"We are not at war": Muslim leaders want to continue dialogue with RSS

Muslim organizations believe that dialogue with RSS should continue and problems causing conflict between the two communities should be resolved at an early stage.

Jamat e Islami Hind, whose representative met the RSS leaders, said: "We think the dialogue should continue with the RSS because they have influence on the government." In his explanation, he said: "We are not at war, so we hope that the dialogue will bring positive results."

Another Muslim intellectual who once met these leaders said anonymously that the community should give a detailed answer to the cow slaughter issue because Muslims are not involved in the incidents and now it has become a business issue. He said the issue is likely to be discussed at a meeting of the All India Muslim Personal Law Council in Lucknow on Sunday. The response comes after prominent Muslim citizens and religious organizations met RSS chief Indresh Kumar at former LG Najeeb Jung's residence in Delhi on January 14 and discussed communal harmony.

Muslims were represented by Jamaat e Islami leader Mohtashim Khan, both factions of Jamiat Ulema Hindi including Niyaz Faruqui and Fazlurrahman Qasmi, Shahid Siddiqui, SY Qureshi were present in the meeting. Najeeb Jung along with AMU dignitaries and Ajmer Dargah representative Salman Chist were also present in the meeting.

Sources said the Muslim side wanted a public appeal against lynching of RSS and its affiliates and also wanted the government to stop hate propaganda on television every day. The RSS was represented by Indresh Kumar, Krishna Gopal and Ram Lal.

The RSS protested against cow slaughter and the use of the word kafir for most of India. The Muslim side said that it would proclaim the cow as a national animal so that there would be a uniform law on the matter, adding that they would ask their community not to use the word kafir in public.

Shahid Siddiqui, one of the participants, told IANS that "there was a consensus to continue the talks, which both sides agree to achieve harmony."

The Muslim side did not respond to the Kashi and Mathura issues and said that the disputes should be resolved. settled in court when RSS leaders said they should be handed over to them.

This is an ongoing dialogue when Sangh leaders met Muslim leaders on August 22. Sources said that Najeeb Jung and other Muslim intellectuals met Arshad Madani before that meeting when Madani insisted that the statement should be made public for community validation.

Muslims raised the issue of RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat. It read that they accepted that the Sangh leader's interview was quoted out of context.