Kerala Sunni leader Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musaliyar, who has been criticized for his conservative thoughts, is now being flayed by his rivals for participating in World Sufi Forum, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has been criticized stating that the event was backed by BJP.
The Sufi conference, organised by All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board was held in Delhi from March 17 to March 20.
“It was not a Sufi meet at all. Sufis are known for their simplicity and modesty, but the conference was held in a five-star hotel splurging crores of rupees,” said Musthafa Mundoopara, a leader of Samastha Kerala Jam-Iyyathul Ulema, the rival Sunni group, reports The Times of India.
“Kanthapuram is known for his BJP lenience. He had met Modi soon after the Gujarat carnage. He also had helped the BJP to set up a unit in the Lakshadweep. BJP Kerala leadership might have the plans to garner some Muslim votes through Kanthapuram,“ he alleged.
The Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM) another Muslim group has alleged that Sufism is a fake spirituality. “The West has deliberately created an artificial division between the `peace-loving Sufis' and jihadi Muslims. Those who follow the real Islam have been branded as extremists and those who toe the line of the West are being promoted. The same tactic is being followed in India too,” Addul Majeed Swalahi, the state president of the Ithihadu Subbanil Mujahideen (ISM), said.
They also alleged that BJP aims at electoral gains by inviting Kanthapuram and that Modi needed a Muslim platform for his political gains.