It may not be too exaggerating or harsh of me saying the ancestors of Tamil Muslims were mainly Hindus and for that matter, they were of the lowest of the lowest in the social order among them. This is the truth, which we have to confront when we retrace our roots. The many customs and traditions we are observing and practicing today are the living proof to that reality.

  One such ‘tradition’ that bonds us eternally with our Hindu brethren is the demanding of the scornful and contemptuous gift called dowry in our weddings. Begging for dowry from the bride’s family by the bridegroom’s is not an Islamic practice nor Islam encourages such ludicrousness. Instead it despises self-degrading acts outright. And, this is also not a ‘chance upon’ custom the Tamil Muslims stumbled unto. It is a calculated, planned and well-executed day light robbery we practice in the name of tradition!  The misery it has brought upon the community is untold and unspeakable.

  This practice of asking and procuring dowry prevails in vigor among the socially elite as well as the destitute in the community. Most of us are either active participants or willing accomplices in this horrendous and heinous custom. Many more of us are the looking-forward-to-the-day parents, brothers and uncles ready to jump in the band-wagon to auction off our sons and brothers and nephews in the open market of ‘Kaikooli’(Dowry). Only the most depraved and demented in life will follow this barbaric practice in the name of tradition.

  For convenience sake, the basic tenet of the so-called custom the families of the bridegroom practices today has been stripped to bare bone. In other words, they try their best to grab all the worldly possessions the in-laws have and plunder them blind. Suck all his blood until the poor fellow bleeds to death in debt and poverty. Never let him live in peace even in good time. Bilk him off all you can even in his death! Come Ramadhan, Bakreed, Deepavalli, Christmas, Birthdays, Valai Kaappu…..don’t miss any events or festivities, keep demanding for more cash and ‘Seer’ from the in-laws!

  The greed of the Tamil Muslim has leaped and bounced tremendously over time. It is now slowly taking a new shape called bride burning! With this new ‘custom’, that is after having the poor wife roasted alive, the grooms will be able to remarry and look forward to continuing their ‘crusade’ in negotiating a yet better dowry!

  Why are we sucking to the ‘ideals’ of Hinduthva only in the matter of marriages when hell is breaking loose on all other fronts to condemn it? Why don’t we just be good citizens and make it easy for its purveyors by embracing the rest of Hinduthvaism? Isn’t it for these ideals the members of BJP and its cohorts ShivSena, Bajrang Dal, RSS and VHP are struggling day and night to indoctrinate us with? I am sure, they are not far away from achieving their goals if our attitude remains unchanged.

  Marriage is supposed to be a heavenly affair in the eyes of Allah. The Quran states clearly the rules and guidelines of marriages. Who is to give and who is to receive the ‘mahr’ (dowry) is clearly defined. It is the word of Allah. It has no errors in its interpretations! Than why all these travesty? Who are we trying to fool here? Isn’t Allah the all Knowing and Seeing?

  The most horrific of this dowry practice is; the custom of building a house for the bride as her dowry by her parents on top of the jewelry and cash given in thousands as gifts to the groom and his family. What happens if the bride has two sisters or four? This custom is openly and blatantly practiced mainly in Muslim populated towns and villages in Tamil Nadu where people claim descendent from the Arab traders of yore. (I have no idea what is so great about this stupid and idiotic Arabs who are either being bombed or screwed royally by the Western Powers since the day these fools destroyed the Islamic Caliphate. Today their greatness is only shining and glittering at the doorsteps of the casinos and cabarets of Las Vegas in the shape of blond American beauties and BMW vehicles.)

  One fellow, on his web site traces his genealogy all the way to our Prophet (S.A.W) to proof his Arab ness! (I traced my genealogy all the way to Adam and Eve to proof my superiority.) Another one, who hosts a web site in the .COM URL from the U.S for his hometown in Tamil Nadu, feels proud in this dowry lunacy and he believes his town folks are strictly holding fast to this barbarity because of their ancestral bonding with the Arabs. Both these people are no doubt highly intelligent and educated individuals! Does education have any purpose in challenging dowry’s cancerous scourge among the Tamil Muslims? NO. It only seems to increase the going rate of the ‘Mapillais’(grooms). The MBBS or the MCA at the end of their name certainly do have its value, in the ‘Kaikooli Mandi’(Dowry market) as it always has been.

  It is true, many of our ‘intellectuals’ will argue to their graves that the words ‘dowry’ or ‘Kaikooli’ (Dowry)are not mentioned by word in the Quran or Hadiths. So, it is fine to accept such wealth as a gift or present. Just like the customs declaration form we fill out at a Post Office. We know the item we are sending is valuable and we still declare ‘no value’ or ‘free gift. We feel blissful in the deceiving. We know dowry is as forbidden as loan-sharking in Islam. It is as Haram as the ‘Ribah’ we are prohibited from receiving on any financial transactions. We know we are bringing hardship and pain upon a fellow Muslim. Than why all the confusion and hesitation in issuing an edict declaring dowry as Haram?  This is a simple matter even a pre-schoolar can differentiate between right and wrong? Than, why the reluctance to ban it? The answer is very simple: every ones finger including the jurists’ is in the pie!

  This is ONE example of the many sufferings only the Muslims are put through because of leadership inaptitude! Suffering and hardship does not have to be in the forms of war and natural disasters alone. In this case, it can be in the form of dowry for the Tamil Muslims.

  It is also true, we the Tamil Muslims are the MOST hypocritical society among the Muslim World. We will refer to the ‘Tafsirs’ of al Quran or the ‘Raviahs’ of the Hadiths to rationalize the simplest of our actions but willingly and knowingly turn a blind eye towards an atrocious social crime committed on a fellow human being. The irony of all these mockeries is, we even gather as a Jamaat to choose an auspicious moment for these sinners to commit their crime!

  We relentlessly talk about Shariah, Fikh and Tauheed. We steadfastly adhere to the Sunnahs of our Rasool (S.A.W) We give alms. We pray. We Fast. And yet, in the same breadth we also find a way to legitimize our immoral and illicit deeds on Earth? What do we call ourselves other than a shaman?

  I brand us, the cruelest hypocrites among the Muslims because this version of the ‘mahr’ (dowry) is widely practiced only by Tamil Muslims. Even the Indian Muslims in India or Muslims in other nations do not practice this absurdity. We justify this practice as a matter of a once in a lifetime event. We rationalize that the money stays in the community and so on. Does Islam teaches us to be happy and joyful in a fellow human’s suffering? Where is the compassion and humbleness Islam’s foundation is based upon?

  Ask your Muslim friends or colleagues in the Middle East or in the Far East whether they have heard about dowry and you will be surprised by their replies. You will be stunned by their reaction. Of course if you are a Tamil Muslim this won’t surprise you. You might even think they are stupid and ignorant because they don’t know the real meaning of ‘Mahr’.  

  Just a warning. Never ever ask the Tamil Muslims in MALAYSIA or SINGAPORE about dowry, because here lives the majority of the harbingers of this evil enterprise! Here, dowry is accepted not only to indulge in eccentric and egoistic orgies but the groom’s parents even use the proceeds to pay for a trip to Mecca to perform their Umrah or Haj. Undoubtedly the Tamil Muslims from these two Nations were the precursors to today’s dowry cruelty!

  Dowry was not even heard of among the Tamil Muslims some thirty years ago. They even had contempt for it because it was a very Hindu practice in nature. The Tamil Muslim men from Malaysia and Singapore, with the expertise of their women folks in their villages in Tamil Nadu, founded this ‘Kaikooli Santhai’(Dowry market) to proof their resourcefulness. Voila! By their ‘hard work’ today we have an ‘enterprising industry’ booming and thriving from the seeds they sowed yesterday.

  Never underestimate the ‘industriousness’ of the Tamil Muslim women folks. They may never lift up their tilted heads to look at a stranger. Many may have not attended school beyond Elementary Level. They are called the symbols of modesty and motherhood. They are covered up in Purdas and Thuppattis ( a kind of abaya) accordingly to the words of Allah. But make no mistakes in your presumptions! What transpires under the cover these veils and virtuousness is the million Rupees question!

  I would also say we are also the shameless hypocrites on Earth today because after indulging in an horrible practice and we still have the guts to print the wedding invitation cards in the name of Allah and describing Him as the Most Magnificent, the Most Compassionate, the Most Benevolence, the Most…….… Do we think by printing Allah’s supreme natures on a two Rupees card, is sufficient to save our skin from His wrath? What a joke? Isn’t this hypocrisy of the number one order?

  Where are the Aalims and Ulamas, who are Muslim enough to declare such dowry as Haram? These are the very preachers, who present themselves at such occasions, and say doa pleadings to Allah. Why there is still no Fatwas issued to eradicate this deviancy? Isn’t the practice of giving dowry financially ruining a fellow Muslim’s life? Shouldn’t a ‘jihad’ be called to fight this menace? Why the silence? Is there an ulterior motive to their placidity?

  Would you spare a moment and think, who are the people benefiting from all this extravaganzas of our weddings? Where and to whom your hard earned money finally goes to, when you blow-it up on your once-in-a-lifetime-event? Why are the Tamil Muslims still very backward economically even though they are an enterprising and hardworking community? I do know the answers to these questions. I know where the money is going to and who are reaping the maximum benefit from our foolishness. I will save it for future discussions.

  The Internet is being used to channel the Azan live from Masjid Haram in Mecca right into our living rooms. We can hear the fiery and passionate ‘Khutbahs’ from Kayalpattinam’s Periya Palli and Al Jamiur Azhar Mosques. We get to see the Train Schedule-Chart for Adirampattinam Railway Station ahead of our travel plans. Thousands are using it to carry across the message of peace and brotherhood in Islam. Is it being used to challenge this immoral and nefarious custom called dowry among the Tamil Muslim? NO. Greed has blinded our senses and corrupted our thinking capability.

  I can challenge that nine out of ten men who are reading this article are into the dowry business or have partaken in one! Than who is not the sinner to preach anti dowry messages on the internet. For their ‘conscience’ it seems to be much easier for them to post a chain letters about Bosnia or some garbage about Jihad. (Killing your brothers is not Jihad neither bombing an Islamic nation for eight years because the American’s were backing you is Jihad. Each good deeds of us is Jihad)

  Dowry is an evergreen enterprise for many to temper with. It is an investment as solid as a gold mine. An equity that will mature into Lakhs of Rupees (Ringgits) in time to come. With which the proverbial ‘castle in the air’ dream that will become a reality! It has become an integral part of their life for the majority of the perverted and impotent Tamil Muslim parents as well as their sons. They would never think of forgoing dowry even in their worst nightmare!

  With my head bowed deep in shame and disgust, I conclude this article. For I know better, like a chameleon that keeps changing its colors to suit its needs, the Tamil Muslim society will keep manipulating events and history to gratify its greed.