A senior Muslim cleric has made a call to isolate anyone from any religion or political background who does anything to communally polarise the society.
Addressing the Id gathering in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, Imam of Palayam Mosque V.P. Suhaib Maulavi, said it was time to eradicate hatred from Kerala society.
“It is time to eradicate communalism and hatred from our state. Everyone, including all parties and religions should come forward to isolate anyone, irrespective of religion or political party, who spreads communal hatred,” he told a large gathering after the Id prayer at Chandrashekaran Nair stadium in the Kerala capital.
Targeting communal elements from all communities, the imam reminded the gathering that the Juma Masjid in Thiruvananthapuram is among the places of worship that welcome Hindu devotees who arrive in the city for Attukal Pongala, considered the world’s largest gathering of women for a religious event.
“As long as Attukal Pongala exists they will continue to use this Juma Masjid. Our imam and priests of Palayam Cathedral give buttermilk to all sisters who come for (Attukal) Pongala,” he said, alluding to how the non-Hindu places of worship also join to provide refreshments and assist lakhs of mostly Hindu women who participate in the religious event held every February.
The imam urged everyone, including Muslims, not to take sides when political killings rock the state. “Killings in the name of politics or religion must not be justified,” he said.
In yet another back-to-back killing, two workers, one each from RSS and Muslim right wing Popular Front of India, were killed in a span of 24 hours in Palakkad last month.
It was similar to the killings in Alappuzha where an RSS worker was killed in apparent retaliation of the murder of a worker of PFI’s political arm, Social Democratic Party, who was hacked to death in just 12 hours of each other. Several people from the two sides have since been arrested.
The cleric further sought an apology from senior politician P.C George who was on Sunday arrested for making disparaging remarks about the Muslim community.
“The best thing would be an apology from him,” he said, adding that the Kerala society would not allow such attempts of communal polarisation.
A former chief whip of the Congress-led United Democratic Front government, George who has been on his own with his Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) party since the 2016 state election, had recently levelled several allegations against the minority community.
The seven-time MLA who lost last year’s Assembly polls, had told Sangh parivar event, Ananthapuri Hindu Maha Sammelan, last week that Muslim-owned eateries lace food with a liquid that causes permanent impotency among women and women, while members of the community reproduce in large numbers to “seize” Kerala.
The imam, however, expressed confidence that the Kerala society would prevent any attempt to communally polarise the state.
“We Muslims, Hindus, Christians, believers and non-believers are not going to allow anyone to create communal polarisation in the name of religion,” the Imam told the event attended by state governor Arif Mohammed Khan, among others.
While George was allowed bail on Sunday itself, he has stood by his comments. But his nephew, Viyani Charly, an assistant professor of physical education at St George’s College in Aruvithura, apologised to the Muslim community.
“I apologise to the aggrieved Muslim community. Several Muslim brothers have been sending messages. I understand their difficulty,” Charly said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
