KOZHIKODE: Sunni leader and Indian Grand Mufti Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musaliyar’s remarks that Mujahids and Jamaat-e-Islami are not Muslims have sparked a controversy in the Muslim community, with some demanding an apology from him.
Speaking at a function at Kundoor in Malappuram recently, Kanthapuram said that both Mujahid and the Jama’at cannot be considered Muslims because they believe that the body of Prophet Muhammad decayed and degenerated after the burial. People who believe this cannot be called Muslims, he said.
Kanthapuram pointed out that the Mujahids maintain the belief that the Prophet lived as an ordinary person, and upon his passing, his body was buried. According to the Mujahids, this burial was necessary to prevent the body from decaying and causing issues for others.
“Not only do the Mujahids hold this belief, but publications from Jama’at-e-Islami also share a similar view. In my opinion, both cannot be considered Muslims,”Kanthapuram said.
Sunni Yuvaja Sangham (SYS) general secretary Syed Muhammad Koya Jamalullaili and working secretary Abdul Hameed Faizi said that Kanthapuram’s stand that Mujahids are not Muslims and Mujahid’s argument that Sunnis are polytheists are equally serious.
In a statement issued here, SYS asked both parties to amend their stand. “Kanthapuram’s remarks were against those who portrayed the Prophet in a bad light. But utmost caution should have been exercised while pronouncing a statement that is against the known stand of the Sunnis against the Mujahids,” the statement said. The Mujahid stand that crores of Muslims, which include Sufi saints and scholars, are polytheists and therefore out of the religion is very serious. The SYS leaders asked all leaders to desist from the grave mistake of branding Muslims as Kafirs and polytheists.
Ithihadu Shubbanil Mujahideen (ISM), the youth sing of the Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM), has asked Kanthapuram to tender an apology for the remarks.
In a statement, the ISM state executive said Mujahids have played a major role in the educational and spiritual growth of the Muslim community in Kerala. “Kanthapuram should withdraw the irresponsible and anti-religious statement that Mujahids are not Muslims,” ISM said.
WHAT HE SAID
At a function at Kundoor in Malappuram, Kanthapuram said both Mujahid and the Jama’at cannot be considered Muslims because they believe that the body of Prophet Muhammad decayed and degenerated after the burial. People who believe this cannot be called Muslims, he said.