The New Indian Express ·
Politics
Salafi leader opposes Anwar Ibrahim’s proposed visit to sufi shrine in Kozhikode
KOZHIKODE: A Salafi leader has blasted the proposed visit of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to the dargah of a Sufi figure during his visit to the city on Sunday.
Inaugurating the Leaders' Meet on Saturday, T P Abdullah Koya Madani, the state president of Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM), a Salafi organisation in Kerala, said the act of a ruler of a country touching the feet of a person "is a serious deviation from the basis of Islam."
It may be recalled that Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to meet the Sunni leader Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musaliyar and pay a visit to the pilgrim centre in the name of C M Aboobacker Musaliyar at Madavoor on Sunday.
"The ruler of a foreign country is coming here. He is first taken to touch the feet of a person. Then he is taken to the grave of a person who was slightly mentally deranged. He (Anwar Ibrahim) is taken there to get the blessings. This is a serious aberration in faith," Madani said. He added that these things are given wide publicity in the media.
The Salafis in Kerala have been vociferously arguing against some of the practices of the traditional Sunnis, saying that they were not part of original Islam and were incorporated into the faith later.
The Leaders' Meet felt that religious leaders have the responsibility to check the extremist thinking that is posing a threat to society. The things certain religious leaders do have become material for critics to attack the religion, the meeting said.
It also said that the over-emotional approach of some groups and the habit of raising unnecessary controversies for media attention are not suitable for religious leaders.
