Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham
Encyclopedia
Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (Tamil Nadu Muslim Progress Conference) is a Muslim
non-governmental organization
established in the state of Tamil Nadu
in India
in 1995. Also called the TMMK, it has described itself in news release
s as "a mass based" organization.
Jayalalithaa Jayaram to direct the Wakf Board
to send all its communications only in the Tamil language
to the administrators of mosque
s.
A March 2007 rally organized by the TMMK in New Delhi
drew support from the Association of Indian Muslims (AIM) of America
.
The TMMK has campaigned for the reservation
of seats in educational institutions and the ear-marking of entrepreneurship
schemes for Muslims in Tamil Nadu as per the recommendations of the Sachar Committee
.
The Tamil Nadu Thawheedh Jamaath (TNTJ) has been termed "a breakaway group" of the organization.
was launched after an amendment to the bylaws.. The party contested in the parliamentary election the same year in 4 constituencies and polled 68,346 votes. But in the 2011 Assembly election, MMK allied with AIADMK and won 2 of 3 seats contested.
On December 6, 2003, 450 activists of the TMMK were arrested for attempting stage a protest rally. Similar arrests were made earlier in 2000 where TMMK members were implicated.
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
established in the state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1995. Also called the TMMK, it has described itself in news release
News release
A press release, news release, media release, press statement or video release is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something ostensibly newsworthy...
s as "a mass based" organization.
Activities
In February 2005, the TMMK urged the then-Chief MinisterChief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
Jayalalithaa Jayaram to direct the Wakf Board
Central Wakf Council, India
Central Wakf Council, India is an Indian statutory body established in 1964 by the Government of India under Wakf Act, 1954 for the purpose of advising it on matters pertaining to working of the State Wakf Boards and proper administration of the Wakfs in the country...
to send all its communications only in the Tamil language
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
to the administrators of mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s.
A March 2007 rally organized by the TMMK in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
drew support from the Association of Indian Muslims (AIM) of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The TMMK has campaigned for the reservation
Reservation in India
Reservation in India is a form of affirmative action designed to improve the well being of socially backward and underrepresented communities of citizens in India. There are laws in place, wherein a certain percentage of total available slots in Jobs and Education are set aside for people from...
of seats in educational institutions and the ear-marking of entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response...
schemes for Muslims in Tamil Nadu as per the recommendations of the Sachar Committee
Sachar Committee
The Rajinder Sachar Committee, appointed in 2005 by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was commissioned to prepare a report on the latest social, economic and educational condition of the Muslim community of India. The commettee was headed by the former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court ...
.
The Tamil Nadu Thawheedh Jamaath (TNTJ) has been termed "a breakaway group" of the organization.
Manithaneya Makkal Katchi
In early 2009, a new political party Manithaneya Makkal KatchiManithaneya Makkal Katchi
Manithaneya Makkal Katchi is a political party in Tamil Nadu, India, founded by Kunangudi Haniffa and focussed on the Muslim community. -2011 Assembly elections:...
was launched after an amendment to the bylaws.. The party contested in the parliamentary election the same year in 4 constituencies and polled 68,346 votes. But in the 2011 Assembly election, MMK allied with AIADMK and won 2 of 3 seats contested.
Criticism
- The TMMK is believed to be controlled by former Students Islamic Movement of IndiaStudents Islamic Movement of IndiaThe Students Islamic Movement of India is an Islamic student organization that was formed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, in April 1977. The stated mission of SIMI is the ‘liberation of India’ from Western materialistic cultural influence and to convert its Muslim society to live according to Muslim...
(SIMI) cadres, who have been implicated in many terrorist acts. The TMMK urged the Union government (the government of IndiaGovernment of IndiaThe Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
) to lift the ban on SIMI in 2005. University of HaifaUniversity of HaifaThe University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
political scientist David BukayDavid BukayDavid Bukay is a Professor of Middle East Studies at the University of Haifa. He is the author of Islamic Fundamentalism and the Arab Political Culture...
lists the TMMK as a "fundamentalist and subversive group."
- Activists of the TMMK and the IslamistIslamismIslamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
al-Umma have been known to express communalistCommunalism (South Asia)This article deals with the use of the word communalism in South Asia, as a name for a force separating different communities based on some form of social or sectarian discrimination...
sentiments against HinduHinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s in riots and protests. They are regarded as part of a covert network of Islamic Fundamentalist political outfits established in the region.
- After the 1998 Coimbatore bombings1998 Coimbatore bombingsThe 1998 Coimbatore bombings occurred on Saturday, February 14, 1998, in the city of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. 46 persons - 35 men, 10 women and one child - were killed and over 200 injured in 13 bomb attacks in 11 places , all of them within a 12 km radius, 4 bombs were planted at R S...
and the communal violence that ensued from it, members of the TMMK were arrested following the banning of the related Jihadist group al-Umma (listed in Extremist GroupsExtremist GroupsExtremist Groups: An International Compilation of Terrorist Organizations, Violent Political Groups, and Issue-Oriented Militant Movements is a reference book compiling information on over 200 groups classified as extremist.Contributing editor Richard H...
) who were directly behind the blasts. Leaders of the JihadJihadJihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
Committee and the TMMK were arrested in a State-wide crackdown. Among those arrested were the TMMK president M.H. Jawahirulla and treasurer S.M. Bakkar. Over the next few days, many activists of the TMMK were arrested at Keezhakkarai, DevakottaiDevakottaiDevakottai [தேவகோட்டை] is a town and a first grade municipality in Sivaganga district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Devakottai is one of the biggest towns of the Nagarathar community.-History:...
, DindigulDindigulDindigul is a town and municipality in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. The name Dindigul comes from the Portmanteau of “Thindu” meaning pillow and “kal” meaning Rock and refers to the bare hill dominating the city’s both land and skyscape...
, NagapattinamNagapattinamNagapattinam is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. It is a prominent seaport on the east coast of India and an important centre of trade and commerce.The town of Nagapattinam dates back to the Sangam period...
, Thanjavur, NagercoilNagercoilNagercoil is the 12th largest city in the southernmost Indian state of Tamil Nadu and a municipality and administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District...
, Melapalayam and UdumalpetUdumalaipettaiUdumalai also known as Udumalpet is a town and a municipality in Tirupur district, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Poor Man's Ooty, as it is called, the Udumalpet town is one of the famous summer resorts of Tamil Nadu, surrounded by Mountains on three sides.Its name in the ancient days was "UDUMALAI"...
as a precautionary measure.
On December 6, 2003, 450 activists of the TMMK were arrested for attempting stage a protest rally. Similar arrests were made earlier in 2000 where TMMK members were implicated.
External links
- Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham website (English languageEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version).