The controversy over whether to chant or not the slogan “Bharat Mata ki Jai” refuses to die down as a prestigious Islamic religious seminary in Hyderabad Jamia Nizamia has also joined the voices opposing the slogan terming it as against the “Islamic faith”.
“Muslims of the country love Bharat but chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai is against Islam and irrational,” the Fatwa said.
In a Fatwa or religious decree, issued by Mufti Azeemuddin, head of the Centre for issuing Fatwas at Jamia said that such a slogan was also not in accordance with the reason as only a human being gives to birth to another and only she can be treated as mother and treating the land of Bharat as a mother was against the reason.
The Fatwa has come in the midst of a raging political controversy across the country after the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat called for chanting of the slogan to promote nationalism and Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi refused to do so leading to booking of many cases against him in several States.
The controversy has taken a political colour as one of Majlis MlAs Waris Pathan was suspended from Maharashtra Assembly after he also refused to chant the slogan in the House.
The religious opinion on the issue was sought by a Hyderabad-based Sufi sect leader Syed Ghulam Samdani, who wanted to know whether Islamic faith permits raising the slogan.
“Mother of a human is human. No piece of land or no animal and other object gives birth to human,” the Fatwa reasoned. “This is why calling the land of Bharat as mother is against the reason. The religion also says the same thing”, it added.