Sunni leader Abdul Hameed Faizi Ambalakkadavu has attacked Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for visiting the Sabarimala temple saying that the former has “opened the door out of Islam.”
Ambalakkadavu, quoting details from news reports on the Kerala governor’s visit to Sabarimala, stated Arif Mohammad Khan had observed all the rituals that a devout Hindu would. “Dear friends, we saw our Governor Arif Mohammad recently visiting Sabrimala offering prayers and poojas at the temple. We saw him performing all the rituals in the true form and thus opening the door out of Islam,” said the Sunni leader.
“Governor’s name will create an impression that he is a Muslim by faith. He has the name of Prophet Muhammad and Arif is the term that refers to a person who knows Allah very closely,” Ambalakkadavu said, adding that the governor’s remarks on hijab should not be regarded as a comment by a Muslim.
Notably, the Kerala Governor had vociferously spoken against the pro-hijabi movement in Karnataka, saying that Muslim women will be losers if the ‘right to hijab’ argument is accepted. Moreover, he had also lambasted Congress and other opposition parties for exploiting the hijab issue for vested interests.
Continuing with his ad hominem attack against Arif Mohammed Khan, the Sunni leader further said that the governor is deriding Islam hoping that it would fetch him new positions in the BJP. “It’s a stipulation in Islam that if a Muslim visits the place of worship of other religions, follows their customs and dons their attire, he is out of Islam,” the Sunni said. “It is an unquestionable fact that if one questions the basic tenets of Islam, he will be out of the religion. I am not saying that Arif Mohammad Khan has become a non-Muslim or Kafir. It is up to the religious scholars to pronounce fatwas. I am only referring to laws in Islam,” he said.
Ambalakkadavu added that there should be no doubt as to whether Khan, who speaks about the hijab and Sharia, is an Islamic scholar or not. He described his acts as those of a man who has “opened the door out of the religion,” rather than those of a Muslim.