By snubbing PM Modi, Delhi Imam has played right into the hands of Muslim-baiters

What could have been the motive of the Delhi Jama Maslid Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bhukhari when he invited Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif for his son’s upcoming investiture ceremony while denying an invitation to prime minister Narendra Modi? Snub Modi? Grab headlines? Or polarise Muslims in Delhi and elsewhere? Perhaps all three. But, has he been successful? He would have been personally satisfied with the outcome because he got exactly the headlines that he probably had in mind. He could also feel satisfied that he has snubbed Modi although the latter could have completely ignored it. But the most critical question is the impact of the effort at political polarisation of Muslims by a spiritual leader. Bukhari was scathing when he said why he didn’t want to invite Modi: “He has been the head of this country for four months, but the Muslims of this country are still not comfortable. He has always treated Muslims as second class citizens. There has been this great talk about development, but the Muslims are not included in it. He has never called to talk about the problems of the Muslim population.” Modi’s critics may agree with some parts of the Imam’s statement, but what he is essentially doing is evoking fresh communal passion. He accuses Modi of treating Muslims as second class citizens, excluding them from development and refusing to discuss the problems of Muslims. When a priest, whose only historical role is to lead the prayers at the Jama Masjid, makes such sweeping statements, it’s bound to fan communal emotions. [caption id=“attachment_1773743” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PTI[/caption] In singling out Modi, by inviting other leaders of the BJP and even giving them good conduct certificates, Bhukhari is fishing for controversy when what the country needs is all out efforts aimed at communal harmony. By taking such a step, he is doing a disservice to his own community and followers because the most incensed will be the followers of Modi and the rabid right-wingers, who obviously are the majority. They will not leave this opportunity to further malign Muslims and question their “patriotism”. The Pakistan angle will easily give them the fodder to repeat the lies and false propaganda that they had been spreading for years. Bukhari couldn’t have been naive in taking such a political step. He should certainly have been aware of the ramifications - how it could arouse communal passions at least in a section of his followers and more significantly, how it will let hate mongers unleash new campaigns. But why does he do it? This is the problem when one mixes religion with politics. The role of Shahi Imam of Delhi is spiritual, but the day he started dabbling with politics, that too opportunistically, the sanctity of his position has been compromised. It may be recalled, the same Imam, in 2004 had asked the Muslims to vote for the BJP although he had widely decried the 2002-Gujarat riots. A man who forgave the BJP a decade ago for the 2002 riots is now flogging the same old incident. A Tehelka article  on the political misuse of his position in 2004 notes: When asked about his new-found love for the BJP, his tone was unmistakably political. “We support BJP’s new thinking. Babri Masjid was demolished during the Congress rule, but did they ever apologise for that? Has the Congress done anything for the rehabilitation of riot-affected Muslims in Gujarat? The BJP has at least expressed sorrow over the incident and are taking the legal route on Ayodhya. For every Gujarat, the Congress has a Muradabad, where Muslims were killed on the auspicious day of Eid,” he said. According to this article, his support for BJP came under pressure from his brother with whom he had some intra-family dispute to settle. In other words, was never purely political, but opportunistic. Similarly, after opposing the Samajvadi Party in UP in 2007 assembly elections and 2009 parliament elections, he supported it in 2012 for purely personal reasons. It was not just him who made the position of the Shahi Imam political. In 1977, his father, the earlier Imam, had asked Muslims to vote for the Janata Party. It was perhaps the beginning of the realisation of the political use of his position by the Imam. Since then, the Jama Masjid has been a centre of dubious political activity. What stands out in the reported political antecedents of the Imam is inconsistency and opportunism. A spiritual leader should bring people together, not polarise them. If at all he gets political, it should be guided by a certain philosophy and ideology and not silly circumstances, political opportunism or personal whims. Such moves can only be defeated by a responsible citizenry.