On 7th December, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared that no one could prevent a young man and woman from getting married if they decided to do so out of love for each other regardless of their caste or religious beliefs. His statement came in light of the accusation made by a popular Islamic leader Nasar Faizy Koodathai that the ruling Left party in the southern state was promoting inter-faith marraiges.
According to the chief minister, parents on both sides or in both families have always rejected these kinds of unions however that hasn’t stopped them. He stated that the SFI (Students Federation of India) which is the student wing of the CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) and the DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India) which is the Left party’s youth outfit were not acting as “inter-caste marriage bureaus.”
He asserted, “Such changes are happening in the state in accordance with the times and no organisation or the government is doing anything to bring about these changes. If a young man and woman like each other and decide to get married, no one in the world can prevent that. If someone thinks they can prevent it, they need to realise it is not possible,” while responding to the queries regarding the charges levelled by the Islamic scholar.
Reverse Love Jihad: Controversial statement made by the Islamic leader
On 6th December at the community meeting in Kozhikode, Nasar Faizy Koodathai, secretary of the Sunni Yuvajana Sangham which is the youth wing of the powerful Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama held CPI-M responsible for the promotion of interfaith marriages among the Muslim women. He claimed that the party along with its youth and student divisions are supporting the ‘abduction and marriage off to non-Muslims’ of Muslim girls. He cautioned his community to ‘beware’ of these kinds of instances and advised them to be on the lookout for the party’s ‘tactics with the label of secularism.’
He alleged, “Some people believe that marriages between Muslim and Hindu communities are secularism. They are widely promoting interfaith marriages. Even the party leaders are supporting this and party offices are being used for this. Young Muslim women are being ‘abducted’ with the support of SFI, DYFI and CPM and married off to non-Muslims. Mahallu committees should be vigilant against those trying to destroy the identity of Muslim women, and they should join hands to fight the denouncement of religion.” Interestingly, the Islamic outfit is associated with the Indian Union Muslim League, a political ally of the Kerala Congress.
This is the first time a prominent Muslim figure connected to the powerful group of Sunni Muslim clerics has spoken out against interfaith unions in a state. Kerala is particularly infamous for multiple Love Jihad occurrences against Hindu women. Muslims have been exposed by Hindus repeatedly for engaging in the abhorrent practice. The Catholic organisations there have also voiced grievances on numerous occasions regarding incidences of love jihad in which Christian females are singled out, seduced and eventually converted to Islam.
