The Shia community residing in Jansath in Uttar Pradesh has announced a “complete boycott of Waseem Rizvi.” Protests against Rizvi were also taken out. The religious leaders from the region declared that “by speaking against Quran, Rizvi has been expelled from Islam.”
Aas Mohammad Kaif, TwoCircles.net
UP: In an area in Jansath town of Uttar Pradesh, known as ‘Sadat-e-Barah (a community of Sayyids)’, anger is brewing against the former chairman of the Shia Waqf Board Syed Waseem Rizvi, who petitioned the Supreme Court to remove 26 verses of the Quran.
The Shia community residing in Jansath has announced a “complete boycott of Waseem Rizvi.” Protests against Rizvi were also taken out. The religious leaders from the region declared that “by speaking against Quran, Rizvi has been expelled from Islam.”
According to Imam-e-Zuma Maulana Abul Hasan, Rizvi has been “publicly expelled from Islam.”
“Whatever he (Rizvi) is saying now is his personal opinion. His ties with Shia Community are now broken. He is not a Muslim anymore. To be a Muslim one should have faith in the Quran, but Rizvi is doubting the verses of the Quran. The Quran is one for all Muslims. Talking wrongly about it is a refusal of the Quran. By Rizvi has openly stood against Islam. Now, Muslims cannot offer Namaz-i-Janaza (funeral prayers) and Dafeena (burial rituals) to him (when he dies). Whoever supports him will also be expulsed from Islam,” Maulana Abul Hasan told TwoCircles.net.
Nawab Danish Ali Khan, who belongs to the well-known Sayyid Brothers family of Jansath, echoed the views of Maulana Abul Hasan, saying “there is a big conspiracy behind the filing of Rizvi’s PIL.”
Danish Ali Khan said that, “Rizvi wants to be the new Salman Rushdie. He has rebelled against God. He is a stigma for all humanity. The Quran is the holy book of Muslims for the benefit of all humanity. By doing such acts, he wants to be noticed by the right right-wing government. His acts may also be a conspiracy to break Shia-Sunni unity among Muslims.”
Several protests against Rizvi were taken out in the villages Joli, Mujheda, Jatwara, Tanheda, Khujeda, Kakrauli, Kaithoda and Morena of Uttar Pradesh. During the protests, slogans were raised against Rizvi.
The resentment against Rizvi is not only seen in the religious community but among common people as well.
A social worker Ali Jameen Zaidi from Meerapur Uttar Pradesh told TwoCircles.net that the whole community is angry with Rizvi. “Rizvi is neither a Shia nor a Muslim. He is doing all this to avoid CB and CID investigation,” Zaidi said and added, “We demand his immediate arrest.”
Commenting on the issue, Mohammad Mehdi of Mujheda, a village in Sadat in Uttar Pradesh, told TwoCircles.net that, “He (Rizvi) is a man full of malice,” and called him (Rizvi) the “Yazid of this era.”
“Rizvi is always in the habit of spreading hatred. The government should immediately arrest him and put him in jail. Any support for him is not justified,” Mehdi said.
Mehdi commended religious leaders’ decision “to expel Rizvi from Islam.” “There can be no change in the Quran,” he stressed.
Mehdi called Rizvi a politically motivated man. “It is a shame that he did this,” he said.
“He is vicious and is only spreading hatred in the community,” Mehdi added.
The filing of a petition at the Supreme Court to remove Quranic verses is not the first time that Rizvi has attempted to touch a nerve within Muslims in India and hurt their sentiments. In the past, he has been in limelight for his statements on Islam and Muslims, causing hurt within the community. Within the Shia community in India, he is considered a “fringe figure only lighting the flame of hatred.”
TwoCircles.net presents here some of the statements made by Rizvi in the past, which fueled anger and resentment in the community.
November 2017: Rizvi expresses support from Shia Waqf Board to build a Ram temple on the controversial land of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. His statement is strongly opposed by the Muslim community, who take out protests against him. His statement comes at a time when the Supreme Court verdict on the Babri-Ayodha was yet to come and the case was still going on.
December 2017: Rizvi appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a letter to extend the sentence of 3 years imprisonment proposed in the Triple Talaq Bill to 10 years. The statement was in contravention to the public sentiment prevailing among the Muslim community who viewed the “Triple Talaq Bill as a conspiracy against the minority community.”
January 2018: In a letter, Rizvi called the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board “a branch of a terrorist organization.” This statement of Rizvi also created tension within the Muslim community.
February 2018: Rizvi spoke of handing over many mosques of India to Hindus. “Many disputed mosques have been secured under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. It will be difficult to hand them over to the Hindus, so it should be scrapped,” Rizvi had said. Rizvi wrote a letter to the All-India Personal Law Board declaring a total of 9 mosques, including Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura, Qutub Minar, as disputed. However, Law Board Secretary Zafaryab Jilani had said that if any such letter is received, the board will take legal action against Rizvi.
October 2018: Rizvi dubbed Islam’s first two Caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar as “terrorists.” The statement drew widespread criticism from the Muslim community as the two Caliphs are revered by Muslims of all sects and stripes.
November 2018: Rizvi produced a propaganda film “Ram Ki Janmabhoomi” over the Babri Masjid demolition. The release of the trailer of the film was surrounded by controversies. Rizvi was accused of misrepresenting the image of the Muslim community in the film. However, the film could not do anything significant at the box office.
January 2019: Rizvi accused the Islamic madrasas of promoting terrorism and called for its closure. “These are not good for Indian Muslims. They poison the minds of Muslim youths. Terrorist training is imparted in many madrasas. Modern education is not given here. Religious fundamentalism is taught,” he had said.
July 2019: Rizvi filed a petition in the Supreme Court to ban the green moon-star flag. Rizvi had said that this flag is not a religious flag of Islam and that it resembles Pakistan’s political party Pakistan Muslim League. “Action should be taken against the people who hoist this flag,” he had said.
September 2019: Rizvi made a film on Ayesha, the wife of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). As soon as the trailer was revealed, Rizvi was criticized across the country. Muslim clerics had raised the demand for banning the film and arresting Waseem Rizvi.
January 2020: With his third propaganda film ‘Srinagar’, Rizvi tried again to tarnish the image of the Muslim community. At the trailer launch, Rizvi said, “Read on Kashmir and made a film on it. The Kashmiri Pandit community was forced to give up their property. Those Muslims who called Hindus brothers and sisters, when they were tricked, they raped the same sisters. Was it humane?.”
October 2020: Rizvi’s attempts to anger Muslim society with the film “Helpless”, which was based on conversion. The attempt was criticized by many Muslims.
March 2021: Rizvi files a PIL in the Supreme Court for the removal of 26 verses of the Quran. In his petition, Rizvi said, “that these verses of the Quran encourage terrorism and are being taught to children in madrasas, leading their minds towards fundamentalism.” Rizvi’s statement drew condemnation from all sections of society in India.