Discrimination based on religion is ‘unacceptable in a secular, democratic country,’ says Maulana Arshad Madani
NEW DELHI — Madrasas have a vital role in shaping the minds of young children for the service of the nation, Maulana Arshad Madani, President Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, has said. Madrasas are not just educational institutions; they serve a broader purpose beyond teaching and learning, he said.
Addressing a conference under ‘Tahaffuz-e-Madaris (Protection of Madrasas) at the Saraimeer town of Azamgarh District in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, he said that under no circumstances will the identity of these institutions be allowed to be erased.
He said “arbitrary notices” are being sent by government agencies, demanding demolition or shutdown of the madrasas. Maulana Madani said that after Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the Haryana government has also started sending notices to madrasas in Panipat and other regions.
“The same madrasas being forcibly shut down today were the ones that first called for freedom from British colonial rule,” he said.
“Madrasas are not our world; they are our religion. They are our identity, and we will not allow this identity to be erased,” he added.
Maulana Madani said that the real tragedy is that those in power today neither wish to learn nor understand anything. Instead, they want to distort history and give it a particular colour. “We want to tell such people that in 1803, when the British had fully taken control of the country, a great religious and spiritual figure of that time, Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehlvi, sitting on a worn-out mat in his Madrasa Rahimiyyah in Delhi, declared that the country had fallen into slavery, and therefore, it had become a religious duty to do jihad for its liberation. As a consequence of this declaration, his madrasa was completely demolished, and unimaginable oppression and cruelty were inflicted upon him,” the Jamiat chief recalled.
He said that today bulldozers run over the very madrasas which once stood for the freedom movement against the British.
“If mosques are where we pray and read the Qur’an, Madrasas are centres where it is taught how to pray and read the Qur’an. They are as crucial as our mosques,” he said.
Maulana Madani stressed that discrimination based on religion is “unacceptable in a secular, democratic country and that when madrasas and mosques are targeted purely on religious lines, it violates the very spirit of the Constitution.”
Speakers from various schools of thought participated in the conference. The speakers criticised the growing number of demolitions, the ban on the call for prayers, the bulldozing of homes, and the snatching of people’s rights.
The collaboration also reiterated that Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind will continue its legal fight for justice against the enforced shutdown of madrasas.
“This campaign is not against the people, but against governmental policies that undermine our rights,” Madani said.
Maulana Madani further said that “no matter how grave the situation becomes, we must not lose hope. Rather, such circumstances should be faced with determination, courage, and steadfastness.”
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, both before and after independence, has continuously strived to establish peace, unity, and stability in the country. At the same time, it has persistently fought against all forms of injustice, discrimination, and oppression, and it will continue to do so with full strength in the future as well, he said.
