Eid-ul-Fitr celebrated in Kerala; religious leaders criticise 'The Kerala Story' during sermons

Thiruvananthapuram: The Muslim community in Kerala celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr with traditional fervour, marking the culmination of the one-month-long religious fasting.

Faithful, cutting across age barriers, thronged mosques across the state to offer prayers in the morning.

Specially arranged Eidgahs also witnessed a heavy rush of faithful in various parts of the southern state.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan offered prayers at the famed Beemapally Masjid near here while Lok Sabha candidates Shashi Tharoor and Pannian Raveendran took part in the Eidgah held in Palayam Juma Masjid.

After prayers at the mosques, people could be seen hugging each other and exchanging pleasantries.

Traditional feasts were prepared in Muslim houses with an array of ethnic delicacies.

During the sermons at the mosques, religious leaders urged devotees to uphold values of compassion, fraternity and social harmony and live a life adhering to the values of Islam.

While addressing the faithful at the famed Palayam Juma Masjid here, Imam V P Suhaib Maulavi cautioned against attempts by vested interests to create division in society.

He said the screening of the controversial movie The Kerala Story and the ongoing discussions revolving around it were part of such attempts.

"Such movies are propagating things that are completely baseless. I have only one thing to tell to those people who screen such movies ... we should not be become tools in the hands of those who spread lies," Maulavi said.

An art should not be something that creates division in society, on the other hand it should be the one which persuades people to live a harmonious life.

During his sermon, prominent Islamic scholar Hussain Madavoor also criticised the Bollywood film saying that there is no love jihad in the country as claimed by the movie.

Sudipto Sen-directed The Kerala Story, which hit theatres last year, tells the story of a group of women from Kerala who were forced to convert to Islam and join ISIS.

The controversial movie, screened by public broadcaster Doordarshan last week, has been drawing sharp reactions cutting across politics in Kerala since its release.

The religious leaders came out against the movie days after the Idukki Diocese had screened it as part of an intense training programme for teenagers, which triggered a widespread row in Kerala.