As religious tensions simmer in India, a powerful portrait of communal harmony unfolded in Kerala this week when a Christian church opened its premises to allow Muslim worshippers to hold their Eid prayers. However, the same day also exposed deepening fissures within the state's churches over the screening of the controversial film "The Kerala Story."
On Wednesday, April 10, the Nicholas Memorial Church of South India (CSI) in Manjeri town, Malappuram district, warmly welcomed hundreds of Muslim faithful to gather at its spacious compound and participate in the annual Eid al-Fitr congregational prayers. The Muslim community typically uses a local school for the Eid prayers but found itself without a venue this year due to the premises being utilized for upcoming elections.
Jouhar Trippanachi, who attended the Eidgah (prayer ground) at the church compound, expressed his gratitude on social media: "Thanks to Father Joy Masilamani and Manjeri CSI Church officials. Eid Mubarak to all," he wrote on his Facebook page.
The church's inclusive gesture offering its grounds for the Muslim prayers was widely lauded as embodying Kerala's pluralistic ethos of mutual care and respect across communities. It served as a powerful counter-narrative to the polarizing allegations made in "The Kerala Story" around Muslims forcibly converting Hindu women.
"Manipur (violence) is a fact, not a fable. Screening the film was a reminder that we should not forget Manipur. Kerala society is vigilant about propaganda movies," remarked Fr. James Panavelil, the parish vicar of St. Joseph's Church in Ernakulam district. His church screened a documentary on the Manipur violence the same day, in an apparent rebuke to those screening "The Kerala Story."
"When propaganda stories are being propagated again and again, we should counter it by speaking the truth," Fr. Panavelil added, alluding to the undercurrents around the controversial film's screening by some Catholic dioceses in Kerala.
The screening of "The Kerala Story" by the Catholic diocese of Idukki on April 4 had snowballed into a major political controversy, with two other dioceses of Thamarassery and Thalassery also initially deciding to air the film for their youth members. However, the Thalassery archdiocese later backtracked on this decision even as its youth wing went ahead with the screening defying the official stance.
The pro-BJP Christian group Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action also announced plans to screen the controversial film across Kerala, exposing the deepening fissures within the Christian community over the movie's portrayal.
As these divisions played out, the CSI church's warm embrace of the Muslim Eid prayers struck a stark contrast, highlighting how the same day witnessed starkly opposing scenes related to religious inclusivity in God's Own Country.
Religious leaders commended the church, stating such acts of solidarity provide a decisive rejoinder to concerted efforts to destroy India's pluralistic ethos. They urged more such overtures to uphold the nation's cherished principles of unity in diversity.
