On Thursday, March 23, the National Conference President and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah said that Lord Rama was ‘sent by Allah’ to guide the people on the right path.
He also claimed that Lord Rama is not a deity of Hindus only rather he is revered by all just like Allah is not just the “god of Muslims” but the god of people belonging to other religions as well. He also accused the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) of using Lord Rama for gaining political power.
“You will see a lot of money will be invested like anything. People will be fed about Lord Rama again and again. It might happen that they will inaugurate the ‘Ram Mandir’ at the same time. But get this in your mind that Lord Rama is not a deity of only Hindus. He is the lord of everybody who keeps faith in him, irrespective of religion, be it a Christian or Muslim, American or Russian. Similarly, ‘Allah’ is not only for the Muslims, he is everyone’s Rabb (god),” Abdullah said while addressing a rally in Udhampur.
Citing one recently deceased Pakistani Maulana Asar’s exegesis in Quran, Abdullah claimed that he had written that “Lord Rama was sent by Allah to preach to the humans and guide them to the right path”. He also claimed that the Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be inaugurated ahead of the elections to divert the attention of the common people.
Udhampur | I think when elections are announced in J&K they will inaugurate Ram temple to divert the attention of the common masses but Ram is for everyone. They wanted to sell Ram, but they didn’t love Ram. They wanted to remain in power at any cost: Farooq Abdullah at a rally pic.twitter.com/EuyY1HaG0i
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2023
Taking a dig at the central government and the BJP, Abdullah said that “the ones who claim to be Ram Bhakt (devotees of Lord Rama) are the fake bhakts. They are not his devotees; they just want to sell Lord Rama to serve their political purpose. Therefore, I appeal you to go among the people and ask them to stop their propaganda of hatred. You must have seen how some women were extracting oil from the ‘diyas’ after the ‘Deepotsav’ in Varanasi, they told the media there that Bhagwan does not need the oil so they are taking it so that they could cook meal for their children, this was the condition.”
“Lord Rama was sent by Allah”: Farooq Abdullah pic.twitter.com/dAXwmJLLDM
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) March 24, 2023
Maulana Arshad Madani had made similar claims recently
It is pertinent to note that recently, the president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (Arshad faction), Maulana Syed Arshad Madani had made similar assertions saying that “Om and Allah are same”. Maulana Madani said this in his address at the 34th general session of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, at Ramlila Maidan, in Delhi in February this year. Madani’s controversial remarks drew sharp reaction from Jain Guru Lokesh Muni who was also present at the session.
“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, Madani claimed.
Following this, Madani’s assertion was opposed by Jain Guru Lokesh Muni, who then left the podium with other religious figures. Before leaving the stage, Acharya Lokesh Muni expressed his displeasure and stated that every other religious person spoke of peace and love at the conference and they don’t share Madani’s sentiments. “We only agree with living in harmony and brotherhood, but all the stories regarding, Om, Allah and Manu are rubbish. The tales he weaved, I can narrate even better stories than that. You are like my father. I invite you to come to Delhi for a discussion with me, or even I can come to visit you in Saharanpur”, Acharya Lokesh Muni said.
The Jain Muni stated that Mahavir was twenty-fourth Jain Tirthankar. There was Lord Parshvanath before him. Arishtanemi was Lord Krishna’s cousin. The foremost Jain Tirthankar was Rishabhanatha, and his sons were Bharata and Bahubali, on whose name this country ‘Bharat’ was named.
“You can’t erase this history. None of us agrees with his statements. He completely spoiled the atmosphere of the session,” the Acharya Lokesh Muni had said slamming Maulana Madani.
Hindu Guru, Sikh Guru and Jain Guru spoke about love then entered Maulana Madni. pic.twitter.com/V9RjIemoSB
— Facts (@BefittingFacts) February 12, 2023
Assertions that Hindu deities like Rama were sent by Allah or that Manu, who in Hinduism is the archetypal man and the progenitor of humanity, worshipped Allah are repeated deliberate attempts to establish the thought that India is the progeny of Islam, and are nothing more than an attack on the civilisational identity of Hindus and other Indic religions.
