Malappuram (Kerala) | Professor K Ali Kutty Musliyar, general secretary of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, died at a private hospital in Perinthalmanna following a prolonged age-related illness, sources said.

He was 81.

Samastha is the premier council of Sunni-Shafi Islamic scholars in Kerala.

Ali Kutty Musliyar was a distinguished scholar and an internationally respected authority on Islamic law.

Extending condolences on his death, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said Ali Kutty had been active in the religious and educational fields for more than half a century and was an accomplished teacher who had mentored thousands of students.

The CM said the late Samastha leader had served as a member of the Syllabus Formation Committee of the English and Foreign Languages University and the Islamic Fiqh Council of the Muslim World League.

"The brilliance and dedication he displayed in public service, first as Chairman of the State Hajj Committee despite not being an elected representative, and later as Vice Chairman of the Central Hajj Committee, are highly commendable," Satheesan said in a statement.

"He had the rare distinction of being appointed 'Mahal Khatib' at the age of 16 and 'Mahal Qazi' at the age of 20," he said.

The CM said Ali Kutty's death was a great loss to Kerala's religious and scholarly spheres.

Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Pinarayi Vijayan also condoled the death of the Samastha general secretary.

In a statement, Vijayan said Ali Kutty's death was a great loss to Kerala's intellectual and religious fraternity.

More than a religious scholar, he always stood for peace and communal harmony and played a crucial role in preserving Kerala's secular ethos, he said.

State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, Indian Union Muslim League supremo Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal and several other UDF leaders also expressed grief over the death of the Samastha general secretary.