Jamaat-e-Islami Kerala Ameer, P. Mujeeb Rahman met with Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil of the Latin Archdiocese of Varapuzha, seeking a peaceful resolution to the escalating Munambam land dispute. He emphasized the importance of religious harmony and called on all communities to uphold justice and peace.
Highlighting the negative impact of communal divisions for political gains, he urged that society must collectively resist divisive influences. He also appealed for government intervention to bring an amicable settlement to the issue, accompanied by Jamaat-e-Islami’s Ernakulam district president, Jamal Panayikkulam.
The Munambam land issue has stirred significant concerns, impacting 610 families in Ernakulam. Muslim organisations, including the Indian Union Muslim League, have called for an out-of-court solution to prevent the case from devolving into communal tensions. IUML state president Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal convened a meeting with various Muslim groups to stress the need for a fact-based, legal approach to resolving the crisis without disturbing Kerala’s religious harmony. Key IUML leaders, such as PK Kunhalikutty, advised that prolonged court proceedings could be avoided by seeking a quicker, negotiated solution.
The dispute’s origins trace back to a 2019 claim by the Waqf Board, which asserts ownership over land allegedly donated to Farook College in 1950. Local residents, however, argue that they purchased the land before the introduction of the Waqf Act in 1954 and have valid ownership documents. Although a temporary state intervention allowed them to pay land taxes, the Waqf Protection Forum contested it in court, leading to a halt in tax payments. Residents are now petitioning the high court, questioning the constitutionality of specific sections of the Waqf Act, as the legal battle continues to intensify in the predominantly Christian Munambam community.
