Author: News
Publication: The Free press Journal
Date: July 23, 2002
Sparking off yet another controversy,
the VHP Monday asked Muslims to join hands to remove from the religious
texts of both communities "Portions which preach hatred against one another,"
reports PTI.
"There can be permanent peace between
Hindus and Muslims only if the religious texts are put together and portions
which preach hatred are removed," VHP Senior Vice-President Acharya Giriraj
Kishore told reporters here.
Kishore said he had made the suggestion
during the recent meeting between the two communities held here under the
aegis of the National Commission for Minorities. The VHP leader said
no amount of "Sadbhavanna Yatras" or "Sadbhavana Ke Sipahi" (the Congress
party's soldiers of goodwill) or inter-faith meetings can bring about any
change in Hindu-Muslim ties till "the root cause (religious texts) is taken
care of ." RSS Chief K. S. Sudharshan had earlier sparked off a controversy
asking Muslims to reinterpret their religious texts and win the confidence
of the majority community to ensure their safety.
The VHP had earlier demanded that
Muslims re-interpret terms such as 'Jehad' (holy war), 'Kafir' (Infidels)
and 'Kufr' (the philosophy behind the term Kafir).
The Sangh Parivar had also asked
both Muslims and Christians to 'Indianise' their faith.
Kishore wondered why the Muslims
were particular about observing Shariat in civil matter and not in criminal
law.
"They should decide whether they
want to follow the Shariat or the law of the land." He said.
Kishore also demanded that some
theologians should be included in the National Commission for Minorities
to facilitate better understanding of the religious texts.
