Author: Sharat Pradhan
Publication: Rediff.com
Date: August 21, 2008
URL: http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/aug/21ahd1.htm
Prominent Islamic clerics led by the Shahi
Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, Maulana Ahmed Bukhari on Sunday came out in a
big way to the defence of the recently arrested madrasa teacher Mufti Abu
Bashar, in connection with last month's serial blasts in Ahmedabad.
Joined by Samajwadi Party member of Parliament,
Abu Asim Azmi, Bukhari virtually sounded a bugle of revolt against what he
termed as "the anti-Muslim" policies of the Indian investigating
agencies.
Azmi hails from a village that adjoins Bashar's
native village of Bina Para in Sarai Meer area of Azamgarh district
Their call for a protest rally on the Lucknow-Azamgarh highway drew at least
5000?7000 people, who kept the road blocked for hours, while raising anti-police
and anti-government slogans. The crowds cheered the speakers, who openly flayed
the government and the police.
While both Azmi and Bukhari termed the police
action as "biased", Bukhari went to the extent of issuing a warning,
"If the government does not take early measures to bring an end to undue
harassment of Muslims who were indiscriminately labeled as terrorists, this
country is in for another partition, so let us be prepared for nation wide
riots and violence."
Bukhari said, "all this talk about creation
of Indian Mujahideen needs to be probed. I would not be surprised if such
an organization has been floated by fundamentalist bodies like the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh or Vishwa Hindu Parishad with the sole intention of defaming
Muslims."
Abu Asim Azmi said, "I am not giving
any clean chit to anyone, but the manner adopted by the investigating agencies
speaks of a blatant bias and a predetermined approach."
Azmi felt, "an appropriate way to deal
with the situation would be to constitute a high level committee comprising
secular minded judicial luminaries like Justice Sachar, Justice Krishna Iyer
and Justice A A Ahmadi, it could even have representatives of Hindu organizations
like RSS and VHP also. Let them question the arrested young Muslim boys and
if the committee is convinced that they are actually involved in terrorism,
let them be hanged."
