Modi is the worst of the worst ...

wo zaalim hai, says Vastanwi

Submitted by admin on 22 February 2011 - 4:25am
Articles Indian Muslim Muslim World News
By Siraj Wahab in Makkah for TwoCircles.net
Maulana Ghulam Ahmad Vastanwi was in Saudi Arabia last week. During his stay in
Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah, he met a number of high-ranking officials associated
with the Saudi government and such prestigious institutions as the Muslim World
League and the World Association of Muslim Youth. Dozens of students who gradua
ted from his seminary and are now studying at the Umm Al-Qura University in Makk
ah and the Islamic University of Madinah also came to visit and felicitate him.
The maulana was thrust into international limelight following his recent appoint
ment as the rector or muhtamim of South Asia's most prestigious Islamic seminary
, Darul Uloom Deoband. More than his appointment, it was his reported remarks ab
out Narendra Modi, the man who led the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat, which
led to an uproar in India and abroad, and calls for his resignation in some qua
rters.
The Majlis-e-Shoura of Darul Uloom Deoband is meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 23, to
discuss his fate. It might rule in his favor or it may ask him to step aside in
view of the raging controversy. Maulana Vastanwi spoke to this correspondent at
the Marwa Towers in Makkah, a few steps from the Grand Mosque. Following are the
excerpts from the interview:
Q: How long have you been associated with Darul Uloom Deoband?
A: Darul Uloom Deoband is the oldest Muslim religious institution in Asia. It ha
s played a key role in South Asia's history. It was established by some of the g
reatest Muslim leaders. It was started to preserve our religion in South Asia an
d its founders succeeded in their mission. Any order issued by Deoband is follow
ed by the community in letter and spirit. It is the most important center of rel
igious learning in India and also the most prestigious.
I have been a member of the Deoband Shoura for the last 12 years. The Shoura has
17 members. These 17 members come from all states of India. I represent Maharas
htra in the Shoura. All of the Shoura members come from excellent backgrounds. T
hey are chosen on the basis of their work for Islam in their respective regions.
All of these members have contributed immensely to the promotion of Islam.
Maulana Marghubur Rahman, who died a few months ago, was the ninth rector of Deo
band. He was a great man. He was widely respected by the ulama. Such was his sel
flessness and devotion to Deoband that he did not take a single penny from the i
nstitution that he ran. In fact, he even paid rent for the room in which he stay
ed. It was Maulana Marghubur Rahman who made me the member of the Shoura 12 year
s ago. He loved me and I respected him immensely. When he died, it was suggested
that I become the acting rector. I did not see myself fit for the post and I po
litely declined. The Shoura members then persuaded Maulana Abul Qasim Banarasi t
o become the acting rector. It was a unanimous decision.
A month-and-a-half later the Shoura was convened to elect a new rector. Of the 1
7 members, four members suggested the name of Maulana Arshad Madani. Two were in
favor of the acting rector Maulana Abul Qasim Banarasi. Eight members proposed
my name. Three members did not turn up. So it was announced that since eight mem
bers are in favor of Maulana Vastanwi he should be made the rector. I objected a
nd said no. I said that if the other members who supported Maulana Arshad Madani
and Maulana Abul Qasim Banarasi change their opinion in my favor â ¦ only then will I
accept this post. I wanted unanimity. They all said yes and added that since mo
st members have now reposed confidence in Vastanwi we too are with him. Everythi
ng was settled. A formal announcement was made by the Shoura. There were celebra
tions. I met with the teachers and other administrative officials and briefed th
em about various issues concerning the seminary. Students were happy too. I addr
essed them in the evening. The next day I left for Akkalkuwa where we run a numb
er of madaris and degree colleges.
Q: When did the trouble begin then?
A: As soon as I left Deoband, I got a call that some students were unhappy with
my appointment. I was told that they were very few in numbers. Now I don't know
who instigated them or who was behind this campaign against me. It came as a sho
ck to me. Just a day earlier everything seemed perfect. The students were happy,
the teachers were happy, all Shoura members were happy.
A little later I got a call from the Times of India's Gujarat correspondent. The
news was out in the media that I had become the rector of Deoband. He asked me
about the Gujarat riots and I told him why was he asking my opinion on something
that happened eight years ago. And then I suggested that for us Muslims now edu
cation is the most important thing. Our community's focus is education. The repo
rt that appeared in the newspaper next day gave an impression that I was support
ing Modi and that I gave a clean chit to him. I had told The Times correspondent
that cases relating to the 2002 riots are before the courts and it is the duty
of the courts to provide justice to the riot victims. I also said that those who
are being illegally detained should be released.
Q: But the impression one got from the report was that you have some kind of a s
oft spot for Modi...
A: Modi is the worst of the worst. Wo zaalim hai ... aur zaalim ki taareef bhi n
ahin ki ja sakti (he is a cruel man and one is not allowed to appreciate a cruel
man). Whatever he did to Muslims we cannot forget that (zaalim ke zulm ko ham m
aaf bhi nahi kar sakte). Nor can we give him a clean chit. Some people in the me
dia, especially a particular section of the Urdu media, have twisted my statemen
ts to create mischief. If you go back to the original report in The Times of Ind
ia, it is very clearly mentioned that "Vastanwi did not give Modi a clean chit".
Q: There were also reports that Modi invited you as a special guest for Republic
Day celebrations in Gujarat?
A: This again was media mischief. Nobody invited me and nor did I go there. This
bit of news was absolutely nonsensical. When I first heard it, I immediately is
sued a clarification. I was in Deoband on Jan. 26.
Q: Those who launched attacks on you are part of our community. What do you thin
k was their motive? What is your assessment?
A: Whoever has done this mischief of maligning me and whoever is behind this mud
slinging campaign ... let me tell them I am not a political man. My work is conf
ined to promoting education. Taalim, taalim aur taalim -- that is my motto and m
ission. Those who have made an issue out of my reported remarks ... for them, th
is is a political issue.
Some people took my comments as supporting Modi. Some people saw those statement
s as anti-Congress. I am not favoring Modi nor am I against Congress. I only say
that Muslims work hard in the field of education (musalman apne aap ko taalim m
e aage laaye). Muslim youngsters are facing unemployment. Our community members
are suffering because of stark poverty. I think unless and until we work in the
field of education we will not be able to tackle these two major problems facing
our community in India: unemployment and poverty.
Q: Can you tell us about your institutions in Akkalkuwa?
A: I completed my early Islamic education at Darul Uloom Falah-e-Darain Tadkeshw
ar (district Surat, Gujarat). I then worked as an Arabic teacher at Darul Uloom
Kantharia (district Bharuch, Gujarat). In 1979 when I was teaching there, we had
two students who were from Akkalkuwa, a small hamlet in Maharashtra. At that ti
me, the population of Akkalkuwa may have been 5,000. I am talking about 1980. Mu
slims were about 50 percent so there were around 2,500 Muslims. At the invitatio
n of those two students (both are now teaching at our institutions) I went to Ak
kalkuwa in 1980. (Wahan kuch nahi tha ... Sirf jahalat thi.) There was total ign
orance. Muslims were unaware of the teachings of Islam. They were extremely poor
. Mosques lay abandoned. No one took care of them. There was no library, no scho
ol. So when I visited Akkalkuwa, this thought crossed my mind that I should do s
omething here. Remember, this was just a thought not a dream. Then I wrote to my
elders about the situation in Akkalkuwa. They said "baith jaao," start working
there. So in 1980 I built a shed that cost us 18,000 rupees. That shed or "jhonp
da" still exists today. We started with six students and two teachers -- Maulana
Ishaq and Maulana Yaqoob.
Then two residents of Akkalkuwa -- Salman Havaldar and Yaqoob Dada -- each gave
us 3 acres of land. So we had six acres. On this six-acre plot we started work i
n 1983. In two years we got a building constructed. Around this time, in 1986 to
be precise, I went to South Africa. There I met Abdullah Omar Naseef who was vi
siting that country. He was at that time the chief of the World Muslim League. I
immediately extended an invitation to him to visit our madrasa. He accepted our
invitation. It became big news in India. Omar Naseef was riding the crest of po
pularity in the Muslim world with his dynamism. The popular reaction in India wa
s "Such a big man, coming to Akkalkuwa!" Omar Naseef is a great man. May Allah b
less him. He always thought big. I never heard him saying no. Anybody who went t
o him, he would say "yes" and "done."
His arrival in Akkalkuwa in 1987 proved to be a turning point in the history of
the Muslims of Akkalkuwa. It was a big program from our point of view. However,
it was a small program looking at the stature of Omar Naseef. He faced a lot of
difficulties reaching Akkalkuwa. There were no paved roads. The best car availab
le then was the Ambassador. And we did not have enough resources. In his speech,
however, he said he was overwhelmed by the love of the Muslims of India. "This
will remain my most memorable visit." That is what he said. Then Omar Naseef inv
ited us to the Muslim World League and introduced us to people in Kuwait. I alwa
ys visit him when I visit Saudi Arabia.
So our Jamia Akkalkuwa continued to make steady progress in 1980s and 1990s. The
strength rose from six students to 500, 700, 1,000. Today our Jaamia is the big
gest madrasa for memorizing the Qur'an in Asia. We have 10,000 students who are
currently memorizing the Qur'an in Jamia and other Jamia affiliates. We have mor
e than 100 branches. Every year, 1,500 students graduate from the Jamia after ha
ving memorized the Holy Qur'an. At other madaris there are only 200-300 students
. In Deoband itself there are only 250 students in the memorizing Qurâ an section (ta
hfeez al-Qurâ an). So far, 15,000 students are already hafiz and are working in vario
us parts of the country. In Deoband, the memorizing Qurâ an section is not big. There
the focus is on the alim studies (alamiyyat). Every year Deoband produces 800 t
o 900 alims.
Then we realized that in Akkalkuwa there were no opportunities for mainstream wo
rldly education. So we helped the villagers start a high school. We constructed
the building for them. At that time it cost us 2.5 million rupees. Then we start
ed our own high school. Then a junior college. The students from the local high
school had no opportunity to continue higher studies so they started coming to o
ur junior college. Then we launched a Unani medical college (BUMS). Then we laun
ched ITIs. So far, nearly 2,000 students have benefited from these technical ins
titutes. Since there is a certain criteria set by the government to enlist stude
nts, our huffaz did secondary education after completing their memorization cour
ses and got into these technical institutes. But most of the students who came t
o join our technical institutes were from regular schools, but once they joined
the technical institutes run by us we provided them with religious education. Th
at was an incentive for them. They got an Islamic way of life. So a Muslim stude
nt at our ITI did not just become a technical expert but a good Muslim too. And
those Hindus who enroll in our technical institutes become sympathetic to the Mu
slim issues.
So now we have a Unani medical college, technical institutes, B.Ed. colleges, D.
Ed colleges, polytechnic colleges, D. Pharm College, B. Pharm College and a B.E.
engineering college. The most important point in our colleges is that there is
no concept of donation. There are hundreds of students to whom we provide free e
ducation in our colleges. All this has improved the economy of Akkalkuwa. Akkalk
uwa is not what it was when we first visited in 1980. Akkalkuwa has become a pro
per town. I have now spent 30 years there. I have never faced any difficulty fro
m our Hindu brothers in Akkalkuwa. They have been very helpful. In fact, their s
tudents are enrolled in our institutes as well.
I can safely say that after Aligarh this is the largest chain of institutions. (
It is worth pointing out that Maulana Vastanwi has helped construct 5,000 mosque
s in Maharashtra's remote districts. Many of these mosques have cost 5 million r
upees and some even 10 million rupees. He has helped dig 4,000 bore wells for dr
inking water and set up hundreds of primary schools. To date he has set up 2,500
primary Islamic centers). So far, the Akkalkuwa campus is far bigger than Deoba
nd. But Deoband is prestigious. There is no doubt about that. We have 12,500 stu
dents with lodging and boarding facilities. Deoband has only 3,000 students.
Q: What will you say to your adversaries?
A: Let me clarify here, I don't call them adversaries. What I say is that we hav
e to take everybody along -- Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Christians. We have to w
ork together to build the nation. We have to be big-hearted. If we take a commun
al stand, it will not produce good results for us. We have to cleanse our heart
and mind and join the march for the moral and industrial progress of our country
. Similarly, I appeal to non-Muslim Indians to provide Muslims with the space th
ey deserve to prosper. Both need each other. And for this attitudinal change we
need education.
Q: There is a perception among some people that Maulana is being opposed because
he belongs to the south.
A: I disagree with that assessment. That is not correct. Members of the Deoband
Shoura belong to all parts of India. As I mentioned before, I have been a member
of the Shoura for the last 12 years. If they were prejudiced against anybody fr
om the south, then I would not have been made the rector in the first place. The
y made me the rector. If they had in their minds that they should not make a Guj
arati as the head, then they would not have appointed me. So how can they be bia
sed? My appointment as Deoband rector is proof that there is no regionalism ther
e.
Q: It seems you are very upset with the Urdu media?
A: No, I am not upset with them. We need the Urdu media. We need to promote Urdu
. We are fighting for Urdu and the government is also working on it. Sahara news
paper is counted among the best Urdu newspapers in India. Then there are Inquila
b and Urdu Times from Bombay, Siasat, Etemad and Munsif<.em> from Hyderabad. We
need good journalists. But it is the responsibility of the newspaper owners to m
aintain their standards and earn credibility.
Q: There was some controversy about your resignation as well. It was reported th
at you resigned and then there reports that you did not?
A: Again it was media manipulation. When I heard that some students were agitati
ng against my appointment, I told them that if they did not like me then I will
tell the Shoura that since the students do not like me I will resign because a r
esignation can only be given to those who appointed me. I also said that I will
resign if the Shoura is unhappy with me. The media immediately reported that I h
ad resigned. On Feb. 23, when the Shoura meets I will tell them that if my perso
nality leads to problems for Deoband, then they can relieve me. Who wants any ha
rm to come to this great institution? Only Shoura will decide whether I will or
will not stay at Deoband. The Shoura's decision will be the final decision. They
are the decision-makers.
Q: Some say the current agitation against you is being fanned by the Madani fami
ly.
A: Regarding the Madani family, I will not say anything. I respect them. This is
a very respectable family. Theirs is a historical contribution. My daughter is
married in that family (Maulana Vastanwi's daughter is married to Maulana Arshad
Madani's son). My daughter and son-in-law are leading a happy life. I will only
repeat that I am not a BJP man. I am a man of education. My only goal is to pro
mote education.
Q: There is also an allegation that you are out to convert Darul Uloom Deoband i
nto a modern institute?
A: Those who are against us allege that we will convert it into a modern institu
te. Deoband is a religious institution. We cannot and will not deviate from its
aims. Though I am the rector of Deoband, I cannot do anything that is not mandat
ed by the Majlis-e-Shoura. It is that simple. At Deoband, I am answerable and ac
countable to the Shoura for each and every action. These unfounded rumors that a
re being spread against me that I will dilute the fundamental character of Deoba
nd are baseless. I only have to execute the policies approved by the Shoura. Tha
t is the high command. You may not know this, but I cannot even get a student en
rolled in Deoband. Those decisions are taken by the Shoura.