Does The Kerala Story Demean the Muslim Community?

The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has petitioned the Supreme Court to order the Centre and other parties to prohibit the release of the movie “The Kerala Story.”

The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has petitioned the Supreme Court to order the Centre and other parties to refrain from allowing the screening or release of the movie “The Kerala Story” in theatres, OTT platforms, and other similar venues. They have also asked that the movie’s trailer be taken down from the internet.

The Supreme Court earlier on Tuesday turned down a request for a stay on the release of the contentious film directed by Sudipto Sen and made by Sunshine Pictures.

A panel of justices led by K.M. Joseph and B.V. Nagarathna noted that the censor board had already approved the picture and that the petitioners should instead contest its certification before the proper body.

The appeal for a stay on the film’s release cannot be combined with claims of hate speech, the bench ruled, because the screening of films involves a different process.

Nizam Pasha and senior counsel Kapil Sibal asked the bench to hear their request, stating that the movie will be released on Friday.

The Jamiat said, “The movie is clearly aimed at spreading hatred and enmity between different sections of society in India. The message the movie imparts is that non-Muslim young women are being lured into converting to Islam by their classmates and subsequently, they are trafficked to West Asia where they are forced to join terrorist organisations.”

The plea said, “The movie demeans the entire Muslim community and it will result in endangering the lives and livelihoods of the petitioners and the entire Muslim community, and this is a direct infringement under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.”
“The movie gives the impression that apart from extremist clerics who radicalise people, ordinary Muslim youngsters, their classmates, also play an instrumental role in luring non-Muslims and radicalising them by posing as friendly and good-natured people, in accordance with instructions given by extremist scholars.”

The petition, submitted through attorney Ejaz Maqbool, also requested that the Central Board of Film Certification be instructed to further identify incendiary scenes and dialogue for removal or to display a disclaimer stating that the film is a work of fiction and that none of the characters resemble any living or deceased individuals.

“The movie promotes the view that love-jihad is being used to lure non-Muslim women into converting to Islam and also joining the ISIS. However, an investigation by the state police carried out in 2009 revealed that there was no evidence of love-jihad in Kerala.”

The CPI(M)-led Left, which is currently in power, and the opposition UDF in Kerala had urged that the movie not be shown after its trailer was released.

A reward of Rs 1 crore has even been offered by the Muslim Youth League state committee for anyone who can corroborate the “allegations” made in the film.

Pratheesh Viswanath, a founder of the Hindu Seva Kendra and a right-wing activist, also made an additional Rs 10 crore offer to demonstrate the opposite, that no one from Kerala had travelled to Syria to join IS.

The movie follows the journey of four female college students in Kerala who join the Islamic State and features Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, and Siddhi Idnani in prominent parts.