Kozhikode: On September 15, a Christian priest and a Muslim imam held a rare press conference in Kerala’s Kottayam, speaking on peace, harmony and the importance of mutual understanding. The event came amid arguments triggered by remarks made by a senior priest.
Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt, who heads the Palai eparchy of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church, recently said that “jihadi extremists” have cast their “nets” at almost all places where people gather, including “schools, colleges, hotels, retail shops and training centres”, with the objective of “trapping girls”.
Palai Diocese Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt. Photo: palaidiocese.com.
The bishop did not mention any particular Muslim group that is active or visible in the state, and instead said that such dangerous people are “everywhere”. According to him, these “jihadists” can be found in disguise at ice-cream parlours, juice shops and hotels, and they are looking to “destroy non-Muslims” with drugs.
Defining “narcotic jihad” – a term that many in the state, including the chief minister, were hearing for the first time – the priest said it is “a method of destroying the lives of non-Muslims, especially youth, by making them addicted to drugs”.
The priest also said that the Sangh Parivar’s concocted phrase “love jihad,” for which even the Union home ministry said it did not have numbers, is real, and is a “war strategy” against Christians.
Islamophobia in Kerala
The bishop’s speech is only the latest example of Islamophobia fermented by disinformation campaigns. Such campaigns have sowed seeds of hate and communal violence in other parts of the country many times in the recent past.
Unlike in many other Indian states, anti-Muslim prejudice is not widely prevalent in Kerala partly due to the fact that the state thrives on inter-cultural exchanges and communities share spaces in their everyday lives.
Even so, the state’s church leadership has been accused of spreading misinformation on the Muslim community among ordinary Christians. In the days since the bishop made the baseless ‘narcotic jihad’ claim, another priest too delivered what can only be called hate speech against Muslims and called for economic boycott of the community, leading to some nuns publicly protesting against him.
Most recently, the local media reported a similar development where a Catholic diocese released a book to teach young people “nine stages of love jihad”, with offensive and baseless remarks against Muslims. The diocese later issued an apology, but still claimed that 160 women of the community had been “trapped” in “love jihad”.
Also read: ‘Love Jihad’ Ordinance Is Symbolic of Social Fabric Being Aggressively Changed: Justice A.P. Shah
One should not forget that Kerala was one of the states where the ‘love jihad’ propaganda emerged up for the first time in the late 2000s.
Even now, with its appropriation by Hindutva groups complete, Christian leaders continue to raise the ‘love jihad’ issue, even though various investigation agencies and the judiciary have repeatedly denied the existence of such a conspiracy. Women’s rights advocates have also pointed out how the whole debate over the issue threatens women’s agency. Besides, Muslims too have widely challenged the presence of any such practice of conversion by marriage in the religion.
In Kerala, anti-Muslim propaganda survives partly on the claim that people converting to Islam are many more in number than those converting to other faiths every year. However, every official data contradicts this claim. For example, a total of 506 religious conversions took place in Kerala last year. Out of these, 241 people converted to Hinduism. While 144 individuals embraced Islam, 119 others adopted Christianity.
Even after the criticism from various corners following the latest speech on ‘narcotic jihad’ and ‘love jihad’, the church leadership has refused to censure members who continue to air anti-Muslim views.
However, there have been strong voices of dissent from within the church. For example, Dr. Paul Thelakat, a Catholic priest known for his independent and progressive views, said the bishop was acting as a “communal leader” and his remarks were “unfortunate”.
Muslim leaders in the state also expressed concern at the bishop’s controversial speech, and demanded evidence to back his allegations. They also asked the church leader not to become a tool in the hands of Hindutva forces, who have in the past used anti-Muslim propaganda for riots and harassment of inter-faith couples elsewhere in the country.
Some Muslim leaders have also pointed out Islam’s strong views on narcotics. “Narcotics are banned and disallowed in Islam. It has no space in the faith,” said Abdussamad Pookkottur, a scholar of Islam.
Noted Malayalam writer Paul Zacharia said he is “worried” about “rampant Islamophobia” in Kerala, and warned against its possible impact on the lives of thousands of Keralites working in the Gulf countries.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Imaginary versus real threat
These latest developments suggest that Kerala faces two types of social evils – one which is imaginary and still lacks evidence, and a very real one.
While some Christian leaders and the Hindutva forces continue to portray ‘love jihad’ as a serious social issue, such hateful propaganda is, in fact, increasing the gap between ordinary members of communities.
Social media and other online platforms – including WhatsApp, Facebook and now Clubhouse – are being used to spread disinformation about religious communities, particularly Muslims.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party looks to capitalise on this divide.
Many Hindutva politicians, including the BJP state chief K. Surendran and Union minister V. Muraleedharan, have publicly supported the bishop’s remarks.
“Terrorist organisations have links with drug cartels. Globally, they make money through the drug trade. The situation is no different here [Kerala] … It is a serious issue that should be discussed,” said K. Surendran.
Going ahead a step further, the party’s state unit wrote to the Union home minister Amit Shah, requesting his government’s intervention.
Also read: For India’s Sake, Stop Destroying Communal Harmony With the Bogey of Love Jihad
While BJP desperately needs the support of the Christian community for its political growth in the state, some church leaders seek to benefit from closeness to leaders who have easy of access to the party’s central leadership. This partnership, however, has not produced any significant electoral gains for BJP yet.
Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan has said “there is a Sangh Parivar agenda” behind the latest controversy. Some Muslim organisations have also alleged the same.
“My humble request to both the communities is that please do not fall into this trap set by them,” Satheesan said.
The growing anti-Muslim bias, especially among sections of the Christian community, is something that could threaten the state’s cherished social harmony, if not addressed properly, many feel.
“There are lot of prejudices at play,” admitted Father Paul Thelakat, who is also a former spokesperson of the Syro Malabar Catholic church.
He also called for greater understanding between Christians and Muslims through dialogue.
“Dialogue is our way forward. We should invent new ways and methods of talking and understanding mutually…we should understand each other and learn to appreciate each other,” said the priest. Muslim leaders have also called for greater inter-community interactions, and warned against the current controversy being used to spread inter-faith tension.
Muhammed Sabith is a journalist and researcher. He can be contacted at sabith.muhemmad@gmail.com.