# Cheraman Juma Mosque

The Cheraman Juma Mosque is a mosque in Kodungallur in the Thrissur district, in the state of Kerala, India. According to hagiographical legends, it is claimed that the mosque was built in 629 CE by Malik Bin Dinar; and consequently, it is claimed to be the first mosque to be built in India, and the oldest mosque on the Indian subcontinent that is in current use.
The mosque was built in the Kerala-Islamic traditional Vastu shastra architectural style, with hanging lamps, making the historicity of its date claims more convincing. Other scholars are more skeptical and, based on the architectural style, have dated the structure from the 14th-15th century.
The mosque was destroyed in 1504 by the Portuguese when Lopo Soares de Albergaria attacked the port of Kodungallur. The mosque building was restored after the attack, from the mid-16th to the early 17th century. Modern corridors and halls were added in 1984, which surround the original building, and conceal almost all of the exterior features of the original structure. A dome and minarets were added in 1994 and removed following a restoration of the building in 2022.
The mosque is located on the Paravur–Kodungalloor Road.

## Legends
### Legend of Cheraman Perumals

One legend states that the mosque was built in 629 CE, another legend states that it was built in 643 CE.
According to some legends, the Chera king Cheraman Perumal witnessed the splitting of the Moon, a supernatural event mentioned in the Quran 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 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.
The story goes that Cheraman Perumal arrived in Arabia with a gift of ginger pickles for Muhammad and his companions and converted to Islam "at the feet of Prophet Muhammad".
According to historian M.G.S. Narayanan, "there is no reason to reject the tradition that the last Chera king embraced Islam and went to Mecca, since it finds its place not only in Muslim chronicles, but also in Hindu brahmanical chronicles like the Keralolpatti, which need not be expected to concoct such a tale which in no way enhances the prestige of the Brahmins or Hindu population." Scholar Mehrdad Shokoohy however traced such legends to a much later accounts with different dating than the supposed earlier date. Historical research has found this story to be fictitious.
S. N. Sadasivan contends in A Social History of India that Kalimanja, the king of the Maldives, was the one who converted to Islam. The story of Tajuddeen in the Cochin Gazetteer may have originated because Mali, as it was known to sailors at the time, was mistaken for Malabar (Kerala).

### Legend of Makkattupoya Perumal

The legend of the "Makkattupoya Perumal" or "the King who went to Makkah" has lived on in Kerala memory and apparently, the Maharajahs of the Princedom of Travancore in pre-Independence India would say at their swearing in, "I will keep this sword until the uncle who has gone to Makkah returns".

## Visitors to the region

Several early Muslim or Arab travellers visited Kerala in medieval times. Among them were Sulaiman, in 851 CE; Persian traveller Nakhuda Buzurg, in 951 CE; Ibn E Batuta, in 1342 CE; and Abd-Al-Razzaq, in 1442; as well as many others. The Cheraman Juma Mosque was not mentioned in their respective writings.
Since 2005, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India and Shashi Tharoor, a local Member of Parliament, have visited the mosque.

## Appointment of the Aven (Priest)

According to Chellikkattil Sundaran, president of the Hindu temple trust, the aven (priest) of Shobhaparamba Sreekurumba Bhagavati temple in Tanur, Malappuram, is traditionally appointed from the local Thiyya family by a member of the 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.