Dismissing as "irrelevant" and "illogical" a Vishwa Hindu Parishad letter seeking a fatwa declaring India as a friend of Islam, Muslim groups said on Monday that the country does not belong to any particular community and Muslims are very much sons of the soil.
"We have not received the letter yet and even if we receive, I don't see any reason to reply to this irrelevant letter," All India Muslim Personal Law Board Working Committee member S Q R Ilyas said.
VHP's Dharm Raksha Manch, a congregation of seers, issued the letter last week asking Muslim clerics to state clearly
that Hindus are not "kafirs" and therefore "jihad" does not apply to the community.
Maulana Adbul Khaleque Madrasi, senior cleric and vice-rector at Islamic seminary Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband, termed
the letter as "illogical".
"Who are they to ask us this illogical question? They should know we have launched a series of meetings across India
condemning terrorism," Madrasi said.
Stating that the seminary has not received the letter yet, he said: "The door of Darul Uloom is open to all. They can come here if they have any doubts on the issue."
Islamic scholar and Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind spokesman Abdul Hamid Noami said that he has not seen the letter.
"I have
not seen the letter. But what I can say now is such letters are illogical," he said."We live in India and and we love this country. We are not accountable to these Hindu groups. We have always condemned the terrorism and fought against the enemies of India," Ilyas said.
"There are three categories of place--Dar-ul Harb (abode of war), Dar-ul Islam (abode of Islam) and Dar-ul Aman
(abode of peace)--The first two are not applicable to India so it's the third one which is relevant here," Madrasi said.
"Today, they are asking us to issue a fatwa. Tomorrow they may ask us to leave the country. Why should we reply to
them? There is no threat to any one from Muslims," he said.
The letter was issued to All India Milli Council, Dar-Ul-Ulum Deoband, Tabligh Jamaat, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, All
India Organisation of Imams of Mosques among others.
VHP international president and member of the Dharm Raksha Manch Ashok Singhal had said they are expecting a
positive response of the letter.
"We firmly believe that till the time Islamic leaders do not condemn religion inspired violence, terrorism in this country will not come to an end. If Islam is a religion of peace, as they propagate, then we expect them to issue a fatwa clearing these views," he had said.
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