Muslims Who Keep Beard Without Moustache Are Fundamentalists: Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board Chief Waseem Rizvi
The Shia Waqf Board chairman also slammed Islamic outfits for issuing fatwas by interfering in personal lives of others.
Lucknow, July 8: Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi on Sunday stoked a controversy by saying that Muslims who keep beard without moustache are fundamentalist. Rizvi went on to say that Muslims who don't keep moustache with beard can be found promoting terrorism.
"Keeping beard is Sunnat. However, keeping beard without moustache is against Sunnat as the person looks fearful. Muslims with beard and no moustache are fundamentalists. Such people can be seen promoting terrorism across the world," Rizvi said in a statement.
The Shia Waqf Board chairman also slammed Islamic outfits for issuing fatwas by interfering in personal lives of others. "We have few Muslims, who issue fatwa by interfering in the personal life of others. They forget that Islam has nothing to do with this. Those who issue fatwa in such cases should be booked as traitors because nobody has the right to go against the Constitution of India and make their own laws," he said.
"Some Muslims in India are getting influenced by the terrorist activities of ISIS in Jammu and Kashmir. This is not good. This can lead to violence in the country. It's important to take strict actions against such Muslims," Rizvi, who was recently accorded y+ security by the Uttar Pradesh government, added.
This is not the first time Rizvi has made controversial statement. Recently, he wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking closure of madrassas in the country alleging that education imparted in these Islamic schools encouraged students to join terror outfits.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 08, 2018 05:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).