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New Indian Express

‘Muslims needn't be politically organised in name of religion'

There was a time when IUML leaders would tell the community that they wouldn't go to heaven if they didn't vote for the ladder symbol of the IUML… These are speeches of some people and not the official stand. There was no such belief. What should be counted is the stand of organisations like Samastha, Mujahid, or Jama'at. There's a practice that the opinion of an individual in Islamic attire is taken as that of the community. That needs to be corrected. Jama'at-e-Islami is an organisation that had been sidelined by Kerala Muslims until recently. But Panakkad Syed Munavvar Ali Shihab Thangal has said that Jama'at-e-Islami should also be included in the fight against fascism. Do you agree? I don't know whether Thangal has said so. Anyway, Samastha's stand is that Sunnis should stand separately. Around 90% of Kerala Muslims are Sunnis. Organisations like the Jama'at should be kept separate. It is dangerous to include them. There's a perception that the Kanthapuram group is closer to the CPM… There was a time when we were engaged in a fight with the other group. It may have created such a perception. We have given support to all parties. There was a controversy recently when a Muslim cleric criticised a woman over an Instagram post related to her Shimla trip... There was such an Instagram post and a person made a speech. We should address an idea rather than discussing a piece from the speech of a person. The discussion should be on what Islam says on the issue. Is there any ban on a woman travelling like that? That should be the question. There is no ban in Islam on travel. The stand that women shouldn't travel alone is not the position of Islam alone. Even the film artists' association, AMMA, had said that women actors shouldn't travel alone. Such policies will be there considering security and there is a policy in Islam too. It says that it isn't safe for women to travel alone. We are discussing this issue at a time when Sunita Williams has undertaken a space journey… Sunita Williams was not alone and she is not a Muslim. We should remember that security systems are not put in place anticipating that attacks will always happen. There are CCTV cameras here too. Nothing would have happened in the past hundred years. But they are installed because something may happen somewhere. But now many women are getting educated and working. Should they be barred from doing so? No. Who is barring them? Islam has laid down a policy and those who agree to it follow it. No one can insist that everybody should follow the rule. Such discussions have happened in the backdrop of a home birth in Malappuram. What's your stand on the issue? Islam does not stipulate that delivery should be at home. It only states that delivery should happen in a safe environment. There's a line of thinking in Europe that home is more hygienic compared to hospitals. Shouldn't a woman have a say in deciding where the delivery happens? Certainly, she has the right and I have no right to deny it. A woman can decide that she can have the delivery at home, but the family members can suggest that the hospital is a better place.