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Hindus Arrested For Burning Qur'an
WASHINGTON, March 15 (IslamOnline) - After initial denials that the incident ever happened, New Delhi police arrested two Bajrang Dal activists for burning a copy of The Holy Qur'an while demonstrating against the Taliban on March 5th.
Robin Sharma and an individual known as Jagdeep were arrested Wednesday, reports the Press Trust of India.
Their act was captured by a Reuters photographer and was reported in several international news agencies, including IslamOnline. But the Indian government, police, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, initially denied the event occurred.
After a wave of violent protests from Muslims condemning the incident, the Indian government seems to have acknowledged that the incident did in fact occur.
The two Bajrang Dal activists have been remanded into police custody for a day and have been charged with desecrating religious texts.
Their arrests came soon after a delegation of prominent Muslim leaders including Shahi Imam Ahmed Bukhari and Maulana Obaidullah Khan Azmi demanded that strong action be taken against the perpetrators of this crime.
Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, meanwhile, called for a general strike in Kashmir on Friday to protest the burning. He also urged Muslims around the world to organize peaceful protests in conjunction with the strike.
Speaking at a press conference in Srinagar, the senior Jamaat-i-Islami, leader said, "The Indian media chose to black out the incident, as the government did not intervene or take follow-up action."
Geelani, who was recently elected to the Rabita Aalam-e-Islami (Muslim World League) said, "Since I have recently been elected to the executive council of the Rabita Aalam-e-Islami, I express my deep concern over the sacrilege and condemn it [in my official capacity].
"I appeal to people across the Muslim world to organize peaceful demonstrations on Friday and register their protest against this shameful incident and observe a complete strike," he added.
Meanwhile, more disturbing incidents concerning burnings and desecrations of the Qur'an were reported from Hyderabad.
A burned copy of the holy scripture was found in the city's Baaghe Aam Shahi Masjid, located in the compound of the state's legislative assembly. Police later arrested an elderly homeless Muslim woman for the incident, claiming she was mentally retarded.
The police claimed that the woman, who used to sleep on mosque premises during the night, said her name disappeared from the Qur'an.
State legislators from Majlis Ittehad ul Muslimeen, however doubted police claims and said they are unjustly blaming an old woman, claiming police did this because they do not want to go after the real perpetrators of the crime.
Majlis leader Akbaruddin Owaisi said police are trying to cover up the act in order to save the face of the government. He said that a fireworks company in the twin city of Secunderabad also desecrated the Qur'an by using pages from it in firecrackers, and demanded strong action from the government.
Syed Sajjad, member of the Legislative Assembly, said that Muslims would not tolerate these desecrations, stating there will be no compromise in this regard.
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