KOZHIKODE: The reconstitution of the Kerala Waqf Board by the UDF government — dissolving the existing one — has triggered opposition from various corners, with the powerful Kanthapuram group of Sunnis declaring open protests over its non-inclusion.
The reconstitution of the board, with IUML leader M C Mayin Haji as chairman, was announced through a gazette notification on Saturday. A total of nine members have been nominated, with two slots for non-Muslim members left vacant. All the members nominated by the LDF government, including chairman K S Hamsa and member Umar Faizy Mukkam, have been removed.
Minister for Waqf and Minority Affairs N Samsudheen said the government went for the reconstitution as per the Kerala High Court’s nod. “There were a few petitions before the court challenging the reconstitution by the LDF government. At that stage, the court said the government can reconstitute the board to make it right.
It is the job of the government to set things correct,” Samsudheen told reporters in Palakkad. Asked about filling the vacancy of non-Muslims, he said it will be decided as per the direction of the Supreme Court, as there are petitions pending before it.
Meanwhile, Mayin Haji, IUML state vice-president, assumed office as board chairman on Saturday itself.
Muslim Jama’at to take out protest marches on Oct 22
He has served the board as a member for over 18 years. M P Musthafal Faizi, who has been suspended from the mushawara of the Samastha Kerala Jem-Iyyathul Ulama, has been nominated as a member. Significantly, the Jama’at-e-Islami has been accommodated in the board while the Kanthapuram faction of Sunnis has been omitted.
The Borah community also has a member in the reconstituted Board. Jaseem Sabah C, member of the Melattoor panchayat, is the Jama’at nominee, and Thodiyoor Kunhumuhammad Moulavi will represent Dakshina Kerala Jem-Iyyathul Ulama. Siraz D Kapasi is the nominee from the Borah community.
A I Abdul Majeed Swalahi, secretary of the Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM), is also a member of the Board. IUML leader Kurukkoli Moideen is the representative from the quota of MLAs.
Meanwhile, the Kanthapuram faction of Sunnis has protested the omission of their representative from the Board. Kerala Muslim Jama’at, a feeder organisation of the Sunni group, said Chief Minister V D Satheesan had promised them a membership. Muslim Jama’at will take out protest marches in all districts on October 22.
Addressing a press conference in Kozhikode on Saturday, Muslim Jama’at leaders Wandoor Abdurrahman Faizi and Saifuddin Haji said a majority of the Waqf properties in the state are handled by the Sunnis, but they have not been represented on the board.
Though the E K faction of Sunnis has not officially reacted to the reconstitution, there is a strong resentment in the organisation over the inclusion of Musthafal Faizi, who was suspended from the mushawara. It is seen as a ‘revenge’ by the IUML leadership as the LDF made K S Hamza, who was ousted from the IUML, the board chairman.
The IUML was also angry over the LDF government’s inclusion of Umar Faizy Mukkam, who was a bitter critic of the party, in the board. The LDF government had reconstituted the board just a few months before the end of its term.
The Isna As’aris, a Shia sect, has also expressed dismay over their omission. Adil Hussain, the advocate who represented the Shia group in the High Court in the case related to the reconstitution, told TNIE that the Shia group will move a petition against its exclusion.