Malappuram: Muslim organisations in the state have called for an amicable solution to the Waqf land issue affecting 610 families in Munambam, Ernakulam. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state president Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal convened a meeting of various Muslim organisations in Kozhikode on Friday and requested the government intervene and resolve the issue.
The Muslim organisations opined that the government should consider the matter legally and factually and resolve the crisis without affecting the state's religious harmony.
“People residing there for years must get a satisfactory solution. Parties with vested interests are attempting to turn the land issue into a communal one,” said Thangal.
IUML leader PK Kunhalikutty said the state should consider an out-of-court settlement as court proceedings would take long to reach a solution.
All organisations offered their full support in an attempt by the state to resolve the matter. Besides senior IUML leaders, representatives of Muslim organisations like Samastha, Kerala Muslim Jamaat, KNM, Jamaat-e-Islami, KNM Markazudawa, Wisdom Islamic Organisation, Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, MES and MSS participated in the meeting.
The Munambam Waqf land issue
The dispute began in 2019 when the Waqf Board claimed ownership over land allegedly donated to Farook College in Kozhikode by Siddique Sait in 1950. The residents, who bought the land before the Waqf Act was introduced in 1954, claim that they legally purchased it from the college management and that it was not classified as Waqf property at that time.
By 2022, these families could not pay land taxes at the village office, but a temporary intervention by the state government allowed them to proceed. However, the Waqf Samrakshana Samathi (Waqf Protection Forum) contested this decision, resulting in a court order that paused tax payments. The residents petitioned the high court, seeking intervention in declaring certain sections of the Waqf Act unconstitutional. The ongoing legal proceedings have heightened tensions in the predominantly Christian community.
LDF in a tough spot
Meanwhile, the LDF seems to be experiencing internal trouble due to disagreements over the Waqf land issue, with certain leaders of Kerala Congress (M), a key ally, publicly condemning the current law as 'immoral' and challenging the Left's stance.
Kerala Congress (M) state general secretary K Ananda Kumar, in a statement on the party's letterhead, said that around 600 families in Cherai and Munambam villages in Ernakulam district were fighting for survival against the Waqf Board's allegedly unlawful claims on their properties.
Although the CPM ally's position on the issue has not been officially announced, party sources said leaders of the Kerala Congress (M) have started openly supporting the protest in Cherai and Munambam against the Waqf Board's claim over residents' land, PTI reported.
The protests in Munambam and Cherai are led by the Catholic Church, which is the traditional vote base of Kerala Congress (M), headed by Rajya Sabha MP Jose K Mani.
The Left front finds itself in a difficult position as it, along with the UDF, had passed a unanimous resolution in the state assembly opposing the BJP-led Centre's Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which challenges provisions in the existing Waqf law.
The Catholic Church, whose followers hold significant influence in the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, where a by-election is being held, has taken a position similar to that stated by Kumar in the release. Kumar also stated that people should not be forced to approach a Waqf tribunal with pleas to save their lands and homes.
He further said that no government should permit people to be evicted from land and homes they had purchased, registered, and paid taxes on.
He also noted that no one, irrespective of their religion or community, should remain a silent spectator to the issue, thinking it will not affect them.
He urged the Waqf Board to withdraw its claim on properties in the two villages.
The resolution passed in the Assembly argues that the proposed Bill, now under the consideration of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, violates fundamental rights, belief rights, federalism, secularism, and democracy.
Meanwhile, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in Kerala and the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council have sent letters to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) regarding the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, suggesting amendments to the Waqf Act of 1995.
The Church requested that the JPC consider the "tragic situation" of people in two villages in Ernakulam district and other parts of India who are at risk of losing their homes due to the "totally unjust and inhuman claims" made by the Waqf Board, the source said.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on August 8, following its introduction in the Lok Sabha by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
This move was met with significant objections from opposition parties, who argued that the Bill was intended to target the Muslim community.