More than 120 Muslim scholars from the UK have sent Prime Minister Narendra Modi an open letter calling for an immediate end to India’s lockdown of occupied Kashmir.
The letter which was sent to the Indian High Commission in London earlier this week began by stating:
“This is an Open Letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, from the British Muslim Society of Scholars and Supporters. We are writing this letter so we can awaken human conscience to the suffering and plight of the Kashmiri people. The consequences of Mr Modi’s actions are grave indeed, and carry within them the possibility of huge loss of innocent lives, not just in the immediate theatre of conflict but far beyond. Great leaders have always been the ones who can find solutions to the most difficult situations, not those who create greater problems from situations they inherit, without doubt wisdom is the inheritance of the wise, and only the humble benefit from it. We advise you, dear reader, to read this letter with an open mind and heart, and evaluate the actions of the Indian state and their consequences for the wider human family, there’s no doubt that every soul shall return to his creator, and will be held accountable for what they sowed on earth.”
The letter went onto state:
“Dear Prime Minister Modi,
“We the undersigned, write to you following your unilateral revocation of articles 370 and 35A of the
“Indian Constitution, and the subsequent curfew banning phone, internet and free movement of the Kashmiri people and the arrest of all Kashmiri leadership. We are also cognisant of the Genocide alert issued by Dr. Gregory H. Stanton, Founder and President of Genocide Watch, on 15th August 2019, alerting the United Nations and its members that “Genocide Watch’s Ten Stages of the genocidal process are also far advanced”, in the case of Indian occupied Kashmir. We therefore demand that you:
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- Outline a timetable for an immediate implementation of the United Nations resolution no.47, adopted by the Security Council on April 21, 1948. The basic formula for settlement was incorporated in the later resolutions. The provisions for these were negotiated thoroughly, through discussions under the auspices of U.N. Commission on India and Pakistan (UNCIP), and only after the consent of India and Pakistan, were these adopted by the U.N. Security Council. We remind you that it was Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India in 1948 who had sought the involvement of the United Nations. He had subsequently acknowledged the right of the Kashmiri people to determine their own destiny by stating in a report to the All India Congress Committee on July 6, 1951, ‘Kashmir has been wrongly looked upon as a prize for India or Pakistan. People seem to forget that Kashmir is not a commodity for sale or to be bartered. It has an individual existence and its people must be the final arbiters of their future.’ We ask you therefore to implement the promises made to the Kashmiri people for their right to determine their destiny through a plebiscite. We remind you to take heed of Mahatma Gandhi’s wise words, ‘the evolution of democracy is not possible if we are not prepared to hear the other side.’
- Ensure the immediate lifting of the curfew imposed on the Kashmiri people on 5th August 2019, thereby allowing them the right to telecommunications, internet, transport and free movement.
- Allow access to international media and allow Kashmiri leadership to travel freely within and outside Kashmir.
- Establish an independent Human Rights tribunal to investigate crimes against humanity – the mass rape, torture, disappeared persons, mass graves and extrajudicial killings by Indian army and paramilitary forces in occupied Kashmir.
“We wish to remind you that the path of hatred, division and violence that you have chosen for
“India will not end well. Here we quote the inaugural holder of the seat you represent, Jawaharlal Nehru, who stated …’those who choose the path of violence have no faith in democracy. If their way were to prevail, there would be complete chaos in the country and the conditions of the people would deteriorate even more.’ His words are prescient in the light of your actions in Kashmir and your dealings with Indians of minority faiths.
“We remind you of the words of Mahatma Gandhi, ‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.’ It is as if the Kashmiri peoples struggle of over 70 years for justice, dignity and self-determination, is in their final stage leading to freedom.
“We stand for justice and dignity of all human beings and share with you words of the Holy Qur’an, which states:
“O Believers! Be steadfast in standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice; and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. But be just – that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is acquainted with what you do.” [Surah al Maa’idah: 8]
We pray that you will take heed and stop the injustice you are inflicting upon the Kashmiri people and other minorities within India.”
Signatories:
- Allamah Syed Shamsul Arifeen Shah, London
- Molana Mohammed Irfan Mujaddidi, London
- Imam Sudagar Hussain, Bradford
- Shaykh Noorud-Deen Rashid, Luton
- Shaykh Bilal Brown, Oldham
- Shaykh Asrar Rashid, Birmingham
- Molana Hafiz Mohammed Nisar Yaqoob, Oxford
- Imam Tasadduq H Siddiquie, Banbury
- Muftī Liaquat Zaman, Birmingham
- Shaykh Ismaeel De Silva, London
- Shaykh Shoaib Ahmed Mirpuri, Banbury
- Mufti Muhammad Maroof Subhani, Bolton
- Ustad Adeel Saeed, Bradford
- Imam Muhammad Hassnain Raza, Birmingham
- Shaykh Ahmed Tijani Ben Omar, USA
- Molana Hafiz Ehsan Qadiri, Sri Lanka
- Imam Wazir Noshahi, Banbury
- Imam Muhammed Asim Chishti, Birmingham
- Khwaja Sufi Abdul Razzaq Naqshbandi Aslami, Glasgow
- Molana Hadrat Muhammed Yusaf, Coventry
- Shaykh Muhammad Umar Ibn Ramadhan,
- Shaykh Peer Imran Abdali, Birmingham
- Shaykh Shahid Ali, Bradford
- Hazrat Khwaja Sufi Nur Muhammad Naqshbandi Aslami, Ashton Under Lyne
- Hazrat Allamah Maulana Shahbaz Ahmed Naqshbandi Aslami, Ashton Under Lyne
- Hazrat Maulana Junaid Shadpuri Naqshbandi Aslami, Blackburn
- Shaykh Rizwan Hussain Al-Azhari,
- Shaykh Muhammad Yaseen, Birmingham
- Mohammed Nabeel Afzal Qadri, Coventry
- Sufi Junaid Akhtar Naqshbandi, Birmingham
- Moulana Qazi Abid Naqshbandi, Bradford
- Imam Khalid Hussain, Leicester
- Imam Mohammed Umar Nawaz, Cardiff
- Shaykh Hassan Rabbani, Glasgow
- Allamah Shabir Hussain Rabbani, Glasgow
- Moulana Muhammad Faysal Yaqoob, Oldham
- Imam Ijaz Ahmad Shaami, Dudley
- Allama Hafiz Anayat Ali, Dudley
- Allama Hafiz Aziz Ur Rehman, Dudley
- Dr Ustaadh Shazad Khan, Leeds
- Imam Muhammad Ali Tanveer, Southampton
- Shaykh Ahmad Dabbagh, Ashton
- Imam Sadaqat Hussain, Sheffield
- Imam Hafiz Mohammed Jamil, Aylesbury
- Imam Gul Muhammad, Jamia Al Karam Retford
- Imam Adil Shahzad, Bradford
- Hafidh Gulam Sardar Qadri, Keighley
- Qari Abdul Rashid Naqashbandi Sidiqui, Dudley
- Hafiz Abdul Qadir Rizvi, Dudley
- Imam Mohammed Hammad, Coventry
- Allama Hafiz Zia Rasool, Peterborough
- Imam Hafiz Muhammad Usman Jhangir, Peterborough
- Sahibzada Pir Ahmed Raza Gaznavi Niarvi, Keighley
- Shaykh Mansoor Mahmood Al-Azhari, Kirkcaldy Scotland
- Imam Yousaf Qamar, Dudley
- Allamah Hafiz Anwar Qamar, Dudley
- Maulana Muhammad Waleed, Walsall
- Mawlana Shazad Ahmad Qadri, Bury
- Imam Atiq Hussain Qadri, Oldham
- Allama Hafiz Rafiq Chisiti, Birmingham
- Allama Hafiz Aslam Khan, Stockton On Tees
- Mawlana Hasan Nizami, Blackburn
- Mawlana Ansir Qadri Jillani, Manchester
- Mufti Muhammad Khan Qadri, Trustee Markazi Jamati Ahli Sunnat UK And Overseas
- Molana Saleem Qadri, Southampton
- Molana Mahboob Hussain, Jamia Al Karam Retford
- Allama Qazi Abdul Aziz Chishti, Luton
- Syed Ahmed Hussain Tirmizi, Halifax
- Allama Farooq Ahmed Chishti, Birmingham
- Allama Sahibzada Barkat Ahmed Chishti, Birmingham
- Sahibzada Zia Ul Mustafa, Luton
- Ustad Muhamamd Amar, Hownslow
- Allama Hasan Akhtar Al Azhar, Bedford
- Allama Hamid Qudoos Hashmi, Oldbury
- Imam Hafiz Muhammad Aqeel, Birmingham
- Imam Amar Hafiz, Rotherham
- Imam Summon Hussain, Reading
- Muhammad Hassnain Raza, Birmingham
- Hafiz Niaz Ahmad Siddiqee, Birmingham
- Imam Muhammad Husnain Al-Bakri As-Siddiqi, Chesham
- Mawlana Haroon Raza, Birmingham
- Sahibzada Pir Syed Hafiz Muhammad Haider Tirmezi, Halifax
- Allama Hafiz Qari Abdul Rasool Haqani, Manchester
- Imam Imran Muhammad, Bolton
- Imam Abbas Ashra, Leicester
- Allama Atif Jabbar Hadrey, Oldbury
- Allama Mohammed Ramzan Fazie, Dudley
- Imam Irfan Chishti, Rochdale (Jamia Chashtiah Masjid)
- Shaykh Abu Waleed, Oldham
- Hafiz Arshad Mahmood, Oldham
- Allama Pir Syed Ghulam Dastagir Shah, Halifax
- Allama Mufti Abdul Samee Sahib, Halifax
- Allama Hafiz Sharafat Sultani Sahib, Bradford
- Qari Muhammad Bilal, Oldham
- Molana Raja Inam Ul Haq, London
- Moulana Sayed Imraan Shah Ziyaee, South Africa
- Imam Muhammad Mubashir Iqbal, Rochdale
- Shaykh Amjad Mahmood, Birmingham
- Shaykh Mohammed Naveed Ashrafi, Blackburn Mufti Abdul Qadeer, Peterborough
- Mufti Mahmood Akhtar Alvi, Peterborough
- Allama Hafiz Musaddaq Shaheen, Peterborough
- Imam Qari Muhammad Munir, Peterborough
- Hafiz Muhammad Shaffiq, Peterborough
- Hazrat Khwaja Sufi Muhammad Hanif, Luton
- Hafiz Ishtiaq Qadri, London
- Mufti Umar Khatab Sahib, Southampton
- Shaykh Tanveer Hussain, High Wycombe
- Dr Musharraf Hussain, Nottingham
- Hafiz Mazhar Hashmi, Dudley
- Imam Husnain Yaqoob, Nottingham
- Allama Ayub Chisti, Blackburn
- Shaykh Allama Syed Riaz, Brierfield
- Shaykh Mufti Aslam Bandyalvi, Bradford
- Maulana M. Hayaat R. Khan, Bradford
- Qari Shah Mohammad Noori, Birmingham
- Mufti Ansar Ul Qadri, Bradford
- Allama Mufti Saqib-Ul-Qadri Shaami, Oldham
- Allama Shaykh Syed Zafar Ullah Shah, Birmingham
- Molana Muhammad Usman, Birmingham
- Syed Tariq Shah, Birmingham
- Imam Sameer Ashraf, Bristol
- Imam Muhammad Yasir Al-Hanafi, Aylesbury
- Imam Muhammad Habibur Rahman Khan, Sheffield
- Imam Usman Saqibi, Jamia Ghosia Masjid, Blackburn
- Allama Pir Muhammad Abdul Raheem Aser, Leeds
- Sahibzada Muhammad Zeeshan Asad, Leeds
- The Right Honourable The Lord Ahmed
- Sahibzada Suhail Ahmed Qadri, Na’at Khawaan/TV Personality
