Darul Uloom Issues Fatwa Against Chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'

Saharanpur: The largest Islamic seminary in India, the Darul Uloom of Deoband, has in a fatwa asked Muslims not to chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', saying it is "not in consonance with Islam".

"We received thousands of queries on the issue so Darul Uloom Deoband has issued a fatwa saying 'Bharat mata ki Jai' is not in consonance with Islam and we will not say it. But we love our country immensely and we can raise slogans like 'Hindustan Zindabad' and 'Madre Vatan (motherland)'," the seminary said in a statement.

"It is not allowed in Islam to represent the country as a Goddess' idol and raise slogans hailing her," Ashram Usmani, a spokesperson of the seminary, explained.

The fatwa, or religious edict, questions: "Only a human can give birth to a human, so how can the country be called mother?"

Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi provoked a controversy recently when he declared at a public meeting that he would not chant the slogan "even if you put a knife to my throat".

Mr Owaisi, a leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen or AIMIM, made the remarks as a riposte to Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who had said that the young people of India had to be taught to chant slogans in support of the country.

But earlier this week, the RSS chief said no one needs to be forced to chant the slogan.

""We have to create such a great India where people themselves chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'...it need not be imposed," Mr Bhagwat said at an event.