Samastha General Secretary Alikutty Musliar passed away

Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama General Secretary and eminent Islamic scholar K. Alikutty Musliar (81) passed away on Thursday afternoon (July 23, 2026). He was undergoing treatment for age-related diseases.

A respected Sunni religious leader, he served as the qazi of several mahals, including Kasaragod. He was the Principal of Jamia Nooriyya Arabic College, the flagship institution of Samastha in Pattikkadu.

He became the General Secretary of Samastha, the largest organization of Islamic scholars in Kerala, in 2016 after the death of Cherussera Zainuddin Musliar.

Born in 1945 in Irumbuzhi, Malappuram district, Alikutty Musliar completed his religious studies in various dars (mosque-based centers of religious studies) and then joined Jamia Nooriyya Arabic College in 1964, where he received the degree of Faizy in 1968. In 1968 he became Tirurkkad on 20.qa16.

He joined Jamia Nooriyya Arabic College as a teacher in 1979 and served as its principal since 2003. He was known as Shaikhul Jamia among his students. He has also held the position of Kasaragod district qazi since 2013.

From 2003 he was the chairman of the State Haj Committee for two years and from 2006 the vice-chairman of the Central Haj Committee for three years. He was also a member of the National Council of the All India Muslim Personal Law Council.

Alikutty Musliar visited many foreign countries and delivered papers on Islamic ideas in many seminars. He was a member of the Islamic Fiqh Council of the Muslim World League.

He was the General Secretary of Samastha Kerala Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS) from 1992 to 2016. Since 2004, he has been the vice president of the State Coordinating Committee of Muslim Orphanages.

He was also the editor-in-chief of publications such as Al Muallim, Al Noor and Sunni Afkar.

Representatives from the political, social and religious spheres offered their condolences to his family.

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has canceled its programs on Thursday (July 23, 2026), Friday (July 24, 2026) and Saturday (July 25, 2026) in honor of Alikutta Musliar.

His funeral will be held on Friday (July 24, 2026) at 10 am at Tirurkad Juma Masjid.

Leaders condole death

Among those who condoled his death were Chief Minister VD Satheesan; Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan; IUML State President Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal, National General Secretary PK Kunhalikutty; Dakshina Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama State General Secretary Thodiyoor Mohammed Kunhu Moulavi; and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state executive member KK Surendran.

Samastha has declared Friday a holiday for all its offices and madrasas.

Published – 23 Jul 2026 17:34 IST