QUESTION: How is your relationship with the Muslim community in Malabar?

ANSWER: It is very good. While all these debates are going on about love jihad and narcotic jihad, Muslim leaders took the initiative and came to me. They asked me how long we can continue accusing each other. I said narco-tics is an undeniable rea-lity plaguing our society. Our youngsters are not properly guided and bli-ndly jump into it thinking it is the best way to enjoy life. They agreed with me on that. Understanding and harmony between religions are of utmost importance. That’s what Pope Francis advocated through Fratelli Tutti. The last KCBC meeting concluded that we should follow Pope Francis in this. He is leading us in a way that is most appro-priate in this challenging time. We should not use a language that propagates hate and revenge. Unfor-tunately, that kind of lan-guage exists in the Chri-stian community now. As we follow Christ under the leadership of a man like Pope Francis, we should not promote hate speech. We should follow St Fra-ncis Assisi’s attitude in this case. I would say some of our approaches lead to a kind of animosity in the community. Many have confused love-affair with love-jihad. Although there are some isolated cases that might fall in the category of love jihad, we cannot say that there is an officially organized move by the Muslim community in that direction. In spite of everything, we should maintain harmony, good relations and friendship, which is the way of Pope Francis.

Bp Alex Vadakkumthala
Kannur