O. Abdurahman

O. Abdurahman
O. Abdurahman in a public meeting.
Born	1944
Residence	Chennamangallur, Kozhikode district
Occupation	Journalist, author
Spouse(s)	Aysha
Children	Five children

O. Abdurahman is a prominent Indian journalist, and respected author from Kerala. He is the Group Editor of Madhyamam Daily,one of the most widely circulated newspapers in Malayalam&Mediaone Channel. He has authored many books on Islam and contemporary issues facing the Mappila community in India. He has also been consulted by the Government of Kerala as an expert on issues related to social and educational affairs of the Muslims of Kerala.

Early life

Abdurahman was born to Odungat Moin Musliar and Mambekkatt Fatima in 1944 at Chennamangalor in Kozhikode district, Kerala. He did his initial studies at Al Madrasathul Islamiya Chennamangalore (1960–64) and later joined the Prabodhanam Weekly, an official mouthpiece of the Kerala chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. Later he moved to Qatar and pursued his higher studies at the Al Ma'had ul Deen, Qatar University, Qatar (1972–74).^[1] After his education from Qatar, he worked for the Indian Embassy at Qatar and later joined the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Government of Qatar. He then moved back to India and joined the Chennamagalore Islahiya College as its Principal in 1982.^[1]

Family

His father Moinmusliyar, migrated from Cheruvadi looking for a job and got a small job at Al Madrasthul Islamiya. As an old Musliyar custom, he was staying at Mambekkatt Family and later married a girl from the same family and settled in Chennamangalur. Besides O Abdurhaman, he has six sons and two daughters namely Mohammed(Valiyon), Aboobacker, Ahmedkutty, Ali,Abdullah Abdurahman, Mariya and

He is married to Puthiyottil Aysha in Kodiyathur and they have five children including three daughters. Journalist and Columnist O.Abdullah is his elder brother.

Public life

Journalist and Orator

Presently Abdurrahman is the Editor of Madhyamam Daily, a Malayalam newspaper. He was the editor of Prabodhanam weekly during the period 1964-72.^[1] He writes on Islam, minority politics,communal politics, education and media in various periodicals, journals and magazines. Abdulrahman is a noted activist of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind who is known for his speeches on different topics at various seminars, public meetings. He is a member of Board of Studies, Journalism Department, University of Calicut and General Council, Kerala Press Academy.^[2]

Social and Educational activist

Abdurrahman is a prominent figure in the educational and social circles in Kerala. He was a member of Kerala Government Arabic Textbook Committee. He served as a member of the 15-member expert committee led by Dr. KN Panikker to advise the Government on the controversial Seventh Standard Social Sciences Textbook syllabus.^[3] He also was a member of Paloli Committee appointed by Kerala government to study on the implementation of the Sachar Committee recommendations in Kerala. He was the former secretary of the Kerala Chapter of the Forum for Democracy and Communal Amity (FDCA).

References