aideLucknow, Jan 14 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf BoardChairman Wasim Rizvi said today that he had received a threatcall from a man, claiming to be an aide of fugitive mafia donDawood Ibrahim, who threatened to blow up him and his family.
Following Rizvi's complaint, the Lucknow police haslodged an FIR and initiated a probe.
"I received the call last night in which caller took thename of Dawood and threatened to blow me up and my family formy stand on madrassa education and other issues," Rizvi, whohas also favoured a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, told reportershere.
The caller refused to identify himself but asked me toseek pardon from 'Maulanas' claiming Dawood Ibrahim wasannoyed, Rizvi said.
The Shia Waqf Board chairman said that he had informedthe police and also given the caller's phone number.
An FIR was lodged at the Sahadatganj police station inold Lucknow city and the matter is being probed, an officialsaid.
Rizvi had last week written to Prime Minister NarendraModi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathsuggesting that madrassas should be shut down as the Islamicinstitutions bred terrorists.
He alleged that education imparted in these Islamicschools encouraged students to join terrorist ranks and soughtthat madrassas be replaced by schools affiliated to the CBSEor the ICSE which will offer students the optional subject ofIslamic education.
He claimed that madrassas were mushrooming in almostevery city, town and village and were providing "misplaced andmisconceived religious education" and alleged that funds torun the madrassas were also coming from Pakistan andBangladesh and that even some terror outfits were assistingthem.
His suggestion, however, did not go down well with theAll India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), whose spokesmanKhalilur Rehman Sajjad Nomani said madrassas had played a keyrole in the freedom movement and by raising questions, Rizviwas insulting them.
The Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind went a step further when itserved a legal notice on Rizvi for making 'defamatory' remarksabout madrassas. The notice accused Rizvi of "insinuating"that madrassa education system had not contributed to theprogress of young Muslims, but had in fact created a sense offundamentalism in them without any data backing his comments.
It sought for a written and unconditional apology fromRizvi and a payment of Rs 20 crore towards damages.
In October, Rizvi had met the Art of Living founder inBengaluru and apprised him of the Shia Board's stand that aRam temple should be built at the Ram Janmabhoomi site inAyodhya.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was that time holding mediationtalks on the Ayodhya issue.
The Shia Waqf Board is drafting the terms and conditionsof a mutual agreement, he had said, adding that the board didnot want any mosque to be constructed at Ram's birth place.
Rizvi had also said that the number of mosques in Ayodhyawere sufficient for the Muslims residing there and there wasno need for a new mosque. "Instead it should be constructedelsewhere in a Muslim populated area," he had suggested.
Rizvi has also supported the BJP government on the TripleTalaq issue. PTI ABN SMIADS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.