The Sunni Students’ Federation (SSF), the students wing of the A.P. Kanthapuram Aboobacker Musliyar faction of the Samastha Kerala Jem-Iyyathul Ulama, has clarified that “nation and state” should be seen as separate entities.
This comes in the wake of media reports quoting Ponmala Abdul Qadir Musliyar, secretary of the faction, saying on Saturday that the religious freedom enjoyed by Muslims in India cannot be experienced in any Arab country. The Musliyar had claimed that their organisational work had not been hindered at any level in India. He reportedly made the remark at a session at the organisation’s State conference here. The SSF came out with a clarification when these remarks were interpreted by many as the organisation vouching for the safety of Muslims in India.
A resolution presented at the conference on Sunday said the ruling establishment should be corrected not by developing hatred for the country. Nation and state should be seen separately, and there was no need to defame the country to oppose the policies of the (Union) government. Hatred towards fascism and the violence it perpetuated should not be developed into a hatred for the country. There was no need to develop “a parallel line of hatred” to oppose the Sangh Parivar’s politics of hatred. Love for the country should not be misconstrued as the love for the state, the resolution pointed out.
Meanwhile, the conference chose T.K. Firdous Suraiji Saqafi as its new State president and Mohammed C.R. as its general secretary.
