Samastha general secretary Alikutty Musliar passes away

Samastha Kerala Jamiyaathul Ulama general secretary and prominent Islamic scholar K. Alikutty Musliyar, 81, passed away on Thursday afternoon (July 23, 2026). He was undergoing treatment for age-related ailments.

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

He became the general secretary of the Samastha, the biggest organisation of Islamic scholars in Kerala, in 2016 following the death of Cherussery Zainuddin Musliyar.

Born in 1945 at Irumbuzhi in Malappuram district, Alikutty Musliyar completed his religious studies at various dars (mosque-based religious study centres) before joining Jamia Nooriyya Arabic College in 1964, where he earned the Faizy degree in 1968. He became Tirurkkad mahl Khatib when he was 16 and qazi at 20.

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

He was State Haj Committee chairman for two years from 2003, and Central Haj Committee vice-chairman for three years from 2006. He was also national council member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

Alikutty Musliar visited many foreign countries and presented papers on Islamic thoughts at many seminars. He was member of the Muslim World League’s Islamic Fiqh Council.

He was general secretary of Samastha Kerala Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS) from 1992 to 2016. He was vice-president of the State Muslim Orphanage Coordination Committee since 2004.

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

Leaders from political, social and religious spheres offered condolences to his family.

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has cancelled its programmes of Thursday (July 23, 2026), Friday (July 24, 2026) and Saturday (July 25, 2026) in honour of Alikutty Musliar.

His funeral will take place at 10 a.m. on Friday (July 24, 2026)) at Tirurkad Juma Masjid.