Tamil Nadu: Madras HC allows Sufi sect to observe Muharram with music after state govt 'caved in' to opposition by radical Thowheed Jamath

On the 15th of June, the Madras High Court pulled up the Tamil Nadu police for siding with a radical faction of Muslims trying to stop another group of Muslims from observing Muharram with drums and music. Thameem Sindha Madar had approached the Madras High Court after the Tamil Nadu administration refused to permit it to observe Muharram with drums and music after a radical faction of Muslims had opposed it. When the Muslim group approached the district and state authorities, they asked them to refrain from playing music during the Muharram procession as it could potentially lead to a law and order situation, thereby capitulating to the Thowheed Jamath which was restricting other Muslims of the area from practicing their tradition. How the Tamil Nadu government capitulated to Thowheed Jamath The Tamil Nadu administration and police not only denied permission to Ervadi Dargah to observe Muharram with drums and music, but also pleaded in court that the petition by the Dargah should be dismissed, and the decision of the administration to not grant permission must not be overturned. Essentially, the Tamil Nadu government adhered to the notions held by the Thowheed Jamath that Islam should only be followed in its purest form and traditions of the Dargah, of celebrating Muharram with drums and music, was essentially a “corrupting influence” on Islam.