The chief Imam of All India Imam organisation Dr Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, who recently attended the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha on 22nd January has been receiving threats and abuses from the Muslim community, as revealed by him in media interactions. Regarding his experience of attending the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha, he said that he liked it. Rather than getting intimidated, the Imam said that he felt ‘welcomed’ at Ram Mandir.
Imam Ilyasi asserted that he went there with paigham-e-mohabbat (message of love) and advice that we need to forget about the past and move forward. According to him, being a chief cleric who is responsible for 5.5 lakh mosques, his job was to spread the message of love and harmony.
Speaking with The Print, the Imam said, “Humein puraani ranjisho (rivalries) aur dushmaniyon (enmity) ko khatam karke aage ka sochna hai (we have to end old rivalries and enmity, and move forward.”
He opined, “We have to ensure our future generations work for the betterment of the nation”, adding that while attending the event the thoughts in his mind were about the “country, development and love”.
However, the Chief Imam has been receiving severe criticism and threats from the Muslim community for his decision to attend the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha.
In an interview with Rajdharma’s Archana Tiwari, he was asked, “What has been the reaction from your own community to attending the consecration ceremony?”
In response, the Imam claimed that attending it was the biggest decision of his life. He said, “It was not an easy decision and I took it after a lot of thought. This was the biggest decision of my life to attend the ceremony and what could happen.”
Replying to whether the Muslim community accepted his decision, Imam Ilyasi said, “They will not accept it so easily, challenges/problems were posed and there are many problems.”
He added that he has been receiving numerous threatening calls and messages in which nasty things are hurled at him but he hopes things will get better.
Saffron is the Colour of Protection
Imam Ilyasi was asked that some Muslim intellectuals and ‘Journalists’ have alleged that they feel intimidated on seeing Bhagwa (saffron) colour, in that context whether he felt fear or intimidation seeing saffron-clad Sadhus and flags there.
He retorted saying, “Pehle to, Bhagwa darane wala rang nhi hai, bachane wala rang hai. (First of all, saffron colour is not the colour of intimidation rather it is the colour of protection.) Those saying so are entitled to their views but I felt welcomed there not fear or intimidation despite being the lone Imam there.”
In reply to ‘Did anybody see you as a lesser being’, Chief Imam Ilyasi stated that nobody is inferior, we all are Bhartiya, nobody is first nobody is second, reiterating that he felt welcomed there.
Our faith and religion can certainly be different… Our main dharm is insaan and insaniyat. We live in Bharat and are Bharatiya. We all need to make Bharat strong. Rashtra sarvapriya (the nation is supreme), he added.
Imam Ilyasi said, “To the parties and people who are opposing me — and I am being opposed a lot across the country — I just want to say apna nazariya badliye, nazaara khud badal jayega (change your perspective, and the view will change).”
In both media interactions, he stressed, “Purani baaton ko bhool kar, miljul kar, pyaar se mohabbat se aage badhne ka waqt hai (it’s time to forget bygones and move forward with love).”
The Imam also said, “The job of the opposition is to oppose. I am a chief imam… and the message we want to give is that we want to live with each other peacefully.” He emphasised that Indians needed to forget about the past and move forward, noting that dialogue was the only way ahead.
According to Ilyasi, the enmity and strife between the two sides had gone on for too many years, and it should end as this is the time to move forward. He added, “We have to coexist and fight hatred.”
He added, “I am an individual, society (representative of the community) but the country comes first for me, and I intended that my presence there would bring love and affection and everybody welcomed me there and I was successful in it.” He opined that the misunderstandings would only be over after we attend events of each other and it is time for unity.
Pakistan should do Gharwapsi
The anchor Archana Tiwari asked Imam Ilyasi about Pakistan’s contentious remarks on the Ram Mandir despite the dwindling minority Hindu population in their nation adding that they are showing concerns for Indian Muslims.
In reply, Ilyasi said, “I feel like laughing to hear their response. They should look inwards, they should learn from Indian Muslims.” He added that things are getting so much worse in Pakistan that it should do “Ghar Wapsi”. Their people are fed up, they don’t have power, employment, or food. They feel they were better off in India.
Regarding the query on Karsevaks who demolished disputed structure in 1992, Imam Ilyasi opined that we should be forward looking and not talk about the past adding it is our duty to make things (communal bonhomie) better. India under PM Modi is progressing well and is heading to become Vishwa Guru and we should shun enmity, he added.
When asked whether he wanted to skip the query about the demolition of the disputed structure, the Chief Imam added that his motive is not to skip or overlook it but we should be forward-looking in our approach.
In response to the query that it is often alleged by Muslims that BJP/RSS is fanning hatred, he added that during earlier governments, there was no social media and there were limited communication mediums, everybody knows how many riots occurred earlier. He added that rioters and hatemongers are anti-nationals and they want to hamper and stall the ongoing progress of India and they can’t digest India’s current progress.
However, Imam Ilyasi refrained from making future predictions about whether the Kashi and Mathura issues will also be harbingers of brotherhood like Ram Mandir.
When asked, “Have the Indian Muslims been sidelined, threatened, or intimidated”, he inquired, “Where? By whom? In Pakistan? I have not heard such a thing, if you have reports about such a thing, tell us where it is happening? in India everybody is living comfortably.”
He, however, added that every society has some rotten apples and the whole community can’t be blamed for the wrongdoings of some person.
The imam also said that the Prime Minister’s speech was not just for Hindus, but for all “Bharatwasis”. He added, “PM has declared Ram Mandir a ‘rashtra mandir’. He meant this for everyone. He has given a message that all Indians need to come together and make India and Indian-ness strong.”