By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Mumbai: Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, the largest Muslim non-governmental organization (NGO) working for social causes in India, has renounced Mufti Muhammad Iliyas Qasmi’s statement that all Indian Muslims are Hindus and Shiva was the first messenger of God.
Jamiat Ulama also rejected TV channels reporting on the issue that Qasmi has association with it.
“India is our birthplace and roots of our religion. Shiva was Muslims’ first prophet. Shiva and Parvati are our creators and parents which is a reality,” Qasmi had said on Thursday in Ayaodhya while propagating Hindu-Muslim unity.
He also said that Muslims were also followers of Sanatan Dharma and “have no reservations in accepting that Shiva and Parvati were part of the series of a lakh and 24,000 prophets sent to the earth with a mission to establish humanity, true religion and God’s rule in the world.”
Reacting immediately to Iliyas’ controversial statement, Jamiat Ulama-ehind (Maharashtra) condemned Qasmi’s statement and claimed that he never had association with Jamiat, a press release said here late Thursday evening.
Expressing dissatisfaction with media highlighting Jamiat’s connection with Qasmi, Gulzar Azmi, a senior functionary of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (Maharashtra) said, “Iliyas (Qasmi) is not associated with Jamiat. In fact, he never was. It is unfortunate that media is associating him with Jamiat after he uttered controversial statements that are not acceptable to Muslim masses.”
Making a point that Qasmi is the elder brother of Maulana Abdul Salam Qasmi, Azmi said, “He (Iliyas) is elder to Abdul Salam, who few months back had supported BJP and maligned Jamiat. He (Iliyas) is also going on his brother’s path by siding with communal elements and their ideology.”
Many other Muslim leaders too have equivocally condemned Qasmi’s remarks saying his words are baseless as none of the Islamic scripture finds such mention of Shiva or Rama being one of a messengers.
“What he has said is totally wrong and unacceptable. It’s nowhere written in our holy book. This could be his political statement, we respect only the ‘nabis’ (Prophets) mentioned in the Quran,” said Mufti Mukarram Ahmed, Imam of Fatehpuri Masjid.
Hashim Ansari, the oldest party in the ongoing Ayodhya shrine dispute, also slammed Qasmi and said, “This is totally ridiculous, and clerics like him read the Quran but don’t understand or follow it at all. What he said is completely unacceptable”.