Socio-cultural Processes and Livelihood Patterns at Tirurangadi - CDS

and an ordinary housewife to have a credit card. We will go into the implications of this
change later.
Religious services
There is another form of service, seemingly different but associated with the former type
of services, which is the equally exponential growth of religious services. Religious
services take several forms. One is the construction and renovation of mosques, temples
and churches,; Second is the founding of madrasas, yatheem khanas, charitable societies
and other associated institutions, including schools and other normal services; The third
is he conduct of festivals and ceremonies, including arranging for pilgrimages, that
includes the Hajj; and the fourth is the sponsoring and supporting various kinds of
cultural organizations. All these have been taking place at a rapid pace in the region,
particularly in the last two decades. The schism in the Sunni Ulema have resulted in the
rival factions , the ‘official’ faction, under the leadership of Cherusseri Mohammed
Musaliar and Hyderali Shihab Thangal and the rebel faction under Kanthapuram
A.P.Abubaker Musaliar have been establishing mosques and madrasas, and so have been
the ‘wahhabi’ Nadwathul Mujahideen. Recently, jamaat-e- Islami also has been active,
particularly at Munniyur and Nannambra. This schism has also resulted in the formation
of rival mahal committees by these groups, which has intensified the tension and resulted