Kasaragod: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) does not subscribe to religious nationalism and such charges are politically motivated, aimed at deepening social polarisation, said its state president (Kerala Ameer) JP Mujeeb Rahman. He was speaking at an event held in Kanhanagd on Monday.

Rahman said the organisation's work is rooted in the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet, and focused on social reform and national progress. "We have repeatedly clarified that Jamaat-e-Islami does not advocate religious nationalism. Yet, attempts are being made to portray us otherwise," he said.

The remarks come at a time when the organisation has faced sustained criticism from the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who have accused it of pursuing sectarian politics to set up a theocratic state. To be sure, the Left's attack on JIH started after it shifted its political support from the LDF to the Congress-led UDF. On February 7, the Samastha Kerala Jam'iyyathul Ulama (EK Faction), the apex body of Sunni scholars, also adopted a resolution sharply critical of the JIH.

The resolution passed at the valedictory of Samastha's centenary celebration in Kanhangad warned that the Maududist lines of thought -- derived from the ideas of Abul A'la Maududi, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami -- pose a serious challenge by appealing to Muslim youth "through emotionally charged rhetoric that subtly promotes the idea of theocracy and the dangerous concept of political Islam".

Rahman did not name the Chief Minister or any organisation directly, but alleged that certain groups were spreading malicious propaganda to create Islamophobia in society. Such attempts to "other" a community are election-driven attempts at polarisation, he said, urging the public to resist divisive politics.

During the interaction session that followed, Rahman responded to questions from the audience on the organisation's ideological position and its engagement in public life. He maintained that Jamaat-e-Islami's activities are transparent and within the country's constitutional framework. JIH district president P S Abdullah presided over the meeting.