'Dawood threat' to Shia waqf chief

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Shia waqf board chairman Wasim Rizvi has alleged receiving a call from a man who claimed to be an associate of gangster-terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and threatened to blow him up with his family.

"I received the call last night. The caller took the name of Dawood and threatened to blow me up with my family for my stands on madarsa education and other issues," Rizvi told reporters on Sunday.

Rizvi had last week written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath suggesting that all madarsas be shut down as they bred terrorists. He had previously declared support for a Ram temple on the disputed site in Ayodhya.

On Sunday, he said the caller had told him he had annoyed Dawood and asked him to seek pardon from " maulanas". Lucknow police have registered an FIR and started an investigation.

Rizvi has suggested that madarsas be replaced with schools affiliated to boards like the CBSE and the CISCE (which conducts the ICSE and ISC exams), with the students offered the optional subject of Islamic education.

He has said that madarsas are mushrooming in almost every city, town and village, are providing "misplaced and misconceived religious education", and are receiving funds from Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as assistance from terror outfits.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board spokesperson Khalilur Rehman Sajjad Nomani has accused Rizvi of insulting madarsas. The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has served a legal notice on Rizvi for "defaming" madarsas, and has sought a written apology and Rs 20 crore in damages.

Rizvi had in October met spiritual preacher Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who was trying to mediate a settlement to the Ayodhya dispute, and told him the Shia waqf board supported a Ram temple but not any mosque at the disputed site. He had said the board was drafting the terms of a mutual agreement.

Rizvi had added that Ayodhya had enough mosques for its Muslim population and if a new mosque had to be built, it should come up "elsewhere in a Muslim-populated area". He has also supported the BJP government's move to ban the instant talaq. PTI