RIYADH, 12 June — A prominent Islamic scholar from India has called on Muslims to forge a new unity with the Dalits, as they did in Bihar, to safeguard their interests. Maulana Khaid Saifullah Rahmani, rector of the famous Hyderabad-based school of Islamic jurisprudence ‘Mahad Al-Aalia’ and member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, also urged the Muslim leadership to close their ranks as a matter of top priority. He said a comprehensive plan was urgently needed to rescue Muslims from the current “terrible situation.”
He was addressing a function organized by the local chapter of the All India Milli Council. Rahmani suggested that Muslims set up an all-India network in order to counter Hindu plans aimed at cleansing minorities, especially Muslims. As for the political empowerment of Indian Muslims, Rahmani said: “Nowhere in Indian Parliament or in provincial legislatures are Muslims represented in proportion to their population”. Muslims should unite to contest elections and vote en bloc for a party of their choice to tilt the electoral balance in their favor.
On the ongoing communal frenzy in Gujarat, he said Muslims should prepare themselves on the political, educational and media fronts to fight “this war of communalism” imposed on them by Hindus. Rahmani suggested that Muslims forge a new unity with the Dalits to safeguard their interests as they did in Bihar where the two communities have put in place a new equation of survival.