KERALAM (INDIA), Sept 14 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim held a meeting with the Grand Mufti of India, Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, at Markazu Saquafathi Sunniya, also known as Jamia Markaz, in Calicut here yesterday, after attending the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

During the one-hour meeting, Anwar and Sheikh Abubakr exchanged views on community development, educational empowerment, and efforts to strengthen interfaith understanding and harmony.

The Prime Minister, who arrived at 5.50pm local time with Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, was received by Jamia Markaz Working General Secretary Muhammad Abdul Hakkim Kandi, Director C.P. Ubaidullah Saquafi and Rector Roshan Nurani.

Anwar, who is on a five-day working visit to India, also performed the Maghrib prayer before attending a Gathering of Honour for the Malaysian Prime Minister and a religious knowledge session at the Markaz, which is one of the leading Islamic institutions in India.

Sheikh Abubakr, who serves as the 10th Grand Mufti of India, was born in Keralam and educated within the region’s established Sunni-Sufi scholarly tradition.

He is renowned not only for his religious learning but also for his conviction that Islamic scholarship must address the real challenges of society, such as poverty, lack of educational access, orphanhood, unemployment and social exclusion.

Earlier, the aircraft carrying Anwar and the Malaysian delegation from New Delhi landed at the Calicut International Airport here at 4.56pm local time (7.26pm Malaysian time). — Bernama