>Rasnaboy at 14:59, 19 June 2021

2021-06-19T14:59:19Z

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{{short description|Oldest mosque in Indian subcontinent}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Verify sources|date=June 2019}}
{{Infobox religious building
| building_name = Cheramaan Juma Mosque
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image = Cheraman Masjid 2.jpg
| image_size =
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| map_type = Kerala
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| location = [[Methala]], [[Kodungalloor]]
| coordinates = {{coord|10.22|76.194|display=inline,title}}
| religious_affiliation = [[Sunni Islam]]
| rite =
| region =
| state = [[Kerala]]
| province =
| territory = [[India]]
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| district = [[Thrissur district|Thrissur]]
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| year_completed = 1568
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| length = {{convert|61|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| width = {{convert|24|m|ft|abbr=on}}
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The '''Cheramaan Juma Mosque''' is a [[mosque]] in [[Methala]], [[Kodungallur]] Taluk, [[Thrissur District]] in the [[India]]n state of [[Kerala]].<ref name=precedent /><ref name=restored /><ref>Kerala Tourism - Official Website [http://www.keralatourism.org/muziris/cheraman-juma-masjid.php Cheraman Juma Mosque]</ref> A legend claims that it was built in 629 CE,<ref>{{cite book |author=Ron Geaves |title=Islam and Britain: Muslim Mission in an Age of Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1s1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 |year=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4742-7175-2 |pages=6}}</ref> which makes it the oldest mosque in the [[Indian subcontinent]] which is still in use.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Mosque-in-Kerala-dates-back-to-the-Prophets-time/articleshow/48138989.cms|title=Mosque in Kerala dates back to the Prophet's time}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/tinkering-with-the-past/article7442583.ece|title=Tinkering with the past}}</ref><ref name="interview"/> It was built by [[Malik Deenar]], Persian [[tabiun|tābiʿūn]] of the [[Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]], on the orders of the successor of [[Legend of Cheraman Perumals#The story of Tajuddeen|Cheraman Perumal]], the Chera King of modern-day Kerala.<ref name="interview" /><ref name="lamp" /><ref name="solomon" /><ref name="first" /> The mosque was constructed in Kerala style with hanging lamps, making the historicity of its date claims more convincing.<ref name="precedent" /><ref name="restored" /><ref name="interview" /><ref name="lamp" /><ref name="solomon" /><ref name="first" />

The mosque was completely destroyed by the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] in 1504 when [[Lopo Soares de Albergaria]] attacked the port of Kodungallur. The old building was built some time after the 1504 de Algabaria attack (i.e., from mid-16th to the early 17th century). Modern corridors and halls were built in 1984. The 1984 extensions, which surround the old building, conceal almost all of the exterior features of the old building.<ref>Shokoohy, Mehrdad. ''Muslim Architecture of South India: The Sultanate of Ma'bar and the Traditions of the Maritime Settlers on the Malabar and Coromandel Coasts (Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Goa)''. RoutledgeCurzon, 2003. pp 139-42.</ref>

==History==
[[File:Cheraman juma masjid Old.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Structure of the old mosque]]

According to some legends, Cheraman Perumal ("[[Cheraman Perumal]]" being the title held by [[Chera dynasty|Chera kings]]) witnessed the [[splitting of the moon]], a supernatural event mentioned in the [[Quran]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://quran.com/54/1?translations=20|title=Surah Al-Qamar [54:1]|website=Surah Al-Qamar [54:1]|language=en-US|access-date=2018-11-15}}</ref> as a miracle performed by Muhammad when asked for one by Meccan unbelievers. The bewildered King confirmed with his astrologers that the incident had taken place, but didn't know what to make of it. Arab merchants who had arrived at a [[Malabar Coast|Malabar]] port, a bustling global marketplace, sought audience with the King to have his permission to visit Ceylon. In conversation with them, the King learnt about Muhammad, made his son the regent of his kingdom and travelled back with the Arab merchants to meet the man himself.{{cn|date=December 2019}}

The story goes that Cheraman Perumal arrived in Arabia with a gift of ginger pickles for [[Muhammad]] and his companions<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/406092|title=The Kerala king who embraced Islam|date=2012-02-09|work=Arab News|access-date=2018-11-15|language=en}}</ref> and converted to Islam "at the feet of Prophet Muhammad".<ref name="treasure" />

The oral traditions of the legend differ greatly, another story goes that Cheraman Perumal was visiting the King of Maldives and they discussed the splitting of the moon, both men deciding to visit Mecca to find out the truth.<ref name="treasure" /> According to [[S. N. Sadasivan]], a social historian, it wasn't the Cheraman Perumal of Malabar in the tale at all, but instead the King of Maldives, whose capital city "[[Malé]]" was confused for "Malabar".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Be3PCvzf-BYC&pg=PA306|title=A Social History of India|last=Sadasivan|first=S. N.|date=2000|publisher=APH Publishing|isbn=9788176481700|language=en}}</ref> In his book ''A Social History of India'', Sadasivan argues that it was the king of Maldives, Kalimanja, who converted to Islam. Mali, which was known to seafarers then, might have been misunderstood as Malabar (Kerala) and this might have given rise to the tale of Tajuddeen in the Cochin Gazetteer, which need not be expected to concoct such a tale which in no way enhances the prestige of the Brahmins or Hindu population.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Perumals of Kerala: Political and Social Conditions of Kerala Under the Cēra Perumals of Makotai (c. 800 A.D.-1124 A.D.)|last=M. G. S.|first=Narayanan|publisher=Xavier Press|year=1996|location=Kerala (India)|pages=65}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xlb5BrabQd8C&pg=PA24|title=Mappila Muslims: A Study on Society and Anti Colonial Struggles|last=Raṇṭattāṇi|first=Husain|date=2007|publisher=Other Books|isbn=9788190388788|language=en}}</ref>

The history of the mosque has given it many architectural quirks including that since it was a repurpose Buddhist shrine, until its reconstruction in 1000 CE the mosque faced East instead of towards the [[Kaaba]]. Even today the mosque still includes some remnants of the shrine, including a traditional pond and a lamp that is said to have been burning for a thousand years,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Cheraman-Juma-Masjid-A-1000-year-old-lamp-burns-in-this-mosque/articleshow/47486911.cms|title=Cheraman Juma Masjid: A 1,000-year-old lamp burns in this mosque - Times of India|work=The Times of India|access-date=2018-11-15}}</ref> with oil that is brought for it by visitors and pilgrims of all religions.

==Location==
Masjid is located in the [[North Paravur|Paravur]]–[[Kodungalloor]] Road, NH-66 at [[Kodungalloor]] taluk, [[Thrissur District]] in Kerala.

== Ceremonies ==

=== Vidyarambham ===
The ceremony of [[Vidyāraṃbhaṃ|Vidyarambham]] (''Vidya'' means "knowledge", ''arambham'' means "beginning'), held typically on [[Vijayadashami]], is a Hindu tradition to initiate their children into learning under the supervision of a learned person like a priest. At Cheraman Masjid, this ceremony is performed by the mosque's Muslim [[Imam]], who traces the alphabet drawn in the sand on a child's tongue, indicating an invocation to [[Saraswati]], the goddess of learning.

==== Appointment of the Aven (Priest) ====
The aven (priest) of [[Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple|Shobhaparamba Sreekurumba Bhagavati temple]] in [[Tanur, Malappuram|Tanur]], [[Malappuram district]], is appointed a member of the Pazhayakath family, a local Muslim family. According to Chellikkattil Sundaran, president of the temple trust, the temple's aven had been traditionally appointed by a member of the local Thiyya family, a Brahmin family of Pazhayakhath Ilom. The family disintegrated over the years and its remaining members converted to Islam but both the temple authorities and the family upheld the tradition. The temple's Hindu priest is appointed in a special ritual once every 12 years, presided over by a Muslim member of the Pazhayakath family, who makes the formal announcement. Locals ascribe this camaraderie to Cheraman Perumal.<ref name="treasure" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/Where-traditions-break-communal-divisions/articleshow/49523788.cms|title=Where traditions break communal divisions - Times of India|work=The Times of India|access-date=2018-11-15}}</ref>

=== Maharajahs of Travancore ===
The legend of the "Makkattupoya Perumal" or "the King who went to [[Mecca|Makkah]] ([[Mecca]])" has lived on in [[Kerala]]n memory and apparently, the [[Maharaja]]hs of the Princedom of [[Travancore]] in [[British Raj|pre-Independence India]] would say at their swearing in, "I will keep this sword until the uncle who has gone to Makkah returns".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OEolDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA21|title=Who Are the Jews of India?|last=Katz|first=Nathan|date=2000-11-18|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520213234|language=en}}</ref>

== Famous Visitors ==

* [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]], 11th President of India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/2005/07/30/stories/2005073006470400.htm|website=[[The Hindu]]|title=Kerala News : President visits oldest mosque in sub-continent|date=2005-07-30|access-date=2018-11-15}}{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
* [[Shashi Tharoor]], [[Member of parliament, Lok Sabha|Member of Parliament]] from [[Thiruvananthapuram|Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/shashitharoor/status/343952388228538369|title=Shashi Tharoor on Twitter|work=Twitter|access-date=2018-11-15|language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Islam in India]]
* [[Tamil Muslim]]
* [[Muslim chronicles for Indian history]]
* [[Muziris Heritage Project]]
*[[Baba Ratan Hindi]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="interview">{{Cite web|url=http://www.iosworld.org/interview_cheramul.htm|title=INTERVIEW|website=www.iosworld.org|access-date=2018-11-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004005641/http://www.iosworld.org/interview_cheramul.htm|archive-date=4 October 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="lamp">{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Cheraman-Juma-Masjid-A-1000-year-old-lamp-burns-in-this-mosque/articleshow/47486911.cms|title=Cheraman Juma Masjid: A 1,000-year-old lamp burns in this mosque}}</ref>
<ref name="solomon">{{cite web|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article/solomon-to-cheraman/279886|title=Solomon To Cheraman}}</ref>
<ref name="first">{{cite news| url=http://www.siasat.com/english/news/%E2%80%98cheraman-juma-masjid%E2%80%99-first-mosque-india-built-629 | title='Cheraman Juma Masjid': The first mosque of India, built in 629}}</ref>
<ref name="precedent">{{cite web|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/174990/oldest-indian-mosque-sets-precedent.html|title=Oldest Indian mosque sets new precedent}}</ref>
<ref name="restored">{{cite web|title=1400-year-old mosque to be restored to its original form|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/1400yearold-mosque-to-be-restored-to-its-original-form/article2142818.ece}}</ref>
<ref name="treasure">{{Cite news|url=https://madrascourier.com/insight/the-syncretic-treasure-of-indias-oldest-mosque/|title=The Syncretic Treasure of India's Oldest Mosque {{!}} Madras Courier|date=2017-05-26|work=Madras Courier|access-date=2018-11-15|language=en-US}}</ref>
}}

{{Tourist attractions in Thrissur}}
{{Islam in Kerala}}

[[Category:Mosques in Kerala]]
[[Category:History of Thrissur district]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Thrissur district]]
[[Category:7th-century mosques]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Thrissur district]]
[[Category:Grand mosques]]

Cheraman Juma Mosque - Revision history

>Rasnaboy at 14:59, 19 June 2021