KOZHIKODE : The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has every reason to worry if the signals originated from the conference organised by Samastha Kerala Jem-Iyyathul Ulama in Bengaluru on Sunday are any indication.
IUML leaders, including Panakkad Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal and P K Kunhalikutty, paled into insignificance while Samastha president Syed Muhammad Jiffiri Muthukoya Thangal stole the show. There was an uproar from the Samastha workers who gathered at the Palace Ground when Jiffiri Thangal arrived at the venue and his speech was punctuated by ‘takbir’ calls from the enthusiastic crowd.
Thangal asserted that there is no going back from Samastha’s declared stand against ‘deviant sects’ in Islam like the Mujahids and the Jama’at-e-Islami. “Some people ask why we take a strong position against the deviants. We tell them that the scholars must fight them,” Thangal said. It may be recalled that the members of the Panakkad family were accused of attending Mujahid conferences.
Jiffiri Thangal also announced the name of the degrees awarded to the students who are pursuing courses under the Samastha National Education Council (SNEC) scheme, which was formed as an alternative to the Wafy-Wafiyya courses of the Confederation of Islamic Colleges (CIC). Thangal said the SNEC will be fully under the Samastha and will abide by the directions and the advice of the organisation.
Samastha workers can’t be taken for granted
Samastha had severed ties with CIC after the latter allegedly made attempts to establish an independent existence. There is a feeling among Samastha workers that Sadiq Ali Thangal, who is the president of the CIC, could have solved the issue amicably if he sincerely wished.
Jiffiri Thangal suffered a setback when some persons who are close to him were omitted from the annual conference of Jamia Nooriyya Arabiyya held at Pattikkad last month. There were allegations that the IUML had hijacked the conference, where the party leaders hogged the limelight. Some of the persons who were kept away from the Jamia conference were at helms at the Bengaluru conference, which was attended by dignitaries including the Karnataka chief minister, deputy chief minister and assembly speaker.
It is a known fact that most of the Samastha workers are members of the IUML and the party is confident that the issues with Samastha may not have any political fallouts. But the mood of the Samastha cadre present at the Bengaluru conference was they cannot be taken for granted and it will not augur well for IUML politically, especially when Lok Sabha polls are around the corner.