‘Be careful & don’t discriminate during Ramadan,' Muslim body appeals

The Jamiat Ulama Karnataka issued a letter on Saturday last week appealing Muslim masses not to indulge in counter boycotts during Ramadan in retaliation to the ban on Muslim vendors during temple jaatras in Karnataka.

In the most recent development, the Jamiat Ulama Karnataka, a branch of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, has issued a letter appealing to the Muslim fraternity not to fall for ‘communal propaganda’ and not discriminate between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Muslim men look for the position of the moon to mark the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan on the roof of Al-Musyari'in mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 1, 2022.  (REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan)

This comes in the backdrop of several Muslim traders being barred from putting up stalls at some temples, festivals and annual fairs in many parts of Karnataka after they shut down their shops to protest against the Karnataka High Court's decision on the hijab ban in educational institutions.

In their letter, the Jamiat Ulama Karnataka have expressed concern that some forces are directing Muslims to buy only from Muslim vendors during the month of Ramadan in response to the ban on non-Hindu traders around temples and jaatras in Karnataka.

The letter warned of fake news spreading a sense of hate among the fraternity and said, "We must be alert and cautious and understand that such kind of messages are part of a conspiracy, propagated by individuals with a malicious agenda."

Saying that these thoughts do not reflect the popular sentiments of the Muslim community, the letter urged Muslims not to indulge in counter boycotts in retaliation to the campaigns.

The letter warned of fake news spreading a sense of hate among the fraternity and said, "We must be alert and cautious and understand that such kind of messages are part of a conspiracy, propagated by individuals with a malicious agenda."

It further stated that some anti-social elements are pretending to be Muslims on social media and are sending messages in the name of Muslims, whose agenda is to disturb peace and harmony among fellow citizens.

“These types of malicious messages are not part of our culture or religion and cannot be done or promoted by any sane Muslim,” the letter read.

It called for Muslims to respect people of all religions and make sure that no one is harmed. It also guided Muslims to avoid spreading provocative messages on WhatsApp or other social media platforms.

In an attempt to de-escalate communal tension in the state, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, said in the Assembly that one should exercise restraint before going public with social issues. This was in reference to Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw's tweet appealing the CM not to allow communal exclusion in Karnataka to grow further, amid the recent controversy over temple committees not allowing Muslim traders.

Amid calls from BJP ministers to ban madrasas and halal meat, Karnataka has been facing controversy after controversy ever since the hijab row first broke out in Udupi.