Siddharthnagar (Uttar Pradesh), May 18 (IANS) The All India Shia Personal Law Board on Monday strongly criticised comments made by Maulana Sajid Rashidi regarding Muslims and the idea of India as a motherland, asserting that Islam does not place religion above love for one’s homeland.

Earlier in the day, Rashidi, while speaking to IANS, had said that Muslims do not consider India as their mother and maintained that the only mother in Islam is the woman who gives birth.

“Musalman Bharat ko Maa nahi maante (The belief held by Muslims is that we do not regard India as a mother). We have only one mother: The woman who gave us birth. We do not even worship her, nor do we prostrate before her. How, then, could we possibly prostrate before the Earth?” Rashidi said.

He further stated, “I am not intending to hurt anyone’s religious sentiments, but in Hinduism, many people refer to trees as god, and they regard mountains and water as divine. They even refer to a customer visiting a shop as ‘god’. I believe this cannot be the true teaching of Hinduism or Sanatan Dharma.”

Responding sharply to the remarks, General Secretary of the All India Shia Personal Law Board, Maulana Yasoob Abbas, said that Islam teaches followers to love and respect their homeland, and alleged that controversial statements are often made merely to attract public attention.

Speaking to IANS, Abbas said that while Islam gives the highest respect to one’s biological mother, patriotism and attachment to the motherland also hold an important place in the faith.

“Undoubtedly, we have a biological mother, and the stature of a mother is supreme. It is said among us that Paradise lies beneath a mother’s feet. The honour accorded to a mother is unparalleled; it cannot be accorded to anyone else. However, as far as ‘Bharat Mata’ is concerned, our religion teaches that love for one’s homeland is an integral part of one’s faith. For us, love for the homeland comes first, and love for religion comes second,” Abbas said.

Rashidi had also stated that Islam was the “primordial religion” and existed before Hinduism.

Rejecting the assertion, Abbas stressed that unnecessary debates over which religion came first only creates divisions in society.

“I do not subscribe to Maulana Sajid Rashidi’s views. We should not engage in debates regarding which religion came first and which came later. Certain Mullahs and Pandits issue controversial statements solely to gain publicity. Common people should not be ensnared in the name of religion. Instead, talk about how poverty or unemployment can be excluded and not about other petty things,” he added.

–IANS

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