BJP condemns Shia leader Waseem Rizvi’s remarks about the Quran

The BJP on Saturday joined the Valley-based Muslim religious organisation in condemnation of Shia leader Waseem Rizvi’s move to approach the Supreme Court to seek removal of 26 verses of the Quran, a holy book central to the faith of Muslims across the world.

“We have filed a complaint [before the police] and want the accused to be dealt with strictly. Nobody will be allowed to speak against any community or their holy book,” Valley-based BJP leader Manzoor Bhat said.

Another BJP leader Altaf Thakur termed the remarks of the former chairman of Shia Waqf Board “unacceptable”.

“The Quran teaches love, brotherhood and peace and not violence. The government must act quickly against Mr. Rizvi and arrest him for his blasphemous remarks and hurting the religious sentiments of billions of Muslims across the globe,” Mr. Thakur said.

The BJP’s condemnation comes after several Shia and Sunni religious bodies took umbrage at the reported remarks made by Mr. Rizvi about the Quran.

National Conference President and Member of Parliament Farooq Abdullah said the act Mr. Rizvi was abominable. “The holy Quran is the incorruptible and unchangeable word of Allah. The petition should not be entertained; on the contrary, strict action should be taken against him for hurting the sentiments of Muslims living across the globe,” Dr. Abdullah said.

“This move is deliberate, aimed at provoking Muslims and feeding into the agenda of Islamophobe who are hostile towards Islam and full of hatred. Quran is the fountain-head that promotes humanity, love, unity and harmony,” a spokesman of the J&K Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), a body of 24 religious groups, said.

The Majlis-e-Ulmae Imamia J&K, an amalgam of the Shia clergy, also demanded the arrest of the Shia leader.

“We strongly condemn the statement. This man has become a tool of conspiracies of the enemies against Islam and Shiaism. Indian Muslims have already kicked him out and he has been excommunicated from Islam,” Masroor Abbas Ansari, head of the Itehadul Muslimeen, said.

Kashmir’s grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam demanded the Shia leader’s arrest. “I urge people to maintain discipline, remain calm and to register protest peacefully,” he said.

Mr. Rizvi has reportedly approached the SC and sought deletion of 26 verses from the Quran for allegedly “teaching hatred, violence and terrorism.”