By Shafeeq Hudawi
Kozhikode : The history of Islam in Kerala goes back more than a thousand years, with the first mosque in the state, Cheraman Juma Masjid in Kodungallur, said to have been constructed in 629, three years before the death of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). While the date may be contested by many, it nevertheless indicates that even before the advent of Islam, the region of Malabar had trade relations with Arabs.
The roots of Mappilas or Moplahs, as the Muslims of this region are called, can be found in this trade. Arabs who came and settled here married with the local population and a distinct group called Mappilas was born. Over the period, they have produced their own, distinct cultural traditions, including food, literature, songs and music. One of the most important traditions to emerge out of the cultural amalgamation was the Arabi Malayalam language. It was the main language used by the Muslims in Kerala for writing. In Arabi Malayalam, the grammar, syntax and vocabulary are in Malayalam while the script is Arabic.
Over the past centuries, the script was extensively used to publish songs, poems and historical studies. Unfortunately, the language is now on the brink of extinction as most of the books, written in Arabi Malayalam have either been lost or rewritten to Malayalam. Presently, the language is used only in texts taught in some of the madrasas of Kerala. No wonder then, that the people of the state, along with academicians, have come together to save the language.
The CH Mohammed Koya Chair of Calicut University has started a mission to revive the language as well as the books classic Arabi Malayalam books. If things pan out as planned, the centre will soon have a fully digitised Mappila Heritage Library with all available books in PDF format. The proposed website of the library (www.mappilaheritage.com) is scheduled to go online on January 26, 2016, the Republic Day, according to the functionaries of CH Chair.
The Grace Educational Association, which promotes the chair, has concluded the research necessary for the project being developed for Arabi Malayalam learners and researchers.
“Already, 7,000 pages from various texts and books of Arabi Malayalam language have been scanned and kept ready to be uploaded,” said association general secretary Syed Abdul Asraf.
“The gradual growth of Malayalam imperceptibly reduced the importance of that language. As a result, great literature written and printed Arabi Malayalam since 1860 got lost,” says P A Rasheed, Calicut University syndicate member and C H Chair director.
There were printing presses in Kerala that printed Arabi Malayalam literature since 1860, and texts were also available in almost all Mappila families. “The recent Gulf boom transformed everything. Old houses were pulled down and new concrete houses were built. And in the process, all those texts and books were destroyed,” says Abdul Asraf.
“We have nearly 7,000 books in the heritage library, 5,000 of them are purely on Mappilas, and the rest for related studies. The association has scanned almost 70,000 pages and changed into exportable (PDF) format,” Asraf adds.
Among them, more than 600 texts are on Arabi Malayalam, including the ‘Mohayudheen Mala’ written by Khazi Mohammed. Mohayudheen Mala is the appreciation of the Muhyadheen Abdul Khadir Jeelani, the 11th century Sufi Sheikh. However, thousands of texts are also believed to have been lost for good.
The mission, according to C H Centre public relation officer Mohammed Haneef, assumes significance at a time when the researchers and students find it tough to get a true picture of Mappila history. “The state is also short of thematic libraries to accommodate and preserve such vernacular dialects and languages,” he says.
The heritage library is, however, on its way to equip itself and provide information for more than 100 researches being carried out on Mappilas and their literature. The financial expenses are being met with the assistance of various Muslim organisations, including Grace Educational Association.