Muslims should vigorously oppose incidents like Udaipur killing, says RSS
Kanhaiya Lal was murdered last month for supporting the disparaging comments about Prophet Muhammad made by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Saturday said that Muslims should vigorously oppose incidents such as the killing of a tailor in Udaipur last month, PTI reported.
“Some Muslim intellectuals have done that [condemn the killing],” RSS spokesperson Sunil Ambekar said, according to The Indian Express. “But the Muslim community, in general, must come forward and oppose such things vigorously.
Ambekar made the remarks while addressing the media at the end of a three-day meeting of RSS prant pracharaks, or local campaigners, in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu. During the event, the problem of “rising Islamic radicalisation” amongst others was discussed, The Indian Express reported.
On June 28, the tailor, Kanhaiya Lal was killed for having shared a social media post in support of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma. She had made disparaging remarks about Prophet Muhammad during a television debate in May.
The assailants, Ghouse Mohammed and Mohammed Riyaz Attari, were held by the Rajasthan Police on the same day. A video showed both the men claiming responsibility for the crime as they brandish the cleavers used in the murder.
Several Muslim groups had denounced Lal’s killing, saying it was against Islam. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board had also called on the government to enact a law against blasphemy with respect to religious personalities of all faiths.
On Saturday, Ambekar said that the Hindu community responded to Lal’s killing in a peaceful and constitutional way.
“These incidents are not in the interest of the nation or our society,” he added, according to NDTV. “Everyone should condemn it.”
Referring to Sharma’s post about the Prophet, Ambekar said that if one does not like what someone says, there is a democratic way of responding to it.
“We have a democracy,” he said. “Civilised society will always criticise such incidents.”
The event in Jhunjhunu was attended by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and senior functionaries of the organisation such as Dattatreya Hosabole, Krishna Gopal, CR Mukund, Arun Kumar and Ram Dutt.