The Chairperson of the Islamic Centre of India (ICI) and Imam of Eidgah, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali, demanded strict action on Tuesday against Dasna Temple Mahant Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati for his alleged statement on Prophet Mohammad.
The Imam said in his statement, ‘The statement by Yati Narsinghanand has not only deeply hurt the sentiments of millions of Indians, but it also aimed to incite communal feelings among Muslims worldwide’. However, a delegation from the ICI submitted a memorandum to the Director General of Police (DGP), Uttar Pradesh (UP), and demanded legal action against Mahant Saraswati and his incarceration.
Imam Khalid Rasheed Mahali added, “The memorandum implores the UP government to advise the Central government to enact a national law to ensure that derogatory remarks against any religion or religious figures are met with the most severe penalties’.
Imam Khalid Rasheed Mahali asked for action against Yati Maharaj but also demanded strict ‘blasphemy laws’ The dog-whistling about ‘Blasphemy’ is more often than not a way to target non-Muslims not just in India but also in Pakistan, and Bangladesh in the neighbourhood and the world over. A special law targeted towards limiting criticism of Islam would only end up legitimising the hurt feelings of the Muslim community over any criticism of their faith, leading to violent and murderous calls like “Sar Tan Se Juda”.
The Islamic Centre of India (ICI), also known as Darul Uloom Farangi Mahal, is located in Lucknow. According to the centre’s website, the ancestors of the Farangi Mahlis migrated to India in the 11th century and have been engaged in scholarly work for centuries. The website claims that Aurangzeb was highly influenced by the Islamic scholars of Farangi Mahal.
Recently, Rasheed made headlines when he opposed the Narendra Modi-led NDA government’s Waqf Amendment Bill. He claimed that the Waqf Act was more than sufficient for the management, security, and development of Waqf properties, and there was no need to amend the existing laws.
Meanwhile, Cases of arbitrariness of the Waqf Board keep coming up every day, Center brought the Waqf Amendment Bill. A related case has come to light from Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, where the future of more than 600 families of Cherai village is in serious crisis.
These families say that the Waqf Board is staking its claim on their lands, due to which they are in trouble while living. Cherai village is a beautiful village of fishermen, being a coastal village, it has been attracting tourists for a long time. Since the year 2022, the villagers of this village are not able to buy their land due to legal complications and are also not able to do any work related to the properties.
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