Three Muslim individuals in Porbandar reportedly attempted suicide by consuming phenyl after a cleric threatened to “ostracise” them from Islam. The youths recorded a video on Instagram in which they charged that seven to eight of their co-religionists harassed, slandered and tried to throw them out of the community for questioning a dictate by the cleric saying that Muslims must not salute the national flag and sing the national anthem.
A police official said that the three youths Shakeel Yunus Qadri (25), Imtiyaz Harun Sipahi (31) and Sohil Ibrahim Parmar (26), who live near Porbandar’s Lakdi port and work as labourers, drank phenyl to end their lives, and announced their intention to end their lives on an Instagram video. However, when their family members spotted their Instagram video, they rushed to the place and admitted them to a hospital.
The youths posted the video on Instagram on 10th August, saying that a false case was registered against them for opposing the fatwa. The incident was triggered by a cleric named Maulana Hafiz Vasif Raza of Porbandar’s Nagina Masjid, who had recently said that Muslims should not sing the National Anthem and that Muslims can hoist the Indian flag but must not salute it.
Two audio clips of the cleric went viral on social media, in one he had said Muslims should not sing the national anthem, and in the other Muslims should not salute the Tiranga. After this, six Muslim youths approached him and asked about the same. According to them, the cleric acknowledged that the recording was authentic and that he had, in fact, issued the statement.
Furthermore, he stood by his sermon and reaffirmed it when the youths countered that Prophet Muhammed had preached the message that Muslims should be loyal to their country and that such an assertion was invalid. Infuriated by the arguments of the youths, the cleric threatened to throw them out of Islam. He and his aides then pushed the youths using sticks, and they also slapped one of the youths. When some supporters of the clerics pulled out swords, the youths fled from the scene.
But after the argument, a complaint was filed against the six Muslim youths by the trustees of Nagina Masjid Porbandar and Darul Ulum Gaushe Azam Trust, accusing them of verbal abuse, physical assault, issuing death threats, and hurting religious sentiments over the audio clip. It was alleged in the complaint that the youths berated the cleric and his followers and thrashed one Sajid Ami Gigani. It was also alleged that the youths issued death threats and hurt religious sentiments, and an audio message with warnings was sent.
However, the youths denied the charges terming them false, after which three of them tried to end their lives by consuming phenyl. In the Instagram video, Shakeel Yunus Qadri, Imtiyaz Harun Sipahi and Sohil Ibrahim Parmar alleged that members of the Muslim community intimidated, maligned and attempted to drive them out of the community after which they ingested phenyl.
In the meanwhile, Darul Ulum Gaoshe Azam Trust’s Trustee, Yusuf Muhammad Punjani, denied the authenticity of the circulating clip and claimed that Maulana Raza have not delivered such a speech. He also alleged that the youths had previous criminal records. Yusuf Muhammad Punjani together with other leaders held a news conference in which they alleged that the cleric had not delivered the speech heard in the clip that was being circulated.
The audio file would be sent for forensic examination before moving forward in this case, said Bhagirathsinh Jadeja, Superintendent of Police (SP) of the Porbandar district.
The three youths are being treated at the hospital. It is notable that earlier also they had complained to the home minister and the police that Mauliv Wasif Raza was opposing the National Anthem and the National Flag in Porbandar, teaching that Muslims should not sing the National Anthem and should not salute the National Flag. They allege that the cleric wants to disturb the communal peace in Porbandar.
