Imam of Ajmer Dargah Diwan Zainul Abedin Ali Khan has urged Muslims to give up beef to “honour the religious sentiments of Hindu brethren”, reported Hindustan Times. “My family and I have taken a pledge to never have beef for the rest of our lives,” he said in the presence of the heads of a number of shrines at the 805th Urs (death anniversary) of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer.

Khan has asked the Centre to declare cow the country’s national animal and impose a ban on its slaughter and the sale of beef. He said consumption of beef is one of the prime reasons for communal hatred in the country. “Muslims should set an example by resolving to not consume beef in the interest of communal harmony in India,” read the joint declaration by the Sufi heads, according to PTI.

The imam also welcomed the Gujarat government’s recent amendment to a legislation, which introduced life sentence as a punishment for those found guilty of slaughtering cows or transporting beef. The religious heads of dargahs from Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Delhi and others were present at the event.

The Sufi further termed the practice of triple talaq as “anti-Islamic”, adding that the Quran and Sharia do not permit it. He said the practice was against gender equality and should be abolished soon, the Hindustan Times report added. “The time has come to give up the practice that victimises our sisters and daughters,” Khan said.