[Reader-list] Muslim Youth Activism in Kerala: The Ittehadul Shiban lil Muslimeen

[Yogi Sikand]

Muslim Youth Activism in Kerala: The Ittehadul Shiban lil Muslimeen


Yoginder Sikand

Established in 1969, the Calicut-based Itehadul Shiban lil Muslimeen
(ISM) is the youth wing of the Kerala Nadwath ul-Mujahin (KNM), a
leading Kerala-based Islamic reformist movement. Since its inception,
the ISM has played a crucial role in promoting Islamic awareness as
well as social, educational and economic development among the Muslims
of Kerala, who form around a quarter of the state's population. It has
some 600 units all over Kerala as well around 20 'Indian Islahi
Centres', in various Gulf states, where Malayali Muslims, or Mapillas
as they are commonly known, live in substantial numbers. It has over
15,000 active members, aged between 15 and 40, and the number of its
sympathizers runs into tens of thousands. A large number of ISM's
members are government school Arabic teachers, Kerala being the only
state in India where Arabic is taught in public schools. Businessmen,
journalists, doctors, engineers, college lecturers and ulema comprise
most of the rest of the ISM's membership.

The ISM's sphere of activities is wide, not being limited to Islamic
preaching alone, explains ISM President Mujeeb ur-Rahman Kinalur. Some
500 part-time Quranic Learning Schools function under its aegis all
over Kerala. The ISM's preaching wing, 'The Truth', promotes
inter-faith dialogue and Islamic missionary work. Its Unity Family
Cell provides pre- and post-marital counseling to married couples and
conducts mass, dowry-free marriages for the poor. Its Programme on
Education and Career Enhancement provides counseling by trained
resource persons to students about higher studies and job prospects.
Its Yuvatha Book House is one of the largest Islamic publishing houses
in Kerala. Its Academy of Studies and Research conducts studies and
conferences on issues related to Islam, Muslims and inter-community
relations in Kerala. Its weekly newspaper, Shabab, has a circulation
of some 50,000, making it one of the largest Muslim papers in the
state. Besides articles on Islam, it provides news about community
development initiatives, scholarships, job and higher education
opportunities and government schemes. Podava, the ISM's monthly
women's magazine, has a circulation of more than 10,000 and among its
regular contributors are Hindu and Christian women. Two medical
assistance centres in Calicut and the roughly 200 Pain and Palliative
Clinics that the ISM runs in various parts of north Kerala benefit
several thousand patients, Muslims, as well as others, every day. Its
Social Welfare wing builds houses for the poor, provides relief at
times of natural disasters and grants some 500 scholarships to poor
students every year. The ISM's Gulf Cell conducts a Malayali
conference in some Gulf state or the other every year, bringing
together Malayali Hindus, Muslims and Christians to celebrate and
interact. Interestingly, almost all these many activities of the ISM
are undertaken by volunteers.

'In short', says ISM President, 35-year old  Mujeeb ur-Rahman Kinalur,
'we are trying to relate Islam to our daily lives, enabling us to live
as members of a very plural society. Promoting social justice and
inter-community solidarity is one of our man tasks, and this is
reflected in our understanding of Islam and in the work we do'. 'Our
services are not restricted to Muslims alone', he says. 'Instead, we
seek to reach out to others as well'. Kinalur explains that this urge
stems 'from a realization of one's duty to other human beings,
irrespective of their religion'. 'Such an attitude', he adds, 'also
helps Muslims live harmoniously along with others in a multi-religious
society'. 'So, for instance', he explains, 'many Hindus come to our
clinics for treatment. This is just a humanitarian task, not a
missionary strategy. But through our service we establish close bonds
with people of other communities and that helps them see Islam in
practice. Islam cannot just be preached through words or writing
alone'.

The ISM's state council meets every six months to chalk out plans for
activities throughout Kerala. District, zonal and local units then
formulate activities accordingly. 'This year', says Kinalur, 'we
decided to launch a mass campaign against communalism and extremism,
both Hindu as well as Muslim, that threaten the multi-cultural fabric
of Kerala'. 'We held literally hundreds of seminars and public
meetings throughout the state, where our workers as well as Christian
and Hindu social activists and leaders from various political parties,
spoke against communalism and stressed the need for inter-community
solidarity. Not just Muslims, but others, too, attended these meetings
in large numbers', Kinalur relates. 'Hindu and Muslim extremism feed
on each other. Today in Kerala these forces are raising their heads
and we need a joint struggle against them and cannot afford to remain
complacent', he explains.

Another major concern of the ISM is the struggle against Western
imperialism. 'True religion and genuine spirituality cannot co-exist
with the sort of hegemony that the West, in particular the United
States, seeks to impose on the rest of the world', Kinalur says. This
January, the ISM joined hands with various leftist groups to organize
mass rallies throughout Kerala against George Bush and American
imperialism, in which thousands participated. 'Our opposition to
Western imperialism goes beyond what the West is doing in Iraq,
Afghanistan and other Muslim countries. We are fundamentally opposed
to Western economic hegemony, the nexus between the Indian ruling
classes and the West, and the agenda of so-called globalization, which
is naked and crass capitalism and consumerism, which only benefits the
rich and further impoverishes the poor', Kinalur says.

Kinalur was elected President of the ISM this January. He tells me
about some of the plans that he has for the organization in the
immediate future. 'We want to organize seminars on the Kerala Muslim
model so that Muslims in other parts of India can learn from our
example. We want to translate some of the works of leading Kerala
Muslim reformists into Urdu and English so as to make other Muslims
familiar with reformist trends in our part of the country', he says.
'We also plan to launch regular discussion programmes  in our units to
which we would invite community activists, politicians and writers,
irrespective of religion, to discuss issues of contemporary social
concern'.

'Islam, as we understand it', Kinalur tells me as we conclude our
meeting, 'means being constructively engaged in society, working for
general welfare, especially of the poor, irrespective of religion, and
this we are trying to do in our own humble way'.
====================================
Mujeeb ur-Rahman Kinalur, President of the ISM, can be contacted on
kinalur at gmail.com






-- 
Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur Soye
Dukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur Roye

The world is 'happy', eating and sleeping
The forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping