The controversy over the misogynistic remarks by Kerala Muslim cleric Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar widened on Thursday after Muslim students met Chief Minister VD Satheesan to precise their displeasure over his feedback on the problem.
Whereas leaders of the Kanthapuram-led Muslim faction met Satheesan, one other outstanding Muslim chief prolonged his help to Kanthapuram, arguing that his remarks had been in accordance with Islamic spiritual practices.
The developments got here after Satheesan strongly criticised Kanthapuram, the Grand Mufti of India, for saying that girls had been mandated to stay confined to their houses and mustn’t seem in public, warning that bringing girls into public areas would result in “nice destruction”.
Satheesan dismissed the remarks as being opposite to the historical past of girls in Islam in addition to the values of recent society and Kerala. His feedback, nevertheless, have now drawn criticism from sections of the Muslim spiritual management.
Referring to Islamic historical past, Satheesan cited the examples of Khadija, the primary spouse of Prophet Muhammad, and Aisha, one other spouse of the Prophet, to argue that girls had performed outstanding roles in public life.
“Khadija, the Prophet’s first spouse, was a significant businesswoman. One other spouse of the Prophet, Aisha, took half within the Battle of the Camel. She was the commander-in-chief,” the Chief Minister stated.
“We strongly oppose expressing such a Nineteenth-century view within the twenty first century. Our progressive place is that girls usually are not meant to stay confined to their houses and that they need to take part in all points of life and dwell as a part of the mainstream,” he added.
Following the remarks, a delegation from the Kanthapuram-led faction met the Chief Minister on Wednesday night time and accused him of misinterpreting Islamic historical past, significantly in his references to Khadija and Aisha.
The leaders stated the assembly had been scheduled earlier, however the Chief Minister’s feedback grew to become a key situation in the course of the dialogue. Reviews declare that, in the course of the assembly, Satheesan stood by what he stated earlier. Nevertheless, the Chief Minister’s workplace has not commented on what transpired within the talks.
Satheesan’s remarks have drawn criticism from sections of the Muslim spiritual management. Jifri Muthukoya Thangal, president of the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, considered one of Kerala’s largest Muslim organisations, took an oblique swipe on the Chief Minister, saying spiritual students shouldn’t be belittled for talking on issues of religion.
“Sharia is accepted in any time interval. It’s the verdict of the Holy Quran. You’ll be able to settle for it if you need or else do not. If it is not related to the time interval we dwell in, then you do not have to just accept it. However such statements should not come from these sitting in accountable positions,” Thangal stated.
One other Samastha chief, Nasar Faizy Koodathayi, additionally defended Kanthapuram, arguing that the cleric’s remarks had been misinterpreted. In response to Faizy, Kanthapuram was opposing the portrayal of girls as objects of show and advocating their security and adherence to spiritual norms, relatively than calling for girls to be confined to their houses.
Faizy additionally pointed to Khadija’s position as a businesswoman and Aisha’s participation in battles as proof that Islamic historical past itself accommodates examples of girls taking part in outstanding roles in public life. He accused the Chief Minister and opposition leaders of deceptive the general public by deciphering Kanthapuram’s remarks as opposition to girls’s progress.
Different organisations related to the Kanthapuram faction have additionally criticised the Chief Minister’s remarks, each on social media and thru public statements. The Sunni College students Federation (SSF), an offshoot of the Kanthapuram-led All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama, issued a single-line assertion, saying “It is not the State’s responsibility to interpret faith, the Chief Minister’s accountability is to control.”
The controversy started after Kanthapuram, talking at an Islamic convention in Kochi on Sunday, stated bringing girls onto public platforms would result in “nice destruction” and that Islam prescribed purdah to forestall this.
Commenting on the row, CPI(M) common secretary MA Child stated Kanthapuram’s remarks mirrored a “reluctance to recognise gender equality” and alleged that they “echoed views expressed by the RSS”.
Child stated such positions had been opposite to the Indian Structure, which ensures gender equality.
BJP Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, in the meantime, accused the Congress-led state authorities and its ally, the Indian Union Muslim League, of permitting makes an attempt to push Kerala in direction of a “regressive” social system.
He stated the BJP would battle “tooth and nail” in opposition to any try to curtail girls’s constitutional rights.
With spiritual leaders now overtly difficult Satheesan’s interpretation of Islamic historical past, the dispute appeared to have widened past Kanthapuram’s authentic remarks right into a broader debate.
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