A Muslim leader in Kerala, Nasar Faizy Koodathai, has accused the ruling CPM of supporting interfaith marriages where Muslim girls are “abducted and married off to non-Muslims.”
Koodathai, the secretary of Sunni Yuvajana Sangham, warned the community about the CPM’s actions under the guise of secularism. He said such unethical political strategies promote interfaith marriages. This marks the first time a leader associated with Sunni Muslim clerics has publicly spoken against interfaith marriage in a state where there have been accusations of “love jihad.”
“Recently we have seen unscrupulous political strategies to promote interfaith marriages. The Constitution permits Muslims should marry Muslims and Hindus should marry Hindus. But certain people have a crooked view that Bhartiya culture can be promoted only when a Hindu marries a Muslim. Muslim girls are being abducted with the backing of the party’s offices, newspaper offices, leaders of the CPM, DYFI and the SFI, and they are being married off to non-Muslims. Mahallu (masjid) committees should stand united against such rejection of religion,’’ he said.
The Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, close to the Indian Union Muslim League, has ties with the Congress in Kerala, while the CPM has been engaging with Muslims through the organization.
The government faced criticism for canceling the idea of having gender-neutral uniforms in schools. This decision came after protests, mainly from Samastha, who believed that these uniforms might promote homosexuality.
