The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has sought a new legislation against blasphemy and has expressed concerns over “increasing instances of insult to holy figures”.

Maulana Saifullah Rahmani, General Secretary of the AIMPLB, said the board, at a meeting in Kanpur, suggested that the law should cover all religions in the country to protect revered figures, religions and religious beliefs from malicious attempts.

The board also said that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was neither suitable nor useful for a vast multi-religious country like Bharat, adding that it was antithetical to the fundamental right to practice religion as enshrined in the Constitution.

“India is a multi-faith country, and every citizen is guaranteed to practice and profess his faith and religious beliefs, and to act on and preach the same,” the AIMPLB said in a statement.

The board has also asked the government and judiciary to refrain from interpreting holy scriptures, saying only religious authorities were eligible to do that.

“This amounts to encroachment upon the religious rights of the citizens,” it said.

Meanwhile, senior clerics including Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, Maulana Jalaluddin Umri and Maulana Fazlur Rahman said that stern action should be initiated against the Hindu Mahasabha for “fomenting communal trouble in Mathura and Varanasi” and demanded that security of the Shahi Eidgah in Mathura and the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi, respectively, should be further beefed up.

The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha had recently announced its plans to install an idol of Bal Gopal (child Krishna) at a site within the Eidgah, adjoining the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura on December 6.

Asked about the arrests made with regard to forced conversions, Maulana Saifullah Rahmani said it was forbidden in Islam.

“But the Constitution allows people to propagate the good side of religion and its teachings,” he said.

The board has demanded that the government should act tough on lynching, which must stop and also advised the community members to avoid interfaith marriages.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with minor edits to conform to Hindu-Post style-guide.)