New Delhi [India], November 22 : Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind President Maulana Arshad Madani on Saturday expressed concerns about the challenges faced by Muslims, highlighting what he described as discrimination against Muslims in India, pointing to issues such as the jailing of individuals like Azam Khan and the situation at Al-Falah University.
He contrasted the situation in India with the election of Muslim mayors in cities like New York (Zahran Mamdani) and London (Sadiq Khan), to counter the notion that Muslims globally have become "helpless, finished, and barren".
He claimed that "no Muslim can become a university vice-chancellor" and if they become "they will be sent to jail," while referring to government actions against Al Falah University, following the involvement of their doctors in the Delhi terror attack.
"The world thinks that Muslims have become helpless, finished, and barren. I don't believe so. Today, a Muslim Mamdani can become mayor of New York, a Khan can become mayor of London, whereas in India, no one can even become a university vice-chancellor. And even if someone does, they will be sent to jail, as Azam Khan was. Look at what is happening today in Al-Falah (University)," he said.
Additionally, Arshad Madani accused the government of "ensuring that they (muslim) never raise their heads."
Madani referred to Al Falah Group Chairman, Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, who has been remanded to 13 days of Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody, till December 1, for committing the offence of money laundering linked to large-scale fraud, forged accreditation claims, and diversion of funds from the Al-Falah University ecosystem.
The primary four accused involved in the car blast near the Red Fort Metro Station, in which 15 people were killed, were the doctors of the Al Falah University, including Dr Umar Nabi, who committed the attack.
There is no specific law mandating the appointment of Muslim Vice-Chancellors; their appointments are determined by each university's selection process, which is governed by general laws and university statutes.
The UGC is the regulatory body for higher education, but VCs are appointed by the respective universities' selection committees, which are governed by UGC guidelines and acts passed by Parliament.
Madani's statement that "no Muslim can become a university vice-chancellor in India" is also factually incorrect, as the current Vice Chancellor of Jamia Milia Islamia University is Prof Mazhar Asif. The vice chancellor of Aligarh University is also a Muslim woman, Prof. Naima Khatoon.
India has a history of electing Muslim figures to prominent positions, as the country's first Education Minister was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. He also seemed to forget the fact that the country's 11th President was APJ Abdul Kalam.