Rehana Fathima, the troublemaker who tried to enter Sabarimala, has been expelled from the Muslim community as her act “hurt lakhs of Hindu devotees and it is against the rituals of the Hindu community”.
Alapuzha: The Kerala Muslim Jamaath Council has expelled Rehana Fathima from their community for entering the sacred shrine with anti-social intention, which led to creating a hassle for the Hindu community. The council state president A Pookunju has issued the press note saying that along with this expulsion, she would be sued for promoting enmity between different religious groups under IPC section 153A too. He also pointed out that IG Seejith has committed the severe offence of helping anti-social elements to enter the temple wearing the riot gear.
Rehana Fathima from Kochi, Kerala, turned out to be a troublemaker as she tried to reach the Sabarimala temple on Friday guarded by hundreds of policemen. As the turbulence in the region is still going on, she was forcibly sent back to the base without entering the sacred premise of the shrine.
Around 30 employees and the chief priest of the Sabarimala shrine sat down at the 18 steps leading to the inner chamber and sang Ayyappa hymns to prevent their entry to the temple.
Police not only cordoned Fathima off, but they gave her a riot gear to wear, which the leader of the opposition in Kerala Assembly, Congress's Ramesh Chennithala, slammed as an illegal act. The police helped her reach almost close to the ‘pathinettam padi’ (18 steps) of the Sabarimala shrine of Lord Ayyappa. As she is from the Muslim community, her act has "hurt communal feelings to a large extent".
Meanwhile, Fathima's house in Kochi was allegedly attacked by an unidentified mob.
This isn’t the first time Fathima has grabbed headlines. Earlier, she initiated a sensational protest against sexually-coloured comments made by a professor in Kozhikode. She posted a picture covering her breasts with water melons.
A report in the The Times of India quoted Fathima as saying she wants to question the restrictions regarding a woman baring her body and make a point on women’s assertion of her own self.
Fathima has also played the lead in an art film named Eka, which is based on intersexuality, which comes with the tagline: ‘I am intersex. I have a penis and vagina by birth. I want to live’.
Fathima's Facebook page says this: ‘Break the rules’. Her "disrespectful" picture wearing the Ayyappa attire (black dhoti and black shirt) baring her thighs earned the wrath of Hindu devotees as they felt "humiliated".
Fathima has also played the lead in an art film named Eka, which is based on intersexuality, which comes with the tagline: ‘I am intersex. I have a penis and vagina by birth. I want to live’.
The Supreme Court’s ruling ending women’s ban has now caused tension in the premises of the shrine and is now on the fifth day. The state and the Devaswom Board haven’t found a solution to figure this out.
According to Islam, reverence for any entity other than Allah is shirk (apostasy).
Last Updated Oct 21, 2018, 6:20 PM IST