MES chief Fazal Ghafoor gets threats for veil ban

Muslim Educational Society president Dr P A Fazal Ghafoor has alleged of getting threats to his life following the decision to ban students wearing veil covering face at the educational institutions run by the society.

The Nadakkavu police in Kozhikode launched a probe into the incident on the basis of a complaint lodged by Dr Ghafoor.

Dr Ghafoor alleged in the petition that he has been receiving threatening phone calls even from Gulf countries since Thursday after the decision to ban veils became news. Apart from threats demanding the withdrawal of the decision to ban the veil, Dr Ghafoor was also abused in social media. Even a fake social media page in his profile was created, he alleged.

In the petition given to the police, Dr Ghafoor also gave the telephone numbers from which the calls came. The police sought the help of the cyber wing to track the callers. Further steps like registering case would be taken subsequently, the police informed.

MES's decision to ban veil was openly flayed by the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, a prominent Muslim outfit. However, no mainstream political parties had commented on MES's decision.

MES took the decision citing a Kerala High Court order in 2018 December rejecting the plea of two students of Christian management run school in Thiruvananthapuram to allow them to wear the headscarf and full-sleeve shirt in the college. The HC had backed the school management's decision to disallow it to maintain school uniform.