Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (Tamil Nadu Muslim Progress Conference) or TMMK is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

non-governmental organisation established in the state of Tamil Nadu in India in 1995. The TMMK has described itself in news releases as "a mass based" organisation.

Background

The objective of TMMK is to protect the rights of the Muslim community in a democratic manner. TMMK has its branch offices in all the districts of Tamil Nadu and in several villages of the state. It also has its foreign offices in Malaysia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other gulf countries has more than 1 lakh members. It was involved in Tsunami relief work and does social services including blood donation camps, eye camps and free ambulance services to poor. It

Activities

Rallies and protests

TMMK invites public to hold peaceful protests and demonstrations for demanding rights of Muslims. In February 2005, the TMMK urged the then- Chief Minister

Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...

to direct the

Wakf Board A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or ''mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...

to send all its communications only in the Tamil language to the administrators of mosques. A March 2007 rally organised by the TMMK in New Delhi drew support from the Association of Indian Muslims (AIM) of

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The TMMK has campaigned for the

reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

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 Sachar Committee was a seven-member High Level Committee in India established in March 2005 by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The committee was headed by former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Rajinder Sachar to study the social, econom ...

. The Tamil Nadu Thawheedh Jamaath (TNTJ) has been termed "a breakaway group" of the organisation. Every year TMMK observes the anniversary of

Babri Masjid Babri Masjid (IAST: Bābarī Masjid; meaning ''Mosque of Babur'') was a mosque in Ayodhya, India, at a site believed by many Hindus to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Rama. It has been a focus of dispute between the Hindu and Muslim communi ...

demolition in a peaceful manner. These protests draw huge number of people from across the Tamil Nadu state and demand the arrest of 68 perpetrators including

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

Balasaheb Thackeray Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active mainly in the state of Maharashtra. ...

, LK Advani and

Murli Manohar Joshi Murli Manohar Joshi (born 5 January 1934) is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of which he was the President between 1991 and 1993, and the former Member of Parliament for Kanpur parliamentary constitue ...

as implicated by Liberhan commission. The organisation has also stages many protests for the protection Tamil Nadu fishermen and dalits.

Manithaneya Makkal Katchi

In early 2009, a new political party '' Manithaneya Makkal Katchi'' 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.

Views on terrorism

TMMK has condemned several acts of terrorism in India and in foreign lands. When the

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

released a video related to Indian sub-continent, TMMK condemned it and advised Indian Muslims to ignore such hate messages. The leader of TMMK said “this (message) will only help security agencies in country to further target Muslim youth in case a terrorist act does take place.” In several occasion, TMMK has also condemned Israel for its brutality against Palestinian People. It has also raised voices for UN intervention to stop genocide of Palestinians. Similarly, TMMK has protested the genocide of Tamil people in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Criticism

* After the

1998 Coimbatore bombings The 1998 Coimbatore bombings occurred on Saturday, 14 February 1998, in the city of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 58 people were killed and over 200 injured in the 12 bomb attacks in 11 places, all within a radius. The explosives used ...

and the communal violence that ensued from it, members of the TMMK were arrested following the banning of the related Jihadist group

al-Umma Al Ummah is a terrorist organisation mainly based in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was banned by the Government of Tamil Nadu for perpetrating the 1998 Coimbatore bombings. History Al Ummah was founded by Syed Ahmed Basha in Coimbatore, Tamil Na ...

(listed in

Extremist Groups ''Extremist Groups: An International Compilation of Terrorism, Terrorist Organizations, Violent Political Groups, and Issue-Oriented Militant Movements'' is a reference work, reference book compiling information on over 200 groups classified as ex ...

) who were directly behind the blasts. Leaders of the

Jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...

Committee and the TMMK were arrested in a statewide 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, Devakottai, Dindigul, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Nagercoil,

Melapalayam Melapalayam is a neighborhood of Tirunelveli City in Tamil Nadu, India situated on the east bank of the Thamirabarani River. The neighborhood's name comes from its location west () of Palayamkottai, the "Oxford of South India." Eighty percent ...

and Udumalpet as a precautionary measure.Tamil Nadu: The Rise of Islamist Fundamentalism
by P.G. Rajamohan, South Asia Terrorism Portal On 6 December 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.

References

External links

website ( English language version). {{Cite web, url = http://www.tamilnewsnetwork.com/2014/06/20/tamil-nadu-muslims-protest-against-genocidal-sri-lanka/, title = Tamil Nadu Muslims protest against genocidal Sri Lanka, date = 20 June 2014, accessdate=2014-11-19, website = Tamil News Network Islamist groups Political parties in Tamil Nadu Islamic organisations based in India Muslim politics in India 1985 establishments in Tamil Nadu