'Followed Islamic tenets': Significance of Imam's presence at Ram Mandir ceremony

By Firoz Bakht Ahmed*
Despite abusive calls and messages, and known to have received "sar tan se juda" threats in the past for calling RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat “rashtra pita”, a term used for Mahatma Gandhi, Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi recently remained unfazed, asking his detractors to follow the path of piety and humaneness suggested by Prophet Muhammad.
He said that by attending the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha (consecration), he had just carried the Islamic tenet that it is one of the worst sins in Islam to hurt a human heart.
Ilyasi believes that Allah will save him from any terror mongers, and the law of the land will protect him. He had received the most sought after invite to attend the Ram Mandir consecration. He took the decision to go to Ayodhya, as he knew that sections of his community would be after his jugular.
In the comity of Indian imams, Imam Ilyasi, connected with lakhs of mosques, took too bold a decision to attend the consecration of the most talked about Ram Mandir, attracting a positive response from sections of Muslim community, including clerics and Muslim organisations. The stand of the Imam is considered historic. It is being commended as a peace move towards interfaith dialogue.
Ilyasi is president of the All India Imam Organisation and is associated with more than half a million imams. He is one of those Muslim clerics who has repeatedly addressed the UNHRC, the European Parliament, the Canadian Parliament, the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Royal Institute International Affairs.
He is the recipient of the highest awards of UAE and Abudhabi and was honoured by the Pope in Vatican, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, the Dalai Lama as well as the Imam-e-Haram in Saudia Arabia for his efforts for world peace.
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ilyasi said that he has reached out to every community and sent a strong message that Ram Mandir belongs to the Rashtra (nation) and not Hindus alone. Hailing the RSS Sarsanghchalak, with whom he has old and intimate links, he said that, on that particular occasion, all the interfaith hearts gelled well like sugar and milk.
One who talks highly of Adityanath Yogi, the UP Chief Minister, about Lord Rama, the Imam said that He is the legacy of India and vision of Bharat. He added, the Constitution of India salutes His humaneness, adding, Lord Rama was for a discrimination free society based on a peaceful, progressive and prosperous society.
When asked how he had felt being amongst the seers of different faiths, he replied, “I was told by many seers that I have raised the stature of Muslims by attending the ceremony. Religion unites people, and to reduce differences, dialogue is the only way forward”, adding, the two communities have already “fought a lot” and this was the time to move on and work together towards nation-building.
---
*Former chancellor of Maulana Azad Maulana Azad National Urdu University, grandnephew of Maulana Azad

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

India’s road to sustainability: Why alternative fuels matter beyond electric vehicles

By Suyash Gupta* India’s worsening air quality makes the shift towards clean mobility urgent. However, while electric vehicles (EVs) are central to India’s strategy, they alone cannot address the country’s diverse pollution and energy challenges.

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

MGNREGA: How caste and power hollowed out India’s largest welfare law

By Sudhir Katiyar, Mallica Patel* The sudden dismantling of MGNREGA once again exposes the limits of progressive legislation in the absence of transformation of a casteist, semi-feudal rural society. Over two days in the winter session, the Modi government dismantled one of the most progressive legislations of the UPA regime—the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Fragmented opposition and identity politics shaping Tamil Nadu’s 2026 election battle

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* Tamil Nadu is set to go to the polls in April 2026, and the political battle lines are beginning to take shape. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state on January 23, 2026, marked the formal launch of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign against the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Addressing multiple public meetings, the Prime Minister accused the DMK government of corruption, criminality, and dynastic politics, and called for Tamil Nadu to be “freed from DMK’s chains.” PM Modi alleged that the DMK had turned Tamil Nadu into a drug-ridden state and betrayed public trust by governing through what he described as “Corruption, Mafia and Crime,” derisively terming it “CMC rule.” He claimed that despite making numerous promises, the DMK had failed to deliver meaningful development. He also targeted what he described as the party’s dynastic character, arguing that the government functioned primarily for the benefit of a single family a...

Search This Blog