Monitories scared under Modi government, says Muslim body
Any attempt to impose the Hindu right wing agenda and curtail the freedom of minorities will be challenged, a top Muslim body said on Sunday while vowing to launch a campaign against such efforts
Any attempt to impose the Hindu right wing agenda and curtail the freedom of minorities will be challenged, a top Muslim body said on Sunday while vowing to launch a campaign against such efforts.
Issues like religious conversion, inclusion of chapters of the Bhagwad Gita in textbooks and introduction of yoga and 'surya namaskar' in schools will be opposed, said Mohammad Abdul Raheem Qureshi, national secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB).
"Such incidents are turning the country from a secular to a fascist state. There is resentment among Muslims and other minorities," he said while addressing the media after the two-day AIMPLB annual meet.
Accusing the RSS and other Hindu groups of trying to force their agenda on minorities, Qureshi said there was need for an extensive campaign to reach out to people to clear "misunderstandings and misconceptions" about Muslims.
"Hindu forces have become audacious after the Modi government took over the reins at the Centre. It is a fact that the government is not taking action against such forces," he said.
There was consensus during the meeting that Muslims should campaign against the agenda of the RSS, Bajrang Dal, VHP and other organisations to remove misconceptions about Muslims, he added.
He said "communal programmes" like 'Ghar Wapsi' and attacks on Christians and other minorities are not good for the country and would lead to anarchy.
Referring to the attempt to make yoga and surya namaskar compulsory in state-run schools of BJP-ruled Rajasthan, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh, Qureshi said these practices were ritualistic in nature and go against Islam.
"Islam teaches us to bow only before the creator, so why should we bow before the sun, which is just an entity in the universe," he said.
Qureshi said the ban on beef in some states should not be perceived in a religious light.
"Muslim community is not alone in consuming beef as other communities also take it," he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
