No confusion on fatwa against ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, says AIMPLB

Lucknow: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has justified the Fatwa on ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ issued by the world famous Islamic seminary Deoband in Uttar Pradesh saying there should be no further confusion on this.

Board member Zafaryab Jilani on Saturday said that the Fatwa was an opinion which was clear on this count that Islam did not allow worship of any God or Goddesses and ‘Bharat Mata’ also came in this category. “Just like the chant of 'Vande Matram' was prohibited in Islam, the 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogan was also not allowed,’’ he made it clear.

Jilani said that thousand of queries had been received by Deoband after All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s statement on the issue. The clerics had to sit together to deliberate and issue a Fatwa in order to bring Islamic point of view in this regard.

It may be recalled that Owaisi had stated that he would never chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ even if somebody put knife on his throat. It had ignited the fresh debate in the country. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, however, had tried to moderate the issue when he said that the Bharat Mata slogan should not be imposed on anybody.