The two rival Sunni factions led by Sayed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal and Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar have become friends again. They have buried their organisational differences for the time being, and are enjoying the closest relations ever since the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, the largest body of traditional Sunni Islamic scholars in Kerala, split in 1988.
The two factions, widely called AP (after Mr. Kanthapuram) and EK (after late E.K. Aboobacker Musliar) Sunnis, had fought many a battle in Malabar not only over ownership rights of mosques, madrasas and other Waqf properties, but also over issues concerning Islamic jurisprudence. A few activists were even killed during the fights between the two groups.
