As per a report on The New Indian Express, Kerala Law Minister AK Balan has created a furore with his remarks on Islam and polytheism. Things got heated while discussing the Kerala Police (Amendment) Bill 2018 and Balan ended up telling IUML leaders to not be “Munafiqun”.
Balan told the IUML members, “You are the followers of Prophet Mohammed who opposed idol worship and polytheism. You should not become fake believers. Don’t be Munafiquns.” In Islam, Munafiq refers people who pretended to be Muslims outwardly while concealing disbelief and actively seek to undermine the Muslim community. Munafiqs are condemned as more dangerous to Islam than non-Muslim opponents of Islam.
As per a report by The Hindu, Balan made the remarks while admonishing the IUML for supporting the devotees of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala. He asked IMUL leaders how could they support the Congress on the matter. The Opposition dubbed his remarks “religiously alienating and socially schismatic”.
VD Satheesan from the Congress party condemned the law minister’s words. He stated, “Here everyone lives together – those who believe in one god and many gods. This comment is bad taste and would divide people. This should be expunged as per Rule 307.”
The controversial remarks by the Law Minister come at a time when the communist government in Kerala has been accused of committing severe atrocities on the devotees of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala.
NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma has also asserted that Chief Minister Pinayari Vijayan and the Kerala government was turning a blind eye to the reality of forced religious conversions in the state.
Radical Islam has also been gaining ground at an alarming pace in Kerala, a concern that is raising eyebrows across the nation. The PFI, a radical Islamist organization whose members have been accused of committing a variety of violent crimes, has also established a vast network in Kerala right under the noses of the Kerala government.