Maulana Mahmood Madani, the president of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, claimed that Islam is the oldest religion in India and the country belongs to him as much as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, news agency ANI reported.
“India is our country. This country belongs to Mahmood Madani as much as it belongs to Narendra Modi and Mohan Bhagwat. Neither Mahmood is an inch ahead of them nor are they one inch ahead of Mahmood,” Madani said at the inaugural plenary session of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital on Friday.
“Islam is the oldest religion in this country. This land is the first homeland of Muslims. Saying that Islam is a religion that came from outside is totally wrong and baseless. Islam is the oldest religion among all religions. India is the best country for Hindi Muslims,” the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind head said.
Madani said he is against forced religious conversions, adding that today people who are converting their religion voluntarily are also being sent to jail on false charges.
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“We are against religious conversion driven forcibly. Freedom of religion is a fundamental right. We are also against conversion by force, fraud and greed. There are many examples of agencies targeting the Muslim community, such as the ban on Namaz, police action on them, and bulldozer action,” he added.
The three-day plenary session of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind began on Friday in Delhi. The plenary session of the event will take place on Sunday.
The prominent Muslim body also flagged the alleged rise in Islamophobia and demanded that a separate law be enacted to specifically punish those who incite violence against minorities.
The organisation passed several resolutions, including one on the alleged rise in the 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,” the Jaimiat alleged.
“The most regrettable point is that though the government is aware of these developments, it prefers to adopt an ostrich-like approach,” it alleged.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)
