In an uncanny apology, radical Maulvi Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui has cried foul after he was caught on tape, pleading Allah to send a virus to kill 50 crore Indians. He read his apology from a sheet of paper while remaining visually remorseless and unregretful about his contentious comments. Siddiqui began by claiming that he was quoted out of context. He then alleged that his video was edited by some miscreants in a bid to defame him.

In an attempt to water down the vitriol that he spewed earlier, Siddiqui went on to say that he respected “India’s secularism” and that he had worked for the people, irrespective of religion and caste. He also added that he was a ‘social reformer’ and that he always prayed for the ‘well-being of the people.’ Moreover, in an apparent U-turn, he conceded that people cutting across all races, castes, and religions must be united together to fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus. Following that, he went about explaining his alleged ‘goodness’ and acts of ‘philanthropy.’ Siddiqui said that he had contributed ₹1,00,001 to the Chief Minister’s relief fund and had distributed food grains and other essential materials to the poor, downtrodden, and the marginalised.

Towards the end of the video, he put forth an apology where he did not seem particularly remorseful, “My objective was not to hurt anyone’s feelings. If anyone is grieved by what I said then I would like to apologize. As an Islamic preacher, I am obliged to not hurt anyone.”

In an earlier video referring to the Delhi Anti-Hindu riots, the Maulvi remarked, “Recently I have got the news that mosques are being set on fire, mosques are being burnt for the last two days. I think something is going to happen within a month. May Allah accept our prayers. May Allah send such a terrible virus to India that ten to twenty to fifty crore people die in India. Am I saying something wrong? It is absolutely blissful.” After that, the crowd present there applauded the Maulvi’s statement.

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This is not the first time when Indian Mullahs have resorted to hate speech and threatened harm to the country for the sake of Allah. Earlier, the Nashik rural police had taken to Twitter to inform that a Muslim man, whose video of licking and wiping nose with a bunch of currency notes and calling Coronavirus a punishment by Allah was doing rounds on social media, had been identified and was in the police custody.

Recently, a video of a Muslim cleric and a member of the Tablighi Jamaat warning media not to report against the Islamic organisation has surfaced on social media. The video of the Tablighi Jamaat member where he threatens the media was released by Maulana Mahfooz Ur Rahman, the Tahaffuz-E-Deen India. “If you interview any Jamaat member…you will find out he used to be a big-time criminal…if these people come to their asalaiyat (reality), you will be in a lot of trouble. I want to warn you, I want to tell the media”, he warned.