Introducing a new syllabus that wove religious and modern education into a single fold — rejecting the divide between what was called “religious” and “modern” — was a daring experiment for its time, six and a half decades ago. The institution’s architects had one clear objective: to shape a generation capable of carrying Islamic Da’wah into the modern world. What Al Jamia’s graduates went on to achieve surpassed that objective, creating a generation with a distinctive, comprehensive view of life and religion, equipped to shape education itself.
The first batch completed their course in 1963, and the institution kept growing in the years that followed — in students, faculty, and infrastructure. But it was the quality of its graduates that stood out from the beginning. Al Jamia’s alumni became a distinctive voice in Kerala’s socio-religious life: fluent in pure Malayalam, yet without the long beards and turbans often taken as markers of religious learning. Dressed as ordinary people, they were equally at home in Arabic language and literature.
They went further still, mastering English and Urdu through constant reading and writing. Alongside the Qur’an, Hadith, Fiqh, Ilm al-Kalam, and Mantiq, they studied mathematics, science, and the social sciences — a combination that let them hold their own on both religious and secular platforms, defending Islam against sustained challenges from atheists and communists. They went on to lead in Islamic Da’wah, media, literary work, organisational life, social service, and education.
Today, the institution has grown into a leading Islamic university, with strong faculties and research facilities in Qur’an, Hadith, Shariah, and Da’wah, drawing students from across the country. Its journey from a small institution with limited resources to a prime Islamic university reflects the constant reform it has undertaken in education. Like every alumnus, I am proud to be part of that story.
More than twelve thousand students have passed through Al Jamia across its different eras — among them prominent Islamic scholars, leaders of the Islamic movement, writers, academicians, and media professionals rendering commendable service across India and abroad.
The alumni association itself dates back to the 1960s, but it found its present strength with the formation of the Santhapuram Al Jamia Al Islamiya Alumni Association in 2011. Since its re-organisation, the association has been fully committed to putting alumni skills and knowledge to effective use, running programmes that keep alumni connected to the institution and encourage them to contribute to its continued growth.
Holds biennial meetings and seminars for alumni across every batch
Publishes books, including one documenting Al Jamia alumni’s contributions
Built a multi-storey Waqf building in Perinthalmanna as a lasting community asset
Honours former faculty members in recognition of their service
Runs an Alumni Representative Council spanning more than seventy batches since 1963
Supports individual batches undertaking their own projects with Al Jamia’s management
To bring these efforts together and mark the association’s shared identity, the first day of the Hijri calendar — Muharram 1 — is celebrated every year as Alumni Day.
