Opinion | Progressive State, Conservative Sanctuary: The Grand Mufti And His Defenders

The lack of public discussion about such practices is worth considering because it illustrates the wider authority enjoyed by religious scholars within sections of Kerala’s Muslims

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It was VS Naipaul who wrote in the late 1990s that Islam is not simply a matter of conscience or private belief. Islam, Naipaul wrote, “makes imperial demands. A convert’s world view alters. His holy places are in Arab lands; his sacred language is Arabic. His idea of history alters. He rejects his own; he becomes, whether he likes it or not, a part of the Arab story".

Naipaul’s observation provides one way of understanding an important feature of the history of Islam in Kerala. At various points, Islamic scholars and religious organisations have rejected local cultural symbols, festivals and music, and in some instances even regarded aspects of the local language as religiously unsuitable, replacing them with explicitly Islamic alternatives.

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Last week, Kantapuram Aboobacker Musliyar, the Islamic scholar and general secretary of the Sunni scholarly body Samastha, who bears the title “Grand Mufti of India", said women should “remain confined to the home" and that their entry into public life would bring “great destruction". The response to these remarks from Muslim political leaders in Kerala was notable. From CPI(M) leader KT Jaleel to Muslim League MLA Fathima Thahiliya, leaders across opposing parties and ideologies came together to defend Kantapuram. Some attempted to rescue his comments from the condemnation they deserved by contextualising or even justifying his position.

The response is significant because it raises broader questions: why does a conservative religious scholar, and the deeply conservative views he espouses, continue to command such influence in a state known for its high levels of education, political participation and social development? Why does a comment so plainly at odds with modern values, one that should invite immediate condemnation, receive such a muted response in Kerala?

Kantapuram’s remarks surprised many people, and they were widely debated in both the national and regional media. For those familiar with Samastha and Kantapuram, however, the surprise itself was somewhat unexpected. Samastha has historically taken conservative positions on a range of social and cultural questions, including photography and women’s education. Yet it has also acquired considerable influence and,........

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