Muslims

Will restore scrapped 4% quota for Muslims in Karnataka, says Cong

Flaying the BJP-led Karnataka government for its decision to scrap the reservation for Muslims under Category 2B in the OBC list, the Congress declared on Sunday that it would restore the quota to the minority community in the event of the party coming to power in the State, where Assembly elections are due by May. The Cabinet meeting on Friday also decided to split this quantum (four per cent) equally between Vokkaliga and Veerashaiva-Lingayats at two per each in jobs and admissions in educational institutions, which was welcomed by the two politically influential communities. The government moved Muslims into the 10 per cent Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) pool. President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) D K Shivakumar termed the step "unconstitutional" "They (the government) think that reservation can be distributed like a property. It's not a property. It's a right (of minorities)", he told reporters here. "We don't want their four per cent to be scrapped

Ramadan 2023: Rituals, Countries, Greetings during the holy month of Ramzan

Muslims globally celebrate Ramadan to honour the anniversary of Muhammad's initial revelation. Here is the list of Ramadan 2023 wishes for your loved ones

'We are not at war': Muslim leaders keen on continuing dialogue with RSS

Jamat e Islami Hind, whose representative met RSS leaders, said, 'we are of the opinion that the dialogue should continue with the RSS as they hold influence on the government'

Return of the Muslim

Old secularism hasn't broken out. But from Modi and Bhagwat to Rahul and Shah Rukh, straws in the wind signal change

SC to set up fresh bench to hear pleas against polygamy and 'nikah halala'

The Supreme Court said that it will set up a five-judge Constitution bench to hear pleas challenging the constitutional validity of polygamy and 'nikah halala' practice among Muslims

Sufi council condemns Pak FM Bilawal Bhutto's comments on PM Modi

All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council chairman Naseeruddin Chisti on Saturday condemned Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto's remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the language he used downgraded the position of not only his portfolio but also of his entire nation. "I strongly condemn the venomous language used by the Pakistani foreign minister against our prime minister and our motherland," he said. "Bilawal Bhutto has forgotten that terrorist Osama bin Laden did not die, but was killed in Pakistan by American forces right under the nose of the Pakistani government," Chisti added. Chisti said Pakistan should bear in mind that Indian Muslims are far more secure and in a much better condition than their Pakistani counterparts. Bhutto should not compare India with his unstable country because the Indian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all, he added. The All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council is a body of spiritual heads of various dargahs of the ...

AIMIM seeks 5% quota for Muslims; plans march during legislature session

The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM will take out a march during the upcoming winter session of the Maharashtra legislature in Nagpur to demand five per cent reservation for Muslims in the state, a party leader said. All India Majalis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP from Aurangabad and its state unit president Imtiaz Jaleel gave this information by tweeting a poster of the planned march. "The AIMIM will take out a march on 21 December from Indora Ground in Nagpur to Vidhan Bhawan during the session of the Maharashtra legislature," it said. Apart from seeking five per cent reservation to Muslims, the AIMIM will also highlight the demand of removal of encroachments from the Waqf land, the tweet said. Provision of Rs 1,000 crore subsidy to Maulana Azad Minorities Financial Development Corporation Limited; awarding ownership of slum land to residents; financial assistance to hand-loom and power-loom workers are some other demands which the party will raise during the march, it added. The

Gujarat polls: Villagers claim they boycotted voting over flogging incident

As many as 1,400 Muslim voters from Undhela village in Gujarat's Kheda district boycotted voting during the second phase of the state Assembly polls in protest against the public flogging of some men from the community by police two months ago, community leaders have claimed. Poll officials have denied the claim saying there was no boycott call. Seven persons, including a policeman, were injured when stones were thrown at a Garba event in Kheda district in October by a group allegedly comprising members of the Muslim community. They had objected to holding the event near a mosque. Later, videos showing policemen in plain clothes beating some men, suspected to have thrown stones, with sticks in front of other villagers went viral on social media, causing an uproar. On Monday, community leaders said all 1,400 Muslim voters of the total 3,700 voters in Undhela village, situated in Matar taluka, joined the protest and didn't exercise their franchise when polling was held across 93 ...

Messages from the margins

Making Place for Muslims in Contemporary India offers a critical understanding of the differential citizenship to which Indian Muslims have been subject, and suggests ways to combat it

BJP slams Uddhav Thackeray for 'Marathi Muslim' article in 'Saamana'

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday accused the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) of indulging in the politics of appeasement after the latter's mouthpiece 'Saamana' carried an article on "Marathi Muslims" supporting the former chief minister. 'Saamana' carried a front-page article on October 22 about the Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh backing Uddhav Thackeray, adding that the outfit is active in Mumbai, Konkan, Marathwada, Vidarbha and western Maharashtra. "The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Party wants to garner Marathi and Muslim votes, but it cleverly played with the words by calling them Marathi Muslims," Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said at a press conference. He said his party would organise 'Jagar Mumbaicha Yatra' in November to spread awareness among the residents of the metropolis about this "politics of appeasement" as well as "corruption" in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Shelar said Thackeray was getting frustrated as he was staring at defeat in the BMC .

Press mute for Indian Muslims

The silence of national parties, leaders on the flogging of Muslim men in Gujarat shows how afraid 'secular' forces have become, allowing radical Muslim voices to fill the vacuum

Despite being large part of population, Muslims not getting share: Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said members of the Muslim community have a feeling they were not getting their due share despite being a large part of the country's population. Addressing an event titled 'Issues Before Indian Muslims' organised by the Vidarbha Muslim Intellectuals Forum here, Pawar batted for Urdu but also stressed on the importance of the "main language" of states, citing the situation in Kerala as an example. "Members of the Muslim community have a feeling they are not getting their due share despite being such a large part of the country, which is actually a reality. Deliberations have to be held on how they can get their due share," he said. Responding to an earlier speaker seeking the use of Urdu in government recruitment examinations, Pawar hailed the language and said several people are associated with it for generations. "We should consider Urdu schools and education, but along with Urdu, we have to consider about the main languag

A 'Muslim' way of thinking?

What were the Muslim leaders thinking about politics and law in the years that finally culminated in their demand for a separate country? Adeel Hussain's book tells us what, or tries to

Mohan Bhagwat's overture to Muslims

Bhagwat's plea for social harmony tries to repackage the Hindutva project as accommodative and tolerant of minorities

RSS chief said Hindu rashtra can't be conceived without Muslims: Quraishi

"Insecurity is a major concern for the Muslims. And those who worry: What will happen in Hindutva, well, nobody need have any fears, because in Sanatan Dharma there are millions of Gods," he said

Will BJP's negative attitude towards Muslims ever change, asks Mayawati

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Friday wondered if there will a change in the "negative attitude" of the BJP and its governments towards Muslims after the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat visited a mosque and a madrassa in Delhi. Taking forward his outreach to the Muslim community, the RSS chief had on Thursday visited a mosque and a madrassa in Delhi and held discussions with chief of All India Imam Organisation Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, who had termed him as 'rashtra pita'. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sarsanghchalak' went to a mosque in central Delhi's Kasturba Gandhi Marg and followed it up with a visit to the Madarsa Tajweedul Quran in Azadpur in north Delhi. Reacting on the visit, the BSP supremo in a tweet in Hindi said, "After RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat visited mosque/madrassa in Delhi yesterday and met the Ulemas and then got himself called the 'father of the nation' and 'rishi of the nation', will there be a change in the negative attitude and behaviour of BJP and it

Maha govt commissions TISS to assess social, financial status of Muslims

The Maharashtra government has commissioned a detailed study to assess the social, financial and educational status of the Muslim community in 56 cities of the state, an official order said. As per a government resolution (GR) issued on September 21, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has been roped in to conduct the study for which Rs 33.92 lakh have been earmarked. The study is being commissioned by the Minority Development Department being headed by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. "The study will focus on education, health, employment, standard of living, financial assistance, infrastructure availability and availing of government schemes in order to bring the Muslim community in Maharashtra to the mainstream," the GR said. The study will be conducted in 56 cities across six revenue divisions of the state, it said. The study will also focus on infrastructure development, financial assistance and benefits of government schemes in the areas dominated by the Mus

After India, now the UK also has to wrestle with Hindu-Muslim clashes

Now the UK Has to Wrestle With India's Demons, Too

'Unwarranted, uncharitable': Cong warns MLA Khan over controversial remarks

With Congress warning him for completely unwarranted and inessential statements, party MLA BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan said he will abide by instructions and sought to know the "wrong" in his remarks

SC dismisses petitions seeking GST exemption on Haj services for pilgrims

A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, A S Oka and C T Ravikumar pronounced the judgment, saying they "dismissed" the petitions on both the grounds of exemption and discrimination