Muslim clerics condemn scholar’s arrest

NEW DELHI - Muslim leaders Saturday condemned the arrest of an Islamic scholar after a scare on a London-bound flight when a woman passenger complained to the flight crew about his “dangerous conversation”.

Maulana Noor-ul-Huda, who runs Farooqiya Madrasa in Deoband, was on his way to London to deliver lectures when he was arrested after the woman’s complaint. He was presented in a city court Friday and granted bail.

“People wearing a kurta-pyjama with a long beard and a cap are misinterpreted by everybody as a terrorist. Before arresting him (Huda), the authorities should have checked the plane if they thought there was a possibility of a bomb blast,” said Abdul Hamid Nomani, spokesman of the Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind.

Terming it “injustice” on the part of the government, Syeed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, said: “People in this country have to pay for being a Muslim. This kind of misinterpretation and the action after it to a Muslim shows intolerance towards our community.”

Though the community is angry over this incident, they agreed that such an outlook is limited to a certain section of people irrespective of religion and they should not be encouraged.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have decided to file a closure report in this case. Delhi Police Commissioner Y.S.Dadwal told reporters Friday that it was a case of miscommunication.