In what’s likely to stir a hornet’s nest, Mufti Muhammad Ilyas of the newly-formed Muslim body Jamaat Ulama-e-Hind on Thursday said Lord Shiva was the “first prophet of Islam” and Muslims are “followers of Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism)”.
As part of a delegation of clerics that visited Ayodhya on Wednesday to garner support for a communal harmony seminar - National Qaumi Ekta Conference - to be organized by the group on February 27 in Balrampur, Ilyas told journalists, “Lord Shiva was first prophet of Islam and Muslims are followers of Sanatan Dharma.”
He even went on to add that Muslims should have no reservation in accepting that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati are their creators. “We are all Indians and children of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and there should be no reservations in accepting the truth,” he said.
Ilyas also said he is not opposed to the RSS’ idea of declaring India a Hindu nation. “The citizens of China are called Chinese. The people of Japan are called Japanese. What’s wrong in terming Hindustani as Hindus. We are not against declaring India a Hindu country,” he added.
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“The Holy Quran asserts that every community has its prophets, but mentioning the name of (Lord) Shiva as a prophet of Muslims has no proof. We condemn and completely disagree with the comments made by Ilyasi,” Jamaat-e-Islami Hind secretary general Maulana Nusrat Ali told Firstpost.
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Meanwhile, the VHP (*Vishva Hindu Parishad) has welcomed the statements and said it is in the interest of nation. “Although we disagree with Ilyasi’s statement that Lord Shiva was a prophet as he is a God, but we welcome the cleric’s statements. Rising above religions, he has tried to unite people and take them away from self-centredness,” VHP spokesperson Vinod bansal told Firstpost.
“Why a hue and cry being raised when he (the cleric) is talking about all Indians are Hindus. The arguments he has given to establish his points are extremely logical,” he said adding that “those who oppose ‘Vande Matram’, hoist Pakistani flags in India, disrespect Amar Jawan Jyoti (a war memorial dedicated to soldiers) in Mumbai and raise voice against Batla House encounter and the execution of Afzal Guru have no right question Ilyasi”.
