Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker | Power beyond the pulpit
Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar, a prominent Indian Islamic scholar, is facing backlash for issuing a circular discouraging the public display of women during religious celebrations. The controversy has sparked a debate in Kerala regarding the intersection of traditional religious decrees and modern, progressive social values.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the ongoing tension between conservative religious leadership and secular political movements in India, particularly regarding gender roles in public life.
Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar , the Grand Mufti of India, has been a leading figure in Keralam’s traditional Sunni Muslim community for more than five decades. Not a stranger to controversies, Kanthapuram, as he is popularly known, recently hogged the headlines for jointly issuing a circular to mahallus in his capacity as general secretary of the Samstha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, asking them “not to exhibit women in front of other men on the streets or stages” during Islamic celebrations.
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