Ulema meet proves to be a damp squib

THE MUCH-PUBLICISED ulema (clerics) conference under the banner of the People?s Democratic Front (PDF) led by Shia leader Maulana Kalbe Jawad today, proved a damp squib. Even though soft-spoken and suave Jawad is quite popular in his community, rampant infighting among the Muslim clergies has damaged his plan to widen the PDF base.

THE MUCH-PUBLICISED ulema (clerics) conference under the banner of the People’s Democratic Front (PDF) led by Shia leader Maulana Kalbe Jawad today, proved a damp squib. Even though soft-spoken and suave Jawad is quite popular in his community, rampant infighting among the Muslim clergies has damaged his plan to widen the PDF base.

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While Jawad has been making desperate efforts to unite the Muslim community, warring groups have been pulling in different directions to pull the rug from under his feet. Even Jawad’s allies in his move for Shia-Sunni unity in Lucknow have deserted him.

Addressing the gathering, Jawad laid stress on unity in Ummah (community) and to demonstrate his firm commitment to the cause, Jawad, who is Shia Imam-e-Juma, offered afternoon prayers here on Sunday behind a non-Shia Mufti Abul Irfan Firangimahli. This was certainly an unprecedented move on his part.

Rebutting the charges of his detractors that formation of PDF would help only communal forces, Jawad said he had been trying to improve relations with non-Muslims also. Laying stress on peaceful co-existence, the PDF chief said his endeavor would be to present the true picture of Islam, which had been tarnished by the western propaganda. Though he said a committee of Ulema and intellectuals would be constituted to chalk out the action plan, the PDF had actually been facing paucity of well-known names among the clerics.