Faisal Khan Stands For Maintaining And Strengthening Communal Harmony And Peace
By Sandeep Pandey
(Co-Written by Bobby Ramakant and and Kushagra
Kumar)
November
18, 2020
48 years
old Faisal Khan has invested his entire life to strengthen communal harmony.
With the intent to maintain and promote peace and harmony between people and
communities he took out countless marches not just within India but also
between India and Pakistan. He can recite verses from Ramcharitmanas and from
the Quran with equal conviction. He offers Namaz in mosques and also receives
Prasad and blessings from the priest of Hindu temples. Last year he also took
part in ‘Saryu Aarti’ in Ayodhya. In 2018 he was invited by the well-known
preacher Murari Bapu to his ashram at Mahua, Gujarat, and felicitated during the
‘Sadbhavna Parv,’ as part of which Faisal also addressed the gathering present
there. Murari Bapu was so overwhelmed upon hearing Ramcharitmanas verses from
Faisal that he promised to visit ‘Sabka Ghar’ in Ghaffar Manzil, near Jamia Millia,
Delhi, which has been established by Faisal, dedicated to those who sacrificed
their lives as victims of some form of discrimination or other. Sabka Ghar is a
living example of communal harmony where people of different religious faiths
come and live together, and celebrate different festivals like Holi, Diwali,
Eid, Christmas, etc., together with equal fervour and spirit.
Recently
Faisal Khan, Chand Mohammad, Alok Ratan and Nilesh Gupta undertook ’84 Kos
Parikrama’ of Braj in Mathura during which they paid a visit to a Nand Baba
Mandir. They received the Prasada from this temple and Faisal recited verses
from Ramcharitmanas to the priest. The priest happily allowed him to offer
Namaz inside the premises on 29 October 2020. When the photographs of Faisal
Khan and Chand Mohammad offering Namaz in the temple premises went viral, then
it appears as if someone with maligned intent asked the priest to lodge a
police complaint. Three days after this incident, on 1st of November 2020, a
first information report was lodged at Barsana Police Station. All four
pilgrims have been charged with Indian Penal Code sections 153A, 295 and 505.
On 2nd November 2020, UP Police arrested Faisal Khan from Delhi and took him to
Mathura. Later IPC sections 419, 420, 453, 468, 470 has also been added to the
FIR.
There is a
contradiction in charges slapped by the police. How can those who are
undertaking 84 Kos Parikrama for peace and communal harmony in Mathura spread
hatred in the name of religion? Followers of Hindu faith should be happy that
people from other faiths are also undertaking 84 Kos Parkirama as per Hindu
traditions and customs and receiving blessings and Prasada from their temple.
Moreover, all religions overall believe that there is one God. Then what
difference does it make if we worship the God differently? Some people may
worship by offering Namaz. The destination is same, only routes are different.
Those who will listen to the voice of reason will not have any objection to
this. But if someone wants to leverage political mileage out of religion or
polarise communities on religious sentiments then such a person will make an
issue out of this incident.
Faisal Khan
is also a trustee of Sarva Dharma Sadbhava Kendra Trust located in Ram Janaki
Mandir in Durahi Kuan, Sarju Kunj, Ayodhya. There is a plan to develop an
all-faith communal harmony centre in this Ram Janaki temple where Acharya Yugal
Kishore Sharan Shastri is the Mahant. Faisal Khan has offered Namaz several
times in this temple. People of all faith and caste including Dalits are
welcome in this temple. There is also a langar (kitchen) organized at this
temple everyday like in Gurudwaras. The committee which manages the langar is
headed by Danish Ahmed of Faizabad. One of the objectives of the religion is to
encourage people to live in harmony and peace with each other. If people use
religion to incite discontent or divide, then this cannot be a called a
religious act.
Faisal Khan
also organised a march from Delhi to Haridwar in March 2019 to support
Brahmachari Atmabodhanand, who was sitting on a fast in Matra Sadan at Haridwar
to demand a law for conservation of river Ganga. Faisal also invited head of
Matra Sadan, Swami Shivanand Saraswati in February 2020 to Delhi to distribute
relief materials for restoration of a damaged mosque as well as to meet victims
of communal riots in a camp. Faisal Khan is doing important work of an antidote
to the poison that communal forces are spreading in the society. That is why it
is even more shocking to see the charges under which Faisal Khan and colleagues
have been booked.
Raising
questions over Faisal offering namaz at a temple, as opposed to performing a
Hindu prayer at a mosque, is an attempt to, yet again, make religious
sentiments a pivot point to create communal tension. Those who raise these
questions do not seem to understand that Faisal offered a prayer in personal
capacity, and with permission from the mahant Kanha of the Mathura temple.
It is
unfair to compare religions or set up competitions to “settle” which religion
is “better”. Religion, after all, is a matter of personal faith and practice.
Indians must respect all faiths and even the non-believers, at least for the
sake of peace and harmony. Those who believe their faith is special must
preserve the unique aspects of their belief and refrain from finding fault with
other religions. There were news reports recently that some people recited the
Hanuman Chalisa at an Idgah and a mosque after news of Faisal offering namaz at
a temple went viral.
What
matters most in religious practices is the intention that guides what we
support and how we behave. Faisal was on a mission to promote communal harmony
and had participated in a Parikrama as well. He is also well-versed in Hindu
religious texts. If those who performed Hindu prayers at a mosque did so merely
as a reaction, they neither promote religion nor peace. They are trying to
justify a political act on religious grounds—whereas, for the faithful, that
would be anathema.
Faisal Khan
and his spirit and stand along with those who are trying to maintain and
strengthen communal harmony and peace rather than those who are trying to
divide for political aggrandizement.
-------
Bobby Ramakant and Sandeep Pandey are
associated with Socialist Party (India). Kushagra Kumar is a student.
Original Headline: Faisal Khan’s commitment to
peace and harmony, and his unfortunate arrest
Source: The Countercurrent
URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/faisal-khan-stands-maintaining-strengthening/d/123509
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