By MM Special Correspondent,
New Delhi: Beef exporter Sirajuddin Quraishi came under fire from several quarters following the exposure of ‘cleanliness drive’ at the Indian Islamic Culture Center as a report claimed that garbage was purposefully dumped there for a photo opportunity. Accusing him of ‘misusing’ the Indian Islamic Culture Center for advancing his political fortunes, a host of IICC members on Friday demanded that he should step down from the presidentship of the Center immediately. They said even Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay has made it clear that he was invited by India Islamic Culture Centre for the event and he was not aware about garbage being dumped deliberately.
The exposure caused a huge embarrassment to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s much-publicized ‘Swachh Bharat campaign when it showed Upadhyay, former AAP leader Shazia Ilmi, Siraj Quraishi and a few others wielding the brooms for the cleaning in front of the otherwise-cleaned India Islamic Centre in the posh Lodhi Estate area on Wednesday as political rivals took pot shots at BJP over the event.
Quraishi, who has been cozying up to BJP after Modi came to power at the Center, is also facing all-round attack from members and community leaders. While condemning the incident, the Aligarh-based Forum for Muslim Studies and Analysis (FMSA) has said the Center has become the hub of unwanted activities. It demanded that Siraj Quraishi should be removed from the president’s post for restoring the character of the Islamic Center. IICC member Jasim Mohammad said for achieving his personal goals, Siraj Quraishi has been indulging in undesirable activities that dented the image of the Islamic Center. He also alleged that Siraj Quraishi has turned the IICC into his beef export office.
Another member of IICC and former professor of Aligarh Muslim University, Farhat Ali Khan said in Quraishi’s presidentship not a single positive work has been done and following this highly deplorable incident Quraishi must tender his resignation on moral ground as BJP leader also admitted that he was not aware such thing was being done.
Mrs. Saba Khan, who is also the member of IICC, said that the way Sirajuddin Quraishi has misguided the government as well public has no parallel in the political history of India. She said that if he is really serious about Modi mission then he should visit Muslim localities of Delhi and undertake cleanliness drive without any publicity. Echoing her views, another member Ms. Nikhat Parveen said by doing such gimmick, Sirajuddin Quraishi has been trying to win some brownie points from the Modi government.
One Delhi-based member of the IICC told Muslim Mirror on condition of anonymity that Quraishi always holds a soft-corner for the BJP, he even wanted to contest parliamentary election on the BJP ticket from Delhi but did not get nod from the party leadership. He pointed that Quraishi was the first person from the community who went all along to congratulate Modi when he became prime minister of the country. “Disregarding the sentiments of the community, Quraishi even dared to invite Modi to the Islamic Center,” he added. It is said that he wanted to hold a grand reception in honour of Modi in the Center but the PM did not agree for this. Vouching this, a office-bearer of the Center on condition of not disclosing his identity told Muslim Mirror that after failing to invite him, Quriashi sent another ‘messenger’ to convince Modi for attending reception at the Islamic Center.
Now Quraishi’s publicity-stunt has been exposed who was made as one of the ambassadors of ‘Swachh Bharat mission as photographs showed on Thursday that sanitation workers brought garbage on a trolley and littered the pavement allegedly sometime before Upadhyay, Ilmi and others posed for the shutterbugs.
After facing flak from political circles over the incident, Ilmi distanced herself from the event as she tweeted that “I regret accepting that invitation that’s that! Swach Bharat is a great mission and one should not allow rotten apples to spoil a good mission”. However, no clarification came from the IICC president yet in this sordid episode.
I feel pained the way the people react to a lapse on the part of somebody just because they have old scores to settle with him. This is the common problem of all Muslims. I find all the major Muslim leaders spouting venom against each other. “Swachhta Abhiyaan”, even if it is a Modi government campaign is a good drive even if there are loopholes in the way it is being pursued. There was absolutely nothing wrong in joining the movement. It however seems that something wrong has happened the way his team planned the event. But to make it an issue like this is deplorable. Mr Qureshi has done a lot for the community. I have no hesitation to admit that without his support, my monumental works like “Muslim Vision of Secular India: Destination & Roadmap”, “Muslims Most Civilised, yet Not Enough” and “Quranic Paradigms of Sciences & Society” could not have perhaps materialized. Of course, he has his business interests also, which are perfectly justified. He maintains good relations with all the governments, whichever the party; and I feel there should be some people who can get a few things done by BJP government for Muslim community. If there is no pressure, Modi and his team may have free hand in doing whatever he likes. A policy of confrontation as well as persuasion in tandem produces better results rather than an all-out confrontation. However, Mr Qureshi will be advised to keep away from BJP as a political party, and instead keep channels of negotiations open only with the BJP ministers. In public programmes, ministers can be invited but BJP party post holders should be avoided.
If IICC wished, my “Muslim Vision” document could have been implemented by it. But unfortunately, the IICC members do not have the kind of vision which is required to empower the community, and are more interested in individualized attacks against one another. They should come out of this habit. I will also advise “Muslim Mirror” not to give importance to the news items that discuss the individuals rather than issues.
I do not agree with those who accuse Mr Qureshi of having political ambitions. I tried many a time to convince him to at least have a seat in Rajya Sabha. But he has always flatly refused the idea. And if he joins politics, it is his prerogative. Why should anyone have objections to it?
It is not just at IICC that the event was organised like this. I am sure similar things have happened in many such campaigns. It is only that, thanks to the “well-wishers” this surfaced in the IICC event.
By getting your books published Mr. Quraishi has done a disservice to the community. Your books and ideas are regressive and are quite harmful for the community. Most of the times you writings are obsessed with sex and in the garb of Islam only talk about curtailing and taking away whatever has been given to the fairer sex.
Would you have been having the same views about him, had he not been instrumental in getting your books published.
Many people do not know that Siraj Qureshi’s wife is a Hindu lady who is a long time member of BJP. That is how Qureshi has had close contacts with Delhi state BJP leaders for a long time. Qureshi should declare that he is an admirer of BJP and then contest the presidentship of the Islamic Center. He should not fool members of the community and the Center.
My wife too is a muslim, and I am hindu.. I never asked her to convert her religion.. what if my friends talk about her the way you talking about Siraj Qureshi’s wife
Your wife religion does not matter but belongs to BJP ? party matters not the religion ! understood ? so don’t come in discussion with trisul ?
Zameer @Hari Chaddi
Party does not matter religion matters. First learn to follow the tenets of Islam and then speak about religion. Don’t come here with a tasbeeh….. and poke your nose in matters which you don’t understand. Understood Mr. Hari Chaddi
Today there is no mean of Islamic culture center, who is listen them, they are some rich muslim who is sitting inside like handicap. Its just a fun on the name of islamic culture, where is the influnce of Delhi Islamic culture center?
He married a Hindu girl when he was young. As far as I know, she converted to Islam, and is a practicing Muslim.
He invites all ministers, prime ministers and chief ministers of Delhi irrespective of the parties. I authored “Muslim Vision of Secular India” on the advice of Mr. K Rahman Khan and Mr Qureshi. At the time of its release ceremony, organised by Mr. Qureshi, both Mr Khan and Mr Salman Khurshid were present. In the release ceremony of my book, “Muslims Most Civilised..”, he invited Mr Digvijay Singh, Mr Rahman Khan, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar and Maulana Mahmud Madani as guests. He held a function for Mr Tariq Anwar of NCP and Mr. Arvind Kejriwal when he became Chief Minister. Where is then the room for objections? IICC is an intellectual and social, not a political institution, and it is ideal for IICC not to discriminate between various governments on the ground of the parties they belong to.
As far as his alleged links with BJP are concerned, his opponents have made it a major issue in both the elections of IICC which he fought and won with a thumping majority. If he won, it was because the members saw in him more strengths than weaknesses compared to his opponents.
Muslims must keep a close watch on the actions of BJP, confronting it on communal issues and trying to negotiate with it on the issues related to empowerment of Muslims. An all-out confrontation at this stage is not desirable. Muslims must however caste their votes judiciously whenever there are elections so that the best candidates may win.
Nazeer,
You appear to be a typical liberalist not believing in religion, believing in Western concepts of freedom, which do nothing but spread all kinds of corruption. Dr. Jamil’s support for Mr Qureshi may have been influenced by Mr Qureshi’s support for his works, but to call his writings “regressive” shows your own lack of vision. He is surely one of the most powerful Islamic thinkers of the current world who has taken modern ideologies of godlessness and moral corruption head-on. He has shown how the forces of economics have exploited the human weaknesses. Rather than acknowledging his services to Islam and Muslims, you are trying to put blame on him. This shows where you stand.
Mr. Abdur Rab,
I don’t know Mr. Javed Jamil but I know Aligarh well as I have studied there. There are plethora of so called intellectuals hailing from western UP or Northern Bihar. Most of them have never seen or been to school along with girls and tend to develop regressive thoughts.
A true intellectual and visionary must know when and where to hit. Denouncing the west and their entire system has already ruined the musilms. Prior to him the flag bearers of his thought were the ulemas of Deoband. We must understand that we are living in a world created by Allah, but the present shape of this world has been given by the people whom we are denouncing. This UNO, medical sciences, law school, history, anthropolgy and any international body or institution are a handiwork of them. It’s not possible to turn the clock back now, better blame our ancestors of doing nothing when others were shaping the world. Sir Syed pointed out this flaw in the thinking of the muslims in the aftermath of the revolt of 1857. He was a proponent of working along with the people in power, the Britishers rather than treating them as enemies. The situation is the same today. You may speak bad about sending your children to a co ed school, but u cannot escape their exposure to the outside world. We must accept that we don’t have an alternative system to replace the existing one, just by saying that Islam is the most complete system does not serve the purpose. Islam does give a complete system but we don’t have or had people who interpreted it rightly or can interpret it rightly even today and the entire world be in chaos just like the Arab World or the other muslim world like Pakistan or Afghanistan. We are busy burning people in brick furnaces and cutting heads of fellow muslims and they are spending their time and money in R&D’s and then we want them to stoop to our level rather than ourselves going up. We have been deceived enough by the so called intellectuals of the community. We don’t want intellectuals and their dead ideas and philosophy anymore. Mr. Javed Jamil and his next generation has a secure future in Aligarh, but for people like us there is a reason to worry.
Dr Javed Jamil’s ideas are very harmful for Muslims at large. It will have the effect of isolating Muslims from the world and get them confined to ghettos. His bitter opposition of everything that is western and blaming western countries for everey ill in society is most reactionary and harmful. Unfortunately he is exploiting the feelings of Muslims by making a bogey of the West. His ideas about denying Muslim women equal rights in society is most harmful. Going back to 1987 when he lived in Saharanpur, he worked hard to get the Shah Bano legislation (that denied Muslim women the right to receive alimony from their husbands who divorce them ) passed in the parliament. At the same time his penchant for publicity is boundless. So many people write books and articles but they do not praise themselves for it. But Dr Jamil is always talking about himself. Even in this exchange of comments he is publicising his articles. He claims to be working to help Muslims yet he is not shy of praising BJP and BJP members. People are criticising Siraj Qureshi because he is exploiting the Islamic Center to get publicity for himself and to become a close friend of BJP big shots including Modi, to get BJP ticket in election and to promote his business and increase his wealth. The Muslim community dislikes BJP simply because in all these years BJP has always opposed giving Muslims equal rights and equal space in society. Siraj Qureshi is a double faced personality; he pretends to be a sympathizer of Muslims and also a sympathizer of those who harm Muslims (eg BJP). In this instance he enacted a drama to get some trash dumped infront of the Islamic Center and then invited BJP leaders to come clean it. But Dr Jamil finds nothing wrong in this very unprincipled trick or in being a sympathizer of BJP. He is praising Siraj Qureshi simly because he helped promote his books and invited some VIPs to that event. In his articles sometimes Dr Jamil criticises Bjp and Modi and sometimes he praises them. Surely neither Mr Quraishi nor Dr Jamil can play it both ways. My objection is not to Qureshi having a Hindu wife; my problem is his pro-BJP sympathies and his doublefaced tricks.
I found no reason for seeking resignation from the person for wielding broom – a much-publicised event – but the man indeed owe a clarification to the community. That, as the writer mentioned in his article, Mr Sirajuddin Querishi was seeking a ticket from BJP. If it is really so, he should come out and made his position clear in black and white. By the the informative piece has exposed Mr Qureishi.
Mr Kawaja
Everybody who is a member of few internet forums knows your hatred for me because you want nobody to be admired except you. You are in habit of attacking individuals rather than sticking to the issues. When I wrote that series of articles on how West uses its economic and political ideology to control the world and is killing millions of Muslims in the name of “war against terror” you were having sleepless nights because living in America and overawed by Westernism you cannot hear anything against West.
Nobody has perhaps written as much against BJP during last one year as I have. The archives of MuslimMirror will certify that. But it does not mean that we can condemn every positive thing if it comes from an enemy. Modi needs to be criticised for his sell-out to corportaes and for his tacit support to communal elements in his party but not for cleanliness drive. And what is deplorable is that in the garb of attacking BJP, people start attacking individuals they love to hate.
Mr. Nazeer, I have taken a strong stand against alcohol, gambling, prostitution, promiscuity, homosexuality, pornography, abortions, rapes. If you call this retrogressive you are entitled to your viewpoint. But I will continue to speak against practices that are forbidden in Islam and kill tens of millions of people.
Anyway, I hate discussing individuals. It is my last intervention on the subject.
Mr Javed Jamil,
Only a fool would be promoting or standing for the vices you mentioned above.
Just criticizing the west for these vices will not help.
Do not be like KEJRIWAL and start criticizing the system, give a workable, practical and feasible alternative system.
Well said Sir, critisize is easier than ammend. Some of our people blv that development is earning money and and life style should easy way, any way you are doing good job no cirtifate required from guys like Mr. Nazeer its just only by name muslim but actually he is fully western mind.
It is painful to see that some people have switched the debate from Sirajuddin Qureshi to Javed Jamil. Dr. Jamil is a hard-hitting writer. The West sympathisers, communalists and Islam haters will obviously hate him. I dont know Mr Kawaja is against Qureshi on account of Jamil or against Jamil on account of Qureshi, or he is simply in habit of targeting individuals.
Controversy again !
By the way can ‘Muslim Mirror’ help readers to know the truth behind the issue, instead of just targeting the individuals.
Some very basic questions :
– Who asked the NDMC guy to bring the garbage and scatter ?
– Was the guy really form NDMC or somebody else ?
I do not think its difficult to investigate and find the facts, if some genuine efforts are made.
If IICC officials have really planned the event this way, its shameful but I am sure Mr. Serajuddin himself would not have aware of such gimmics.
There could be some conspiracy to defame IICC and its president. Lets investigate instead of blaming each other.
May Allah bless and enlighten us all.
It was a whole managed matter. The representative of Muslim Mirror was present there at the time of event .Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay was supposed to come at 4;30 pm but the media persons had come there at 3: 30, while Mr Satish Upadhyay got in only at 5: 30 pm. All were waiting for him. When the IICCstaff were informed at 5:20 pm that Satish Upadhyay had left for IICC, Mr Seraj Uddin Quraishi arrived near the garbage in hurry and ordered himself to NDMC men to scatter the garbage on the ground immediately as Satish Upadhyay would be inside the Center in a few minutes. Admin Muslim Mirror
Serajuddin Quraishi has become an undeclared owner of IICC. IICC has turned into a hub of commission agents and Mafias. Individuals must not overshadow the characters and aim of INSTITUTIONS .
Mr.Sirajuddin Qureshi is simply a good business man who will do what is right to make money and to maintain a high image of himself as a good Muslim, who is working for the up-liftment of the community. This is far from the truth as exposed by his cheap stunts by ‘misusing’ the Indian Islamic Culture Center for advancing his political fortunes and to garner the political support of any government to improve his business interest for licensing the massive illegal slaughter of cows in his slaughter houses. It is my personal opinion that he is actually a corrupt man who will go to any length to secure business and also capable of playing the Muslim card to his best advantage.
It will be easier to understand him if you look at his recent ventures to acquire slaughter houses in different parts of India. He has recently taken over the slaughter house in Chennai using every illegal and manipulative methods possible and thousands of Muslim families that depend on this industry are now up in arms against Mr.Sirajuddin Qureshi. While thousand of these families wanted a modern slaughter house for their own use, they were in turn cheated and now a missive export slaughter house in ready for taking up the export of beef in Chennai city. This unit in the heart of Chennai is spread over 10acres of land, worth 100s of crores and is now as good as the private property of Mr.Sirajuddin Qureshi. The butchers largely belonging to the minority community are now trying desperately approaching the court to regain their right. Inshah Allah! they could possibly win against the massive financial clout, official might and political support that is in favor of Mr.Sirajuddin Qureshi. Naturally, any political patronage at this juncture to control the entire beef export of India will require the blessing of BJP which seems to like Mr.Sirajuddin Qureshi as its own. Don’t be surprised if he joins BJP. Best wishes to the butchers of Chennai for their fight against the Goliath.
Sirajuddin Qureshi is a professional cheater and a habitual offender. Mr. Sirajuddin Qureshi is a self-claimed president of All India Jamiatul Quresh and is involved in several criminal activities with his wife Kiran and known for running Beef Mafia, Money Laundering, committed financial fraud of 100’s of crores to several nationalised banks of our country, criminal cases of financial fraud registered by CBI and ED . His son-in-law Navneet Kalra is involved in hoarding of lifesaving machines for selling in the black-market targeting dying patients during a crucial period of Covid-19 when every human being in the world was supporting each other to fight against the devastating killer. Other criminal cases were also booked against his son Sameer and 37 of his associates against the slaughterhouses in Aligarh. A case in Cr. No. 221 of 2021 has also been registered for an offence u/s 506 of Indian Penal Code at Nampally Police Station of Hyderabad for arranging shooters to kill FAHEEM QURESHI National President of All India Jamiatul Quresh Action Committee.
Butcher’s Organisations banned Sirajuddin Qureshi in number of states in India to visit and address for collecting funds for his illegal organization.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx8amgqq0z8
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/cbi-raids-five-locations-in-delhi-aligarh-in-bank-fraud-case-1715931-2020-08-27
https://theprint.in/india/delhi-court-rejects-cbis-closure-report-in-rs-222-cr-corruption-case-against-meat-exporter/1396671/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCqGogsK228
https://www.amarujala.com/uttar-pradesh/aligarh/aligarh-slaughterhouse-found-running-illegally-in-hind-agro-industries-37-arrested-city-office-news-ali292096195
https://www.siasat.com/ahead-of-iicc-meeting-demand-for-suspension-of-sirajuddins-membership-raised-2591266/
https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/delhi/story/navneet-kalra-chattarpur-farmhouse-family-delhi-police-raid-1800519-2021-05-09
https://www.thequint.com/news/law/oxygen-black-marketing-naveent-kalra-remanded-to-police-custody
https://zeenews.india.com/india/oxygen-concentrator-hoarding-ed-raids-khan-chacha-owner-navneet-kalras-residence-others-2363466.html