At Mambaram, interfaith friendship blooms

MALAPPURAM

: The friendship between Sayyid Alavi Mouladaveel Al Hussainy Thangal, the leading Muslim spiritual leader who stood for communal harmony and his close associate Konthu Nayar during the turbulent times of Malabar rebellions is the stuff of legends.
Carrying forward that legacy ,

Mambaram

Makham, where Thangal was buried, still stands tall as a symbol of interfaith harmony .

Hordes of Hindu pilgrims have been flocking to the holy site for the one-week-long annual festival (Aandu Nercha), one of the biggest festivals for Malabar Muslims, which began on Sunday . The Muslims in the region, in turn, play a major role in organizing the festival at the Kaliyattakkavu, a temple near by , and visit it after their Friday Namaz.

Thangal, born in Yemen in 1752, came to Kerala and settled at Mambaram in Malappuram at the age of 17. He was recognized as

Qutub Zaman

by his Sunni followers in Kerala and was considered as one of the greatest spiritual leaders of his time. He helped strengthen the foundations of Islamic society in Kerala and pushed for educating the community members. He organized the Muslim youths in the region, provided arms training to them and fought against the British. Konthu Nair, his close associate, took part in many of the uprisings, including the Cheroor Pada. Thangal was a man who stood for religious harmony though some of his struggles were against the landowners. That may be one reason for the Hindus in the region, mostly those belonging to the lower strata of the society , to revere him.

Legend has it that it was Thangal who provided space for the dalits in the region to build a temple with Kaliyattakkavilamma as its deity . In fact, Kaliyattakkavu is one of the oldest temples built for the lower castes in Malabar.

Folk songs about the story are sung during the festival at the temple and even today , during festivals, the procession to the temple begins from Mambaram Makham. The Makham authorities even donate money to the temple as part of a ritual and visit the temple during festival days after their Friday Namaz.

The Makham is carrying forward the rich tradition of communal harmony by associating with such festivals, said Ali Haji, the secretary of

Darul Huda Islamic Centre

, which manages the Makham.

“A strong bond of friendship and trust kept Thangal and Konthu Nayar together.Their friendship still inspires the people here irrespective of their religions,“ he said.

“The story of Thangal would not be complete without the story of Kaliyattakkavilamma, the local temple deity .It was Thangal who used to fix the date for the temple festival,“ said noted historian KKN Kurup.