Muslim body chief's ‘Om and Allah’ remark sparks row; angry religious leaders leave stage

New Delhi: The annual general session of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind held at the Ramlila ground here saw yet another controversy on Sunday when Maulana Syed Arshad Madani, the president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (Arshad faction) said that “Om and Allah are same”.

Several religious leaders, who were present at the 34th general session of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, left the stage after Arshad Madani's speech.

“I asked dharma guru when there was no one, neither Shri Ram, nor Brahma, then whom did they worship to? Some people told me that they used to worship Om. Then I told them that this means that there is only one Om or Allah, and both are the same, and it is the only thing Manu used to worship. There was no Shiv, no Brahma, but only one Om and Allah that was worshipped Om is called Allah by us, Ishwar by you (Hindus), Khuda by Farsi-speaking people (Persian) and God by English-speaking people”, Arshad Madani said.

After his speech, Jain Muni Acharya Lokesh Muni, who was present on the stage, expressed his displeasure over the statement and said, “We only agree with living in harmony, but all the story regarding, Om, Allah, and Manu is all rubbish. He (Madani) completely spoiled the atmosphere of the session."

"The stories he said, I can narrate even bigger stories than that. I would even request him (Madani) to come for a discussion with me, or even I can come to meet him in Saharanpur," Lokesh Muni said.

He added that it should be remembered that the first Jain Tirthankar was Rishabh, and his sons were Bharata and Bahubali, on whose name this country 'Bharat' was named. "You can't erase this. We don't agree with those statements," he said.

Lokesh Muni and several other religious leaders then walked off the stage.

Addressing the session, Arshad Madani also said, "Hindus and Muslims have been living in the country like brothers for around 1400 years, and we have never forcedly converted anyone into Islam."

"It is only under the BJP government that we heard that 20 crore Muslims should be sent home. By sending them home, they meant converting them to Hindus. These people don't know anything about India's history," he added.

On Saturday, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (Mahmood Madani faction) president Maulana Mahmood Madani said that India was the birth place of Islam and that the country belongs to him as much as it does to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

He said that they were against forced religious conversions and that nowadays even those who convert their religion voluntarily were also sent to jail.

The Jamiat chief appealed to the RSS to urge its affiliates to shun "hate and enmity" and work together for making the country the most developed in the world. He also urged both Hindus and Muslims of the country to defy extremism and live with each other in peace.

Mahmood Madani's remarks came during his two speeches – one Friday evening and the other Saturday afternoon.

The plenary session of the event took place on Sunday. According to a release issued by Jamiat on Saturday, the prominent Muslim organisation also passed a 17-point resolution.

Jamiat opposed the efforts to implement a Uniform Civil Code in India, the statement said. It argued that the UCC will have a direct impact on the country's unity and diversity, and is contrary to the spirit of democracy and the constitutional guarantees given in Articles 25 to 29 of the Constitution.