 JETIR September 2018, Volume 5, Issue 9 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) decline of the people was ignorance and it could be removed only with the help of proper modern education. Hence his main concern was to awaken the people towards the significance of education and exhorted the community through the journal called ‘Muslim’(See Kareem C K. (1991) .Kerala Muslim

Charithram, p.428). Yet it could not reach the anticipated success, because most of the Muslims could not read Malayalam. To manage up with the situation Moulavi Published another journal in Arabi-Malayalam, named Al Islam (See, Ibrahim Kunju A P, ,240). It began to penetrate among the people and the Orthodox

Ulema launched a vehement attack on Moulavi and his supporters. Undaunted by these threats, Moulavi went forward and with the help of like-minded youths from the residential area, formed many local organizations and spread the ideals of secular education

Along with the publication of articles in journals and exhorting the community through its articles, he made active direct involvements. He directly wrote a letter to the Director of Public Instructions to conduct a meeting of the Muslim elite to find out measures for the spread of secular education (See

Muhammad Kannu, p. 73.).The meeting bring forth five major points, they were

1) To form Taluk committees to invigorate the Muslim students and sent them to school

2)to Appoint Arabic Munshies in schools where the number of Muslim students not less than twenty five

3)to look after these matters appoint not less than Two Muslim Inspectors with sound knowledge in Arabic.

4) introduce scholarships to Muslim students from matric classes onwards.

5) Grant full salary to teachers in Muslim- Grant-in Aid Schools (See Muhammad Kannu, p. 73.).

His pressures on the government met with success when they decided to open schools for Muslim students and appoint Arabic teachers. Moulavi was authorised to select teachers and was included in the

Board of Arabic Examination and the text book prepared by him was selected for teaching Arabic in primary classes.

As a result of the efforts of Vakkom Moulavi education began to spread among the Muslim community, not only of Travancore ,but other parts of Kerala also. By considering the hardships and dedication for the revival of Muslims of Kerala he rightly deserve the title ‘Leader of Reformers of Kerala.

JETIR1809278 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 969

Conclusion:-

The social status achieved by the Muslims of Kerala is the result of a number of personalities who took the cause of reviving the community from its declining stage. In Kerala there a number of movements and individuals sprang up at the end of 19th century aiming at the eradication of social evils and social inequality and to thereby bring them to modernity . As far as the Muslims were concerned , revival , reform

, timely changes- all these things were part and parcel of their religious life. But none of the Ulema showed any interest to make the Muslim community capable enough to meet the changing circumstances and to place them in a better social status.

During this decaying stage some scholars like Sanaullah Makti Tangal, Chalilakattu Kunjahmad

Haji, Sheikh Hamadani Tangal and Vakkom Moulavi, openly questioned the existing customs and practices among the community and emphasised the Muslims to seek knowledge as envisaged by the Quran and the model shown by Prophet Muhammad. At the very outset ,they realized the fact that the lack of secular education is the corner stone of all the problems of the Kerala Muslims. Therefore they had evolved out different programmes to impart secular education along with religious education. Though they had to face severe criticisms and vehement oppositions from the orthodox clergy, the went forward to accomplish their goal of bringing this people to the thresholds of modernity.

Reference:-

1. Kelley, J. D. (2002). Alternative Modernities or Alternative to Modernity. In B. M. Knauft, Critically Modern- Alternatives, Alterities, Anthropologies (p. 267). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

2. Cheriyammudem, Abdul Hameed. NavodhanaPrasthanam- VazhiyumPorattavum (Mal), edt. MujeebKokur and Umair, Kozhikode:Yuvatha Publications, 2009. P.7 3. Esposito, john L. (Ed). Voices of Resurgent Islam, New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. P.33 4. Surah Assumar,(Holy Quran) 39:9 5. Hitti, Philip K. History of the Arabs, London: MacMillan Press Ltd, 1970, pp.410,527,530

JETIR1809278 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 970

6. Logan, William. Malabar Manual, Vol.I, Thiruvananthapuram: Charithram Publications,(Reprint),1981,p.233 7. Kunju, Ibrahim,A P. Mappila Muslims of Kerala,Thiruvananthapuram: Sandhya Publications,1989.p.249 8. Samad,Abdul,M. Islam in kerala- Groups and Movements in the 20th century, Kollam: Laurel Publications,1998,p.21 9. Kareem, C K. What happened in Indian History, Kochi: paico Publishing House,1971.p. 186 10. Kareem, C K. Kerala Muslim Charithram, Sthithivivaranakanakku directory (Mal), Vol .III, Kochi: 1991, p.428 11. Althaf ,K M. NavodhanaSamskritiyude Speaker Seethi Sahib (Biography),(Mal),Kozhikode: Olive Publications, 2015. P.44 12. . Gangadharan, M. MappilaPadanagal ,(Mal),Kottayam: D.C Books, 2012,p.43 13. Kannu, Muhammad,M. Vakkom Mouavi,(Mal),Kottayam: national Book Stall, 1981, p.7

JETIR1809278 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 971