Kanpur: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) urged the Centre not to impose the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and demanded the enactment of an anti-blasphemy law to punish those who show disrespect to Prophet Mohammed.
"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 resolution passed on the second and final day of its 27th public session here.
"Uniform Civil Code is neither suitable nor useful for such a vast multi-religious country like India. Any attempt in this direction is discordant with the fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution," the resolution further added.
The Muslim board also tried to draw the government's attention towards insult of the Prophet Mohammed by "some mischievous persons".
It also lamented that the government failed to take any step, which could possibly act as a deterrent.
"This attitude of the communal forces is totally unacceptable. This amounts to causing discord in the country and runs counter to the interests of nationalism and patriotism," it said.
The AIMPLB further stated that any insult to the Prophet Mohammed is bound to hurt the feelings of Muslims world over and "tarnish the image of the country".
The board said some Muslim preachers were implicated in "false cases" of forced conversions even when the converts never made any complaint to police about being forced.
It said it is the duty of the state to protect minorities and termed as "regrettable" the damage done to temples in Bangladesh.
It called the persecution of Muslims in Tripura deplorable.
In the public session held on Saturday, Maulana Rabe Hasan Nadwi was re-elected as the chairman of the board.
The post of general secretary has been filled by Maulana Khalid Saifullah while Maulana Arshad Madni filled the post of vice-president.
