Kottayam: Kerala minister for local administration and Waqf Board, K.T. Jaleel, on Saturday created history by visiting the Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala.

It's the first time a Muslim minister visited the temple which is often hailed as a symbol of religious amity.

The minister was at the hill shrine, along with his cabinet colleague Kadakampally Surendran, to discuss the preparations for the coming pilgrimage season there.

Jaleel said Sabarimala is a shrine where there is no religious or caste barriers.

Read also: A shout out to secularism by a Muslim minister from a Hindu temple



"Extremists in all religions should visit Sabarimala. One can climb down the hills only bearing the sublime message of religious amity which prevailed in society in the gone years," the minister reportedly said after the temple visit.

"It was 1.15 in the morning when we reached the shrine. Stayed there at night and saw the sanctum sanctorum in the morning. There is no prohibition for anyone there. After that I reached the shrine of Vavar which faces the west. Vavar, a Muslim, was a warrior of Ayyappa. Their friendship sustains even centuries after their death. Let's recreate that good old times," the minister wrote on his Facebook page later.

Jaleel, who quit Muslim League to join CPM, was recently in news after he vehemently opposed in the state assembly League's request to let Muslims in police force to sport beard.

(With agency inputs)