Muslim delegation under Maulana Mahmood Madani urges the Home Minister to take stern action against perpetrators of violence
Delegation calls on Home minister at his residence

New Delhi, April 5, 2023: Concerned about the violence committed against Indian Muslims in various parts of the nation on the occasion of Ram Navami, a delegation of Muslim religious and national leaders met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and asked him to take stern action against the perpetrators of violence.
Under the leadership of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind President Maulana Mahmood Asa’d Madani, a 16-member Muslim delegation met the Home Minister at his residence late on Tuesday evening. Besides planned communal violence, the delegation also raised a range of issues including arbitrary scrapping Muslim reservation in Karnataka, unabated hate Campaign and Islamophobia, growing incident of mob lynching, raking up of Uniform Civil Code, attack on the autonomy of religious seminaries, situation in Kashmir, forced evacuation in Assam, protection of Waqf Property and others. During the meeting which lasted more than one hour, Muslim leaders also brought to the home minister’s notice the bail issue of Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui and Umar Gautam.
President of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Maulana Mahmood Asa’d Madani stated in his opening remarks that efforts are being made to drive the second largest majority of the country into a cave of despair and that the situation in the country is being contaminated by the open proclamation of hate and communal passion, as a result of which, in addition to economic and commercial loss, the good name of the country is also affected. In this circumstance, we anticipate that you will act quickly to restrain these anti-national individuals and organizations.
On this, the Home Minister responded that “We are also concerned about the religious tension and bloodshed this time around on the occasion of Ram Navami festival. In the states where we do not have our party governments, we have tried to control it through the governor or chief minister, and where we have our governments, whatever incidents have happened, strict action will be taken, the Home Minister said after carefully reading the points and demands made by the delegation.
Regarding the incidents of mob lynching, the Home Minister said that the incidents of mob lynching have taken place in any part of the country; we need to see whether a case of murder has been registered under Section 302, if not write to us and we will make sure of it immediately. In this regard, a list of such incidents will soon be sent to the Home Minister.
The delegation also explicitly referred to the incidents in Mewat and asserted that, as depicted in the TV sting operation to date, a group of miscreants going by the name of Gau Raksha is the height of it. The Home Minister concurred that these organizations need to be restrained.
On Muslim vilification campaign run by the section of media, he said that they (BJP and government) were also the target of the media. Regarding the Islamic madrasas, he said that the government has no objection to teaching Quran and Hadith in the madrasas, but the children should also be imparted modern education in madrasas. A member of the delegation also raised the issue of the Maulana Azad scholarship for Muslim students.
On the issue of scrapping Muslim reservation in Karnataka, the Home Minister said that the Muslims who were getting reservation on the basis of backwardness will continue to get it, but the previous governments had made all Muslims backward, so the backward communities do not belong to, they will get reservation under EWS category. The misunderstanding that is being spread in this regard, we will clarify it soon, and will also ask the Law Minister of Karnataka Government to explain the whole matter.
The Home Minister stated that the action should not be viewed through the lenses of Hindu and Muslim when the group criticized the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir. He also said that although some of it was state policy, we would take stern action if any excesses by the security forces or officials in Kashmir came to our attention.
The home minister claimed that no group is subject to discrimination under his administration. The government's policies and programmes are open to Muslims and Hindus alike; we don't create programmes specifically for either group. The delegation emphasised once more that the biggest issue is that Muslims are being deliberately targeted by organisations and individuals who are purportedly affiliated with the ruling party, not the government's plans.
The government should accept its constitutional duty and act in this respect since incidents of Islamophobia and hate crimes have damaged the reputation of the nation.
The delegation comprised of Maulana Mahmood Asa’d Madani President Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Maulana Asghar Ali Imam Mahdi Salafi Ameer Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith Hind, Maulana Shabbir Nadvi, President Naseh Education Trust Bangalore, Kamal Farooqui Member All India Muslim Personnel Board, Prof. Akhtar Al Wasa President Khusrow Foundation Delhi, Mr. PA Inamdar Chairman MCE Society Pune Maharashtra, Dr Zaheer Kazi President Anjuman Islam, Mumbai, Maulana Muhammad Salman Bajnoori Vice President Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Maulana Nadeem Siddiqui President Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra, Mufti Iftikhar Ahmed Qasmi President Jamiat Ulema Karnataka, Mufti Shamsuddin Bajli General Secretary Jamiat Ulama Karnataka, Maulana Ali Hasan Mazaheri President Jamiat Ulama Haryana-Punjab-Himachal Pradesh, Maulana Yahya Karimi General Secretary, Jamiat Ulama Haryana-Punjab-Himachal Pradesh, Maulana Muhammad Ibrahim President Jamiat Ulama Kerala, Haji Hasan Ahmed General Secretary Jamiat Ulama Tamil Nadu, Maulana Niaz Ahmad Farooqui Secretary Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and others.

Note The demand letter is attached

Please publish press release and oblige
Niaz A. Farooqui
Secretary Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind

04 April 2023

To
Shri Amit Shah Ji
Honorable Home Minister
Govt. of India
New Delhi

We are very grateful to you that you granted this opportunity to this delegation consisting of a galaxy of religious scholars, Educationists and Social leaders led by Maulana Mahmood Madani, President Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind to meet and discuss with you the following issues concerning the country and community.
We firmly belief that you will consider these issue sympathetically and try to find out a solution for the interest of the nation.

(1) Recurring Communal riots
We express deep concern over the riots in different parts of the country on the occasion festival. We demand the central government and the state governments take strict action against rioting elements irrespective of their religion and affiliations. We are very much pained to note that scenes of religious slogans, hateful threats and attacks are being witnessed on this great land.

(2) Growing hate campaign and Islamophobia in the country
The rise in Islamophobia, besides cases of hatred and incitement against the Muslims community has increased to an alarming level in our country, in the recent past.
This has also damaged the country’s global image, and in addition, leads to the economic and commercial loss of the country. In such a situation, we want to draw the attention of the Government of India on how to ensure the integrity and build a positive image of the country.
(1) They should take immediate steps to put a stop to such actions, which are against the norms of democracy, justice and equality and are anti-Islam in nature.
(2) Strict action should be taken against these elements and the media engaged in spreading hatred, especially after the recent clear and rational comments of the Supreme Court. Action should be taken against the inattentive agencies and their slipshod attitude in this regard and the miscreants should be brought to justice, at the earliest.
(3) As recommended by the Law Commission, a separate law should be enacted to specifically punish those who incite violence against the minorities; in particular, efforts to isolate the Muslim minority socio-economically should be put to an end immediately.
(4) To promote harmony in the country, National Foundation for Communal Harmony (National Foundation for Communal Harmony) and National Integral Council (National Integral Council) should be made active and under this mutual programmes and outreach events should be organised, especially joint meetings and conferences of influential people of all religions should be organised, throughout the country in a phased manner.

(3) Countering anti-Islam mindset prompted by media.
Government, investigative agencies and cybercrime sections of the police in the country should automatically register criminal cases against hate mongers without waiting for a formal complaint from anyone and an effective monitoring systemshould be established to identify the culprits, take action against them and get such false content removed immediately.
A complete ban should be imposed on such organisations, groups and social media users who publish or use religiously provocative materials.

(4) freedom and autonomy of Madarsah
Madrasas are the most important educational resource for the poor and backward Indian Muslims. Religious scholars associated with these schools have played a leading role in the freedom struggle and development of the country, besides maintaining its integrity. These madarsas are asset for the country and its civilisation.
We do not accept government’s interference in the management of Madrassas, their freedom and autonomy is basic right of the Muslim community, as per the Constitution of India, and we are not ready to compromise on it. Besides, we are ready to take every initiative regarding the modernisation of religious education and madrassas.

(5) Uniform Civil Code

A Uniform Civil Code is not an issue for Muslims only, but it is related to different social groups, communities, castes and all classes of the country. Our country is the best example of unity in diversity or being a true pluralist one, thus, ignoring our pluralism, whichever laws are passed they will have a direct impact on the unity, diversity and integrity of the country. This is the main reason for opposing the Uniform Civil Code.
The reason for the high sensitivity of Muslims towards Muslim Personal Law is that Islamic Sharia covers all spheres of one’s life in all social and moral aspects; the teachings of the Holy Quran are formulated by the Creator of the Universe and cannot be changed.
Thus, any attempt to abolish Muslim Personal Law or Muslim Family Law is against the spirit of democracy and the guarantee given in the Constitution of India. No tampering should be done with the personal laws of India. This is the purpose of Articles 25 to 29 of the Constitution of India.

(6) Mob Lynching
The scourge of mob lynching is very much disturbing for the people of the country. A few days ago two tribals were killed Madhya Pradesh and two Muslim youths in Mewat. Similarly a Muslim man was brutally killed in Karnataka yesterday. All this is painful for every citizens of India. There is a need to take drastic steps immediately to stop this.

(7) Scrapping of Muslim reservation in Karnataka

We strongly condemn the removal of a 27-year-long reservation Quota for backward Muslim sub-castes in Karnataka by the state Government. It is harmful to the comprehensive development policy of the country. This does not fit in PM Modi's Pasmanda Muslim upliftment as on one hand, the Prime Minister of the country is promoting development policy for the backward Muslims, and on the other hand, his state government is snatching away the reservation based on backwardness from Muslims in Karnataka.

(8) Protection of Muslim Endowments (Auqaf)
Protection of Waqf properties is not only the responsibility of the Muslims but also of the government. To develop waqf properties we seek that
(1) The Waqf Board should be made an independent body on the lines of the SGPC.
(2) The abandoned and uninhabited mosques under the management of the Department of Awqaf and the Department of Archaeology should be rehabilitated without delay and prayers should be allowed in them.

(9) Current situation in Kashmir
The present situation of Kashmir is not at all satisfactory from the point of view of the interest of the country. After the removal of Article 370, the government should have paid special attention to the basic rights of Kashmiris, including education and development and promotion of Kashmiri culture, but instead communal mind-set of the officers who were appointed on various government and public posts in the region, have not only pained the Kashmiri people but all of us are extremely worried about their recent performance and divisive actions.
Adopting an unbiased method to repeal Article 370 was not a wise move itself. Now we once again make an appeal to the government that Kashmiris should be treated with full respect and they should be given fair rights as per the law.

(10) Forced evictions in Assam

The way the poor are being harassed and treated inhumanely in the name of eviction of government lands in Assam is condemnable. The government should accept the responsibility of their rehabilitation and instead of threatening the poor, they should be treated according to the law of the land with humanitarian approach.

Apart from this, since last few days, Assam government has arrested thousands of people in the name of child marriage and put them in jails. We seek to make its opinion clear that arrest in the name of child marriage is not a solution to the problem but is creating more problems. Especially the lives of girls are being ruined. Therefore, we demand that the Assam Government should take some measures in this regard which would prove to be beneficial and effective steps to end poverty, illiteracy and backwardness - which are the root causes of child marriage.

(11) Release of Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui and others
Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, Umar Gautam and their other colleagues have been languishing in jail for almost 2 years. He is accused udder conversion law. The legal process must go in courts, but not granting them bail and keeping them in jail for a long time can not be justified.
We request that the government should provide assistance for his bail while remove the hurdles.

(12) Same-sex marriage case
We appreciate the stand taken by the government in the Supreme Court regarding same-sex marriage. Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has also filed a petition in the Supreme Court against this unnatural marriage.

(13) Terrible earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria
We appreciate the generous support extended by the Government of India to the victims of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

(14) Sadbhavna Manch
In order to eliminate the hatred between citizens of the country and to bring different communities closer, the need of a platform where the people of different communities and faith could meet each other at a social level was being felt for a long time. To achieve this objective, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind decided to establish Sadbhavana Manch.
So far, Sadbhavana Manch has organised about two hundred meetings across the length and breadth of the country, in which, leaders of different religions and their practitioners have participated. In addition to addressing religious issues like cow slaughter, the use of loudspeakers at mosques and local religious disputes, other important social issues like environmental protection, tree plantation, cleanliness of water used for our daily consumption have been some of the few subjects on which these meetings have been organised and after hearing out each other, a common understanding was built on these issues, in addition to reaching a resolve to fight unitedly against communalism.
With regards,

Members of delegation

1 Maulana Mahmood Asa’d Madani President Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind
2 Maulana Asghar Ali Imam Mehdi Salafi Ameer, Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith Hind
3 Maulana Shabbir Nadvi President Naseh Education Trust Bangalore
4 Mr. Kamal Farooqui Member, All India Muslim Personal Board
5 Pro. Akhtarul Wase President, Khusro Foundation, Delhi
6 Mr. PA Inamdar Chairman MCE Society Pune, Maharashtra
7 Dr. Zaheer Kazi President Anjuman-e-Islam, Mumbai
8 Maulana Mohammad Salman Bijnouri Vice President, Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind
10 Maulana Nadeem Siddiqui President, Jamiat Ulama Maharashtra
11 Mufti Iftikhar Ahmed President, Jamiat Ulama Karnataka
12 Mufti Shamsuddin Bajli General Secretary, Jamiat Ulama Karnataka
13 Maulana Ali Hasan Mazahiri President, Jamiat Ulama Haryana-Punjab-Himachal Pradesh
14 Maulana Yahya Karimi General Secretary, Jamiat Ulama Haryana-Punjab-Himachal Pradesh
15 Maulana Muhammad Ibrahim President, Jamiat Ulama Kerala
16 Haji Hassan Ahmed General Secretary, Jamiat Ulema Tamil Nadu
17 Maulana Niaz Ahmed Farooqui member WC Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind