Kolkata imam Barkati who warned of jihad sacked
Controversial Muslim cleric Noor-ur-Rehman Barkati was sacked on Wednesday as the shahi imam of Kolkata’s Tipu Sultan mosque after months of controversy over a series of fatwas and refusal to give up the red beacon. A meeting of the trustees of the 165-year-old mosque decided to remove Barkati for “objectionable remarks”.
KOLKATA : Controversial Muslim cleric Noor-ur-Rehman Barkati was sacked on Wednesday as the shahi imam of Kolkata’s Tipu Sultan mosque after months of controversy over a series of fatwas and refusal to give up the red beacon.
A meeting of the trustees of the 165-year-old mosque decided to remove Barkati -- considered close to CM Mamata Banerjee — for “objectionable remarks against the country”.
Barkati, known as the ‘fatwa imam’, had courted controversy over a series of diktats against prominent personalities including PM Modi. What prompted his sacking was threat of a ‘jihad’ if India was declared a Hindu state.
He had also refused to remove the red beacon on his vehicle following the Centre’s decision to do away with what considered a status symbol for many. Barkati was later forced to remove the beacon by the state government.
“The termination notice was sent today. The notice has told him that he is not the imam from today (Wednesday),” said Arif Ahmed, chairman of the Prince Gholam Mohammad Wakf Estate, the custodian of the mosque. The trust gave him seven days to vacate the office or potentially face forcible eviction by police.
A defiant Barkati, however, said the committee had no right to sack him. “I have been the imam for 30 years. The commit- tee is functioning for 12 years only. It cannot sack me. They are conspiring against me with the help of a section of the media,” he told reporters. The cleric said he was will speak to Banerjee on her return from Delhi.
The Wakf Estate authorities has given the mosque trustee board the responsibility to find a new imam. A senior cleric will perform Barkati’s duties till his successor is found.
The man known for his burgundy beard and about a dozen pet cats seemed to enjoy a degree of impunity as he got away even after announcing the fatwa against Modi, over which a BJP leader had filed a police complaint.
But Barkati’s relation with the establishment soured last week after his jihad comments. On May 13, chief minister Banerjee sent urban development minister Firhad Hakim to chastise him and also to force him to remove the red beacon on his car.
The same day, library minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury also held an agitation against the imam outside his mosque.