M A I N   N E W S

Fatwa issued against cow slaughter

New Delhi, February 1
The Darululoom, a top religious body of Muslims in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, today issued a fatwa (religious order) against the slaughter of cows in the country.

A three-member committee of the Darululoom recommended that Muslims should not slaughter cows on Id-ul-Zuha so as to respect the sentiments of Hindus.

Various organisations, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, welcomed the move as a step in promoting unity and brotherhood between the two communities.

RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said the move would resolve the cow slaughter issue peacefully and promote communal harmony in the country.

BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also welcomed the gesture of the Darululoom and said this would lead to greater brotherhood between Muslims and Hindus.

Meanwhile, Maulana Mehmood Madni of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, said his organisation had been urging Muslims to respect the sentiments of Hindus by not sacrificing cows.

“We have been asking people to keep religious emotions in mind”, Madni told a TV news channel.

But he insisted that Muslims alone were not involved in cow slaughter across the country. “If you take a closer look, more non-Muslims are involved,” he claimed.

Pt N.K. Sharma, founder president of the Universal Association for Spiritual Awareness, welcomed the “courageous” order issued by Darululoom. He said major Hindu organisations would reciprocate in an appropriate manner.

Pandit Sharma claimed that he had initiated steps leading to the fatwa by organising a meeting on December 20 between Jamiat-Ulema-i-Hind and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders.

The meeting was attended by Maulana Mehmood Madni, Maulana Niaz Farooqui, Maulana Abdul Hamid Nomani from the Jamaat side and Mr K.S. Sudarshan, Mr Ram Madhav and Mr Vishnu Hari Dalmia from the RSS. — UNI, IANS