KOZHIKODE: With theories abound about the number of untraceable Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) from Kerala, who had attended the religious congregation in Nizamuddin, TJ members in the state have come out with a clarification in this regard. According to it, only 307 TJ members from Kerala had visited Banglewali Masjid, the organisation’s global headquarters in February-March, and all of them have since been tracked down.
“However, 152 of them are stuck in various parts of the country — where they had gone to attend the Jamaat — due to the lockdown,” said the communique from K Mohammadali, an active TJ member.
The highest number of Malayali Tablighis stuck outside the state are from Malappuram, followed by Kasaragod, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Kottayam, Kannur, Kollam and Pathanamthitta.
“All of them were subjected to screening in the respective states,” says Mohammadali. The TJ state members have submitted the list of all those who attended the Nizamuddin conclave as well as their present whereabouts to the state police chief and all district police chiefs. According to them, the Malayali Tablighis, who had visited Banglewali Masjid, can be put into three categories. The first group comprising 57 members had attended the All India Mashura from March 7-10.
The second group consisting of 74 people had gone to Nizamuddin in February-March. From there, they proceeded to various places for Jamaat and returned to Kerala. A third group of 24 people had set off for Nizamuddin in February. “Out of this, 20 had tested positive, including the primary contacts. Eleven of them have been cured,” says Mohammadali. He is of the opinion that cops have painted all Muslims from the state who had gone to Humayun’s Tomb and Dargah in Nizamuddin as TJ members. “Nizamuddin is a renowned food hub. Muslims go there to relish Halal food. All of them are now being portrayed as TJ workers,” he said. TJ has 200 halqas (division) in Kerala.
41 from Malappuram (23 in Kashmir, 11 in UP, 7 in New Delhi)
Kasaragod — 30 (14 in Punjab, 10 in UP, 6 in Hariyana)
Ernakulam — 22 (12 in Karnataka, 9 in Haryana, 1 in UP)
Kozhikode — 15 (6 in Uttarakhand, 5 in Haryana, 3 in UP, 1 in Delhi)
Thiruvananthapuram — 13 (12 in Andaman, 1 in UP)
Palakkad — 9 (8 in New Delhi, 1 in UP)
Kottayam — 9 (All of them in UP)
Kannur — 6 (5 in Kolhapur, 1 in UP)
Kollam — 5 (All of them in New Delhi)
Pathanamthitta — 2 (Both in New Delhi)