A fatwa was issued against CPI(M) party worker Labeeb Anapara, a native of Wayanad, by the Khidmathul Islam Sangam for allegedly insulting the community. Labeeb had posted a morphed picture of Muslim League leader Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal with BJP chief Kummanam Rajasekharan, on his Facebook account.
After the counting of votes for the Kerala Assembly on 19 May, Labeeb had posted a picture mocking and alleging that there was a secret understanding between the Muslim League and the BJP during the polls. The post portrayed Shihab Thangal as a bride and Kummanam Rajasekharan as the groom.
However, the post did not go down well with the Mahalla committee. A fatwa was issues against Labeeb and his family and mentioned that community leaders should refrain from attending any function that involves Labeeb and his family.
Labeeb, however, told The News Minute that he had no intention of insulting the community and the post was only meant as a criticism of politicians.
I just uploaded a post that was already doing the rounds on WhatsApp and Facebook during the election time. It is not the first time that I have spoken against the Muslim League. I have been openly criticising them. However, I mean no insult to my community.
Further, he said that it is not right to take political revenge by misusing religion.
People across the state have been putting up trolls and memes against every political party and political leaders in the state. Why is it that only I have been issued a fatwa?
Labeeb, who got married on Sunday, said that community leaders did not attend any of the functions and they tried to prevent others from attending it. The community had also asked Labeeb to apologise for his post but he refused to do so.
He also claims that he has been getting threat calls since Monday evening, from the Gulf, for insulting the community.
(Published in collaboration with The News Minute.)
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