Religious tone to Azam, Imam spat

Apr 11, 2012 |

Age Correspondent

Lucknow

The ongoing war of words between senior SP minister Mohammed Azam Khan and Shahi Imam Syed Ahmad Bukhari, both Sunnis, has now tumbled into a major political and religious controversy with the Islamic seminaries now taking sides in the battle.
While the Darul Uloom Deoband in Saharanpur has criticised Mr Khan for his tirade against the Shahi Imam, the Darul-e-Mazhar Islam in Bareilly has issued a fatwa against Mr Bukhari, asking him to work for the welfare of the Muslims and his relatives and stop indulging in politics.
The Deoband and Barelvi schools are opposed to each other and strongly differ on several Islamic interpretations.
In another twist to the on-going controversy, Mr Khan, on Tuesday, said that he will not protest if chief minister Akhilesh Yadav “lightens my burden” by taking away some of his portfolios. At present, he heads eight ministries. He further said that he expected the party to defend him but lamented that no such move has yet been made.
Meanwhile, 13 Muslim legislators — known to oppose Mr Khan in the party — met the Shahi Imam in Delhi on Monday evening and are believed to have expressed their support to him.

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