Islamic body chief upsets religious leaders with 'Om and Allah are same' remark

A major row broke out on Sunday (February 12), after Maulana Syed Arshad Madani, the president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (the Arshad faction) said that “Om and Allah are the same” at a public meeting in Delhi.

Arshad Madani, who was speaking at the ongoing 34th annual general session of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, at the Ramlila ground in Delhi, said that he had asked dharma guru that when Shri Ram nor Brahma was there who did they worship?

Some people told him that they used to worship Om, he continued. And, according to news reports, he added, “Then I told them that this means that there is only one Om or Allah, and both are the same, and it is the only thing Manu used to worship. There was no Shiv, no Brahma, but only one Om and Allah that was worshipped. Om is called Allah by us, Ishwar by you (Hindus), Khuda by Farsi-speaking people (Persian) and God by English-speaking people.”

Many religious leaders sitting on the stage got up and left in a huff.

Also read: ‘India belongs to Mahmood as much as it does to PM Modi’: Jamiat chief

Jain Muni Acharya Lokesh Muni, who had attended the programme, was upset with Madani’s statement. They had only agreed with wanting to live in harmony but the story about Om, Allah, and Manu is all rubbish, the Muni told the media, adding that Madani completely spoiled the atmosphere of the session.

The Jain Muni said that they did not agree with the statements made by Madani. Jain and several other religious leaders had left the stage after Arshad Madani’s speech.

Meanwhile, according to media reports, in his speech, Arshad Madani said that Hindus and Muslims have been living in the country like brothers for around 1400 years, and they have never forcibly converted anyone into Islam. Further, he said, that it is only under the BJP government that they had heard that 20 crore Muslims should be sent home.

“By sending them home, they meant converting them to Hindus. These people don’t know anything about India’s history,” he had pointed out.

Also read: Do not instigate Muslims, desist from creating communal disharmony: VHP to Jamiat

India is the birthplace of Islam, claimed Maulana Mahmood

Meanwhile on Saturday, Maulana Mahmood, president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (Mahmood Madani faction) claimed that Islam is the oldest religion in the world and that India is the birthplace of Islam. It is wrong to suggest that Islam came from outside and asserted that India belongs to him as much as it does to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

According to Mahmood Madani, the “first Prophet of Islam Adam descended here”. This land is the birthplace of Islam and the first homeland of Muslims. “Therefore, to say that Islam is a religion that came from outside is completely wrong and historically baseless,”  he asserted.

Also, he said that this is their country. “As much as this country belongs to Narendra Modi and Mohan Bhagwat, it belongs to Mahmood. Neither Mahmood is one inch ahead of them nor are they one inch ahead of Mahmood,” he added.

He urged the RSS to shun “hate and enmity” and jointly work to make the country the most developed in the world. He also urged both Hindus and Muslims of the country to live with each other in peace.

Mahmud Madani demanded that a separate law be enacted to specifically punish those who incite violence against minorities. “The rise in Islamophobia, besides cases of hatred and incitement against the Muslims community, has increased to an alarming level in our country, in the recent past,” the Jamiat chief alleged.