Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind’s 34th convention is going on, at Ramlila Maidan, in Delhi. Speaking on the second day of the convention, senior Jamiat leader, Maulana Arshad Madani rejected Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagawat’s statement on ghar wapsi and said, “We (Muslims) have coexisted with non-Muslims for approximately 1400 years. We’ve never forced anyone to convert. Forceful conversions, in our opinion, can’t sustain for very long.”
“Even though the superpower (America) used every conceivable measure in Afghanistan, Allah hu Akbar can still be heard resonating in the mosques. I want to assert that those who (RSS) make such statements (ghar wapsi) are ignorant of both their faith and the history of the nation (India),” he added.
Madani claimed, “Both the first and last prophets, Adam in India and Mohammad in Arabia, were sent down by Allah. He is referred to as Manu by Hindus and Adam by us. The sound of ‘La ilaha illaah’ first descended in India. Adam worshipped the same Allah as Manu did when he revered the Om. Allah and Om are one.” He continued, “Manu is our ancestor and you tell us to return home (revert to Sanatan Dharma). We will die but never forget our Allah.”
Religious leaders of other faiths were also among the attendees. Jain Guru Lokesh Muni objected to Madani’s statement and departed the podium along with other religious figures.
Talking to the media, Jain Muni said, “We came here on the invitation of Junior Madani. He told us that it is a sadbhawana sammelan (goodwill conference). You heard many religious leaders speak about love and peace. Everything was going good. However, Madani, who has come from Saharanpur, made contentious remarks. He brought his religion and Allah into this. According to our beliefs, it was not a prophet or god who brought us to this world. It was our parents. We value God above them. His remarks were complete nonsense.”
Notably, Maulana Arshad Madani, who is also the current Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband, is notorious for making controversial statements. In the past, he has lauded Taliban as freedom fighters and compared them to Jawahar Lal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi. He has also alleged that co-education is swaying Muslim girls away from Islam.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Mahmood Asad Madani, another controversial Jamiat leader, on Friday, said that India is the birthplace of Islam. “The first prophet descended here. It is the homeland of Muslims. To consider Islam as a foreign religion is historically incorrect and completely baseless,” he further added. Madani is infamous for his opposition to Uniform Civil Code (UCC). He even threatened the creation of another Pakistan over Gyanvapi issue, where the mosque is built over the ruins of the desecrated old Kashi Vishwanath Temple by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He even promoted a propaganda book titled, “26/11 : RSS ki Sazish” along with filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and Congress loyalist Digvijaya Singh.
The book aimed at shifting the blame of one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the world, from its originator Pakistan to RSS.