Kozhikode, 04 September (H.S.): Sunni leader Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar has urged his followers to exercise restraint and avoid provocations amid a controversy over his recent remarks on women’s participation in public life.

Kanthapuram issued the appeal through a Facebook post as criticism mounted over his reported statement that allowing women greater participation in the public sphere could have damaging consequences.

Without directly revisiting the contentious remarks, Kanthapuram said discussions should serve as healthy platforms for objectively evaluating ideas and acquiring new knowledge. At the same time, he cautioned followers against attempts to deliberately turn spiritual and religious discussions into controversies that could create divisions in society.

He said people should recognise what he described as vested interests behind efforts to divert such discussions towards controversy and sectarianism.

“Discussions should be healthy platforms to objectively evaluate ideas and learn new things,” Kanthapuram said, adding that attempts to disrupt the pursuit of knowledge and create divisions in society should be approached with vigilance.

He also appealed to his followers and activists not to succumb to provocations or respond emotionally to criticism. Such situations, he said, should instead be handled with maturity, wisdom and restraint.

Kanthapuram said traditional Sunni believers had historically followed a culture of confronting what they considered wrong through positive means rather than hostility.

He urged his followers to remain disciplined and composed and not allow the controversy to distract them from their fundamental objectives.

The clarification comes amid a wider debate in Kerala over Kanthapuram’s observations concerning women and their role in society. His remarks have drawn criticism from political and social circles, with critics arguing that such views are incompatible with the prominent role women occupy in Kerala’s social, professional and public life.

Kanthapuram, however, sought to discourage confrontation, stressing that disagreements should not be allowed to descend into hostility or communal and sectarian divisions.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman