Several Muslim religious and political outfits in Kerala have been making hateful comments against the LGBTQIA+ community. Members of the community therefore face the double jeopardy of both homophobia and Islamophobia within their own communities. Ironically, in India today, Muslim outfits are not the only groups making transphobic or homophobic comments. In December 2022, BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi told the Rajya Sabha that same-sex marriages are “against our culture and ethos”. “Same-sex marriages will cause complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country,” he said and added that marriage is sacred in India and restricted to a “relationship between a biological man and woman.”

But coming to Kerala, otherwise hailed as India’s progressive state, here are some of the most distasteful comments: “Those who believe that a trans man delivered a baby live in a fool’s paradise;” “Presence of uterus makes a person a woman;” “LGBTQIA+ community is a shame and are the worst kind of people;” “Transgender is a fake mental state!”

The NewsMinute had recently reported that these are among just a few of the several such transphobic and queerphobic comments made by Muslim outfits in Kerala, including the political party Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). The most recent comments were made by IUML leaders about a trans man in Kerala who gave birth to a child.

On February 13, IUML leader MK Muneer said that those who believe that a trans man gave birth to a child were “living in a fool’s paradise” and that the gender identity of the trans man was “hollow”. “The person who gave birth to a baby was actually a woman, although she had removed her breasts to look like a man. The presence of a womb in the person who gave birth to the baby proves that it was actually a woman,” was his exact statement.

Barely a week had passed after Muneer’s transphobic comment, that the IUML state secretary PMA Salam said that being transgender is a “fake mentality”. He was speaking at an IUML district conference in Kozhikode. Here, he commented, “A woman recently claimed that she is a man and gave birth to a child.” Though Salam did not mention the couple’s names, he said that the incident happened in Kerala. He also said that this was just a ‘mentality’ and misgendered the trans man and his trans woman partner throughout.

“The woman removed some of her body parts through surgery, which is unnecessary. She claimed that she was a man and married a man who is pretending to be a woman. The woman also said that she was a man and gave birth to a child. We should remember that even if the body is altered surgically, what is inside will not change,” he claimed and added that Islam does not recognise the existence of any gender other than male and female. He also claimed that Islam does not accept marriages that do not happen between “natural man and natural woman” and added that there is no mention of ‘third gender’ in the Quran.

Significantly, the past months have seen a spiral in such hate speech by members of Islamic groups. This has made Muslim queer persons in the state especially insecure. In January 2023, IUML leader KM Shaji called the LGBTQIA+ community a “shame” and the “worst kind of people”. A Mathrubhumi report quoted him as saying that while the word LGBTQ sounds like “something important, those are bad activities (thallippoli pani). They are the worst humans. They are projecting it as colourful, but the term itself is dangerous, it creates anarchy in society. Deciding one’s gender after growing up is just silly.”

This was preceded by an objectionable statement made in December 2022, by senior Muslim League leader Abdurahiman Randathani. His disparaging comment on gender-neutral classrooms and sex education in schools have drawn flak. He made the outrageous claim that male and female students were made to sit together in school and were being taught about masturbation and homosexuality.

Go further back to July 2022, when a class was held for the students of Thrissur Medical College Hospital by a Muslim group about gender politics and the LGBTQIA+ community. Sounding like a progressive orientation, the session was actually conducted by those organizations and outfits well known for their homophobic, transphobic and queerphobic stances. While the session was on, the organisers actually used the archaic segregation model—a sheet to separate men and women who attended the class.

That this is part of a dangerous trend is evident from the fact that a  month before that, in June 2022, the Jamaat-e-Islami conducted an online seminar at which a neuro physiotherapist compared homosexuality to paedophilia, and also declared that transgender persons are mentally ill!

Kerala’s campaign against LGBTQIA+ rights

The NewsMinute investigation suggests that in Kerala Youtube channels, Facebook pages, and other social media handles seem to be running what looks like an organised campaign against queer communities and individuals. The popular Youtube page ‘Unmasking Atheism’ is one of the Islamic platforms that speak about Muslim morality on LGBTQIA+ identities, and argues against LGBTQIA+ activism.

“We are not against people who are going through these difficulties. This is a reality. We have no objections that their troubles should be solved. But we are against generalising this in a society, by breaking heteronormativity and bringing queer normativity. We are against queer activism. This will only trouble those who belong to this group. These issues should be considered subjectively, that is each individual has to be considered separately rather than generalising. Some might need support from society while some others might be getting ‘fake thoughts’. If we normalise these things, this will have big implications. The number of such dysphoric people will increase,” says Abdulla Basil, one of the main persons behind the Unmasking Atheism, who is also a dentist and an educationalist.

 “Everyone has the right to subscribe to their own morality. I subscribe to Islamic morality, so then homosexuality is haram (forbidden by Islamic law). I cannot support homosexual acts. We should have that freedom to take that moral stand, and should not term it as phobia. Our stand is that nobody is wrong due to their orientation or their thoughts, it is only the acts that make them wrong,” Basil says. 

Yet one more popular Islamic channel is run by MM Akbar, an Islamic preacher, in his own name. “We understand that homosexuality gets approved in the world as well as by the legal system. But it’s a baseless argument. That is not natural. The basis of sex is reproduction. It’s not hereditary. This LGBTQIA+ activism is politics. Politics is played by calling them a gender minority. We, who believe in morality, cannot accept it. Some who go through these situations need individual treatment,” MM Akbar says in one of his speeches.

December 2022: BJP’s Homophobia

Pertinently, the rightwing Hindu-tva outfits are similarly disparaging, making transphobic or homophobic comments. In December 2022, elected official of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sushil Kumar Modi told the upper house of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) that same-sex marriages were “against our culture and ethos”. “Same-sex marriages will cause complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country,” he said and added that marriage was considered sacred in India and is only meant as a “relationship between a biological man and woman.”

“Two judges cannot sit and take a decision on such social issues. There should rather be a debate in Parliament and society,” the former Bihar deputy chief minister said, adding that attempts were being made by ‘left-liberal democratic people and activists’ to legalise same-sex marriages in the country. He also said that this was “against our culture and ethos,” encouraging the Union government to strongly present its case in court. “Same-sex marriages will cause complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country,” he said. Sushil also said that issues such as family, children, and their upbringing were related to the institution of marriage, as were those of adoption, domestic violence, divorce, and a wife’s right to stay in the marital home. Sushil added, “Some left-liberal, democratic people and activists want India to follow the West” on this issue, referring to the US Senate’s decision last week to grant legal status to same-sex marriages.

Student battles on

In the midst of this conservative backlash from India’s largest religious minority in Kerala, there are students battling ahead. Adarsh E, a queer student from Kerala’s Kozhikode is one such rebel who has taken on alleged institutional harassment on his college campus.

Aadhi, as he is popularly called, is raising his voice against the homophobic, moralising and casteist remarks made by his teachers. The student, pursuing his Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) studies at Government College of Teacher Education, Kozhikode, is also a budding poet and writer.

Related:

Madras HC commends TN gov’t for new Police rules, glossary for referring to LGBTQIA+ persons

Delhi HC Approached for Separate Public Job Vacancies for Transgender Persons

Madras HC issues guidelines for sensitisation of stakeholders in LGBTQIA+ matters

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Mohammed Riyaz Maulavi, an innocent Madrasa teacher, was brutally murdered by three RSS men while he was sleeping at night inside a mosque in Kasargode. This killing was another in the long line of murders by RSS in Kerala, close on the heels of murdering Faizal in Malappuram, for choosing a religion of his choice. Under the present dispensation, showing maturity and restraint, both the Muslim community and the political leadership averted the communal riots, which the RSS is itching to provoke. The officers of the Kerala police officers who acted promptly in arresting the culprits deserve congratulation. There is also need for the conspiracy angle to be brought into the investigation.

It is interesting that in a state where the police level charges under the Unlawful Prevention of Activities Act (UAPA), often even against authors for writing books, the sections of this otherwise draconian law has not been invoked in connection with this dastardly act of terror. In the interest of the rule of law the Riyaz maulavi case should not follow the trajectory of the similar murder of the elderly Alavikkunju Maulavi of Thevalakkara inside an orphanage at night in 1984 in which nobody was punished.

It is also interesting and quite telling of the Kerala police that the culprits who hurled bombs at the meeting addressed by the CPIM state secretary have not been arrested yet. All this is when RSS is running a vitriolic national campaign against CPIM alleging violence against RSS.

(This has been filed by writer Faizi S from Kerala for Sabrangindia)

The murder of an Imam in Kasargod and the subsequent arrests of three BJP activists has once again highlighted the growing attempts by the Sangh Parivar to disturb the communal harmony in the region.

Riyas Moulavi, a 34-year-old Moulvi who had been teaching at Issathul Islam Madrasa in Choori for nine years, was found murdered with his throat slit in his room adjacent to Muhyudheen mosque at Choori on March 20. Three persons, S Ajesh (20), N Akhilesh (25) and S Nithin (19) were arrested on March 24. The police confirmed the link of the trio with BJP and said the Riyas was the victim of hate crime.
 

It is no coincidence that Choori, which falls under the Madhoor Panchayat, which is one of the few places that the BJP has seized power.

“Riyas was a stranger to the accused, and the crime was apparently committed because of communal hate.I don’t see any other reason,” Kannur Crime Branch Superintendent of Police A Srinivas told local media. Srinivas is the head of the special team which investigated the murder.

Choori is swiftly turning into a communal cauldron, mainly due to the BJP’s efforts to reap from the communal polarisation, laxity of police and flow of anti-social elements from outside the panchayat. The perception has been rekindled by the latest of the communal murder series. The Muslim-majority locality surrounded by areas with Hindu majority has been witnessing a surge of minor clashes after 2005. In 2009, a Muslim youth Rishad was murdered by RSS activists while another youth Sabith was stabbed to death in 2013 in the locality.

Choori saw an increase in Muslim population following the migration from Muslim strongholds like Thalangara, Nellikkunnu, and Thuruthi in Kasargod. “Middle-class families can’t afford the land price in these areas. So families started moving here during the 90s in search a more affordable place,” says Abid Basha Muhammed, a Choori resident whose family shifted to the locality from Nellikkunnu.
 

According to residents here, all was well till the early 2000s, after which the Sangh Parivar deliberately created panic taking a cue from Karnataka’s Mangalore, where BJP rose to power by practicing communal politics.

Other political parties also said that BJP resorts to the politics of hatred eyeing the consolidation of Hindu votes in the panchayat.

In Madhoor panchayat, BJP, the ruling party has a lion’s share of panchayat members. United Democratic Front (UDF) won only four seats while BJP bagged 16 seats.  “Hindu votes are being swiftly consolidated by BJP. Congress and CPI (M) have almost lost their hold among Hindus here,” says IUML functionary Ashkar Choori.

“No doubt Sangh Parivar is trying to reap political benefits by creating communal riots. They want retaliation from their rivals and take benefits of the bloodshed politics. But their expectation failed to take off as Muslim organisations raised to the occasion by calling for efforts to restore peace,” says Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) Kasargod constituency secretary Kader Arafa.

Lack of Police action is encouraging the culprits

Activists say that the Police action has often been far from encouraging and that this makes it easier for culprits to get bail or acquittal. “Take the Rashid case for example. The charge sheets filed by the police in Rishad’s case had so many loopholes that the accused found it easy to get an acquittal,” said Kader Arafa.
 

Advocate C Shukoor of IUML says that the police ignored the complaint by local political leaders against suspects of Riyas’ murder case. “A few days ago, two suspects of the case Ajesh and Nidhin had threatened the mob by raising a sword during a local badminton tournament. A complaint was issued by the local politicians. But police ignored it,” he said.

Besides, according to Kader, assailants are treated like heroes in BJP strongholds. “The suspects of former cases were accorded royal welcome and they have got new vehicles. BJP is promoting this culture. Unfortunately, the police have not initiated any probe into this kind of deeds,” he said.

The reluctance of police to impose strong charges against the culprits also come under heavy criticism.

“Complaints are pouring against police alleging laxity. No probe is initiated into the conspiracy behind these heinous crimes. IUML leaders have demanded the police impose UAPA on the suspects and look into the conspiracy,” Shukoor said.

Courtesy: TwoCircles
 

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