New Delhi: A Muslim cleric who participated in the 'Pran Pratishtha' of the Lord Ram idol at the Ayodhya temple in Uttar Pradesh last week is facing ostracisation by the community, he said. Chief Imam of All India Imam Organization Omar Ahmed Ilyasi said on Monday that a fatwa has been issued against him for participating in the Pran Pratishtha ceremony organized at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.
Ilyasi, while talking to a news gathering agency, also said that he has been facing abuse from a section of people since the day of the incident. He said that he has been receiving threats on the phone. Ilyasi said that the fatwa was issued to him by a person on social media and his mobile phone number was mentioned in it. “It was sent to all the Imams and mosque authorities and they were asked to boycott me. In the fatwa I have also been asked to apologize and resign from my post,” he said.
Over the reason for the fatwa, Ilyasi said that “only he knows what inspired him to issue the fatwa”. Asked whether he would apologize for attending the Pran Pratishtha at the Ram temple built at the site of the now demolished Babri masjid, Ilyasi said, “Ram Janmabhoomi (Temple) Trust had sent me an invitation, which I accepted. After this, for two days I kept thinking about what decision I should take, because it was the biggest decision of my life”.
“I thought for communal harmony, for the country and in the national interest. After this I went to Ayodhya,” he added. Ilyasi said that the people of Ayodhya welcomed him. He said that his aim was to “deliver the message of love, which I delivered there”. “I have not done anything wrong, so the question of apologizing does not arise,” he added.
