Reacting to the media reports that extraordinary haste is being shown by the office of divisional commissioner Kashmir to allot 50 kanal of government land in Srinagar to JamaitAhileHadees for construction of an Eidgah, Brig Anil Gupta, State Spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party has said that BJP is opposed to any such move. The administration, reportedly, is working post haste at the behest of a letter received from the Chief Minister. AhileHadees is responsible for easing out of Sufi Islam from Kashmir and for spreading radical Wahaabi Islam. It is funded illegally through petro-dollars from Saudi Arabia and is a Sunni sectarian organisation. It is also alleged to have links with ISI of Pakistan and suspected to provide shelter to Pakistani terrorists, said Brig Gupta.
Scarcely visible a decade and a half ago, AhileHadees now has over 25 lakh members, over 20 per cent of Jammu and Kashmir’s Muslims. Besides the 700 mosques and madrassas it built, AhileHadees is believed to have funded 150 schools, several colleges, orphanages, clinics and medical diagnostic centres according to available data. It had also proposed a Rs 200-crore Islamic university, Trans world Muslim University (TWMU), in Hyderpora, Srinagar, affiliated to leading Saudi institutions. The proposal was referred to a select committee after the then state Congress Chief Saif-ud-Din Soz opposed it in the Legislative Council on October 9, 2010. This was done due to the concerns expressed by the security agencies. About 100 kanal of government land has already been allotted for the proposed University, said Brig Gupta.
Brig Gupta said that when Srinagar District Administration was approached by Rajya Sainik Board for allotment of land for construction of a Sainik Colony, for ex -servicemen, it was flatly refused on the ground that no government land is available in and around Srinagar. Where has this 50 kanal land surfaced from now, questioned the spokesperson? If anybody deserves government land, the priority should be given to the ex-servicemen who yearn for a decent home to live after retirement, said Brig Gupta. In case for some reason, the government is reluctant to hand over land to RajyaSainik Board, it should build exclusive housing colonies at these three sites mentioned in the application of AhileHadees for allotment to ex-servicemen and ex-police personnel, suggested the spokesperson.
Salafi Wahhabis are known to espouse violent jihad against civilians as a legitimate method to enforce their puritanical version of Islamic Shariah and Khilafah. The recent killings in Kashmir is a witness to manifestation of this ideology. How can an organisation like JamaitAhileHadees be patronised by government when it is known to divide the society than unite it questioned Brig Gupta?
