NEW DELHI: All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has protested to the Government of India's direction to hold 'Surya Namaskar' in schools from January 1 to 7 on the 75th anniversary of Independence Day claiming that 'Surya Namaskar' is a type of Surya puja, which is forbidden in Islam.
The Muslim Personal Law Board, in a statement signed by general secretary Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, stated that the dominant community's customs and rituals cannot be forced on all religions. Muslim students were also urged to refrain from participating in the Surya Namaskar programme, according to the letter.
"Such a programme, which causes problems for kids of different religions, should not be organised in schools at all." Government programmes should be designed with national security in mind. Muslim students should abstain from participating in Surya Namaskar programmes held in their schools. They should not attend such a programme since Islam prohibits them from doing so, according to the AIMPLB's official letter.
'Surya Namaskar' event scheduled across the country is a "false propaganda of patriotism," Rahmani added, accusing the Centre of straying from the path of secularism.
"As it is clear, on the occasion of India's 75th Independence Day, the Ministry of Education has chosen to launch a Surya Namaskar initiative throughout the states, with 30 thousand schools covered in the first phase, under the supervision of the Secretary to the Government of India." From January 1 to January 7, this programme is being proposed. On the 26th of January, a Surya Namaskar concert is also planned. This is unconstitutional and bogus patriotism propaganda." Rahmani continued.
The Indian Constitution provides citizens with the freedom and rights to practise their religion according to their own customs, while also stating that the worshipping traditions of one religion cannot be imposed on adherents of other religions.
"It is forbidden in Islam to worship the Sun as a divinity. The government should rescind its directive and respect the Constitution's secular nature. If the government is truly worried about the country, it should concentrate on real issues such as rising unemployment, inflation, currency depreciation, sectarian strife, border security, and so on," the letter stated.
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