New Delhi, Sept. 18: Leading Muslim bodies will jointly ask imams across the country to criticise the Centre during the September 26 Friday prayers for “targeting the community in the name of the war on terror”.

The unprecedented decision came at today’s meeting of the Indian Muslim Co-ordination Committee, made up of organisations such as the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, Jamaat-e-Islami, All India Muslim Majlise Mushawarat, All India Milli Council and the Muslim Political Council of India.

The committee will also ask Muslims to scale down Id celebrations as a “mark of protest” against the government’s “atrocities… against innocent Muslims”.

Rallies will be held in all state capitals and Delhi on October 16, the meeting decided.

A charter of demands unveiled by the committee — which it will place before the public rather than the “anti-minority” government — includes:

Dismissal of home minister Shivraj Patil, the Intelligence Bureau chief and all state police chiefs wherever blasts have occurred;

A ban on the VHP, Bajrang Dal, Shri Ram Sena and the Hindu Jagran Manch;

A national-level panel to probe terror-related incidents.

One significance of the day’s meeting is that the Jamiat, one of India’s largest moderate Muslim organisations, has for the first time joined forces with radical Islamic groups like the Jamaat.

“In the interests of the community, we all have decided to join hands despite our differences,” said Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani, Jamiat acting general secretary.

Tasleem Rahmani of the Muslim Political Council of India claimed the UPA government was one of the most “anti-minority governments”.

“We don’t want to meet the Prime Minister with the charter since he has never kept his promises to the community,” Rahmani said. The charter, he said, will be issued as a public statement and it would be up to the Centre to accept it or face the consequences.

Jamaat official Mujtaba Farooq said the committee was in touch with political leaders who “care for the community”. The list includes Prakash Karat, Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav.