New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) The recent ‘political meeting’ of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and party MPs inside a mosque in Delhi’s Parliamentary Street has snowballed into a major controversy, with political rivals denouncing the act and also Muslim clerics objecting to such assembly inside the religious structure.
BJP Minority Morcha president Jamal Siddiqui said that the SP supremo has broken the rules and customs of Islam by taking his wife Dimple Yadav along with him inside the mosque and also called for the removal of Imam Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi for facilitating ‘political activity’ inside the mosque.
He said that the BJP Minority Morcha will soon lodge a case against Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi, the Imam of Parliament masjid, who also serves as the Lok Sabha MP from Rampur.
Earlier, the All-India Muslim Jamaat president Maulana Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi demanded immediate removal of the Imam for violation of basic Islamic principles.
Jamal Siddiqui, speaking to IANS, said, “Akhilesh Yadav is treating the sacred place of worship as his own property. I strongly condemn this act. Simultaneous entry of men and women in the mosque is forbidden. Though there are arrangements for women on the first floor of the mosque, Akhilesh and his wife Dimple Yadav were seated together. This is gross violation of Islamic customs.”
He also said that as per Islamic customs, women have to be fully covered but Dimple Yadav was not dressed as per Islamic conventions, and this amounted to a clear violation of their religious sentiments.
Jamal Siddiqui further said that he will also take up the matter with Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta regarding the misuse of position by Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi and continuing to occupy the accommodation near Parliament masjid despite having an MP bungalow allotted to him.
“Once he has become parliamentarian, how is he availing the benefits of Imam. He is using religion for achieving his political ambition,” he further charged.
He also called out the self-proclaimed defenders of Islam and asked why people like Asaduddin Owaisi, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), were staying mum on the issue and not taking umbrage over violation of Islamic principles.
–IANS
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