Recently, The President of India, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam visited the Cheraman Juma Musjid in Kodungallur (ancient Muziris) in Kerala. This mosque, believed to have been built by Malik bin Dinar in 629 AD, is considered to be the oldest mosque in India. If this date is accurate, then this mosque was established much before the time of Adi Shankara (if we go by the dates ascribed by the Sringeri Peetam) and around the same time Huen Tsang was in India. This mosque has quite a history

As the tradition goes, a Chera king, Cheramanperumal of Kodungallure, left for Makkah, embraced Islam, and accepted the name Thajudeen. He married the sister of then King of Jeddah. On his return trip, accompanied by many Islamic religious leaders, led by Malik-ibn-Dinar (RA), he fell sick and passed away. But he had given introductory letters for the team to proceed to ‘Musiris’ (Kodungallur, the Chera capital. The visitors came to Musiris and handed over the latter to the reigning king, who treated the guests with all respect and extended facilities to establish their faith in the land. The king also organised help for the artisans to build the first Mosque at Kodungallur, by converting Arathali temple into a Juma-Masjid. It was build in 629 A.C., and the area around it had been ear-marked for the team’s settlement.[Cheraman Juma Masjid A Secular Heritage]

This story seems to be a myth propagated in the book Keralolpathi (The origin of Kerala) and repeated many times over. None of the reputed history books[1] mention this story, even the ones by eminent historians[3]. According to Sreedhara Menon[9]

The Cheraman legend is not corroborated by any contemporary record or evidence. None of the early or medieval travelers who visited Kerala has referred to it in their records. Thus Sulaiman, Al Biruni, Benjamin of Tuleda, Al Kazwini, Marco Polo, Friar Odoric, Friar Jordanus, Ibn Babuta, Abdur Razzak, Nicolo-Conti – none of these travelers speaks of the story of the Cheraman’s alleged conversion to Islam.

A mention of the Cheraman Perumal legend appeared in the 16th century book Tuhafat-ul Mujahidin by Shaik Zainuddin, but he too did not believe in its historical authenticity. But later cut and paste historians seem to have forgot to add his disclaimer.
Sreedhara Menon also authoritatively states that Kerala never had a king called Cheraman Perumal and quotes Dr. Herman Gundert, the German who composed the first Malayalam-English dictionary and the grandfather of Herman Hesse for this. But there seems to have been a Cheraman Perumal, whose history is overlaid by legend. According to Saiva tradition, he had an association with a Sundaramurti, the last of the three hymnists of Devaram. This Cheraman Perumal vanished in 825 A.D, about 200 years after Muhammed thus confirming that all that Mecca trip was a fanciful legend.[10]
Update (Jan 1, 2009): Maddy has detailed post about this episode

Footnotes:

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[1] Picture of the old mosque and the renovated one
[2] India Archaeology Messages 2112, 2123

For Malayalis Kunhali Marakkar was the brave commander of the Zamorin’s Navy, who fought against the Portuguese. The story is that the Muslim Marakkar dynasty fought against the Europeans for almost hundred years. But now there is new research suggesting that a) Marikkars were not of Arab descent, but instead were of Tamil origin b) he could be a myth

According to Dr. Ochanthuruth, “the traditional view of Kunhalis as patriots supporting feudal lords like the Zamorin needs to be corrected.
In the light of Kunhali Marikkar’s own actions and Shayk Zaynuddin’s statements, it is clear that they wanted an Islamic Principality in their own Malabar. (Shayk Zaynuddin was an Arab scholar who lived in Ponnani).
“After 1600 when the Kunhalis were almost silenced by the Zamorin through a political operation with the help of the Portuguese, the Muslim religious leaders in Malabar elevated Kunhali Marikkar as a cult figure for having attempted to unite the Muslims belonging to different ethnic groups and established their identity on the basis of an Islamic dream as visualised by Shayk Zaynuddin.
“This is the starting point of Muslim fundamentalism and communalism in South Malabar, later described by Ines and Evans as “fanatic zone,” he says in his paper presented at an international seminar on `The Portuguese and Kunhali Marikkars – myth and reality’.
“My attempt in this paper is to trace the truth about the origins, growth and struggles of the Marikkar family. Most of the Portuguese sources treat the Marikkar as enemies. Shayk Zaynuddin, an Arab scholar of Ponnani, in his Tuhfat-ul Mujahidin, states that the Marikkars had turned against the Portuguese only by 1524.
According to Dr. Ochanthuruth there is a big gap in historiographical literature about Kunhali Marikkar from 16th to the present century. Till the publication of Malabar and the Portuguese in 1929 by Sardar K.M. Panikkar, there was no serious writing on the Kunhali Marikkars except a few ballads.
Dr. Ochanthuruth’s views contradict the opinions of well-known and highly rated historians Sardar K.M. Panikkar, A.V. Krishna Ayyar and O.K. Nambiar.
He also questions claims that Marikkars were Mappila Muslims (Mappilas are children of Arabs married to Malabar women), and contends there is no evidence to support the belief that Marikkars lived in Pantalayani – Kollam, then in Tikkodi and then in Kottakkal, which was their last headquarters.
“Available evidence suggests Marikkars were of Tamil origin and many of them were Parathava converts from Coramandel,” Dr. Ochanthuruth claimed. [Kunhali Marikkars: myth and reality]

A 9th century Vishnu temple, which remained dilapidated for years, is being rebuilt at Perumpazhuthur, near here, thanks to the initiative of the local people.
Authenticated by historians as having been built during the rule of the ”Ay” dynasty in 867 A.D, the temple is one of the rarest of its kind the country with a circular-shaped sanctum santorum.
Though the temple finds mention in the ”Monuments of Kerala”, published by the Archaeological Survey of India, it remained dilapidated with most of its remains buried till the people of Perumpazhuthur organised themselves to reconstruct the edifice and restore its old glory a few months ago.
The book, authored by H Sarkar, mentions only a few circular temples in Kerala, including that at Perumpazhuthur. He also highlighted that circular temples were rare for Dravidian style.
”The Arts and Crafts of Travancore,” authored by Stella Kramrish and pubished by the Department of Culture, carries the photo of the temple in a dilapidated condition and the damaged statue of Vishnu. [Local people rebuild a 9th century Vishnu temple via IndiaArchaeology]

Before the Cheras established themselves as a major force in Kerala, it was ruled by the Ay dynasty sometime between 7th to 11th century AD with Vizhinjam as the capital.The Ay dynasty ruled the land between Nagercoil and Thiruvalla. In A History of South India, Nilakanta Sastry writes that the Ay kingdom lay around the Podiya hill, the southernmost section of the Western Ghats. He also writes that the Greek geographer Ptolemy wrote about one ‘Aioi’ was ruling the country at that time which included Cape Comorin and Mount Bettigo.

There is a coin exhibition going on in Trivandrum, which is like a narration of the whole history of Kerala state.

The coins on show include the silver Purana, issued by the Ay-Chera chieftains between 600 and 200 BC and which is believed to be the oldest coin of southernmost India; the silver Makotai, the earliest known portrait coin of South India, which was issued by the Cheras during the Sangam age; Roman dinarii; the minute Quarter Taras of Vijayanagar, which weigh just 0.06 gm; and the Vellichakram, issued by the Travancore king, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, in the mid-18th century.

The coins, which were in circulation in Malabar, such as the famed Gold Mohur; the Venetian Ducat; and the coins issued by the East India Company, the French in Mahe, and Hyderali and Tipu, are displayed. There is a collection of the gold coins minted by the Gangas, Hoysalas and Yadavas. [Coining a unique history]

Wikipedia has an entry on Kumaranasan, a great Malayali poet who lived in the early 20th century. The interesting fact is that it was Sri Narayana Guru who influenced him.

Kumaran was dogged by ill-health right through his early life. When he was eighteen, Sree Narayana Guru visited his house at the request of his father. Kumaran was bedridden at that time. The great saint suggested that Kumaran should stay with him and become his disciple. The little boy found the invitation irresistible. Thus began a new phase of life for the young lad.

Kumaran

Thiyya is a caste under Hinduism in the South Indian state of Kerala. Now there is a new study which explains where they came from.

The predominant Thiyya community of Malabar migrated to Kerala in 7000 BC from Kyrgyzstan in the erstwhile Soviet Union, says a fresh study revealing their disputed origins. While the people on the coast of the Black Sea were migrating to different parts of the world in BC 7000, a section who had settled in the foothills of Tian Mountains came to India.

“Thiyyas of Malabar are the descendants of this group of Kyrgyz,” asserts T. Damu in his latest Malayalam book `Lanka Parvam’. He says that the name Thiyya was derived from the name of the mountains, Tian, on the southern side of Kyrgyzstan. The Saikon community of Punjab and Saikover community of Rajasthan also have the same origin. [ Thiyyas migrated from Kyrgyzstan, says study]

So before the Indus Valley Civilization, and before all possible dates for Mahabharata, a bunch of people moved from Kyrgyzstan to Kerala. I have to read this book.

There is “some more information”:http://www.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=36992&cat=India about the 1000 year old shipwrreck “that was found”:https://varnam.org/archives/000288.html in the sleepy hamlet of Kadakkarapally of Thykkal village in Alappuzha district of Kerala.
bq. Archeologists say the boat is a product of fantastic workmanship. It is a double- hulled, double mast boat, divided into 11 compartments. The masts are no longer present. One mast step is in the center of the boat and the other is in the bow end. The boat has a pointed bow. The boat measures about 18.70 metres in length and its width is 4.05 metres. The original length of the boat could be around 21 metres.
bq. According to the historical records available, Thykkal was once a busy port. The Kerala Coastal Gazette, published by a local church says Thykkal and nearby areas had settlement of Jews and Arabs.The Gazette adds that the area where the ship was found could have been either a broad canal leading to the sea or part of the Arabian Sea itself. Thykkal is only two kilometers away from the Arabian sea coast in Alappuzha district.
While the older article mentioned that this wreck was 1000 years old, the new one says it is about 600-800 years old.
This brings up the question, what makes a hamlet sleepy ?

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is a travelog written by an unknown author in the first century about travel in the Indian Ocean. According to K.A. Nilakanta Sastri in his book, A History of South India.
bq. The author of the _Periplus_ (c A.D. 75) gives the most valuable information about this trade between India and the Roman empire. He mentions the ports of Naura (Cannanore), Tyndis–the Tondi of the poems, identified with Ponnani–and Muziris (Musiri, Crangannore), and Nelcynda very near Kottayam, as of leading importance on the west coast. Muziris abounded in ships sent there with cargoes from Arabia and by the Greeks.
A Sreedhara Menon in his book, A Survey of Kerala History writes that there is no doubt that the present Kodungallor is the ancient Musiris. Now Dr. Shajan, an archeologist “has proposed”:http://www.hindu.com/lf/2004/03/28/stories/2004032800080200.htm based on some evidence that Muziris, the legendary seaport of the ancient world, stood at Pattanam, a small town some 12 km south of the Periyar rivermouth (present day Kodungallur)
bq. Radiocarbon dating of peat samples showed that Kodungalloor and Paravur areas were part of the sea some 5,000 years ago. By about 1,000 B.C., however, the sea had regressed and the coastline had more or less stabilised about two km west of the area where these two towns are situated at present. Another clue that led the team to Pattanam was the finding, based on remote-sensing data, that Periyar had changed course during the millennia, and the river course was in the Pattanam area 2,000 years ago. “My view is that the Paravur Thodu, which flows near Pattanam, was the old channel of the Periyar,” says Dr. Shajan.
bq. The most important find was the rim and handle of a classic Italian wine amphora, which came from Naples and belonged to the late first century B.C. The amphora, which was used to transport wine and olive oil, had been identified from a number of Roman sites in India, including Arikamedu and Alagankulam in Tamil Nadu. [via “The Hindu”:http://www.hindu.com/lf/2004/03/28/stories/2004032800080200.htm]