HYDERABAD: A massive protest was staged in Old City on Friday against former Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board chairman Wasim Rizvi for ‘hurting’ the sentiments of the Muslim community by publishing a
controversial book on the Prophet — ‘Muhammad Islamic Religion, and Muslims’ — recently. The protesters alleged that he had insulted the Prophet in the book.
Organised by Tehreek-e-Muslim Shaban, the rally was flagged off in Yakutpura and thousands of protesters walked all the way to Dabeerpura, carrying black flags and raising slogans against Rizvi. They demanded that the Centre ban his book and recall the ones that were already in the market. They also called for strict action against Rizvi.
Muslim leader Mushtaq Malik alleged that in his book, Rizvi had included objectionable statements that were made with the intention of outraging the religious sentiments of the community. Malik said, “Rizvi has been repeatedly hurting the sentiments of Muslims. It appears that he wants a Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh. That is perhaps why he is fuming against Islam. Muslims will not tolerate such practices. The government should ban his book immediately and take stringent action against him.”Multiple cases were registered against Rizvi across Telangana over the last few days.