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Fundamentalists 'flee' as people back 'ostracised' Muslim couple

D Jose in Trivandrum

Hundreds of people from different walks of life packed the Bankers Hall at Manjeri in Malappuram district in Kerala on Sunday evening in a rare show of mass support to a young Muslim couple who had been ostracised by fundamentalists for defying Muslim customs.

Tasni Banu and Abdul Nassar, who chose to marry under the Special Marriage Act defying the fundamentalists, were given a hero's welcome by the gathering, forcing the Muslim leaders to disperse.

The reception was organised by the Progressive People's Movement after the National Democratic Front, an extremist Muslim organisation, started hounding them, making normal life impossible for the couple.

E A Jabbar and his wife Fousiya, who had also been ostracised by the fundamentalists for giving refuge to the couple, were also felicitated on the occasion.

The two men were able to continue with their teaching jobs at the Melmuri Government Mopla Upper Primary School in Manjeri only because of the support extended by the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist and its youth organisation.

The function was attended by prominent personalities like Pavanan, P K Pokar, B P Ahmed and Ajitha, the former Naxalite.

Also present was Suhra, who formed an organisation called Nisa to fight the misuse of talaq (divorce) provisions in the Muslim community.

The mass show on Sunday is considered significant, as almost all the political parties, human rights organisations and other non-governmental organisations had kept mum while the couple braved harassment.

Tasni earned the wrath of the fundamentalists for her association with the town's rationalists. Her decision to invite a rationalist to inaugurate the college arts club led to expulsion from the college and subsequent house arrest.

She was rescued by Abdul Nassar by filing a petition in the Kerala high court. The girl student, who was produced before the court in late January, informed the court of her decision not to return home.

The court allowed her a week's time to decide her future.

In her subsequent court appearance, she told the judges she would marry Nassar and live with him.

However, incensed by her resolve to marry under the Special Marriages Act, the fundamentalists ostracised her, making it impossible for the couple to lead a normal life in their hometown, Manjeri.

Advocate P A Pouran, a leader of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, expressed the hope that the two would be able to live in Manjeri after Sunday's show of support. He told Rediff on the NeT that both plan to rent a house in the town and return to their normal life.

"The fundamentalists succeeded in their designs as no social and political organisations came forward to support the couple. Now that they have the full backing of people belonging to various organisations, the fundamentalists may not touch them," Pouran felt.

The incident is yet another manifestation of the transition taking place in the Kerala Muslim community, thanks to the rapid strides in education. Educated Muslim women now question discriminatory Muslim personal laws and assert their rights.

Pouran said many women in Malappuram were turning to progressive and rationalist movements.

He said the campaign for women's entry into mosques and the struggle against the misuse of talaq laws were manifestations of the increasing awareness of women about their rights.

The resurgence has obviously led to increasing clashes between the fundamentalists and the progressives. This is bound to increase in future if the fundamentalists are not prepared to keep pace with the times, Pouran said.

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