Close on the heels of a rally led by Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama president Sayyid Jifri Muthukkoya Thangal, rival Sunni leader Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar has announced plans to launch a 16-day ‘Kerala Yatra’ under the banner of the Kerala Muslim Jamaat to commemorate the Samastha centenary.
Mr. Musliyar will lead the ‘Kerala Yatra’, which carries the theme ‘With Humans’. The yatra will begin from Kasaragod on January 1 and conclude in Thiruvananthapuram on January 16. The Kerala Muslim Jamaat is a feeder organisation of Samastha and is engaged in propagating the ideas of its parent body.
“As part of the centenary celebrations, a full-fledged Samastha convention will be held in 2026, the details of which will be announced later. The organisation has drawn up a detailed action plan for the future,” Musliyar told the media here on Monday (December 29).
The yatra will commence at Syed Maudany Makham at Ullal in Kasaragod. Samastha president of this faction E. Sulaiman Musliyar and chairman of the Kerala Yatra, K.S. Attakkoya Thangal, will hand over the flag to yatra captain Kanthapuram Musliyar at 3 p.m. The yatra will spend a day in each district of Kerala and will also pass through Gudalur in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan are expected to attend the valedictory function at Putharikandam ground in Thiruvananthapuram on January 16. Several other political leaders and people’s representatives are also expected to attend receptions organised in various districts.
Responding to queries, Mr. Musliyar said Samastha had no role in the LDF’s defeat in the recent local body polls and had no plans to enter politics in the near future.
He said Samastha did not consider a person’s religion or political affiliation while extending help, citing the case of Nimisha Priya, the Kerala nurse convicted of murder and facing a death sentence in Yemen. He said the organisation had done everything possible to secure her release, but the matter now rested with the Yemen government.
Published – December 29, 2025 08:17 pm IST
