Clerics condemn Rizvi for filing PIL on Quran

LUCKNOW Prominent Muslim clerics on Sunday condemned former Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi for having filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition in the Supreme Court, seeking the removal of 26 verses from the Quran

LUCKNOW Prominent Muslim clerics on Sunday condemned former Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi for having filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition in the Supreme Court, seeking the removal of 26 verses from the Quran.

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In a rally on Azadari Road here on Sunday, prominent Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, who is general secretary of Majlis-e-Ulema-e-Hind, said , “We will organise a rally in Delhi on March 19 to demand the arrest of Waseem Rizvi under NSA. He has tried to hurt the feelings of Muslims and we will socially boycott him. He is the enemy of the Quran and is acting at the behest of anti-India forces, who want to incite riots in the country.”

He said his fight would not stop unless Rizvi was sent behind bars by the government.

Maulana Sayyed Salman Nadwi laid stress on unity among the Shias and the Sunnis. He termed Waseem Rizvi a “qafir” for his move on the Quran.

Those present at the rally included Maulana Fazl-e- Mannan Waizi, Maulana Imran Siddiqui, Maulana Hasnain Baqai, Maulana Babar Ashraf, Maulana Kalbe Sibtain Noori, Professor Maharookh Mirza and Swami Sarang.

Rizvi refuses to back down

In a video statement, Rizvi said that he would not backtrack on his statement or the petition filed in the Supreme Court.

He said, “I am not afraid of my boycott…I have my friends who are backing me in my fight against terrorism. If I find myself losing this fight, then I will commit suicide but not do a U-turn on the issue.”

Anupam Srivastava

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