Kanthapuram faction to protest against lack of representation in Keralam Waqf Board

Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar The Kerala Muslim Jamaath backed by the Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar faction of the Samastha Kerala Jemiyyathul Ulama is set to launch an agitation against the Keralam government’s alleged denial of their representation in the reconstituted State Waqf Board.This decision was taken at a meeting presided over by State general secretary Sayyid Ibrahim Khaleelul Bukhari on Saturday (October 17, 2026).Explaining the decisions taken at the meeting, Jamaat leaders told the media that the reconstitution contradicted the promises made by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and others that there would be no discrimination, unlike in the past. They asserted that justice had been denied to their Sunni faction, which manages a significant portion of Waqf properties across Keralam. Mass protests would be organised at all district headquarters on October 22.‘Deserving individuals sidelined’The leaders said that further action would be decided later. They said the issue was not about who had been given representation on the board, but that the deserving Sunni faction had been denied representation. The most deserving individuals had been sidelined, said A. Saifudheen Haji, State vice-president of the Kerala Muslim Jamaath, and State secretaries Vandoor Abdurahman Faizy, Majeed Kakkad, C.P. Saidalavi, and Muhammed Paravur.The leaders said they had not been consulted on the reconstitution of the Board. Of the 12,196 Waqf properties in the State, those under the Sunni Waqf constitute the majority. They said their faction safeguarded the largest share of Waqf assets, including educational institutions, mosques and religious establishments. “It is this actively engaged Sunni faction that has been denied representation on the Board, which is unacceptable,” they added.Earlier, Rahmathulla Saqafi Elamaram, a prominent leader of the faction, wrote on social media that injustice had been done to them. Published - October 18, 2026 07:00 am IST