| M. M. Akbar | |
| Birth Place: | Parappanangadi, Malappuram, Kerala, India. |
| Nationality: | Indian |
| Occupation: | Preacher, author |
| Website: | www.nicheoftruthonline.com |
Meleveettil Muhammad Akbar (Malayalam: മേലേവീട്ടില് മുഹമ്മദ് അക്ബര്) is an Islamic preacher and religious scholar from India.[1] Akbar used to be a schoolteacher in Malappuram, teaching physics, and was associated with the Mujahid Student Movement. Akbar never had any academic training as a Muslim scholar.[2] He is the founder Director of Niche of Truth,[3] [4] an Islamic dawa organization based in Kerala and the editor of Sneha Samvadam magazine published from Kochi, Kerala, India.[5] Niche of Truth has created the first website in Malayalam,[6] about the life of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. The Cochin-based islamic dawa organization's objective is to present Islam as a comprehensive religion in front of India's pluralist society.
He is the managing director of Peace International School, a chain of 13 schools run by the Peace Foundation. The chain came under controversy as it was found to be promoting communal division through its syllabus [7] [8]
The Kerala government ordered closure of the Peace schools In January 2018 [8] and issued a look out notice for Akbar. Kochi police arrested him on 25 February 2018.[9]
MM Akbar has been granted bail by the court and currently all the peace schools are functioning normally. No material promoting communal division was found in the school syllabus by the High Court.[10]
On 9 January 2021, E. A. Jabbar and popular Islamic scholar and the director at Niche of Truth, M. M. Akbar debated on the topic, whether Quran is scientific or not. A rationalist organisation―Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham―arranged the venue and stage to have this debate.
In response to this challenge during the debate, M. M. Akbar claimed that the Quran states there is darkness in the deep sea, a fact he argued was unknown to Arabs of that era. However, E. A. Jabbar countered by asserting that Arabs at the time were indeed aware of darkness in the deep sea due to their proficiency in pearl diving. E. A. Jabbar further argued that the Quran used this as a simple example only to convey a different scenario, one that would be easily relatable to the Arabs of that period. He also cited a verse from the Bible that demonstrated similar knowledge.[11]
In contrast, both sides claimed victory in the debate, and the video of the debate which went viral was re-used with footage from the original video to prove the success of either side.[12] Not to mention that the video that appeared on M. M. Akbar's YouTube account proclaimed his victory over Jabbar in the debate.[13]
The flip side of the program was that M. M. Akbar was criticized for stating that the Quran is scientific with his version of understanding the text. His opponents said that he had reduced the Quran to a mere science book.