In these testing times of rising religious intolerance and sectarianism, a Muslim wedding in the city has set an example in secular praxis by inviting prominent leaders of Hindu and Christian faiths to join the Moulana in the solemnising ceremony.
Liaqhat Ali, the father of the bride, says he wanted to have progressive religious heads from other faiths to partake in his daughter’s marriage to send out a message of communal peace and harmony.
“I thought propagation of the secular idea was important in the extremely divisive times we are going through,” said Mr. Ali.
On Sunday, his second daughter Fahmida Meher, a chartered accountancy student, married Mohammed Tasleem, an aerospace engineer with Siemens in Andhra Pradesh.
On the dais with Moulana Kanchi Abdur Rauf Baqavi, scholar, who solemnised the wedding, were Sivagnana Balaya Swamigal, the 20th Guru Maha Sannidanam of Mailom Pommapuram Adhinam and Pichaimuthu Adigal, Parish, St. Lourdes Lady Church, Villianur.
“I believe that marriages, which are attended by people of different faiths, provide an ideal platform to spread messages of communal harmony,” said Mr. Ali, who chose leaders who were known for their progressive world view.
Mr. Ali, who works as general secretary at the Anjuman Nusrathul Islam Public Library in Kottakuppam — a treasurehouse of rare Islamic literature — feels that many people these days are less nuanced in their evaluation of a person. It is blind like or dislike.
No opposition
On whether there was any resistance from within the community to his idea for his daughter’s wedding, Mr. Ali says that his own reputation for holding progressive views might have something to do with the lack of opposition. “It could be either of these...people may have given up on shackling me to orthodoxy as they think I am irredeemable or it could be that my fellowbeings, at least a few of them, have actually undergone a change in mindset,” said Mr. Ali, who has also authored a book based on comparative studies on religions and is an active presence on the social media.
