A delegation of Jamiat Ulama-e Hind (Mahmood Madani group) met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (May 9) at the Prime Minister's official residence. The large delegation included some persons from outside Jamiat also like Prof. Akhtarul Wasey (VC, Maulana Azad University, Jodhpur), Dr. Zahir I Kazi (President of Anjuman-i-Islam, Mumbai and PA Inamdar (Chairman, Azam Campus, Pune).

According to a press release issued by the Jamiat, the meeting lasted for about two hours. Later, talking to media, Mahmood Madani, General Secretary of his group of Jamiat, described the meeting as "satisfactory and positive". He said, "the PM heard us passionately and agreed with our concerns."

Madani further said, "Our meeting with the PM was mainly for opening the door of mutual communication and closer understanding that would lead to further opportunities and all of us will be able to play our role in the development of our country." Madani added that he asked the Prime Minister to create a mechanism for further dialogue between the PM and the Indian Muslim community.

This was the first such high-level meeting of leaders of the Indian Muslim community with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who came to power three years ago but was shunned until now by the Muslim community. A few days earlier Mahmood Madani group had said that it has asked for time to meet the PM.

Soon after Modi's coming to power, at least three high-level meetings were held by Muslim community leaders including one called by Maulana Mahmood Madani himself in his Masjid Abdun Nabi office in Delhi, in which it was decided unanimously that no Muslim group will meet Modi who was held responsible not only for Gujarat 2002 riots, fake encounters but also for creating in the country an atmosphere of hate against the Muslim community.

The leaders had decided that should a need arise to meet the PM, it should be a joint delegation that will go to meet him. Today’s delegation did not include any leader of leading Indian Muslim organizations like Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, Jamaat-e Islami Hind and Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e Hadees or institutions like Muslim Personal Law Board or Darul Uloom Deoband.

By meeting the PM today with only a Jamiat delegation, Mahmood Madani group has broken the Muslim ranks.  
 

Maulana Madni and others who met PM speak to the media

Following is the full unedited text of the press release issued Jamiat Ulama-e Hind after this meeting:

Delegation of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind consisting of a galaxy of religious scholars, Educationists and Social leaders led by Maulana Qari Mohammad Usman Mansurpuri, President Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind met Prime Minister Narender Modi today at his residence in New Delhi. The delegation discussed with the PM several issues including the current communal situation of the country.

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Maulana Qari Usman and its general secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani while speaking to the media after conclusion of the meeting that continued for about two hours, said that the meeting was satisfactory and positive. Maulana Mahmood Madani said the PM heard us passionately and agreed with our concerns. He said, PM also appreciated our stand that the divorce was internal issue of the Muslim community and the community itself should take reformative steps.

Our meeting with the PM was mainly for opening the door of mutual communication and closer understanding that would lead to further opportunities and all of us will be able to play our role in the development of our country. We requested from Honorable PM to create mechanism for access to him or his appointee for continuing dialogue and closer understanding so that Muslim community is assured of its role and share in the development of our country. Maulana Madani
said PM was apprehensive about growing hatred in the name of cow protection and he assured us that he would not let this trend prosper.

On this occasion, the delegation submitted a memorandum which text is hereunder.

To the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India

We are very grateful to you that you granted this opportunity to the delegation of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind consisting of a galaxy of religious scholars, educationists and social leaders led by Maulana Qari Mohammad Usman Mansurpuri, President Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind to meet their Prime Minister.

The basic objective of the meeting is to establish closer interaction between the government and the Muslim community on issues of larger national interest which has been highlighted by the Honorable Prime  Minister himself through the slogans like “Sab ka Sath Sab ka Vikas and Meri Sarkar Sabki Sarkar’’. We are of the opinion that most important national issues can be solved through mutual dialogue.

Supremacy of Rule of Law is must for the security, integrity and development of our country. No one is above the law. It must be administered with total impartiality and equality. Your recent reprimand to private groups taking law in their hands and launching murderous attacks for salvaging cows has sent the correct message but much has to be done by law enforcing agencies and the state administration.

The recent incidents of manslaughter on the pretext of cow slaughter have sent shock waves of terror and fear through Muslim, Dalit and the weakest sections of the society. We are afraid that the fear and despondence if unchecked could prove highly counterproductive.

There is no doubt that terrorism, fueled and perpetuated by enemy forces tops our agenda with reference to our national security, peace and stability. There have been attempts to communalise even this issue. We have always condemned such attempt and consistently campaigned at the national level in cooperation with all communities against terrorism as well as religious bigotry and extremism.

We are happy to note that in the context of tarnishing the image of Islam and Muslim globally you made the Indian Muslim communities hold their head high by projecting Indian Muslim community’s ideology of peaceful Islam with reference to India’s tradition of Islamic Sufism and their aversion to extremist ideology.

We appreciate this on your part and on our part reiterate our commitment to enable India lead counter terrorism campaign by example. However, for controlling the menace of terrorism, the law must be enforced effectively with total impartiality. Every caution should be exercised to ensure that no innocent person is victimized.

Muslim community has issues and grievances just like any other community which have to be dealt with as per the exigency but this shouldn't undermine their aspiration to be equal stake holder. These issues should be deliberated upon and solved amicably so that none of the communities have a feeling of discrimination on the basis of religion and they feel their duty and share in the country’s development equally which tallies with identity of our beloved country.

The delegation requests the Honorable PM to create mechanism for access to him or his appointee for continuing dialogue and closer understanding so that Muslim community is assured of its role and share in the development of our country.

We once again, thank you and hope that door of mutual communication and closer understanding that has been opened today, will lead to further opportunities and all of us will be able to play our role in the development of our country.

With highest regards

The delegation includes

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The Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has decided at its national executive meeting to organise women's conferences in various cities across the country to demonstrate that Muslim women are not against Sharia law.

The decision was taken after the working members of the committee expressed concern over the growing misrepresentation and misunderstanding about the Muslim family law in the society that has triggered wide public and media discussions.

Initially, the conferences will be held in Kolkata, Kanpur and Hyderabad. In addition to this, Jamiat also decided to fight cases in the Supreme Court pertaining to the Muslim personal laws.

The National executive meeting chaired by Maulana Usman Mansoopuri, National President, Jamiat also expressed their deep concern over prevailing anarchy, violation of human rights, killing of civilians and blinding of youth by pellet guns.

The national executive demanded to constitute an inquiry committee to punish the guilty officials and ban the uses of pellet guns with immediate effect. The national executive exhorted the central government to repeal AFSPA and institute a broad-based inquiry into extrajudicial killings in Kashmir, and open a result-oriented dialogue with the Valley’s stakeholders to discuss the larger political questions. If the Indian state could strike a peace deal with the Naga insurgents, why not Kashmir, which is even more central to India’s national security? The resolution reads.

The 33rd general session of Jamiat is going to be held on November 11, 12 at Ajmer, Rajasthan. The much talked about general session is expected to cover issues such as protection of Muslim personal laws, introduction of Communal Violence Bill, new education policy of the central government and imposing of particular religious practices in the schools and mechanism for promoting national harmony and condemnation of growing impact of terrorism, reservation for the Muslims and social reforms in the light Islamic teachings.

(This story was first published on Twocircles.net.)
 

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In the latest development, the chairperson of the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state minorities commission of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Abid Rasool Khan, has addressed a letter to the president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Moulana Syed Mohammed Rabe Hasani Nadvi, urging the Board to immediately declare that henceforth the utterance talaq, talaq, talaq will be treated as one only and therefore revocable.
 
"Today we have a huge social problem in the Muslim community where literally lakhs of women all over the country are suffering because their men have divorced them by pronouncing talaq thrice [in one sitting]," the letter said.
 
"I would like to alert you that if you (AIMPLB) insist on the triple talaq, you will be committing injustice to literally lakhs of our sisters and opening the doors for the Supreme Court to strike down this law as it is seen as being in violation of human rights," it added.
 
Citing the examples of the Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987, providing for “the more effective prevention of the commission of sati and its glorification” which made the earlier act far more stringent and the recent verdict of the Bombay High Court upholding women’s right to equal access, on par with men, to the Haji Ali dargah, the letter warned of a similar fate awaiting the triple talaq practice.
 
Going a step further the letter also warned the Board and the Jamiatul Ulema that "this (triple talaq) has become an issue which has the potential to escalate and cause the eventual de-recognition of our personal law and the imposition of a uniform civil code," he said.
 

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