KOZHIKODE: Sunni leader Abdul Hameed Faizi Ambalakkadavu has said Governor Arif Mahammed Khan has ‘opened the door out of Islam’ by offering prayers at the Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala as a believer. In a YouTube video, Ambalakkadavu said the governor’s remarks on hijab should not be regarded as a comment by a Muslim. Ambalakkadavu is the working secretary of the Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS), the feeder organisation of the Samastha Kerala Jam-Iyyathul Ulema.
Quoting the details from the news on the governor’s visit to Sabarimala, Ambalakkadavu said Arif Muhammad Khan has observed all the rituals followed by a faithful Hindu. “As an Indian citizen, he has every right to believe a religion of his choice and to follow the rites,” he said.
“Governor’s name will create an impression that he is a Muslim by faith. He has the name of Prophet Muhammad and Arif is the term that refers to a person who knows Allah very closely,” Ambalakkadavu said. He said Khan has shifted political loyalty many times for personal benefits.
“During the time of Sharia controversy in 1985, he was the leader of the Congress. But he joined the anti-Muslim group that was against Sharia. Later he aligned with the Janata Dal,” Ambalakkadavu said.
He said the governor is deriding Islam hoping that it would fetch him new positions in the BJP. “It’s a stipulation in Islam that if a Muslim visits the place of worship of other religions, follows their customs and dons their attire, he is out of Islam,” the Sunni said. “It is an unquestionable fact that if one questions the basic tenets of Islam, he will be out of the religion. I am not saying that Arif Muhammad Khan has become a non-Muslim or Kafir. It is up to the religious scholars to pronounce fatwas. I am only referring to laws in Islam,” he said.
Ambalakkadavu said there should not be any confusion about whether Khan, who remarks on hijab and Sharia, is an Islamic scholar or not. His actions are not that of a person within Islam, but of a man who has opened the door out of the religion, he said. It may be recalled that Khan had said that the hijab was not an integral part of the Islamic faith.