Country belongs to all of us: Madni

LUCKNOW: Jamiat Ulama of Uttar Pradesh, an influential organisation of Muslims, on Saturday said it will not brook any interference in Islamic laws.

“Nobody has any right to interfere in the religious matters of others. Attempts are being made to mar the communal atmosphere in the country. The country does not belong to one particular community, but to all of us,” said Maulana Mahmood Madni, general secretary of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (JUH) at a conference of all religious leaders to spread goodwill and peace.

“Muslims preferred to stay back when the country was partitioned. We chose to live in this country not by chance, but by choice,” he said adding that an atmosphere of fear was being created. “A Muslim is anything but not a coward,” he said. Referring to the Mughal rule, he said Muslims believed in the supremacy of God and not any Kings. “There were more Muslims due to the influence exerted by Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin during the rule of Prithviraj Chauhan than in the Sultanate of Shahbuddin Ghauri,” he said.

Seconding Maulana Madni on non-interference in Islamic laws, Imam Eidgah Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali said Muslim women were protesting all over the country against the Bill on triple ‘talaq’ (divorce). Recounting the contribution of all communities in the Freedom Movement, Swami Agnivesh lashed out at Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) for trying to divide the country on religious lines.

Agnivesh said he would stage a demonstration against the failures of the Central government and plight of farmers and common man on March 27 in New Delhi. The JUH has extended support to the demonstration.

Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, also slammed the RSS and questioned as to why its members kept firearms when there was police and army to take care of the security.

“A conspiracy is being hatched to change the Indian Constitution,” he said.