UP elections: AIUMB vows to “crush” candidates with Deobandi background

New Delhi 16/01/2012
TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: A group which was till now religious, is turning political before UP elections. The All India Ulema Mashaikh Board (AIUMB), a body of Barelwi-Sunni Muslims, has taken its opposition of Deobandi ideology to politics and has decided to oppose, all the candidates with Deobandi background in the UP elections.

In fact, if you go by what Babar Ashraf, its national secretary has to say, it seems that the Barelwi group has invoked an all out electoral war against parties which have fielded candidates who owe their allegiance to Deoband school of thought. If this happens, which is yet to be seen, then it will be the first time in the electoral history of the country that Muslim votes will be divided on sectarian/ideological lines of Deobandi ideology as opposed to Barelwi sect.
The Hindu
The All-India Ulama & Mashaikh Board (AIUMB), a Sunni Sufi sect that recently courted controversy with its call to purge Indian Islam of Wahabi influence, has appealed to voters in the upcoming State elections to vote only those candidates “who are secular and have a clean image irrespective of their party affiliations.”

The AIUMB, which claims to represent the vast majority of Indian Muslims, said: “The vote should be given on the basis of the candidates’ personal profile, their support for the educational, social and economic uplift of the community and their role in establishing peace and communal harmony.”

At a press conference here, Syed Babar Ashraf, national secretary of the AIUMB, emphasised the need to promote the Sufi ideology of peace and harmony and asked the government to immediately enact a Dargah Act in order to manage the affairs of Dargahs and help them propagate the inclusive Sufi practices. Other issues flagged by the AIUMB included: establishment of the Delhi Madrasa Board and nomination of Sufi Sunni Muslims and Christians on the Board; dissolution of the Delhi Waqf Board and steps to prevent the appointment of persons following the Wahabi ideology; and initiation of prayers in mosques maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The AIUMB argued that the majority of Waqf properties and mosques under the ASI belonged to Sufi Sunni Muslims as there was no Deobandi or Wahabi ideology 150 years ago.

Keywords: UP Assembly polls, All-India Ulama & Mashaikh Board, Sunni Sufi sect, the Muslim vote, sub-quota issue

Tags: Ahle Sunnat, AIUMB, Sunni Sufi, UP elections