KANHANGAD: A mosque in Kasaragod district has decided to expel its members arrested for peddling drugs, deny clearance certificate for their marriage, and in the event of deaths, abstain from their post-funeral rituals.
Muhyadheen Juma Masjid at Padannakkad in Kanhangad took the harsh decisions because its sustained awareness campaigns against drug abuse have failed to yield results. "Drugs such as marijuana and MDMA are freely available around Padannakkad and often a Padannakkad native will be among those busted in drug cases," said C M Aboobacker, general secretary of Ansarul Islam Jamaath Committee, which manages Muhyadheen Juma Masjid.
There are three smaller mosques and 580 families under the committee.
On August 19, the committee expelled two brothers, aged 32 and 31 years, and their two friends aged 30 years and 25 years after they were arrested and remanded in custody for possessing MDMA. "We draw a distinction between drug peddlers and drug abusers. The committee has decided to show no mercy towards the peddlers because they are destroying society. They are into organised crime," said Aboobacker. Young drug abusers will be given help and support to get them out of their addiction, he said.
The mosque gives membership to youths who after completion of their education wait to look for jobs. But several of them end up peddling drugs, he said.
The mosque first decided to expel drug peddlers and refuse to cooperate with their marriages in August, 2018. "That year, we expelled two persons," he said.
But when the drug cases started to rise again, the Padannakkad mosque committee revived the old order. This year, it had expelled six persons, including the four on August 19. In all, it has expelled 10 persons. Almost all of them were married and between the age group of 25 to 35 years and from well-to-do families, he said. "Their fathers work abroad and they started selling drugs to make quick money not out of poverty," he said.
To rule out the allegation of police framing the youths, the mosque committee had set up an enquiry committee to look into each case. "Only after a thorough investigation will we expel a person. They will be taken back if they stay away from drugs for a long period and convince the committee that they are clean," he said.
Of the 10 persons they had expelled, three of them have mended their ways and have found regular jobs abroad in the past six months. "But we are in no hurry to take them back. Else they will think it is a matter of just staying out for six months," he said.
If a person, who is expelled, dies, he will be buried in the mosque's cemetery but the members will not take part in the rituals done after the burial, he said.
The mosque committee has given strict directions to parents to keep a tab on their minor and adult children. "Parents should know the source of income of their children, they should not be allowed to leave home after 10 pm, and they should not give their vehicle to their children after night," the committee general secretary said.
Almost all the parents have agreed to these directives. "We are now planning to start another round of awareness campaigns for the parents and on how to help their children," he said.