India Tomorrow
New Delhi: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) president Syed Sadatullah Hussaini, has expressed serious concern over the Uttar Pradesh NIA-ATS Court awarding life term to Islamic preachers Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui and Maulana Umar Gautam, along with 14 others, for their alleged involvement in illegal religious conversion cases.
Differing with the levelling of grave charges, the JIH chief in a press statement, said that in a democratic country like India, no one can force someone to change his/her religion.
“Moreover, Islam does not allow it at all. Every individual has the right to choose, practice, and propagate the religion of his/her choice, and this right is enshrined in our Constitution. No authority can deprive a citizen of this right,” the JIH president highlighted.
“The gravity of the allegations—terrorism, criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity, and plotting offences against the state—are not only baseless but also set a bad precedent,” he further stated.
Mr Husaini said that “such accusations, in our view, undermine the very principles of justice and democracy that our Constitution seeks to uphold. It seems that the entire case has been built to send a certain message to people from minority communities who are practicing their constitutionally guaranteed right of practice and propagation of faith without any fear or coercion.”
The JIH President said, “How Maulana Siddiqui and Maulana Gautam were arrested and implicated coupled with the sensationalized reactions of certain media outlets, showed that the entire exercise was meant to exploit public sentiments by creating a charged atmosphere of fear, intimidation, and hatred for gaining political mileage. This case sets a dangerous precedent, casting a shadow over the fundamental right to practice and propagate the religion of one’s choice. Creating a communal and emotionally charged atmosphere to divert attention from real public issues is highly regrettable.”
He urged all justice-loving people, organizations, and political parties to raise their voices against such injustice.
Pointing out that the case is related to fundamental rights, personal liberty, and the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India, he said, “Any violation of these rights and liberties is an endorsement of majoritarianism, authoritarianism and a threat to democracy and the rule of law.”
