A proposal has been made to initiate dialogue between mandirs and masjids, imams and pujaris, and gurukuls and madrasas to create trust between the two communities.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat and senior functionaries of the organisation on Thursday met prominent Islamic scholars, imams, muftis and madrasa heads in which a host of “national issues,” including ways to clear “misunderstandings” between the two communities were discussed. The two sides expressed need to start a series of dialogue between Hindu and the Muslim communities and as part of its centenary celebrations, the Sangh will now start a series of ‘samvaad’ (dialogue) between mandirs and masjids, pujaris and imams and gurukuls and madrasas.
Coming amid discontent of the Muslim community with the ruling BJP over Waqf Amendment Act and some other issues, the meeting holds importance as the aim was to create a bridge between Hindus and Muslims and better understand each other’s religion and contain the trust deficit. All India Imam Organisation chief Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi said the objective was to clear misunderstandings between Hindus and Muslims.
The closed-door meeting was also attended by senior RSS functionaries like Krishna Gopal, Ramlal and Indresh Kumar and lasted for about three-and-a-half hours. Around 60 prominent imams, muftis and representatives of Islamic seminaries like Deoband and Barelvi sects and representatives from both Shia and Sunni communities attended the meeting. A proposal was made to initiate dialogue between mandirs and masjids, imams and pujaris, and gurukuls and madrasas to create trust between the two communities.
While Sangh and Muslim community representatives deliberated on how to create harmony, better understanding and contain “negativity” between the communities, issues like the Waqf Act, vote bank politics, mob lynching, and ways to contain propaganda to create a divide between Hindus and Muslims also came up for discussion, according to sources.
“Samvaad is the first step to create trust and create ‘sadbhav’. Most of the times we find that whatever is said against each other (communities) is because of negative news or propaganda. There are continuous efforts to create a rift and divide between the two communities. We are trying to create a bridge so that people try to understand each other’s religion by talking with each other,” Ilyasi was quoted as saying
Harmony is also a very important requirement for a country to progress and develop, he added
“Through this initiative the Muslim community and the RSS want to work towards bridging the trust deficit between the two communities and development of the country,” Ilyasi said.
Calling the discussion “positive”, the Sangh called it a part of a continuous process of dialogue with all the sections of society. The sarsanghchalak emphasised that “the most important and basic fact is that we are all citizens of one country and share one soul,” sources said. Head of national publicity and media department Sunil Ambekar said “the main objective is to explore how everyone can work together in the interest of the country. Today’s discussion was also positive.”
The RSS also has a Muslim organisation—the Muslim Rashtriya Manch. Established under the guidance of K S Sudarshan, the Manch calls itself an independent Muslim body aligned with nationalist ideals.
