Jaipur, Feb. 10: Rajasthan Muslim Forum, a united front of leading Muslim organizations of the State, on Friday, issued an appeal to Muslims regarding the Rajasthan government order to make students do Surya Namaskar in all schools of the state on February 15.
This appeal is a call to action to protect the Muslim community from shirk (polytheism). The Forum urges Muslims to educate their children about shirk and to resist any pressure to participate in idolatrous activities.
It also highlights the importance of religious freedom in India and the right of Muslims to practice their religion without fear of persecution.
The appeal says inter alia:
It is our firm belief that the true Lord of the universe is Allah. He is the Creator, Owner, Provider, and Ruler. Man is the most excellent creation of Allah.
Therefore, Allah alone is the God and deity of all mankind, without any partner.
The devil, who is man’s eternal enemy, wants to take man to the fire of Hell. He constantly incites man to disobey Allah and commit various sins.
Of all the sins, the greatest sin and crime is shirk, which is an unpardonable act. That is why the devil wants to make man commit shirk by instilling in him various temptations to worship the creation instead of the Creator.
Thus, man becomes involved in the worship of countless things from among the creation. He worships trees, plants, various kinds of animals, rivers, mountains, the earth, the moon, and the stars. All of these are forms of shirk.
The worship of the sun is the greatest form of shirk. (Surah Al-An’am)
Shirk has different forms in different parts of the world. In our country, Vande Mataram (worship of the land) and Surya Namaskar (worship of the sun) are open and well-known forms and methods of shirk. These are absolutely unforgivable and are major forms of shirk.
With the change of government in our country and state, aggressive and oppressive conspiracies are being intensified to impose these great idolatrous acts of worship, such as Surya Namaskar, on our innocent young generations in the name of education, in order to take them away from their faith. Our young and innocent children are not even aware of this.
Therefore, it is the great responsibility of the scholars, imams, management committees of mosques and madrassas, parents, and the educated class of the community to educate people about avoiding shirk from mosques, madrasas, schools, homes, and other means, for the sake of protecting the faith of the new generations. In particular, scholars and orators should inform the people through their speeches.
According to the Constitution, religious worship and education cannot be imposed on others in government educational institutions. Followers of every religion have full freedom to practice their religion while receiving education.
Therefore, all people should make up the minds of their young generations in such a way that they protect their faith and acquire education in all kinds of educational institutions without ever performing any idolatrous act under any kind of pressure. If any kind of pressure is created in any educational institution to force them to perform any kind of idolatrous act, they should inform their parents, the imam of the mosque, and the responsible people of the community.