Move to allow women into Kerala mosques lands imam in controversy

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

The issue of allowing women entry inside a mosque in Thiruvananthapuram for Ramzan prayers has snowballed into a major controversy with both the reformists and the conservatives within the community hotly debating the issue from the Islamic perspective.

The imam of the Palayam mosque, P K Ahmedkutty Moulavi, who opened the doors of the mosque for women for the first time in south Kerala, is apparently at the receiving end with a section of the Imams Council in Thiruvananthapuram and some conservatives opposing his decision. The Imams Council has termed the decision 'unIslamic' and has called on women to desist from entering the mosque.

The Sunni Youth Federation, belonging to the conservative Kanthapuram group in the community, held a demonstration against the decision recently.

However, the imam seems unfazed by the growing rebellion. Ahmedkutty Moulavi told Rediff On The NeT that there was nothing unIslamic in allowing women to enter the mosques as women, not only in other parts of India and abroad, but also in northern Kerala were offering prayers in mosques. He said that women in southern Kerala did not enjoy the privilege due to a lack of facilities in the mosques.

"When I found there was enough room in the mosque for the women to offer prayers, I allowed them inside," he added. He justified his decision which was taken on the basis of the opinion of the 25-member Jamat-et Committee, saying the Quran and the discourses of the Prophet were unambiguous on the issue.

He said that Chapter 2 of the Quran said that preventing anybody from entering the mosque for prayers amounted to the destruction of the mosque itself. The iman said that women had free access to the mosques in Mecca and Madina from the days of the Prophet. He pointed out that those who objected to the entry of women have failed to pinpoint what is unIslamic in doing so.

The imam, who is considered progressive in his approach, said that those who objected to the practice were those persons who wanted to bind the common Muslims in the clutches of superstition by creating a smokescreen. He added that the sections who revolted against his decision were those who had objected to the discourses being conducted in Malayalam, the language understood by most in Kerala.

The Indian Union Muslim League, the main political party of the Muslims in Kerala, has been conspicuously silent on the issue. Although the chairperson of the women's wing of the IUML, Khamarunnisa Anwar, said she personally believed there should no gender discrimination, she avoided taking a public stand by discussing the issue at the state committee meeting held at Kozhikode, earlier in the week.

She said her statement that fatwas (religious edict) against the entry of women in mosques were wrong and unIslamic was "her personal opinion and not that of the party."