01-15-2004, 01:40 AM
<b>RSS agrees Muslims are also patriots</b>
New Delhi, Jan. 14:<b> The RSS and Jamiat-I-Ulema-E-Hind on Wednesday agreed that the basis of patriotism was ânot religion but the countryâ</b> <!--emo&:thumbsup--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbup.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbup.gif' /><!--endemo--> as the leaderships of the two outfits met here to lay groundwork for a full-fledged dialogue.
RSS leader Indresh Kumar met Jamiat leaders Abdul Hamid Nomani and Niaz Ahmed Farooqui for about two hours at the latterâs headquarters after which a brief joint statement was issued. The talks at Jamiat headquarters marked the first-ever visit by any of Sangh Parivar leaders to the Muslim organisationâs office.
<b>âDuring the talks, we found that the country, ancestors and culture of all of us is the same</b>. The focus of our discussions was<b> that the basis of patriotism or nationalism is not religion but the country,â </b>said the statement read out by Indresh Kumar.
While Kumar did not take any questions from reporters, Nomani said the two sides discussed issues of ânationalismâ and âpatriotismâ and endeavoured to âsort out basic causes of differencesâ.
âDue to distance between the two sides, they (RSS) had several misconceptions regarding our religion and our patriotism. But we told them that Jamiat is a nationalist organisation and Muslims are also patriots,â he said, adding the RSS had agreed.
<b>Nomani said the RSS leadership was told that his organisation had always opposed the âtwo-nationâ theory. Muslims also ârespectâ Hindu gods like Rama and Krishna although they could not âoffer prayersâ to them âas this can be done only in the case of one god</b>â, he said. To a question, he said the talks had gone off well and the dialogue process would proceed further.
Asked whether the Ayodhya issue was discussed during the meeting, the Jamiat leader replied in the negative but said it could be deliberated upon in future meetings. He side-stepped a query on whether other Hindu and Muslim organisations would accept the agreements reached by the RSS and Jamiat, saying this was for others to decide.
About the stand of All India Muslim Personal Law Board regarding the Ayodhya dispute, Nomani said that organisation had âsome problemsâ. Sources said the two sides discussed modalities and identified issues for further talks between them.
New Delhi, Jan. 14:<b> The RSS and Jamiat-I-Ulema-E-Hind on Wednesday agreed that the basis of patriotism was ânot religion but the countryâ</b> <!--emo&:thumbsup--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbup.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbup.gif' /><!--endemo--> as the leaderships of the two outfits met here to lay groundwork for a full-fledged dialogue.
RSS leader Indresh Kumar met Jamiat leaders Abdul Hamid Nomani and Niaz Ahmed Farooqui for about two hours at the latterâs headquarters after which a brief joint statement was issued. The talks at Jamiat headquarters marked the first-ever visit by any of Sangh Parivar leaders to the Muslim organisationâs office.
<b>âDuring the talks, we found that the country, ancestors and culture of all of us is the same</b>. The focus of our discussions was<b> that the basis of patriotism or nationalism is not religion but the country,â </b>said the statement read out by Indresh Kumar.
While Kumar did not take any questions from reporters, Nomani said the two sides discussed issues of ânationalismâ and âpatriotismâ and endeavoured to âsort out basic causes of differencesâ.
âDue to distance between the two sides, they (RSS) had several misconceptions regarding our religion and our patriotism. But we told them that Jamiat is a nationalist organisation and Muslims are also patriots,â he said, adding the RSS had agreed.
<b>Nomani said the RSS leadership was told that his organisation had always opposed the âtwo-nationâ theory. Muslims also ârespectâ Hindu gods like Rama and Krishna although they could not âoffer prayersâ to them âas this can be done only in the case of one god</b>â, he said. To a question, he said the talks had gone off well and the dialogue process would proceed further.
Asked whether the Ayodhya issue was discussed during the meeting, the Jamiat leader replied in the negative but said it could be deliberated upon in future meetings. He side-stepped a query on whether other Hindu and Muslim organisations would accept the agreements reached by the RSS and Jamiat, saying this was for others to decide.
About the stand of All India Muslim Personal Law Board regarding the Ayodhya dispute, Nomani said that organisation had âsome problemsâ. Sources said the two sides discussed modalities and identified issues for further talks between them.