Ajmer dargah head Zainul reportedly sacked for defending beef ban

Zainul Abedin Ali Khan

Jaipur: Unhappy over Ajmer dargah dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Ali Khan's statement on beef and triple talaq, his brother Alaudin Alimi reportedly ousted the former from the top post. Alimi announced that he has taken up the position of the new Ajmer dargah dewan. The removal of Zainul Abedin as dewan comes two days after he had said that the government should put a ban on the slaughter of all bovine animals as well as the sale of beef to promote communal harmony in the country. Syed Alaudin Alimi claimed he had the support of the family in sacking Abedin and anointing himself as the new "deewan", spiritual chief, of the Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti mausoleum in Ajmer -- one of the most famous Muslim shrines visited by millions of devotees from across the sub-continent every year. The post is hereditary and belongs to heirs of the 12th-13th century sufi priest. Deewan has no control over the management of the shrine but gets a monthly remuneration from the management committee, which is appointed by the government. "I am the new deewan. I have the support of the entire (Chishti) clan," Alimi told newsagency IANS, alleging that Abedin was an "apostate because he had spoken in violation of the Islamic law". "I am not interested in salary. He (Abedin) can have the money. Buy I won't allow him to enter the shrine now. Whatever he has said is blasphemous. I have spoken to muftis (Islamic scholars who interpret sharia) and we will be issuing a fatwa (decree) against him. He is no longer a Muslim." “Muslims should take initiative to stay away from slaughter of bovine animals and not consume beef so that a good and positive message could be communicated in the country,” Abedin had said. Abedin had announced that he and his family members will not eat beef now onwards and said that the government should declare cow as the national animal. Releasing his message in the presence of religious heads of various shrines from different parts of the country during 805th annual Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer, Khan also said that saying 'triple talaq' at one time for seeking divorce is not as per the Shariah law and Muslims should refrain from disobeying the Sharia law. "The government should widely impose ban on slaughtering of all bovine animals and sale of beef, which is one of the prominent reasons for communal hatred. Muslims should become an example by taking resolution to not consume beef in the interest of communal harmony in the country," he said. Welcoming the Gujarat government's move to enact a law with the provision of life sentence for those found guilty of cow slaughter, the Deewan said that the central government should declare cow as the national animal if the governmentwants to protect it. "Cow is the symbol of religious belief. Not only the government, but it is also the duty of every follower of the religion to protect them," he said. On the practice of 'triple talaq', he said that it is not only irrelevant today but against the sentiments of the Quran. He said that while practising justified divorce, the side of the woman should be considered equally and detailed dialogue with her should also take place. The Deewan said that there are several provisions in the Quran to ensure self-respect and dignity to women in the society. He said that saying 'talaq' three times in one sitting is not a religiously valid practice and there should be a period of time between repeating 'talaq' thrice for divorce. The religious heads of various sufi shrines from various parts of the country including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar among others were present on the occasion.