KOZHIKODE, Kerala: Sheikh Aboobacker Ahmad alias Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar who heads the Markazu Ssaquafathi Ssunniyya, one of the leading Islamic institutions in India, has urged the Muslim community to resist any move to amend India’s Muslim Personal Law that is based on the tenets of Shariah.
Delivering the keynote address at the grand 31st Anniversary Conference and 14th Convocation of the Markaz at Karanthur on the outskirts of this northern Kerala city, he said Islamic Shariah is timeless and nobody would be allowed to dabble in its basic tenets.
“It is the decree of Allah, the Almighty. Islamic Shariah is built on the edifice of the Holy Qur’an, Prophet’s Sunnah and the perception and perspectives commonly shared by scholars all over the world. No government, commission or any other system can change or alter it. It is unalterable, perennial and fit to survive all the time and it will withstand the challenges of all ages,” he said.
The Kerala Law Reforms Commission has recently recommended a slew of changes in the Muslim Personal Law, including conditions for allowing polygamy, limits to having more than two children and succession rights.
Kanthapuram said it was the ulterior motive and calculated ploy of certain people having vested interest to spread the canard that Islamic principles are outdated and should be revamped.
“It is aimed at desensitizing the Muslim community,” he said. “Government, judiciary and the media should not give in to this vicious propaganda. It’s only the prerogative and privilege of religious scholars to issue a fatwa and give the final word on issues of Islamic Shariah. Nonreligious people are advised not to interfere in the religious matters and wreck the prevailing communal amity in the country”.
The scholar, who heads one of India’s leading Islamic institutions, warned against the malicious attempts to take the community for a “materialist ride by reorienting and reshaping the religious principles, mores and beliefs to suit their vested interest”.
A number of scholars and leaders from India and abroad, including Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, Kerala Assembly Speaker K. Radhakrishnan, Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Industry Minister Elamaram Kareem, Forest Minister Binoy Vishwam, and former ministers Aryadan Mohammed and K.E. Ismail also addressed various sessions of the three-day meet that concluded Sunday with a marathon public meeting that lasted for 12 hours.
