Fatwa issued against Jinnah in UP

Lucknow: The on-going controversy over the portrait of Mohammad Ali Jinnah took a new turn on Tuesday when the Bareilly dargah in Uttar Pradesh issued a fatwa asking Muslims not to support the Pakistan’s founder.

“Dargah Aala Hazrat issued fatwa that Muslim should not stand by Mohd. Ali Jinnah and if they do so, it would be wrong. It also states that putting up his portrait is wrong. Jinnah is not an idol for Muslims, he is founder of an enemy nation” Aitul from Dargah Aala Hazrat of Bareilly said. Several students of the varsity are on a sit-in at AMU.

In an open letter, AMU Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor, on Tuesday, asked students not to fall into the trap of those trying to destroy the institution’s image.

He called upon students not let their studies suffer and play with their future. After a clash with police on May 2 when they were demanding action against right-wing protesters, who had entered the campus and shouted slogans, students have been on an indefinite dharna. The unrest has forced AMU administration to postpone the exams.

The students are demanding a judicial probe into the “police inaction”. The row over Jinnah portrait erupted after  BJP MP objected its presence at the AMU student union office, where it has been  hanging for four decades.

In his letter, the vice chancellor of AMU, further said, “The AMU is suffering an assault from different quarters and thereby, it is even more important to respond with rationality and thoughtful action and not to be swayed by emotions”.