Here's some untested code that might prove useful.
mute.c
#include <stdio.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <sys/ioctl.h>
#include <linux/soundcard.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include <string.h>
#define EMPEG_MIXER_READ_FLAGS _IOR('m', 1, int)
#define EMPEG_MIXER_WRITE_FLAGS _IOW('m', 1, int)
#define EMPEG_MIXER_FLAG_MUTE (1<<0)
int main(int ac, char *av[])
{
    int mute = -1;
    int flags = 0;
    int fd = -1;
    
    while (*++av)
    {
	if(av[0][0] == '-')
	{
	    switch(av[0][1])
	    {
	    case 'm':
		mute = 1;
		break;
	    case 'u':
		mute = 0;
		break;
	    default:
		fprintf(stderr, "Usage: mute [-u|-m]\n");
		return 1;
	    }
	}
	else
	{
	    fprintf(stderr, "Usage: mute [-u|-m]\n");
	    return 1;
	}
    }
    fd = open("/dev/mixer", O_RDONLY);
    if (fd < 0)
    {
	fprintf(stderr, "Couldn't open /dev/mixer\n");
	return 2;
    }
    if (mute >= 0)
    {
	if (mute)
	    flags |= EMPEG_MIXER_FLAG_MUTE;
	if (ioctl(fd, EMPEG_MIXER_WRITE_FLAGS, &flags) < 0)
	    printf("Write mute ioctl failed: %s (%d)\n", strerror(errno), errno);
    }
    if (ioctl(fd, EMPEG_MIXER_READ_FLAGS, &flags) < 0)
	printf("Read mute ioctl failed: %s (%d)\n", strerror(errno), errno);
		
    if (flags & EMPEG_MIXER_FLAG_MUTE)
	printf("Output is currently muted.\n");
    else
	printf("Output is currently unmuted.\n");
    return 0;
}
The following code will view or change the input source (PCM, radio, or line.)
mixersrc.c
# include <stdio.h>
# include <unistd.h>
# include <fcntl.h>
# include <sys/ioctl.h>
# include <sys/soundcard.h>
# define DEV_MIXER  "/dev/mixer"
/* The following definitions are from include/asm-arm/arch-sa1100/empeg.h
   in the beta9b kernel source */
# define EMPEG_MIXER_MAGIC 'm'
# define EMPEG_MIXER_READ_SOURCE _IOR(EMPEG_MIXER_MAGIC, 0, int)
# define EMPEG_MIXER_WRITE_SOURCE _IOW(EMPEG_MIXER_MAGIC, 0, int)
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
  int fd, opt, source = 0;
  char *source_str;
  while ((opt = getopt(argc, argv, "prl")) != -1) {
    switch (opt) {
    case 'p':
      source = SOUND_MASK_PCM;
      break;
    case 'r':
      source = SOUND_MASK_RADIO;
      break;
    case 'l':
      source = SOUND_MASK_LINE;
      break;
    default:
      fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s [-p|-r|-l]\n", argv[0]);
      return 1;
    }
  }
  fd = open(DEV_MIXER, O_RDONLY);
  if (fd == -1) {
    perror(DEV_MIXER);
    return 2;
  }
  if (source) {
    if (ioctl(fd, EMPEG_MIXER_WRITE_SOURCE, &source) == -1) {
      perror("ioctl(EMPEG_MIXER_WRITE_SOURCE)");
      return 3;
    }
  }
  if (ioctl(fd, EMPEG_MIXER_READ_SOURCE, &source) == -1) {
    perror("ioctl(EMPEG_MIXER_READ_SOURCE)");
    return 4;
  }
  if (source & SOUND_MASK_PCM)
    source_str = "PCM";
  else if (source & SOUND_MASK_RADIO)
    source_str = "radio";
  else if (source & SOUND_MASK_LINE)
    source_str = "line";
  else
    source_str = "unknown";
  printf("%s source selected\n", source_str);
  if (close(fd) == -1) {
    perror("close");
    return 5;
  }
  return 0;
}
An additional mute setting known as the Soft Audio Mute (SAM) can be toggled with the following code.
sam.c
# include <stdio.h>
# include <unistd.h>
# include <fcntl.h>
# include <sys/ioctl.h>
# include <sys/soundcard.h>
# define DEV_MIXER  "/dev/mixer"
/* The following definitions are from include/asm-arm/arch-sa1100/empeg.h
   in the beta10a kernel source */
# define EMPEG_MIXER_MAGIC 'm'
# define EMPEG_MIXER_SET_SAM _IOW(EMPEG_MIXER_MAGIC, 15, int)
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
  int fd, opt, sam = -1;
  while ((opt = getopt(argc, argv, "mu")) != -1) {
    switch (opt) {
    case 'm':
      sam = 1;
      break;
    case 'u':
      sam = 0;
      break;
    default:
      return 1;
    }
  }
  if (sam == -1) {
    fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s {-u|-m}\n", argv[0]);
    return 1;
  }
  fd = open(DEV_MIXER, O_RDONLY);
  if (fd == -1) {
    perror(DEV_MIXER);
    return 2;
  }
  if (ioctl(fd, EMPEG_MIXER_SET_SAM, &sam) == -1) {
    perror("ioctl(EMPEG_MIXER_SET_SAM)");
    return 3;
  }
  printf("Soft Audio Mute %s\n", sam ? "enabled" : "disabled");
  if (close(fd) == -1) {
    perror("close");
    return 5;
  }
  return 0;
}