Jamiat chief Maulana Mahmood Madani in your court
Your court: Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind President Maulana Mahmood Madani said that the Waqf Board of all the states and the Central Waqf Council should be formed through elections like the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Just as the SGPC is an elected body, the Waqf Board should also be formed through elections. He said this in response to a question regarding the Waqf Amendment Bill. The Waqf Amendment Bill is currently with the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
While answering Rajat Sharma’s questions in the country’s popular TV show ‘Aap Ki Adalat’, Maulana Madani said, ‘We want the Waqf Board to be formed by the Muslims of India. The law says that the Waqf Board will be formed by the state governments and the Central Waqf Council will be formed by the Central Government. We say that it should be formed like the SGPC. It should be formed the way the Shiromani Gurdwara Management Committee is formed. Right now the government appoints people of its choice to the Waqf Board, by making selections… There was a need to improve the Waqf Board in the new bill but you are hell-bent on making it worse.’
If necessary, we will take to the streets
On Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s claim that the Central Government has prepared the draft of the Waqf Amendment Bill after studying the Sachchar Commission and earlier JPC reports and consulting lakhs of people, Maulana Madani said: ‘This is his claim and our claim is that no consultation took place. There is a process of consultation, that process is open. We want that the Waqf Board should be formed according to the SGPC. If it is necessary to go on the streets for this, then we will go on the streets, in a democratic way.’
A special atmosphere is being created
On the claim of Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board that the historic Taj Mahal of Agra is a Waqf property, Maulana Madani said, ‘If it is the land of Waqf Board, then it belongs to Waqf Board, but under the control of ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) where both sides have interference. There are many such properties which have interference from both sides. We should think with an open mind as to who is this land going to, is it going to China or Nepal, or to a country whose name I do not want to mention here. A special kind of atmosphere is being created that we are something else and have come from some other world. The Muslims of India were given options, out of which we chose India, for us, Indian Muslims, there is no better place than India.’
Halal Certification
Maulana Mahmood Madani is also the head of Jamiat Ulama Hind Halal Trust. He also spoke on the ongoing controversy regarding Halal certified products. He said, ‘If you tell us today, we will stop it right now. There is no earning in this, and on top of that, we are facing great humiliation. We are being made fun of.
Maulana Madani said that Halal certification system was developed in collaboration and consultation with food processing industry, government departments and certification bodies of more than 50 importing countries. These are not our conditions of Halal, these are the conditions of importing countries. You want to export and you also have stomach ache. Both these things cannot happen. I have no problem in stopping Halal certification. We have not set up this organisation, this organisation was set up by flattering us. Because there were complaints from importing countries. Their demand was that they should go through this Halal certification process. This is also a requirement in their quality control. There are requests from such fifty importing countries which have to be fulfilled by government departments. Then they came to us. We are helping them.
Regarding halal certification, he said that he was questioned by the UP STF (Special Task Force). He said, ‘I was questioned for two days, then for two more days. I was also granted exemption by the Supreme Court, but I went for the questioning.’ Maulana Madani said, ‘Every toothpaste, water has to be certified halal, because it has to be checked whether gelatin made from animal bones is found in the toothpaste or not, or whether fat is found or not, we have to check whether the source of water is impure or not.’
Narendra Modi
Maulana Madani said about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ‘If my country’s Prime Minister is being respected in foreign countries, then it is the respect of the country. Here we may have complete disagreement with his policies, but if someone tries to insult him outside the country, then we are ready to sacrifice our lives and fight.’
On why some foreign leaders criticize Prime Minister Modi by saying that Muslims are being persecuted, Maulana Madani said: I will also say this. If no attempt is made to solve the problems, I will cry here as well as outside, I will have to cry. On one hand, a certain perception is being created through the media, if the necessary correction is not made, if efforts are not made for correction, this is not friendship of the government, media and civil society with the country, I will consider this as betrayal. The situation itself is bad. We all have to change it together.
Praise of Mukhtar Ansari
Maulana Mahmood Madani praised gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari. He said, ‘It was not just me who said that he is the messiah of the poor, go and ask him in that area, it is not because he is a Muslim, more than 80 percent non-Muslims are with him. He was not just a man of Muslims. He was really a man of the poor. You can show me any case in which someone’s house was occupied. I can say this with full confidence. His brother is an MP. When someone dies, one has to say good things about him. It is not only me who is saying this, the entire area is saying this. When he was alive, I never praised him.’
On whether law and order has improved in UP after the campaign launched by the Yogi government against mafia dons, Maulana said, ‘Law and order should be strictly maintained but there should be a limit to that action. If that limit is crossed, it will not be appropriate. The implementation should be the same for everyone. Not in a wrong way. I have no objection to taking action against the mafia, my objection is about crossing the limit. If someone commits a crime, then his old parents should not be punished for it.
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