Act's main aim is to break spirit of Muslims: Maulana Syed Arshad Madani

New Delhi: Maulana Syed Arshad Madani, the chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, an influential organisation of Muslim clerics, told ET on Sunday that the main aim of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was to “brand Muslims untrustworthy” and break the spirit of the community. "Not everyone without a document of proof of residence or nationality is an infiltrator. He could have been born and raised here, just like his father. This is as much his land, as it is of those who are asking him for proof," said Madani.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind will approach the court against the law on Monday, having already consulted lawyers Indira Jaisingh and Rajeev Dhavan on the issue, said Madani. “Our advocate on record will be Irshad Hanif,” he said. Madani, who had met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in September to discuss a host of issues, said that while he had raised several issues including Ayodhya, Kashmir and lynchings over suspected cow slaughter with Bhagwat, the issue of citizenship law did not arise then. “We did not speak about this, as the focus then was other issues. The damage of this Act will be borne by Muslims for many years to come,” said Madani. “We saw the panic in Assam. People were sent from pillar to post to prove citizenship. They want a ghar wapsi (reconversion to Hinduism) programme, as they want Muslims to struggle here, but they don’t know that Muslims have been struggling all along. They will never give up their faith.”

“The Muslims of this country have sacrificed a lot to build this country and keep it secular. Jamiat has always taken the words of Nehru and Gandhi as a guiding light. The Partition of India was because of political leaders at that time, not because of Muslims,” he said. Madani said the Jamiat’s petition in the court will be based on the “unconstitutional character” of the amendment. “It is completely against the secular fabric of our country and Constitution. It could have been framed differently. It could have just stated that anyone who is persecuted on religious grounds will be given citizenship. The Act was brought to send across the message that the state is protecting the country from Muslims, and that we cannot be trusted,” he said. Muslim groups, mainly led by students in Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Milia Islamia and bodies such as the Students Islamic Organisation of India, Socialist Democratic Party of India, Jamat-e-Islami, Majlis Bachao Tehreek and Wahdat-e-Islami carried out widespread protests across the country against the Act, continuing for the second day on Sunday.