Abdurrahiman Bafaqi Thangal (1905—1973), honorific

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...

, title Ba Faqih, was an Indian community leader and politician from

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

.Miller, Roland. E., "Mappila" in "The Encyclopedia of Islam". Volume VI. E. J. Brill, Leiden. 1987. pp. 458-56. Until his death in the early 1970s, Bafaqi Thangal remained the most prominent

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

political leader in Kerala.Miller, Roland E., Mappila Muslim Culture. New York, State University of New York Press, 2015. pp. 100-102, 268.Miller, Roland E., Mappila Muslim Culture. New York, State University of New York Press, 2015. pp. 100-102, 268. He is generally credited with transforming the perception of

Indian Union Muslim League The Indian Union Muslim League (abbreviated as the I. U. M. L. or the League) is an Indian political party primarily based in the Indian state of Kerala. It is recognised as a State Party in Kerala by the Election Commission of India. The first ...

inside Kerala. Abdurrahiman Bafaqi Thangal belonged to a

sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...

family of jurists (the "Ba Faqih") in north Kerala.Osella, F., and C. Osella. "Islamism and Social Reform in Kerala, South India." ''Modern Asian Studies'', vol. 42, no. 2-3, 2008, pp. 317–346. The

Yemeni Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and sh ...

-origin family was settled in Kerala in the early 18th century. The Bafaqi Thangals were also a prominent business family of the city of

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

(by being international rice dealers). Bafaqi Thangal was born to Abdul Qadir Bafaqi Thangal and Fathima Mulla Beevi on 19 February 1906 at

Koyilandy A Survey of Kerala History, A. Shreedhara Menon ar, Fundriya pt, Pandarani , settlement_type = MunicipalityTaluk , image_skyline = KadaloorPointLight 01.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption ...

. After the studies at

Ponnani Ponnani () is a municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayat of the same name. It is situated at the estuary of Bharatappuzha (Riv ...

, he moved to the lucrative export business at

, became a powerful Calicut businessman and eventually established the Bafaqi and Company at

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

, Myanmar. Bafaqi Thangal entered active politics in 1936 as a campaigner against an

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontin ...

candidate from Kozhikode-Kurumbranad Constituency. He subsequently joined the

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

(1938), and rapidly rose to become the President of the Malabar Muslim League. He also helped to persuade

Panakkad Pukkoya Thangal Pukkoya Thangal, full P. M. S. A. Pukkoya Thangal (died 1975),Miller, Roland E., ''Mappila Muslim Culture''. New York, State University of New York Press, 2015. pp. 115, 268-69. of the Pukkoya family of Panakkad, south Malabar, was an Indian s ...

, a

community leader from South Malabar, to join the

. When Kerala State was formed in 1956, he was chosen as the President of the Kerala State Muslim League. Bafaqi Thangal also served as the leader of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyat al-Ulama. He is remembered for his organisation of the sector of madarasa education (institutions where children receive basic

Islamic education Islamic education may refer to: *Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theolo ...

) in Kerala. Bafaqi Thangal is generally credited for * Transforming the perception

inside Kerala. * Representing all the differences within the large Kerala Muslim community. *Forming an alliance with the P. S. P. in the 1957 assembly elections. *Joining the

Liberation Struggle The Liberation Struggle in Kerala (1958–59) was a period of anticommunist protest against the first elected state government in Kerala, India, which was led by E. M. S. Namboodiripad of the Communist Party of India. Organised opposition to ...

against the Communist government. *Successfully negotiating with the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

(1959-60) and the

Left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

(1967 and 1969) leadership for the

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. **Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...

. Bafaqi Thangal died in 1973 (while on the pilgrimage to the holy city of

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

) and was interred in

Family

Bafaqi Thangal had married five times. * Tanur Puthan Veetil Khadeeja Beevi * Koilandy Shareefa Amina Beevi * Koilandy Puthiya Maliykkal Muthu Beevi * Chaliyam Khadeeja Beevi * Puthiyangadi Shareefa Beevi

External links

Sayyid Muhammedali Shihab Thangal on Sayyid Abdurrahiman Bafaqi Thangal

A. K. Antony on Sayyid Abdurrahiman Bafaqi Thangal
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tangal, Abdurrahiman Bafaqi 1900s births 1973 deaths Indian Union Muslim League politicians People from Kozhikode district