A family in Kerala's Palakkad district was allegedly ostracised by the local mosque committee for what they claim was a vulgar wedding. The definition of vulgar? The women were allowed to sing, pose for pictures and have fun.
In January 2019, the mosque committee punished Danish Riyaz, brother of the groom, and his family for hosting a wedding that went against the mosque rules by including singing and dancing, they claim, reported The News Minute.
Additionally, the mosque committee accused the family of allowing women to speak over microphone to bless the newly-wed couple, arranging an orchestra to entertain the guests and allowing children to dance on the stage, reported The Week.
The reception was shifted to another district and was held on 28 December 2018 in Edappal in Malappuram district, 13 km away from Aloor. Nonetheless, it still triggered a boycott.
On 11 February, Riyaz took to Facebook to write an open letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Thrithala MLA VT Balram to explain the situation and seek their intervention in the issue.
The mosque committee members typically collect Rs 100 from each Muslim household for mosque upkeep, but have stopped collecting this from Riyaz’s family. The family has also been disallowed from another tradition that’s held every 3 months, that of entertaining the ustads for lunch reported The News Minute.
Riyaz has taken full responsibility, stating that his family was unaware of the wedding arrangements and thus should be exempt from any punishment.
“I respect and accept the boycott and will follow any remedial procedures to make amends,” he wrote in his Facebook post.
The groom also requested the committee to lift the boycott in a letter, but has received no response.
A committee member from the mosque denied the placement of any boycott or ban on the family.
(With inputs from The News Minute and The Week)
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