The Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid:

“Be prepared to sacrifice your lives to save secularism”

Rasa - Muslim religious figures are converging on plans to step up Islamic preaching or “dawah” to fend off attempts by Hindu outfits seeking Muslim converts, several clerics have said.

News ID: 1809

Date: 13 December 2014 - 17:58

RNA – In a fired-up speech delivered by the Shahi imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid during Friday prayers, Ahmed Bukhari, declared the launching of a formal proselytizing mission from the mosque, its first, called Ghar Ghar Islam, or Islam in every home.

“Muslims have sacrificed their lives for the unity of this country. Now be prepared to sacrifice your lives to save secularism,” Bukhari told a crowd of nearly 10,000 worshippers at the historic mosque.

He said Muslim youth were seldom involved in programs to bolster Islam through formal propagation of the faith, though it is allowed under the Constitution and is obligatory in Islam. “Therefore, we will launch a plan to take Islam to every home through a mission called Ghar Ghar Islam.”

According to Rasa News, the remarks came as a reaction to an event organized by Hindu groups in Agra, in which a group of young Muslims have converted to Islam reportedly against their will. Muslim leaders of India said they would “lawfully” act to “protect the faith”.

The Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist organization with pockets of influence across north India, has sent a fact-finding team to Agra. “The team isn’t being allowed in by the authorities. Our stand is the government must act and as a community, we will step up Tablighi (preaching) efforts,” Mohammed Ahmed, the Jamaat’s political secretary said.

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