Was it so even when IUML was in power?
I think that’s primarily because IUML was in power (smiles). In Andhra Pradesh, where Muslims constitute 11%, the community gets 10% representation in government jobs. In Kerala, though the Muslims are 30%, they don’t have even half the due representation. There is no particular benefit for Muslims because of IUML. The educational developments in Kerala are the contributions of Samastha and MES.
One of the reasons for the split in Samastha was Kanthapuram’s declaration that religious organisations needn’t be subservient to political parties. Are the current problems in the EK Samastha due to political subservience?
That needs to be studied in depth. It should be examined whether it is because of the IUML leadership’s refusal to give importance to EK Samastha as it did earlier or because the Samastha started taking decisions independently. Anyway, it is not proper for a religious body to become the tail of a political party.
There’s a discussion on social media that time has proved the decision Kanthapuram took in 1989 to be the correct one?
Let the media other than social media say something about that. I don’t want to comment on that. Samastha should stand apart because it is an organisation of religious scholars. All other organisations come under it.
Earlier, people outside Malabar used to think IUML and Samastha are one. Now we know Samastha has an identity of its own…
That may be because there were more Sunnis in IUML and many of them worked for the party. IUML presidents were all Sunnis, barring a few in the beginning.
There are allegations that the Wahhabi influence in IUML is increasing, which is said to be the reason for the IUML-Samastha rift…
Wahhabis have been people of politics from the beginning. They will try to infiltrate politics in every place. This happened in Saudi Arabia. The Sunni community was disinterested in politics in the past, but now, they are showing deep interests in politics (not electoral politics). And the benefits are visible in society.
How do you assess the LDF government?
All governments in Kerala perform well compared to other states. At the same time, the allocation for the development of minorities is low here, maybe because of a lack of funds. We undertake our activities with donations from the public.
During the run up to the 2021 assembly elections, you said the LDF government should continue because it was carrying out development work…
What I said was that continuity of government would be beneficial for development. Projects get struck halfway due to continuous changes in government. Continuity of government may have its demerits.
What’s your assessment of Pinarayi Vijayan as the chief minister?
He is a chief minister with good commanding power and a person with humility.
There are some ex-Muslim groups operating in Kerala, which are very critical of Islam. How do you perceive them?
If a sweeper is removed from his job, he will never call himself an ex-sweeper. But a former minister is fond of being called an ex-minister. The term ex-Islam is the greatest sign of the relevance of the religion. An ex-Muslim gets recognition because he is from a relevant religion. Otherwise, he shouldn’t have used the term.
Don’t you think religion should welcome changes that happen with the development of science?
Certainly. Samastha is an organisation that accepts it at the first instance. Samastha will never oppose science. It never opposed vaccines or medical treatment.
TNIE team: Cithara Paul, M P Prashanth, Rajesh Ravi, Anna Jose, Abdul Nazer M A, Harikrishna B.
A Sanesh (photos) Pranav V P (video)