Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim meets Kanthapuram

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in an interview with Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar at Markaz Central Campus in Kozhikode on Sunday.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim visited the All India General Secretary Jamiyyathul Ulama Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar at Markaz Central Campus here on Sunday (September 13, 2026) as part of his five-day visit to India.

Mr. Anwar, who arrived in Kozhikode after attending the BRICS summit in New Delhi, held discussions with Kanthapuram on issues such as global peace, education and social development. The two leaders exchanged views on socio-cultural exchanges and discussed the prospects for peace talks between countries involved in conflicts.

Mr. Anwar was also presented with the first Excellence Award introduced by the Sheikh Abubacker Foundation. Mr. Kanthapuram presented the award to the Malaysian Prime Minister at a reception held in his honor at the convention center.

Later, Mr. Anwar attended a special prayer meeting. There was also a discussion with important personalities from the religious, political and social spheres.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim welcomed ET Mohammed Basheer, MP, at Karipur Airport during his visit to Kerala. MLAs T. Siddique and TV Ibrahim are seen. | Photo credit: SAKEER HUSSAIN

Along with senior Sunni leaders led by Mr. Kanthapuram, the Malaysian Prime Minister later visited Madavoor CM Valiyullah Makham, a prominent spiritual center in South India.

This was Mr. Anwar’s second visit to Kerala to meet the veteran Sunni leader. He was at the Markaz campus in September 2022, about a month before he became the Prime Minister, and on that occasion he also visited Madavoor Makham with Kanthapuram.

The Malaysian government awarded Kanthapuram the 2023 Hijra Award, its highest honor for Islamic scholars. At the initiative of the Malaysian government, international gatherings of hadith recitation led by Kanthapuram were held in Kuala Lumpur in 2023, 2024 and 2025 in recognition of his six decades of teaching hadith.

Kanthapuram had earlier intervened in matters related to the social and labor affairs of Indian expatriates in Malaysia and also accepted the demand for direct flights from Kerala, especially Kozhikode, to Malaysia.

The meeting also came against the backdrop of differences between the two leaders on some social and religious issues. A day before his visit to Kozhikode, Mr. Anwar, speaking to the media on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, said he did not necessarily agree with all of Kanthapuram’s views. He was responding to a question about the cleric’s recent remarks that “women should stay locked up in their homes.”

Mr. Anwar described Kanthapuram as a traditional religious scholar who contributed to the understanding of the Quran, religious tradition and the Prophet and praised him as a great teacher. At the same time, he said that the two do not necessarily share all of their views, hinting that Kanthapuram will directly say that Malaysia guarantees women equal rights.

The Sunni leaders said Mr. Anwar’s visit to India, including his visit to Kerala, was to give a fresh impetus to bilateral cooperation in trade, tourism, investment, economic cooperation, education and connectivity. The Prime Minister’s visit was held amid tight security in Kozhikode. Traffic has been regulated on key routes to facilitate movement of the VVIP convoy.

Published – 13 Sep 2026 21:03 IST