Kerala: The right and the wrong of boycott

KOCHI: The mysterious disappearance of 21 Muslim youths from Kerala has  triggered  a fresh round of concern over a section of the Muslim community in the state developing a fatal attraction for militant  Islam as championed by outfits such as Islamic State, Taliban and several other such groups. Though  the threat of terrorism peppered with Islamophobia whipped up by many may be baseless,  the panic created by the event within the community and the society at large is real. A section of the community feels that it cannot be  business as usual as the ramifications of political expressions guided by religious identity cannot be wished away.

The decision of Samastha, a powerful Sunni outfit known for its close affinity to the  Indian Union Muslim League, to keep out members and supporters of Popular Front of India (PFI) and National Democratic Front (NDF) from Mahal committees or the basic mosque units at the village level, is an indication of the churning  taking place within the community.

Although a debate is on whether imposing such a boycott against people for their political affiliation is the best method available to check the influence of extremist elements,  the action of Samastha has to be viewed in the background of the furore over the disappearance of the 21 youths. The murder of an IUML activist in a place near Kuttiaydi in Kozhikode district by members suspected to be belonging to PFI has also hastened the decision.

Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM) state president (Madavoor faction) C.P. Umar Sullami hailed the decision. “I am glad that Sunnis are following our path in boycotting PFI which we had taken years ago. The more than 500 Mujahid Mahals in our control have ceased cooperating with PFI for  many years,” said Mr. Sullami. He also blamed Jamaat-e-Islami and its earlier student wing Students’ Islamic Movement (SIMI) as the ideological fountainhead of the extreme form of Islam which is  much against the basic tenets of the religion.

Denying the charges that Jamaat-e-Islami is the originator of militant Islam, Sheikh Mohammad Karakunnu, assistant Ameer,  said the organisation was  against equating PFI and IS.  IS represents the most intense form of terrorism and it cannot be compared with PFI. “I cannot digest the idea of equating the two. Though we differ with PFI in many ways it cannot be compared with the dreaded IS,” he said. Mr Karakunnu was of the opinion that boycotting a section from Mahal committees needed  to be studied in detail.

The Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI) floated by the PFI has dismissed the action of Samastha as childish. SDPI state general secretary P. Abdul Hameed said, “such obsolete strategies like excommunication and expulsion from Mahalu committees will not help Samastha and IUML to impose their agenda on the community.”

“We are neither terrorists nor supporters of terrorism,” he said. According to him SDPI is against the attempt by the IUML as the sole arbiter of Muslim society. The educated and informed among Muslim scholars would not attest to the move. “At places like Kuttiadi,  IUML is trying to single out SDPI workers and has directed the supporters to boycott marriages, death and other religious functions in the houses of our workers. But it will not be practical,”  he said. 

The selection of a committee is the right of believers and the Mahalu committees are functioning in a democratic way. “If the believers decide to elect a member of our organization, no one has the right to prevent it. We consider it as  childish,” he added.   According to writer Myna Umaiban,  the community should have kept away terrorist elements from inside, even before they inflict any damage to  society.

“Any move against the terrorist forces is welcome. The situation in India and globally is not inspiring due to Hindutva and ISIS. So, there is a feeling of insecurity for the Muslim community from inside and outside. They need to first eliminate the harmful elements inside. So, this move should be appreciated,” she said. T.A. Razak, script writer, says that  true Islam is devoid of war, hatred, quarrel and bloodbath. “Persons spreading the ideology of hatred should be neglected.  Allah is with one who is ready to forgive, says Quran.  Love has no religion and I have made this a theme of my film Perumazhakkalam,”  he said.

(With inputs from Jose Kurian, Anupama and Amiya Meethal)