When photographs of Jamida Beevi leading Friday prayers in a predominantly male congregation in Kerala was published in newspapers, it created a controversy. Her group, the Quran Sunnath Society, adheres only to the Quran and not subsequent works such as Hadith. She spoke to Jiby J Kattakayam about her understanding of Islam and the attendant struggle:

How did you depart from the mainstream?

I was forced to marry against my wishes. I wanted a divorce but there was no support from any quarter. I experienced it in my own life, how family, Muslim society and even secular structures like Women’s Commission let down Muslim women by citing shariat. I got a divorce after a lot of effort. At college I used to ask questions which my teachers couldn’t answer and they turned vindictive. This prompted me to think, do my own reading, and slowly I gravitated towards Chekannur Maulavi’s ideas.

How different is your group from others?

Chekannur Maulavi’s main precept was that Quran is Allah’s sole bequest to humans and no other book needs to be followed. Quran has capacity to reflect and absorb changes in society over time. Everything else like the Hadiths (records of Prophet’s actions and sayings) were written long after Prophet’s death. On birth control, Chekannur would say a life must not be taken but there was no bar on contraceptive procedures. He argued that Quran gave equal rights to sons and daughters in inheritance and did not discriminate between men and women. Chekannur was a courageous man and he earned many followers. But his murder was a setback. His absence also created ideological rifts among his followers, who were virtually orphaned by his sudden passing.

You are facing a lot of hatred for leading namaaz. Where does it come from?

I am not able to step out of home. I have police protection. Death threats are being issued. There is a vilification campaign against me. Kerala has a tradition of initially rejecting progressive ideas. When government first opened schools, Islamic preachers cited the primacy of religious instruction. Government next pleaded to send students to schools for some hours to learn Malayalam but to no avail. When grants were offered to Malayalam teachers they obstructed that too. Malayalam was denounced as the language of kafirs and English as the language of hell. Today, the clerics are silent on their past follies. Even now they treat women as second class citizens. Left to such preachers, women won’t even be taught to read. Because I oppose them I have to pay a heavy price.

Why are attacks on you vicious?

The priestly class is unable to demolish my views with facts or logic. They fear I will expose their lies and ignorance. No one is willing to engage me in a dialogue. The so called responses are just personal attacks.

Central government is vocal about Muslim women’s rights. What are your views?

I am no member of any political party or follow any political ideology. I look at the good that people do. Triple talaq survived so long because politicians feared clerics’ disapproval. The Supreme Court judgment said triple talaq violated fundamental rights and was not sanctioned by Quran. On criminalising it, shouldn’t such husbands be jailed? Triple talaq is a criminal act because it creates destitutes. The children of such injustice owe nothing to society, and could turn criminals tomorrow. On removing Haj subsidy, Quran says only those with financial position and health should go for Haj. You don’t go with someone’s largesse or government support. Let this money be used for minority education.

Chekannur’s death left a scar on Kerala society that LDF/UDF governments ignored. Why so?

We are a minority in a minority. If the Hindu Aikya Vedia and BJP had not expressed solidarity with me, I would have been stoned to death. Chekannur was murdered because there was no one to speak for him or help him and this emboldened the conspirators. Both LDF and UDF have electoral considerations in mind. We have requested the Centre to get NIA to investigate Chekannur’s death.

How much has Indian state touched the lives of Muslim women?

The Indian Constitution is fine, but it failed to touch Muslim women. Article 13 elevates fundamental rights over other laws, Article 14 broaches equality and Article 15 shuns discrimination on religious/ gender grounds. Despite these, the unequal position of Muslim women remains, because Indian state was weak. But education is making a big difference. In sports you will notice how no PT Usha or Anju Bobby George came from among Muslim women but now there is a Sania Mirza. My daughter is also an athlete. Women’s reservation in Parliament is needed just like reservation in panchayats (which) was revolutionary. More women like Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalithaa must come to the forefront in politics. Change is in the air.