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Days after Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliar, general secretary of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, made controversial remarks about women, Sadiq Ali Thangal, state president of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), defended him. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, September 1, Sadiq Ali Thangal said Kanthapuram might have been referring to current concerns about women’s safety.
“What he meant was probably that, in the present-day context, women are the ones who are being victimised or targeted the most. That must have been what he intended by his statement. He may have said it while referring to a particular social situation. Perhaps he expressed that opinion with women’s safety in mind,” Sadiq Ali Thangal told the media.
Sadiq Ali Thangal also stressed the importance of community unity and social harmony. “As far as the Muslim League is concerned, the unity of the community is important, and social harmony is equally important. The Muslim League will always work towards achieving that,” he said.
The controversy over Samastha’s position on women began in the last week of August. The Kanthapuram-led faction of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama issued a circular to mosque committees and madrasas, warning that Islamic celebrations and events were increasingly crossing religious boundaries and urging them to take the issue seriously.
The circular stated that “displaying young women among unrelated men on public roads and stages, as well as incorporating non-Islamic customs and forms of celebration into such events, is not appropriate for believers and is not permissible.”
The circular sparked controversy. The following day, while defending it at a conference in Kochi, Kanthapuram said bringing women onto public platforms would lead to “great destruction” and argued that women should remain confined to their homes.
His remarks drew criticism from political leaders across Kerala, including leaders of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), of which the IUML is a constituent.