Appeals Muslims to reach out to fellow countrymen
AMN /New Delhi
Expressing deep anguish over the lynching of a Muslim man by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan’s Alwar district, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind today slammed the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to control “those polarizing society on communal lines and spreading hatred against the Muslim community.”
Talking to media persons, Jamaat chief Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari said: “The incident is highly condemnable and Jamaat demands the immediate arrest of the culprits and punishment to the guilty. Jamaat feels that ever since the BJP led government has come at the center, hate crimes and attacks against Muslims and Dalits have increased a lot in the name of cow protection. The number of fake gau-rakshak groups is also increasing. They are getting emboldened because no action is being taken against them.”
He was referring to the incident whereby some Muslims were brutally beaten up on their way to Haryana from Jaipur. They had purchased some cows and calves from the Rajasthan government cattle fare in Jaipur and had valid papers from the Municipal authorities. Pahlu Khan, one of the victims, later succumbed to injuries in hospital.
“There is a complete breakdown of law and order and these incidents are becoming a major embarrassment for the country and sullying its image abroad. Jamaat feels that all this is a result of the communal mindset of the ruling dispensation. The government of the day has failed to curb those polarizing society on communal lines and spreading hatred against the Muslim community,” said Jamaat leader and demanded the Central government “to put an end to such incidents and prove its seriousness in maintaining communal harmony in the country.”
Earlier, Maulana Umari appealed to the Muslim community in India to reach out to fellow countrymen and avoid being provoked by the recent incidents of communal hatred. He said: ‘the recently concluded mid-term session of Majlis-e-Numaindagan (House of Representatives) of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind have passed certain resolutions regarding the situation in our country and abroad. Jamaat wants the Indian Muslim community to remain steadfast to their faith. Although the law and order situation in the country is slowly deteriorating and there are deliberate attempts to create hatred against Muslims and Islam, the Muslim community of India should avoid any negative response and uncalled-for course of action. Hatred should be answered with love and understanding. Regarding the international situation the House of Representatives of Jamaat expressed its apprehension at the rise in Islamophobia in Europe and America.
On the recent Supreme Court judgment on prohibition along highways, Secretary General of Jamaat Muhammad Salim Engineer said: “Jamaat welcomes the recent judgment of the Supreme Court in which the sale of liquor has been prohibited along the state and national highways. Jamaat would like to point out that alcohol which is termed by Islam as ‘’the mother of all evils’’ not only brings death and destruction to many families but is also damaging the social and moral fabric of society. We believe that our Creator and Sustainer has prohibited alcohol and other intoxicants precisely for these reasons. We categorically reject the excuse given by various State governments that banning alcohol would seriously compromise the revenue they earn by way of taxing the alcohol industry. The cost that the government has to bear in terms of trying to prevent the crimes committed under the influence of alcohol, the various medical and health expenses that are caused by such tragedies and various diseases due to alcoholism, the breakdown in the family system and the abundance of court cases and litigation because of alcohol, is far greater than the income accrued by the government by taxing the alcohol industry.