Can the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, mononymously known as the Samastha, the biggest body of traditional Islamic clergy in the State, prove its hegemony over Muslim community matters? It is time, if the Samastha thinks that the Islamic body is more important than the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in community matters.
The standoffish relations between the Samastha and the IUML, especially in recent months, have left some bad blood within the top body of clerics as well as its subsidiaries. There is a section within the Samastha that firmly believes that the IUML should not be allowed to outweigh the Islamic body led by Syed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal.
Although silent, some whisperings are heard from the anti-IUML lobby known as the Shajara group in the Samastha that it is time to teach the IUML a lesson. Will they vote against E.T. Mohammed Basheer and M.P. Abdussamad Samadani, the IUML candidates in Malappuram and Ponnani respectively?
