A few days ago, Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray visited Aurangabad. At that time Naushad Usman (Asst. Secretary, Dept. of Harmony) presented to him a copy of Marathi translation of the Qur’ān.
Son of Hindutva extremist Bal Thackeray and Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray visited Aurangabad on April 19 to select party candidates for Lok Sabha elections to be held next year. This meeting at Subhedari Rest House in this historical city was specifically called by the party for MPs, MLAs and party officials only from Marathwada. There were continuous interviews of aspiring candidates. At last there was a press conference. So senior journalist and Assistant Secretary of Department of Social Harmony (Dawah), Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Maharashtra, Naushad Usman (from Aurangabad) also participated in this press conference.
At the end of the press conference, Usman asked a bodyguard of Mr. Thackeray, “I want to gift a copy of Marathi translation of the Qur’ān to Uddhav sahab. Will he accept it or not?” The bodyguard replied, “Why not?” and he allowed Mr. Usman to go ahead. Mr. Usman went close to Mr. Thackeray and told him, “On behalf of the citizens belonging to the minority community of Aurangabad city, I want to gift Marathi Qur’ān to you.”
As soon as he heard the word “Qur’ān”, he stood up in honour of the Holy Book and accepted the copy of the Qur’ān with utmost respect and honour. He promised to read it definitely. Many journalists directed their camera flashes onto both the guests to grab this historical moment. But only Urdu media cared to cover this big story the next day.
This event is historical, because Shiv Sena leaders are known for making anti-Muslim and anti-Islam statements. In Mumbai anti-Muslim riots, the party played a big role. So this event indicated some change in the approach of the Shiv Sena leadership. May Allah open new doors of future politics through this event!