The village of Muthuvallur in Kerala’s Muslim-majority district, has a touching story of people from different religions coming together. Here both Hindu and Muslim are renovating a 400-year-old temple dedicated to the goddess Durga. This act of cooperation between the two community during the holy month of Ramzan showcased a long-standing tradition of mutual respect for each other’s religious places.
The Muthuvallur Sree Durga Bhagavathy Temple, near Kondotty is being renovated. First part of its renovation is done, and there are plans to install the idol in the month of May. The close bond between people of different religions has been evident during the renovation of the temple since 2015. Muslims have been very generous in contributing to this effort.
Keeping up with this tradition, the temple authorities have once again reached out to people from various religious backgrounds for help in installing a new idol next month, to replace one that was broken many years ago. A brochure released by the temple authorities on May 7-9 idol installation highlights this unity among different communities. It featured pictures of Panakkad Sadikkali Shihab Thangal, the leader of the Indian Union Muslim League, who oversees many mosques in the state and beyond, along with the temple’s vedic head, Thekkiniyedathu Tharananellur Padmanabhan Unni Namboodiripad.
This temple, which is managed by the state-run Malabar Devaswom Board, is situated in a neighborhood where Muslims make up the majority. Their involvement in preserving the temple has included tasks like copper-plating the dome in previous years.
As per reports, Muslims have played a significant role in financing the temple’s renovation over the past few years, contributing a large portion of the Rs 38 lakh spent. The community has provided construction materials and other assistance whenever needed. Moreover, Muslims have been supplying vegetables for temple festivals. Under these conditions Muthuvallur sets an example of unity without divisions, suggesting it could serve as a model for the entire country.