Issue fatwas against those who unfurl Pakistani flags in India: RSS leader

RSS leader and patron of its Muslim wing, Indresh Kumar on Monday urged Muslim religious heads to issue fatwas (Islamic legal pronouncement) against those who raise the Pakistani flag on Indian soil.

Kumar, who is the patron of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), an RSS affiliate, also called upon residents of Muslim localities that are dubbed as “mini-Pakistan” to protest against this categorisation.

“Even after 70 years of Independence why are Muslim mohallas (areas) described as mini-Pakistan? If the places are mini-Pakistan then those staying there are Pakistani. Why are there no protests or complaints against this allegation? Why don’t Muslim religious leaders issue fatwas against this allegation?” he asked.

Speaking at an iftaar hosted by the MRM, which had political leaders, diplomats and religious heads in attendance, Kumar said there should be no place in India where the Pakistani flag is unfurled including in “Kashmir”.

“If the Pakistani flag is unfurled even in Kashmir, should we not from political and religious platforms announce that it is un-Islamic? And those who do so are anti-Islam and enemies of the country,” he said.

The MRM, which is leading the campaign against the practice of triple talaq and cow slaughter, has been persuading Muslims to lend support to the RSS’s demand for the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

It also wants Muslims to opt for a uniform civil code, instead of favouring the Sharia (Islamic Law).

“I have asked many intellectual and religious heads why they want to follow the Sharia instead of what is written in the Quran, but no one has an answer. They acknowledge the opposition to triple talaq as interference with Sharia not Quran,” Kumar said.

Sharing the stage with Kumar was Manipur governor Najma Heptullah and firebrand BJP MP Shakshi Maharaj who was booked for hurting religious sentiments after he blamed Muslims for the exponential population growth in India.

Asked why he was present at the iftaar, the BJP MP said the MRM is helping “propagate message of brotherhood” and it should not be seen as an “attempt to please a vote bank.”