KOZHIKODE: Developments after Samastha Kerala Jam-Iyyathul Ulema president Syed Muhammad Jiffiri Muthukoya Thangal refused to toe the IUML line in the agitation over the Waqf Board issue have brought the warring Sunni factions closer. A majority of Sunnis believes that the current controversy is the creation of the Mujahid-Jama’at-e-Islami axis which is trying to gain dominance in the community and that the IUML is being controlled by these forces.
The crux of the Waqf Board issue is the fear of whether the PSC appointments will lead to non-believers and atheists taking control of the Waqf properties. But Sunnis believe that in many cases in the past Mujahids have seized the Waqf properties originally owned by them, with the political support of the IUML.
A young leader in the EK faction of Sunnis said in a Facebook post that the current controversy is a blessing in disguise because it had ignited a discussion on the properties ‘snatched away’ by the Mujahids. The post was liked and shared by many in the rival Kanthapuram faction of Sunnis.
Samastha suffered a split in 1989 when a section led by Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musaliar walked out of the organisation. Since then, there were several attempts to reunify the Sunni factions, but talks didn’t make any headway.
The cyber-attack on Jiffiri Thangal after he said an emphatic no to the protests inside the mosque has provided a joint platform for both the faction of the Sunnis, at least on social media. Many believe that Thangal is being singled out to attack because he refused to heed the pressure of the Mujahids in the IUML and the Jama’at-e-Islami. They also suspect that the coordination committee of the Muslim organisations was hijacked by the anti-Sunnis.
Both the Sunni groups have raised the demand that the Waqf properties ‘snatched away’ by the Mujahids in the past, including the Mohiyudeen mosque and Shaduli mosque in Kozhikode, should be returned to the Sunnis. Mujahid leader Hussein Madavoor is the chief Imam of the Mohiyudeen mosque now and he delivered a speech on Waqf issue during the prayers last Friday.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM) has cautioned against the forces in the community which are torpedoing the unity of Muslims. The leadership meeting of the KNM held at Areekode stated that those who are trying to destroy the unity have political intentions. At the same time, the government is planning to hold a discussion with the Samastha leaders on the Waqf Board issue next week. It will likely be before December 9 because the IUML is planning to hold a protest rally that day.