Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Sunday said the tension between him and the Pinarayi Vijayan government arose over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and that there is no conflict now.
“There is no conflict [with the Kerala government. The moment I reached there, the CAA came. They could not digest that a constitutional office in Kerala could support the CAA. My job is not to support, but to defend. It is my oath to preserve the Constitution and protect the law. So if there is an attack on that, something to which the President has given his assent, on wrong grounds and by spreading misinformation, then it is my constitutional duty to defend it,” Khan said at the Panchjanya event.
He said he met Chief Minister Vijayan during this time and told him that he was only discharging his constitutional duty.
“I told the CM that I know you are a Communist. But even I am not a believer in organised religion. I am rather a believer in spirituality. I told him the meaning of dharma is accountability. And I told him my accountability is Constitution. I told him you publicly criticise me and I will not feel bad. You do your duty and I will do mine. But since then there has been no tension,” he said.
On a question about the idea of Muslim supremacy asked by Panchjanya editor Hitesh Shankar, Khan said that all fatwas of kufr (apostacy) were political and that Islam had no place for it.
“The first fatwa for kufr in Islam was not against a non-Muslim. It was against the man who had been brought up by Prophet Mohammed and who was also his son-in-law, Hazrat Ali. And he was murdered. There are at least 200 instances in Quran where it is said that right and wrong will be decided when people die and meet their Creator. No human being, not even the Prophet, has been given the right to decide this according to Quran,” Khan said.
The Governor said he himself had so many kufr fatwas against him since when he was part of the Congress.
“I was not part of the BJP. I used to make my speeches in Hindi. In those days, even for using Hindi words you could get kufr fatwa. Dara Shukoh had to also suffer kufr fatwa and was murdered. But the one who got him murdered also buried him beside Humayun. So if Shukoh was Kafir, why was he buried beside Humayun? So, kufr fatwas are actually only given for political reasons and have be used as political weapons. This happened because unfortunately, under the Muslim law that was written, the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims are not the same. So, to deprive others of their rights, these fatwas are given,” he said.
“Prophet called those who attacked him as his Qaum (community). They were not just non-Muslims but also had attacked him. I have no right to decide on anyone’s imaan,” he added.
Khan said that like all societies, the Muslim society too was not monolithic.
“There are always two views in all societies. But those who have power propagate their own ideas. The clergy were created by rulers so that their decisions could get religious legitimacy. Islam religion has been taken over by politics since the death of the Prophet,” he said.
Echoing the words of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat that all those who live in India are Hindus, Khan said, “Sir Syed (Ahmed Khan), when invited by Arya Samaj, said why don’t you call me Hindu. He said anyone born in Hindustan should be called a Hindu.”
