Spiritual head of the revered Ajmer Sharif Dargah on Monday demanded a complete ban on sale of “all forms of beef” in the country as it is causing enmity between and Hindus and Muslims.
He also talked about the controversial ‘triple talaq’ practice, saying that it is against the Sharia.
Calling upon Muslims to give up beef eating, Dargah Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Ali Khan also announced that he and his family were voluntarily giving up beef eating.
“My family and I have taken a pledge on this day that we will never have beef for the rest of our lives,” he said, in a statement.
He made the appeal in a statement issued after the closing ceremony of the 805th annual Urs at the 12th century shrine.
“On the occasion of the 805th Urs (death anniversary) of Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chisty, who all through his life strived for peaceful coexistence of Hindus and Muslims, we (Muslims) should give up eating beef to honour the religious sentiments of our Hindu brethren,” said Zainul Abedin Khan.
“Cow is considered a mother by our Hindu brethren. Respecting the sentiments of other religions is core of Islam. We appeal to our Hindu brothers to stand with us until our demand is met,” he added.
The declaration says that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should give respite to crores of Muslims by solving this issue once and for all and the only solution is passing an ordinance banning beef. The message was endorsed by the priest of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia of New Delhi, Gulbarga Shareef of Karnataka, Halkatta Shareef of Andra Pradesh, Shrine of Nagaur, Baraeli, Kaliyar, Bhagalpur, Jaipur, Phulwari in UP, Gujarat and many others.
The joint statement comes in the wake of Yogi Adityanath-led government’s crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh. The move was followed by other BJP-ruled states – Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
While the Sufi heads admitted that this move would render lakhs of Muslims and Hindus in beef trade jobless but felt that the ban will end the enmity forever.
They also supported the provision of life imprisonment for cow killers by the Gujarat government.
Zainul Abedin also condemned the practice of triple talaq, saying the Quran and Sharia do not permit it.
“As it is inhuman, anti-Islamic and against the gender equality, it should be shunned without any further delay”, he said.
