With terrorism likely to set the tone for the coming Lok Sabha elections, the Shahi Imam of Delhi Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari, with the visible support of the Samajwadi Party, began efforts to forge a platform of Muslim clerics and leaders.Although leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and several Islamic clerics were present at a conference organised by Bukhari on Jama Masjid premises, it was clearly a Samajwadi Party show with party heavyweight Abu Azim Azmi and its Rajya Sabha MP Shafiqur Rahman Barg in attendance.Setting the tone, the Shahi Imam slammed BSP chief Mayawati for organising a Muslim seminar in Lucknow on Monday, a day ahead of his conference, and alleged that the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister had only offered promises and not done much for the community. He was also scathing on the Congress.The presence of SP leaders at the conference is significant as the party is making all-out efforts not to lose its sizeable Muslim votebank, especially since it reversed its opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal. The attempt seems to be to retain its pro-Muslim image even while extending support to the Congress-led Government at the Centre.The conference resolved to demand a judicial inquiry into the Jamia Nagar encounter, a demand that has already been made by SP general secretary Amar Singh, setting up of a judicial commission to look into cases registered against Muslim youths in connection with the terror attacks and enactment of a law to protect Muslims on the lines of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.Although the conference stopped short of floating a proposal for the formation of a national party for Muslims, it decided to set up a committee — Quami Muslim Majlis-e-Amal — to take up their demands with the Centre. Bukhari accused the Government of harassing Muslims in the name of fighting terror.
