MALAPPURAM: Giving a fillip to the unity of the AP and EK Sunni factions who recently came close to fight the threat of radical Salafism, the government has initiated reconciliation talks to resolve the long-pending Waqf disputes between them. A meeting of the two sides called by Waqf minister K.T. Jaleel has unanimously decided to conduct adalats for amicable settlement of hundreds of cases pending before the Kerala Waqf Board.
The disputes over the Waqf institutions are the most contentious between the two who held out the olive branch after three decades of bitter rivalry. The meeting formed a four-member panel consisting of representatives from both sides to set conditions for adalats. The panel would meet again on February 21 in Kozhikode.
K. Umer Faizy and P.A. Jabbar Haji of the pro-UDF EK faction and K.M.A Raheem and E Yaqub Faizy of the pro-LDF AP faction are the panel members. The Waqf is movable or immovable properties including mosques, madrasas and related institutions recognised by the Muslim law which are religious and charitable. The disputes have its roots in sharing these kinds of properties in several parts of the state when they parted ways in the 1980s.
“The first round of talks was fruitful, and all the representatives have unanimously welcomed the attempt to resolve the disputes and are keen to join hands,” a panel member said. The first adalat is slated to be held in April, and it will be followed up on a monthly basis. “The cases will be prioritised according to its gravity,” he said. The CPM-led government’s move, if succeeded, will be a blow to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) which is believed to be unenthusiastic.
