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First maulana who broke ice with Narendra Modi! AHMEDABAD: In August 2003, barely a year and a half after the post-Godhra riots, Narendra Modi was still considered a pariah for the Muslim community. But he found audience in a Muslim cleric in faraway UK, which shocked many. During that two-hour meeting, Modi patiently heard out the angry maulana. The community accused him of going soft on Modi, but he feels it opened the doors for a dialogue. Much water has flowed in the Sabarmati since. Modi is no longer an untouchable for many Muslims, even as he eyes a larger national role and cozies up to minorities. Now, eight years after that meeting, Maulana M Essa Mansuri, 66, chairman of London-based World Islamic Forum, has no regret. He is convinced he did the right thing despite harsh criticism from his own community. Dialogue is the only way out, he says. One has to talk to everybody, even enemies if one is serious about solving a problem, said Maulana Mansuri during a visit to Ahmedabad. Interestingly, he was in the process of approaching the International Court Of Justice in the Hague when a proposal to meet Modi came. I had heard terrible things about the violence against Muslims. But, it made sense to meet this man, accused of presiding over the riots, said Mansuri, who worked as a cleric in various madrassas in south Gujarat after passing out from Jamia Hussainia in Surat. Back |
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