Mangalore, November 20: Hundreds of Sunnis, most of them belonging to EK group, on Saturday staged a protest in front of the office of Deputy Commissioner here, against the alleged government interference in Madrasa education in Karnataka.
The protest was organised under the joint auspices of Samastha Madarasa Hitharakshana Vedike, Federation of Madarasa Administration Committees, SKSSF District Committee and Madarasa Teachers Association to exert pressure on Social Welfare Department (Minority Welfare) of Government of Karnataka to withdraw its recent controversial notification on introducing a separate syllabus for (Sunni) Madrasas.
The protesters also vent their anger against Karnataka Minority Commission Chairman and BJP leader Anwar Manippady, who has recently formed 'Federation of Sunni Muslim' to unite the two quarrelling Sunni fractions, known as AP and EK groups, under BJP leadership.
They alleged that the steps taken by Mr Manippady have only worsened the existing problems among Sunnis.
The agitators also set a two week deadline before the Department to withdraw its notification and to restore the autonomy of the (Sunni) Madrasas in the state. They also warned to intensify the protest from next month if the government failed to meet their demands.
Abbas Darimi Kelinja, Sirajuddin Faizi, Haidar Darimi Kalladka, TM Shahid Sullia, Majeed Suralpady, Abdul Khader Darimi Kukkila, Azeez Darimi Kallega, Usman Faiz Thodar, Renjadi Latheef Darimi, Modinabba Haji and Sadakathullah Faizi were among the protesters.
Most of the Madrasas in the region run by Ahl-u-Sunnat-wal-Jama'at (Sunnis), a group of Muslims controlled by Kerala based mullahs, are dependent either on AP group or on EK group text-books.
Conflict between the above two groups for various reasons including choosing text books for Madrasas has remained a matter of concern for many years.
However, a considerable number of Muslims, who question the legitimacy of mullahs and proclaim Qur'an and Hadith as the final word in religious matters, have prepared separate text-books for Madrasa students.
Comments
Add new comment