Samastha heads for showdown over IUML-backed Waqf meet

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Differences within Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama are heading for a showdown, with Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) supporters planning a Waqf meeting at Malappuram on September 11 despite Samastha president Syed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal’s appeal to avoid provocative moves.

The meeting could test the authority of the Samastha leadership and the IUML’s influence within the 100-year-old organisation, the State’s largest body of traditional Islamic scholars.

The organisers said the meeting was aimed at explaining the Waqf policy of the UDF government, in which the IUML holds the Waqf portfolio. IUML national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty is expected to inaugurate it.

Nazar Faizy Koodathai, one of the organisers, said the meeting would be held under the banner of an ‘Organising Committee’, without using the names of Samastha, IUML or any other organisation. The move is seen as an attempt to avoid possible action from the Samastha leadership.

The immediate trigger is a dispute over the State Waqf Board involving Samastha secretary and board member Umar Faizy Mukkam. Speaking at a CPI(M)-organised Waqf seminar at Malappuram recently, Mr. Faizy criticised the UDF government’s Waqf policy and accused the IUML of having vested interests in Waqf affairs.

He alleged that the government had supported BJP leader Shone George in the High Court and told the court that it was ready to appoint two non-Muslim members to the Waqf Board and reconstitute it. He also alleged that the IUML wanted to remove him and board chairman K.S. Hamza.

Mr. Faizy had already clashed with the IUML over the Munambam land dispute. He had maintained that the land was Waqf property, a position opposed by the IUML.

His latest criticism has led IUML supporters in organisations linked to Samastha to demand his removal from Samastha executive body Mushawara. The group, referred to by opponents as the ‘Suhabis’ or ‘Nalanda group’, has stepped up its campaign against him.

The dispute, however, goes beyond Mr. Faizy. It reflects a wider struggle over the balance between Samastha’s religious leadership and the IUML’s political influence.

Both sides claim to represent the traditionalist stream. One insists that Samastha and its ideology should take precedence over the IUML and its leadership. The other places greater importance on the IUML and the Panakkad Syed Shihab family, which has led the party for decades.

The planned meeting has already prompted calls within Samastha for action against those who organise or attend it despite Mr. Jifri Thangal’s appeal.

The dispute has also revived memories of 1989, when a faction led by Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar split from Samastha. The IUML had boycotted a meeting convened by Mr. Kanthapuram in Kochi that year.

Some Samastha leaders now see a parallel with the present situation. The September 11 meeting could reveal whether the current differences can be contained or lead to a fresh rupture.