KOZHIKODE: Samastha Kerala Jam-Iyyathul Ulema, the body of Sunni scholars in Kerala, will organise programmes on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Malabar Rebellion to convince the Muslim community that the revolt was counter-productive and had spelt doom for the community.
Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation (SKSSF) has decided to conduct various sessions on the rebellion with a message that the community should desist from such adventures. SKSSF state general secretary Sathar Panthaloor told TNIE that Samastha will uphold the stance of its leader Pangil Ahamedkutty Musaliar on the issue.
“Pangil was the leader of the rebellion in the initial stages but he withdrew after realising its danger. He blasted the Congress for ditching the community after throwing it into the vortex of the rebellion,” Sathar said. At its annual conference held at Feroke here in 1933, Samastha passed a resolution against the Congress.
“Samastha had offered a rectification to the line adopted by the leaders of the rebellion and we follow that line, which is found to be beneficial for the community,” he said. Anwar Sadique Faizy, editor of ‘Sathyadhara’ magazine, the mouthpiece of SKSSF, said the rebellion was a tragedy for the Muslim community in Kerala.
“The rebellion had pushed the community back by 100 years. This is not merely the opinion of the Sunnis but even Mujahid leader Umar Moulavi had echoed the same sentiment,” he said.
Faizy said Pangil, Ali Musaliar and KM Moulavi were the Islamic scholars who were in the forefront of the rebellion. “Pangil was the leader whose name figured prominently in the list of the most wanted persons. But midway through the rebellion, he realised its futility,” he said.
Ali Musaliar was arrested in the initial stages itself and didn’t get opportunity for an introspection. “K M Moulavi escaped to Kodungallur during the rebellion and did not speak anything about the rebellion in the remaining part of his life,” Faizy said.
He said Samastha’s stance is firmly rooted in the religious faith that there should not be an armed uprising against any government. “That does not prevent us from expressing protests in a democratic way,” he said. “We do not question the sincerity of the leaders of the rebellion, but the path they chose was disastrous. The All-India Muslim League did not utter a word about the rebellion,” Faizy said.
EXPLANATORY MEETINGS TO MARK CENTENARY
Meetings will be held at 14 spots in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts which were the major sites of the rebellion. The Malabar History Conference to be held as part of the observance will have four sessions, which will conclude in December in Malappuram. Collection of historical materials, preservation of memorials, studies on the leaders of the rebellion, creation of local history and study on the role of religious leaders will also be held.Panakkad Syed Hameed Ali Shihab Thangal will inaugurate the library of Malabar history at Islamic Centre in Kozhikode on July 14.