In Kerala Cleric's Latest Shocker, A Call For Not Letting Women Leave Home

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's grand mufti Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad has stirred a fresh controversy with comments that women should remain confined to their homes and should not enter the public sphere, arguing that Islam prescribed the purdah system to protect their dignity.Speaking at the Hubbul Rasool conference in Kochi, the cleric also known as Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar compared women with gold ornaments that need to be kept safely inside a box and said bringing women into the public sphere could result in "great destruction.""Women should remain confined within their homes. They should not enter the public sphere. The Holy Quran says so," Kanthapuram said.He said it was not intended to diminish women but was meant to honour and protect them.The cleric also serves as the general secretary of both the All-India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama and the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama. As an example, Kanthapuram cited the case of a man buying a gold necklace from a jewellery shop. He said the necklace was carefully taken out of a cupboard, then from a box and finally from its wrapping before being shown to customers.He contrasted this with a neighbouring shop selling stone grinders, which could be kept by the roadside even as people walked past and stepped over them. Kanthapuram said leaving a gold necklace on the roadside would allow everyone passing by to touch it, eventually destroying its beauty and value."If the necklace has to retain its beauty, it has to be kept safely inside a box," he said. "If women are brought out into the public sphere like this, it will lead to great destruction. It is because of this that Islam prescribed the purdah system for women."The cleric known among Sunni Muslims as the grand mufti of India cited a Quranic verse and gave his interpretation of what it required of women. "Women should remain confined within their homes. They should not enter the public sphere. The Holy Quran says so," he said again, adding that even when considered "intelligently", this was an important principle.Kanthapuram said religious scholars, particularly the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, have taught this position for 100 years and that this had enabled women in the country to "maintain their dignity".Earlier in the same speech, Kanthapuram said Islam had historically elevated the status of women. He referred to the practice of female infanticide in pre-Islamic Arabia and said Islam prohibited the killing of girl children. He said Islam gave women property rights at a time when they did not have inheritance rights."Islam gave women a great position," Kanthapuram said, arguing that restrictions on women entering the public sphere should also be viewed as a form of respect towards them.He shot back at organisations that questioned his authority to make such statements. He said religious scholars had studied Islam and so, they had both the authority and an obligation to speak about the religion."We have studied the religion. Therefore, it is our duty to say this. We will say it, and we will continue to say it. Nobody can stop it," he said.Kanthapuram said his organisation does not interfere with the practices of followers of other religions and pointed out that Muslim religious scholars should similarly be allowed to address their own community. "We have the right to speak to the Muslim community. We will continue to do so. Nobody here can stop it," he added.