KOTTAYAM: Even as the ‘love jihad’ and ‘narcotic jihad’ remarks of Pala Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt continue to be a topic of discussion in the public domain, Central Kerala diocese of the Church of South India (CSI) and Kerala Muslim Youth Federation (KMYF) have jointly called for ensuring peace in the society and harmony among people.
At a joint press meet here on Wednesday, CSI bishop Dr Malayil Sabu Koshy Cherian and KMYF state president and Thazhathangadi Juma Masjid imam Shamsuddeen Mannani Ilavupalam called on the people to isolate anti-social elements irrespective of their caste and religion and fight social evils jointly.
The imam and the bishop, who refused to make any direct comment on ‘narcotic jihad’ remarks, added that the government was responsible to inquire about the issues raised by the Pala bishop. Taking strong exception to Bishop Kallarangatt’s remarks, they demanded that words that hurt the sentiments of society should be avoided while responding to social evils.
“There is no doubt that we must counter all obsolescence that plagues our society. It is essential that all social evils are opposed and public opinion must be formed against them. But the approach of communalising social obsolescence is not at all good for the society. It is illogical to blame a religion for the wrongdoings of a few individuals in that religion. There is no justification in attributing anti-social behaviour to a religion because the name of the person engaged in anti-social activities is associated with that particular religion or they justify their wrongdoing in the name of religion,” the joint statement said.
Peace meeting in Pala
In view of the tensed situation prevailing in Pala following the ‘narcotic jihad’ comment of Mar Kallarangatt, DySP Shaju Jose convened a peace meeting of various religious leaders including representatives of the Catholic Church and Muslim organisations on Tuesday.
Remarks flayed
Kochi: Fr Paul Thelakkat, former spokesperson of Syro-Malabar Church, criticised the recent remarks by the Pala bishop. “The remarks do not reflect the stance of the Christian community,” said Fr Thelakkat in the editorial published in ‘Mangalam’ daily on Wednesday.