The Muslim Coordination Committee, a collective of Muslim organisations in Kerala that includes the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), has reportedly invited the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] to a seminar against the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC), scheduled to be held in Kozhikode on July 26. This was revealed by P.M.A. Salam, IUML State general secretary, here on Sunday.
IUML State president Syed Sadik Ali Shihab Thangal is the chairperson of the committee. The development is significant against the backdrop of the IUML declining the invitation to attend a seminar against the UCC organised by the CPI(M) in Kozhikode on July 15. The IUML had then pointed out that the CPI(M) had not extended a similar invitation to any other party in the United Democratic Front, including the Congress. The Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, an influential Sunni scholars’ forum, however, accepted the CPI(M)’s invitation.
Mr. Salam told the media that all mainstream political parties had been invited to the coordination committee’s event. “It is organised by a group of Muslim organisations and their representatives will be present. As far as we know, political parties such as the Congress, the IUML, CPI(M), and the CPI and organisations such as the Jamaat-e-Islami too have been invited,” he said. Asked if the IUML too would organise similar seminars, Mr. Salam said a decision could be taken after the UDF meeting scheduled next week.
T.N. Minister to attend
According to the organisers, the event titled ‘Uniform Civil Code: Unseen Angles of a Polarisation Agenda’, will be held at the Mohammed Abdur Rahiman Memorial Jubilee Hall at Kandamkulam in the city at 4 p.m. Ma. Subramanian, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Tamil Nadu, and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader, will open the seminar. The Thangal will preside over the event. The organisers claim that the attempt will be to highlight the UCC as a national issue and resist the move to polarise society on religious terms.
