A mosque where justice is delivered

MALAPPURAM: A unique justice system centred around a 250-year-old mosque in Kodinhi in the district has been attracting people from different religions to settle  disputes here. Known as Sathyappalli (Mosque of the Truth), Kodinhi mosque has become an indicator of communal harmony in Kodinhi, near Tirurangadi, with people from faraway places visiting here to settle disputes even the courts failed to solve.“Sathyam (as the practice is called) has been practised here for the past 250 years,” says P C Komukutty Haji, the present secretary of the mosque committee. According to him, the ritual takes place on Friday afternoons just after the noon prayers. During Sathyam, the parties of a dispute appear before the mosque committee and present their arguments. After going through the versions, the committee will ask the accused to swear in the name of God that they have only told the truth. Once the accused takes the oath, the dispute is settled.“Every Friday, at least two cases are settled in this way in which majority are disputes over money lending or paternity,” says Komukutty Haji. “The accused will take the oath in front of the minbar of the mosque,” he said.According to local people, there were instances in which those who took false oaths lost their mental stability and came back to the mosque seeking apologies. “The system is all based on people’s beliefs,” said Maliyat Rajas Khan, a local scribe. According to him, even complaints filed in courts and police stations are brought here. “Police officials or court representatives also will be present during the ‘sathyam’ in such cases,” says he.“The ritual was started by Mampuram thangal, who built  the mosque to strengthen the communal fabric of the society here,” said Dr K K Abdul Sathar, head of the History Department at the PSMO College in Tirurangadi. This is evident even now as around 40 Hindu families are living in the land given by the mosque.