Kozhikode: In a planned move aimed at reiterating the Panakkad family's prominence in the Muslim community in Kerala and weakening divergent voices among the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, a common platform for Mahallu committees has been formed, which will act as the final authority in the spiritual, religious matters.
The Panakkad Khazi Foundation brings together nearly 1,600 Mahallu committees, mainly under the Ghaziship of Panakkad Sadique Ali Thangal and also of his brothers under one roof. These committees are spread all over the state and in Nilgiri in Tamil Nadu. (Mahallu committees are the local area administrative bodies that have the power to decide on the religious matters of the people under its jurisdiction. Each Mahallu accepts a Khazi as its leader who has the power to decree on its affairs. A Khazi can have several Mahallus under him.)
The Khazi Foundation will coordinate these mahallus, and the proposed Khazi Bhavan will act as its headquarters. The formation of a common body is seen as a strong move from the supporters of the Panakkad family in the Indian Union Muslim League and Samastha, especially given factionalism in the Sunni clerics' body.
The Muslim League, of which Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal state president, is aligned with the EK faction of Samastha. (The factions were formed in 1989 after Kanthapuram A P Aboobecker Musaliyar split away from the late E K Aboobacker Musliyar. Now the groupings are called after them.)
The formation of the Khazi Foundation, lining up a major portion of the Mahallu committees in the state, and authorising itself as the final word for the religious, and spiritual matters in a significant section of Mahallu committees could pose a challenge to the Samastha's authority and create another power centre in the community.
Power to issue fatwas
Sources close to the Panakkad family said that there are more than 1,500 Mahallu committees in Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Thrissur, Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram and Nilgiri under Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal's leadership and nearly 100 panels under his brothers. On Saturday (February 18), the Panakkad Khazi Foundation held a grand meet-up of assistant Khazis, Khatibs and office bearers of these Mahallu committees at Calicut Trade Centre in Kozhikode.
The proposed Khazi Bhavan will act as the final authority in community-related issues and spiritual matters. It will also be authorised to give fatwas, a formal ruling or interpretation on a point of Islamic law.
“The Khazi Foundation can issue fatwas, as Mahallu Khazis are authorised to do, under its jurisdiction. For that the Foundation will consult the Samastha fatwa committee as and when such a situation arises,” said Nazer Faizy Koodathayi, the coordinator of the organising committee of the Foundation's conference held at Kozhikode. “The committee formation and other details will be finalised at a meeting to be held this week at Panakkad,” he told Onmanorama.
The formation of the Foundation effectively under the leadership of Sadiq Ali Thangal will make him and the Panakkad family more powerful. This, in turn, would also give the IUML an upper hand over Samastha, community observers point out.
This power shift, may in the long run, weaken the rebel team in the Samastha, under the present President Jiffry Muthu Koya Thangal and his main ally Mukkom Umar Faizy, who are seen as close to the CPM and are unwilling to accept the Panakkad family's hegemony.
In his presidential address at the Kozhikode meeting, Sadiq Ali Thangal reiterated the strong relationship between the Samastha and his family and claimed that the Foundation would make the Samastha stronger. “It's not an alternative to Samastha, (rather) the Foundation will make it (Samastha) stronger,” he said.
Power centre
Samastha and IUML have always been close. However, some recent developments seem to have strained the relationship. Some of the decisions taken by the leaders of the clerics' body were seen as clear attempts to defy the Panakkad family's supremacy in the EK Sunni and IUML. Some of the statements by Jiffry Thangal and Umar Faizy were in support of the CPM.
The factional feud was visible in the programmes with one side snubbing the other. Even at the Kozhikode meet, most of the Mushawara (the high command body of the council) members from the Samastha attended, but Jiffry Thangal and Umar Faizy were conspicuous by their absence. It is learned that while Jiffry Thangal was abroad, Umar Faizy was not invited. "We invited only 12 executive members of the Central Mushavara committee. Those who were in Kerala attended the function,” said Koodathayi.
It must be pointed out that while the former IUML President Hyder Ali Thangal was a Mushawara member, Sadiq Ali Thangal hasn't got a look in yet.
Split wide open
The differences between the supporters of the Panakkad family and the Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation (SKSSF), under the control of the rebel wing of the Samastha, came out in the open at Muringampurayi Mahallu near Mukkom. The committee, which is under Samastha, allowed a room attached to the masjid to be used as the office of the SKSSF Sahachari Centre. Going against the custom of inviting a member of the Panakkad family for the inauguration, the students' wing invited Jiffry Thangal and didn't discuss it with the Masjid committee.
This infuriated the pro-Thangal faction and the Mahallu committee boycotted the programme. Jiffry Thangal had to inaugurate the office from outside the masjid compound.
The Suprabhatham newspaper, Samastha mouthpiece, is controlled by the anti-IUML, anti-Panakkad wing of the Samastha. Recently some opposed to this rebel wing even cancelled their subscriptions to the paper. Some party insiders suggest that the IUML is trying to bring the rebels in the Samastha and SKSSF under their control using Mahallu committees.
'Who gave them the right?'
Panakkad family, considered the descendants of Prophet Muhammad's family by a section of Muslims in Kerala, is generally revered by the community and the Thangals are highly respected as religious and political leaders.
But some do question the family's superiority and its attempts to set up a power centre. “This is a wrong move, which must be nipped in the bud,” said prominent writer and political analyst O Abdulla. “It will only divide the Muslim community in Kerala. Nobody is supreme in the community, all are equal before God. The belief that the Panakkad family is descendants of Prophet Mohammed is baseless,” Abdulla added.
