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Lucknow: Two-days after Shia Waqf Board Chairman, Waseem Rizvi wrote a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to shut down madrasas alleging that they encouraged students to join terrorist ranks, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbasi Naqvi lashed out at media and termed people raising questions on madrasas as ‘mad’.
Speaking to media in Delhi, Union Minister Naqvi said, “There are some mad people who are raising absurd questions about madrasas. I am also unhappy with the media, why they ask questions and make it an issue. Nor the government, neither the BJP is raising questions on madrasas.”
“The madrasas of this country have contributed towards the growth of the nation and have also played a great role in our freedom struggle. There have been some isolated cases in which respective state governments are taking necessary steps. Recently, the UP government had asked the madrasas about their funding and other details, nearly 90% have given their details so far. You cannot see all the madrasas with the same point of view, it is not correct,” he added.
When asked about the recent controversy related to Shia Waqf Board Chairman Waseem Rizvi’s letter to PM Modi, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, “I have studied in a madrasa, am I a terrorist? I am really hurt and sad by the way people are defaming madrasas. Debate and concern should be on issues like timely disbursal of salaries of madrasa teachers.”
The Shia Central Waqf Board had urged PM Narendra Modi to shut down madrasas in the country, alleging that education imparted in these Islamic schools encouraged students to join terrorist ranks. In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Shia body demanded that madrasas be replaced by schools affiliated to the CBSE or the ICSE which will offer students an optional subject of Islamic education.
The Board suggested that all madrasa boards should be dissolved. The Shia Central Waqf Board chairman, Waseem Rizvi, claimed that most of the madrasas in the country are not recognised and the Muslim students studying in such institutions are moving towards unemployment.
