The life of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, who is facing the death penalty in Yemen, is still hanging in the balance. Meanwhile, India’s 94 -year -old prestigious Islamic religious leader Kanthapuram AP Abubakar Muslim has been very decisive in this whole incident. He opened the doors on the strength of his religious reach in the Huti-controlled areas of Yemen, where India’s diplomacy was also limited.
38 -year -old Nimisha Priya, who hails from Kerala, was arrested in Yemen in 2017 for the murder of her Yemeni business partner Talal Abdo Mahdi. The court sentenced him to death and the death date was fixed on 16 July. But before that, there has been a temporary ban on hanging due to the religious efforts of the Muslim.
The real name of Kanthapuram Muslim is Sheikh Abu Bakr Ahmed. He is a resident of Kozhikode in Kerala and is the general secretary of All India Sunni Jamiatul Ulama. He has the highest religious leadership status in the Sunni Muslim community in South India. His followers recognize him as ‘Grand Mufti of India’, although this post is not formally given by the government. He is also the chairman of a cultural and educational project called Merkaz Knowledge City, which works to add Islamic traditions and modern education.
Before the hanging of Nimisha Priya, India had very limited diplomatic options to influence in Yemen as India had no formal relations with Huti rebels. In such a situation, the Muslim contacted the Sufi scholars of Yemen and appealed for mercy on the basis of Sharia law. He said that I contacted Yemen’s responsible Islamic scholars and explained the situation to them. In Sharia, the convict of murder can be forgiven by the victim’s family or compensation (lamp). After the appeal of the Muslim, a meeting of religious leaders of Yemen was called.
Maulana Musaliar also informed the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) about his efforts and appealed that the government should also support in this human effort. He has sent a formal letter on this subject so that it can help in accepting the offering of blood money offered by India.
