Archive · 2 Sep 2026
Samastha Chief Backs Kanthapuram Amid Kerala Women Remarks Row
A debate started in Kerala after Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar made comments about women at an Islamic conference.
He said women should follow purdah and that putting them on public platforms could cause great destruction.
Satheesan criticised these comments and said they belonged to the 19th century.
He also said the Congress party and the UDF government would not support them.
Jifri Muthukoya Thangal, the head of Samastha, defended Musliyar.
Thangal said religious people should be able to discuss religious matters.
He added that people who disagree can choose not to accept those views.
The disagreement has created a public controversy in Kerala.
Samastha president Jifri Muthukoya Thangal defended Sunni scholar Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar.
Thangal said religious figures should be allowed to speak about religious matters without being belittled.
He appeared to indirectly criticise Satheesan for condemning Musliyar’s comments.
Musliyar had said bringing women onto public platforms could cause “great destruction.”
Satheesan said such views had no place in progressive Keralam and would not receive Congress or UDF support.
- Who
- Samastha president Jifri Muthukoya Thangal, Sunni scholar Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar, and Satheesan.
- What
- A dispute over Musliyar’s remarks that women should remain confined to their homes and follow purdah, with Thangal defending him and Satheesan condemning the views.
- When
- Thangal spoke on Wednesday, September 2; Musliyar made the remarks on the preceding Sunday.
- Where
- The controversy began at an Islamic conference in Kochi, Kerala; Thangal spoke at a gathering nearby.
- Why
- Thangal said religious figures should be free to speak about religious matters, while Satheesan said Musliyar’s views were outdated and unsuitable for progressive Keralam.
Critics of the remarks
Defenders of religious commentary
Women in public life
Critics of the remarks
Satheesan said the view that women should remain confined to their homes was outdated and had no place in progressive Keralam.
Defenders of religious commentary
Musliyar argued that bringing women onto public platforms could cause “great destruction” and referred to purdah as an Islamic prescription.
Public criticism of religious figures
Critics of the remarks
Satheesan condemned Musliyar’s remarks and said the Congress party and UDF government would not support his position.
Defenders of religious commentary
Thangal said people associated with religion would naturally speak about religious matters and should not be belittled for expressing such views.
Religious beliefs and practices
Critics of the remarks
Critics opposed applying what they described as a 19th-century outlook to contemporary Kerala.
Defenders of religious commentary
Thangal cautioned against belittling religious beliefs and practices, saying those who disagreed could choose not to accept them.
- Organisation
- Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, a Sunni-Shafi’i Muslim scholarly body in Keralam.
- Samastha president
- Jifri Muthukoya Thangal.
- Scholar at centre of controversy
- Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar.
- Remarks under criticism
- Musliyar said bringing women onto public platforms would lead to “great destruction” and that Islam prescribed purdah for women.
- Thangal’s position
- Religious figures should not be belittled for speaking about religious matters.
- Satheesan’s position
- The remarks reflected a 19th-century view with no place in progressive Keralam.
- Political response
- Satheesan said neither the Congress party nor the UDF government would support Musliyar’s position.