BAREILLY/PILIBHIT: A day after the UP government made video recording of Independence Day celebrations and the singing of the national anthem compulsory in all madrassas, many Muslim clerics have appealed to community members to "mark the day as patriots, but refrain from singing the national anthem or record videos as they are against Islam".

Bareilly shehr qazi Maulana Asjad Raza Khan told TOI on Saturday, "Tagore wrote the national anthem in praise of the then British King George V. According to Islam, our 'adhinayak' is god and not George. We do not disrespect national anthem but can't sing it due to our religious sentiments. Even Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh had raised objection to the national anthem."

In July 2015, Singh, at the 26th convocation ceremony of Rajasthan University, had said that Tagore, while writing the national anthem, had praised the "angrezi shaasak (English ruler)" by writing "adhinayak jaya hai". He had suggested it to be replaced by "jan gan man mangal gaye".

"According to sharia, photography and videography are un-Islamic. They are asking us to flout the sharia taught in madrassas," Khan said. He appealed to managers of madrassas to hoist the national flag, sing ‘Sare jahan se achchha Hindustan humara’, distribute sweets and remember freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives.

Pilibhit shehr mufti Maulana Jartab Raza Khan has sought CM Yogi Adityanath’s intervention in withdrawing the order. “Otherwise Muslims will be left with no other choice but to defy the diktat,” he said.

