Even as the controversy over Shashi Tharoor MP’s ‘act of terror’ remark continues to rage, the Catholic Church has expressed concern over political Islamists using the Israel-Palestine issue to their advantage in Kerala.
Airing the Church’s concern, bishop Thomas Tharayil, Auxiliary Bishop of the Syro-Malabar Archeparchy of Changanassery, openly expressed displeasure over the perceived attempts to pull a veil over the terrorist character of the Palestinian organisation and using the issue to create communal divisions in Kerala.
“It raises the suspicion that the ongoing debate over the war is a symptom of the communal cataract that has caught Kerala society. We fear that even the secular parties here are competing with each other to blame only Israel, portraying the brutal attack by the terrorist organisation Hamas on a country, where life is going on peacefully, as an act of defence,” noted the bishop on his social media page.
Observing that the Pope has called for an immediate end to the war, the bishop also warned against political parties deliberately acknowledging vote bank as the lone criterion of truth. “This will only serve to turn even the neutral into communalists,” he said.
The bishop’s remark comes close on the heels of a scathing attack unleashed by the Church through its mouthpiece Deepika. In its editorial, the Malayalam daily unleashed a scathing attack on the pro-Hamas stance adopted by some in India, particularly the Left parties. It also urged those sympathising with Hamas to get an idea regarding the situation of the 2,000-odd Christians living in Gaza.
“Among those who have come up to whitewash the Hamas include people who are caught in the trap laid by fundamentalist organisations, those who have fallen silent for fear of vote banks, and the cowardly intellectuals. The first step towards reining in terrorism is to identify the terrorist organisations. Such outfits should not be mixed up with human rights organisations and freedom movements. Hamas is indeed a terrorist organisation,” said the article.
The Catholic Church regards the growing anti-Israel sentiment in Kerala as a manifestation of political Islam deepening its clout over the secular political fronts here.
“We have never seen any of these secular parties holding any public protests when the entire Christian community and its religious establishments were uprooted in Manipur through an organised riot. They remained silent also when thousands of Christians were forced to flee Nagorno-Karabakh following an Azerbaijanian offensive recently. But when it came to Palestine, political parties as well as the media have taken a stance in favour of Islamists despite learning that Hamas is using the people of Gaza as a human shield,” pointed out Fr. Jacob G Palackappilly, Deputy Secretary General, Kerala Catholic Bishop’s Council.
