Wasim Rizvi adopted Hinduism at Devi Dasna Temple in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh and got a new identity as Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi.
Former Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board chairperson Wasim Rizvi renunciated Islam on Monday (December 6). He converted to Hinduism at Devi Dasna Temple in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.
In a video released Monday (December 6), Rizvi mentioned that his body must be handed over to his friend, Mahant Narsinghanand Saraswati of the Dasna temple, and he should light his pyre.
Before quitting Islam, Rizvi made many attempts to bring reform in the religion. This infuriated the Islamists, and prize money was declared for beheading him.
In January 2018, Rizvi wrote letters to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting them to abolish madrasas. He had said some madrasas act as breeding grounds for terrorists.
This infuriated Bareilly-based Islamist outfit All India Faizan-e-Madina Council (AIFMC) so much that it announced a bounty of Rs 10,00,786 and a free Haj trip for anyone who brings them Rizvi’s head.
“He (Wasim Rizvi) poses a danger and could ruin the communal harmony and social fabric of the country. We demand the state government to immediately terminate his services as Shia Waqf Board president. If he doesn’t apologise for his statement, our organisation will behead him and we will award the person responsible with a cash prize as well as a free Haj trip,” Moeen Siddiqui Noori, head of the AIFMC, had said.
In January last year, Rizvi had advocated a population control law, “Some people believe that childbirth is a natural process and should not be interfered with. To give birth to more children like animals is harmful to society and country. It will be good for the country if a law is implemented for population control.”
In March this year, Rizvi had filed a petition in the Supreme Court requesting the court to remove 26 verses from the Quran, promoting violence and terrorism. He had argued that these 26 verses were not there in the original Quran and were added later. The Supreme Court had dismissed his petition.
Earlier, he had released a Quran without these 26 verses. He had also requested the government to make the teaching of the new Quran compulsory in madrasas.
He supported many progressive ideas like the abolition of Triple Talaq, which infuriated the maulanas. Multiple fatwas were issued against him.
Earlier, as reported by the Organiser, Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of the founding president of Indonesia, Sukarno, had converted to Hinduism on October 26 in Bali.
