KERALA, INDIA, January 3, 2003: Muslim organizations have demanded Kerala’s Minister for Local Government, Cherkalam Abdullah, a Muslim, should do penance for wearing a tilak at a function in Sringeri Mutt recently. As a result of Mr. Abdullah’s actions, The Sunni Youth League has barred the minister from entering mosques. “It is nothing but blasphemy. A true Muslim is not supposed to observe the customs of another religion. Since he has defied the Muslim tenet he is not supposed to enter the mosque,” League president Syed Ummarali Tangal said. “He can salvage the situation by observing a strict penance,” another leader said. The minister, a Muslim League nominee in the government, responded, “I went along with the Chief Minister to attend a function. Everyone was welcomed with tilak and arati. They applied tilak on my forehead (the traditional greeting). I did nothing on my own.”
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