Ex-UP Waqf board chairman files petition in SC

The former chairman of the Shia Central Board of Waqf in Uttar Pradesh, Syed Waseem Rizvi, who is in the news for his statements, has yet again stoked a controversy. He has demanded the removal of 26 verses from the Quran and has also filed a petition in the Supreme Court in this regard. However, Muslim religious leaders have expressed their dissent over Rizvi's actions.

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Syed Waseem Rizvi, the former chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board, has always remained in the limelight for his controversial statements. He has now filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the removal of 26 verses from the Muslim community's holy book. This led to Waseem Rizvi face the wrath of the entire Muslim community along with Muslim religious leaders.

After Syed Waseem Rizvi's disputed statement on the Quran, the reaction of Muslim religious leaders have come out. Maulana Sufiyan Nizami, the spokesperson of the Darul Uloom Farangi Mahal, on Thursday reacting on the issue said that people like Waseem have lost their mental balance, and they keep making such statements from time to time to stay in the headlines.

The spokesperson added that the former chairman of UP's Shia Central Board of Waqf has been habituated to give meaningless statements. But this isn't something new as several great kings in the past too had tried to alter the Quran.

Maulana Sufiyan Nizami even went onto say that people like Yazid and Waseem Rizvi have come into this world and have also passed away. But, the Quran is the same as it was and will remain so in the future. Nizami also requested the public not to waste their time by debating on such trivial issues. There has also been a tremendous resentment in both Shia and Sunni groups following Waseem Rizvi's disputed petition, with the Shia Personal Law Board spokesperson Maulana Yasub Abbas criticising Rizvi and issuing a statement against the latter.

The Shia Personal Law Board also condemned Waseem Rizvi regarding the petition, saying that not a single word can be removed from the Quran. He said that people like Waseem Rizvi are only defaming Islam and that it is absolutely wrong to make misleading statements. The Quran gives the message of peace and to date, none of the Imams spoke out on excluding any verse from the holy book.