Clerics at the Darul Uloom Deoband, have said that they found nothing wrong with teaching the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ in schools but it should not be imposed on those who are not willing.
“It is a good thing to read and know about the holy books of all faiths. I have read the holy book of my religion, and of other religions too. I have read the ‘Gita’. But I feel that it is not appropriate to impose a religion or its holy texts on anyone,” Maulana Qari Ishaq Gora, the patron of Jamiat Dawat-ul Muslameen, a social organisation based in Deoband was quoted as saying by IANS.
He, according to IANS, said that the “school is a temple of learning, not a temple to propagate the ideology of a particular religion”.
“The Karnataka high court, in its recent observation on the issue of ‘hijab’, had said that the ‘school will run by uniform and not by any religious practice’. So, if we go by the court, is it appropriate to include ‘Gita’ in the school curriculum?” he said.
Mufti Asad Qasmi, another scholar at the seminary said that it’s “wrong to impose anything on young minds”.
“We are not against the teachings of ‘Gita’ in school and the children who want to study ‘the holy book’ can, but to impose it on Muslim students is wrong as students from all faiths study in schools, said the Mufti.
The statements were made in reply to the Gujarat government’s decision to include Bhagavad Gita in the school syllabus for Classes 6-12.
