Vande Mataram order ‘coercive’: J&K Muslim body

The Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema calls singing Vande Mataram "un-Islamic," urging officials to withdraw a directive promoting its celebration in schools.

Srinagar: The Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), an amalgam of major Muslim religious organisations in Jammu and Kashmir, headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Wednesday said singing or reciting Vande Mataram is “un-Islamic”, as it contains expressions of devotion that contradict the fundamental Islamic belief Allah is one (‘Ahad’ in Arabic).

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the leader of the Hurriyat Conference (PTI)

The statement by MMU came in response to a state government directive to all schools in the region to organise musical and cultural programmes to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram on November 7.

“Islam does not permit any act that involves worship or reverence directed to anyone or anything other than the Creator,” the MMU said in a statement.

Urging Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and chief minister Omar Abdullah to withdraw the “coercive directive”, the MMU said, “Forcing Muslim students or institutions to participate in activities that conflict with their faith is both unjust and unacceptable.”

On October 1, the Union Cabinet decided to celebrate 150 years of Vande Mataram across India. The Constituent Assembly had accorded Vande Mataram, composed by Bankimchandra Chatterji, the status of national song.

The MMU said Muslims deeply love their homeland, but that devotion should be expressed through service,compassion, and contribution to society not through acts conflicting with faith.

The statement said that this directive appears to be a deliberate attempt to impose an “RSS-driven Hindutva ideology on a Muslim-majority region under the guise of cultural celebration, rather than promoting genuine unity and respect for diversity”.