Noorudeen Pattasseri

Noorudeen Pattasseri is a Research Fellow at the Berlin Institute for Islamic Theology, Humboldt University. His research focuses on the Islamic legal history of South India, particularly the Malabari Muslim (Mappila) community, tracing changes and transformations in the Shāfiʿī legal tradition from the premodern to modern period. He examines how Islamic law in Malabar evolved under the influence of Indian Ocean networks, encounters with local vernacular religions, colonial administration, and the modern nation-state. Noorudeen works extensively with local archives, exploring primary sources such as fatwas, legal notes, and historical records. He is also developing digital humanities initiatives, including Digital Malabar, aimed at making Malabari Islamic texts accessible online and creating tools for research in Islamic law. He holds two Master’s degrees and a Bachelor’s degree in Islamic studies and related fields, and his research engages with historical transformations in Shāfiʿī jurisprudence and South Indian Muslim communities.

- Development of Islamic Scholarship in the 16th Century: Shaykh Zayn al-Dīn Makhdūm and Indian Ocean Network, Traversing Tradition, 30 September 2025 (https://traversingtradition.com/2025/09/29/development-of-islamic-scholarship-in-the-16th-century-shaykh-zayn-al-din-makhdum-and-indian-ocean-network/

- The Quran in the South Indian Linguistic World: In Vernacular Literature, Local Teachings, and Customary Practices, Traversing Tradition, 18 September 2025 (https://traversingtradition.com/2025/09/17/the-quran-in-the-south-indian-linguistic-world/)

- ‘Ulama, Fatwas, and the Struggle for Islamic Legitimacy in Colonial India, Traversing Tradition, 16 June 2025 (https://traversingtradition.com/2025/06/16/ulama-fatwas-and-the-struggle-for-islamic-legitimacy-in-colonial-india/)

- Islamic Law in the Maritime World: Malabar and the (Re)formation of Legal Circularities Across the Indian Ocean, Astrolabe: CIS Student Research Journal – Issue 4, Volume 2022, P. 119-131. (islamiclawmaritime.pdf (hbku.edu.qa))