The controversial Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan mosque, Noor-ur Rahman Barkati, who once threatened to ostracise and beat up Muslims if they joined RSS and BJP, was on Wednesday sacked from his post for allegedly making anti-national statements and 'misusing' his position.

Barkati, however, refused to step down, asserting, "Nobody has the right to remove me". "We have sent him the notice of termination and he has been asked to vacate the office room allotted to him. We have asked his deputy to conduct prayers and we will appoint a new imam very soon," Prince Ghulam Ahmed Wakf Estate trustee Arif Ahmed told reporters.

"We have removed him as the imam of the mosque for his anti-national statements. We never expect an imam, who is a religious person, to cross his line and misuse his post," he said. Ahmed said, "Barkati had shown disrespect to our national leaders and he was using the mosque for political purpose, and for his own financial gains. He was cautioned earlier for his activities.”

Barkati has made a habit of saying controversial things including the time in 2011 when he had held a special prayer for Osama Bin Laden and also for attacking Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen.

Who is Barkati?

Barkati has been constantly in the news for the last couple of months. Recently, he refused to remove his red beacon saying; “ I am a religious leader and I have been using the red beacon for decades. I do not follow the orders of the Centre. Who are they to order me? In Bengal, only the orders of the state government are effective. I will use the red beacon," he had asserted.

Earlier, he had attacked PM Modi over demonetization when he said: “Barkati had earlier attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetization, saying, "Every day people are harassed and face problem due to demonetization....Modi is bluffing the society and the innocent people of the country through demonetisation and nobody wants him to continue as PM."

He had also offered money to anyone who would cut Modi’s beard and once famously played his misogynistic credentials by blaming short dress for rape. He had said that "boys get excited on seeing girls in short dresses". "Girls these days wear too short dresses and very revealing shirts. We are not stopping them from wearing dresses but, they should avoid wearing short clothes to save themselves from the lust of men," Barkati told ANI.

Barkati has been the Shahi Imam of Kolkata’s famous Tipu Sultan Mosque for 30 years and inherited the post from his father. Known as the ‘Lal Batti Imam’, he was close to Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and critics often attack Banerjee over their relationship.

Barkati has often been in the news and he was in fact, castigated for allowing Didi to tie a rakhi on his hand in 1999. It was a deemed an un-Islamic act. He was also criticised for supporting Mamata who was on good terms with the BJP and part of the NDA. He was also one of the most vocal voices against Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, offering Rs 50,000 to anyone who would ‘blacken her face’.

He also launched a verbal attack on a TV channel in 2013 for trying to launch her show. He had told HT: “She is from Bangladesh and should restrict her activities to that country. She should not do such things that could lead to communal discord here.” His darkest moment came in 2011, when he held a Friday prayer for the ‘peace of the soul’ of terrorist Osama Bin Laden. The prayer meet was attended by over 5000 people.

All-India Minority Forum president Idris Ali and current TMC MP Idris Ali had justified the move by saying: “The special prayer was held as Laden was not given a proper burial and his bullet-riddled body was thrown into the sea in total disrespect of Islam. It was held for the peace of his soul.”

There were placards at the prayer meet reading ’Disrespect to Holy Quran is intolerable’, he said. He also said in 2014, that Muslims ruled India for a thousand years but they never made Hindus slaves. He said: "You must understand we ruled Hindustan for 1,000 years. But we never made Hindus slaves here, like the British did. We want to live in harmony now."

When Dilip Ghosh, the BJP Bengal’s vocal president suggested that Mamata be ‘pulled by her hair’ for speaking against demonetization, he said: Mera fatwa hai ki usko pathar marke Bangal se nikalna chahiye (My fatwa is that he should be pelted with stones and thrown out of Bengal.”

Barkati’s statements have often proven embarrassing for Muslims and other religious scholars who have slammed him. When he issued the fatwa against PM Modi, TMC MLA Siddiqullah Chowdhury said: “He is immature and has said these to be in the news. The statement has been made in bad taste and he has insulted the high chair of an imam.”

Different Muslim organisations too came down heavily against Barkati. Md Nooruddin, President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, said that the comments were dangerous and would help those who had indulged in polarisation politics. “An imam should be balanced in his views. He may have his political suggestions but he should not be issuing any fatwa like this. This will damage the reputation of Muslims and BJP will reap political dividend from it,” he told DNA.

Md Kamruzaman, general secretary of All Bengal Minority Youth Federation said: “Imams from other districts have called me, expressing their concern and discomfort. They said they were feeling insulted. He is a religious leader and should not get into the political tug of war. The Prime Minister has been democratically elected and we must respect the chair,” he said.

It looks like Barkati’s days of making loaded statements, at least as the Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque, are over.