JEDDAH, 17 October — A meeting of Keralite organizations in Jeddah has protested the ban imposed by the Indian government on Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and urged the government to lift the ban immediately. An statement issued after the meeting said the ban reflected "the anti-Muslim fascist mentality of the Sangh Parivar who controls the central government."
It cautioned Indian Muslims that the government might ban other Muslim organizations in the country. "All the anti-Hindutwa fascist humanists should come forward against this heinous act," the convention said. It said the ban on SIMI was part of a conspiracy by the fascist government targeting the very existence of Indian Muslims. "The mass awareness campaigns against fascism and the lining up of youths as a force against it, are the provocations behind the prolonged conspiracy to ban SIMI," the participants suggested.
The meeting was presided over by Humayun Kabeer and addressed by O.K.M. Moulavi (Sunni Yuvajana Sangham), T.M.A. Rauf (Kerala Muslim Cultural Center), Abdul Ghani (Muslim Ekata Samiti), V.K. Rauf (Navodaya), K.T.M. Kutty (Islamic Dawa Center), P.M.A. Jaleel (Indian Muslim Cultural Center), P.T. Moosakkoya (Islahi Center), P.A. Muhammad (Jam-iyyathul Ansar), Jamal Muhammad Malappuram, Akbar Ponnani, and Ashraf Moulavi Moovattupuzha.
