The State Haj Committee has demanded that the government set up an Arabic university in the name of Shaikh Zainuddin Makhdoom of Ponnani, a leading figure in Kerala’s history.
The Haj committee pointed out that Kerala, in the 15th and 16th centuries, had witnessed immense contributions from the Shaikh Makhdoom family of Ponnani. Zainuddin Makhdoom was considered the first historian of Kerala, it said. Haj committee chairman C. Mohammed Faizi presided over a meeting held on Tuesday.