In the popular imagination, Salafis or Mujahids in Kerala are the progressive face of the Muslim community, who fought for the rights of women, while traditional Sunni Muslims are considered obscurantists and misogynists. But a researcher has come up with with a finding that the Salafis have, in fact, dismantled the matrilineal system of family that allowed more rights to Muslim women, including property rights.
In a recent book, "Matrilineal, Matriarchal and Matrifocal Islam : The World of Women Centric Islam", edited by Dr Abbas Panakkal, a historian with UK-based University of St Andrews' School of History, argues that Salafis joined hands with British colonialists to destroy the 'marumakkathaayam' or matrilineal system, existing among Muslims in Kerala.
"Salafi-Wahhabi and other political Islamist movements attacked the distinctive nature of matrilineal Islam and labelled its practices un-Islamic", he writes.
Dr Panakkal argues that Wahhabis condemned the integration of local customs into Islam because they thought that it would corrupt the religion. They wanted to purge Islam from all its regional and local 'contaminations' and to impose the 'real Islam', which in effect was the Arab variety of the religion.
"From the last quarter of the nineteenth century onwards, these 'reformists' campaigned against local practices and admonished Malabar Muslims to revert to the 'real Islam', " writes Dr Panakkal.
My take
Witness what's being done in the name of religion. It's important that the clergy, the socio-cultural leaders and the other stakeholders get around and ensure that the religion becomes flexible to accept right thinking!
Tailpiece.
Got up at my usual time, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Breakfast, consisting of poories, were ordered from Hotel Welcome. The maid was in for work.
A quiet and a helluva hot day!
Carried out my complete set of exercises after early Sep '23, when I'd gone in for my cataract operation.
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