The reprehensible cycle of mob lynching, killings in the name of the cow, and the politics over it must now come to an end, says Maulana Arshad Madani
NEW DELHI — Forcefully advocating the declaration of the cow as a national animal, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, one of the premier Muslim organisations in the country, said the move could help end mob lynching, communal hatred, and political misuse of the issue. “Muslims in India would have no objection to this,” the organisation (Arshad Madani faction) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Jamiat chief Maulana Arshad Madani, in a press statement said that since a majority of people in India consider the cow sacred and regard it as a mother, the government should explain what is stopping it from granting the animal national status.
“The majority of the people in the country not only consider the cow sacred, but also accord it the status of a mother,” Madani said. “It is difficult to understand what political compulsion is preventing the government from declaring it the ‘national animal’.”
Maulana Madani added that the demand is not being raised by Muslims alone. Many Hindu saints and religious leaders have been calling for the move. If, despite this, the government still does not appear serious about the matter, then what conclusion should be drawn from it?” he asked.
His organisation, Maulana Madani said, would welcome such a decision if it helped bring a permanent solution to violence carried out in the name of cow protection.
“We would, in fact, welcome the decision if the cow were declared the ‘national animal’ and a permanent solution to this issue were found, so that no human life is lost and religion is not exploited for political purposes,” he said.
Maulana Madani alleged that this issue was being used as a sensitive political and emotional matter to target innocent people in the name of cattle smuggling, and unleashing violence and oppression.
With an intent to malign Muslims, lies and rumours have been spread across the country that a section of the majority community has begun to view Muslims with suspicion, resulting in mob lynching cases, he said.
A large number of Muslims in the country used to rear cows, but after 2014, the atmosphere of hatred against them has made Muslims more cautious. As a result, the majority of them now prefer rearing buffaloes instead of cows.
Maulana Madani made it clear that both before and after India’s independence, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has continuously advised Muslims that they should refrain from doing anything that may hurt the religious sentiments of their fellow countrymen.
“Islam does not permit such actions; rather, in a multi-religious country, Islam calls for living together with mutual respect and harmony,” Maulana Madani said.
On the eve of Eid Al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, which falls on May 27 this year, Maulana Madani urged Muslims to refrain from sacrificing prohibited animals. Jamiat has all along been advising Muslims every year on Eid Al-Adha through advertisements in newspapers to take precautions while sacrificing animals to avoid any confrontation with the people of other faiths.
Maulana Madani also expressed surprise and deep concern over what he described as a dual standard adopted by the government regarding the issue of cows. “Vigorous propaganda is being made in favour of a Uniform Civil Code because one nation should have one law; the laws regarding animal slaughter are not uniformly implemented across all states in the country,” he pointed out,
In several states, beef is openly consumed, and no ban exists there, the Maulana said, recalling that even a Union Minister had admitted in an interview that he eats beef. “It is an irony that most states where beef is consumed openly have the Bharatiya Janata Party in power,” he said.
