Founder of Muslim Educational Society gets death threat after announcing veil ban

The founder of the Muslim Educational Society who banned veils on campus has allegedly received a death threat. According to PA Fazal Gafoor, the call threatened him with dire consequences if he did not revoke the veil ban. 

In some of the reports, Gafoor has been quoted as saying, "I received a phone call from a mobile on Friday, threatening to kill me. It was a male voice and he used very harsh, threatening and demeaning words on me." The founder also said in his complaint that the caller used abusive language. 

The Society which currently runs around 150 academc institutions in Kerala and abroad is based in Kozhikode and issued the ban after the Sri Lanka blasts. In the circular, the MES said that no type of clothing which was worn in the name of religious faith would be banned on campus. 

The founder maintained that the covering of the face was a new trend that wasn't practised in the past. Kerala Minister for Higher Education K T Jaleel extended his support to the decision to band the veil as well. However, he also said he had no intention of imposing any kind of dress code.

Samastha, an orthodox outfit of Muslim scholars, criticised the circular and said that the circular was un-Islamic and should be withdrawn.