Hyderabad/India: Pakistan’s Islamic scholar Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri’s reported remarks advising Muslims to forget the Gujarat riots have sparked a row with some Muslim organizations.
Qadri reportedly made the remarks during his five-day visit to Gujarat. He is on a visit to India till March 18 and will address religious meetings in Ajmer, Mumbai, Raipur and Bangalore.
According to an Indian media report, the controversial Pakistani scholar, while addressing a meeting at Vadodara in Gujarat Feb 25, reportedly advised Indian Muslims to forget the post-Godhra carnage and move on.
He also thanked Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the man who is considered responsible for Gujrat bloodshed, for providing him security.
The media reports said Qadri faces threat to his life in Pakistan and mostly lives in the West.
The reports said the Pakistani scholar addressed the gathering from behind a huge bullet-proof screen and was escorted by his personal security guards and city policemen.
Leaders of Jamiat-ul-Ulema, which has a huge following here, have accused Qadri of speaking the language of the West.
“By praising the killer of Muslims and calling Muslims terrorists, he is expressing the views of either America and Israel or the RSS and Bajrang Dal,” said Moin Ahmed, a leader of the organisation.
Another leader accused Qadri of linking Muslims to terrorism to appease the West. Moulana Naseeruddin, a leading cleric who was arrested and jailed by Gujarat Police, alleged that Qadri was adding insult to the injury of Muslims by asking them to forget the massacre.
However, Qadri on Saturday clarified that he never asked Muslims to forget the violence that engulfed Gujarat a decade ago. Under fire from a section of the Muslim community for his remarks on the Gujarat riots, Qadri accused a section of the media of distorting his statement made last week. “I was repeatedly asked about Gujarat incidents.
I only (told people) not to repeat such unfortunate incidents and to learn to live in peace,”he was quoted by an Indian newspaper as saying
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