India belongs to Mahmood as much as PM Modi, Mohan Bhagwat: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind chief

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Mahmood Madani said India belongs to him as much as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Speaking at the inaugural plenary session of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital, Maulana Madani said, "India is our country. This country belongs to Mahmood Madani as much as it belongs to Narendra Modi and Mohan Bhagwat. Neither Mahmood is an inch ahead of them nor are they one inch ahead of Mahmood."

He further said that Islam is the oldest religion in this country. "This land is the first homeland of Muslims. Saying that Islam is a religion that came from outside is totally wrong and baseless. Islam is the oldest religion among all religions. India is the best country for Hindi Muslims," Madani said.

The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind chief said that they are against forced religious conversions adding that today people who are converting their religion voluntarily are also being sent to jail on false charges.

He said, "We are against religious conversion driven forcibly. Freedom of religion is a fundamental right. We are also against conversion by force, fraud and greed. There are many examples of agencies targeting the Muslim community, such as the ban on Namaz, police action on them, and bulldozer action."

The three-day plenary session of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind began on Friday in Delhi.

According to Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Uniform Civil Code, religious freedom and Muslim personal law and autonomy of madrassas are among some issues that will be discussed in the convention. Further, it said a proposal can be brought to provide reservation for socio-economically backward Muslims.

In the 34th session of Jamiat, the steps being taken to strengthen religious brotherhood and initiatives to prevent hate campaigns are also part of the agenda.

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind is a century-old organization and works for the protection of the civil, religious, cultural and educational rights of Muslims. Jamiat claims to be the largest organization of Muslims and socio-political and religious issues of Muslims remain on its agenda. The Jamiat believes in the Deobandi ideology of Islam.

( With inputs from ANI )