Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind chief criticizes RSS leader’s call for Muslims to worship nature
New Delhi: Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani, President of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, has sharply criticised RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s recent remarks suggesting that Muslims should worship the sun, rivers, and trees for environmental protection.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a statement, Madani said Hindus and Muslims have lived together in India for centuries, and the Islamic belief in Tawhid — the oneness of God and worship of Him alone — is neither obscure nor unknown to any educated person.
He expressed deep regret that, despite holding key positions, Hosabale and other senior RSS functionaries have shown little seriousness in understanding Islam and the religious beliefs of Muslims.
Explaining the Islamic position, Madani said the belief in Tawhid and Prophethood forms the very foundation of Islam. Any deviation from worshipping God alone, he stressed, would exclude a person from Islam. He emphasised that love for the land, nature and environment, and efforts to protect them, are entirely different from religious worship.
Madani reiterated Jamiat’s commitment to communal harmony through mutual respect and dialogue, warning that disregarding core religious doctrines could strain that coexistence.
Hosabale, speaking at a Hindu conference in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, had argued that respect for nature transcends religious boundaries and that Muslims would “lose nothing” by worshipping rivers, trees, and the sun to promote environmental conservation. He specifically questioned what harm it would cause if Muslims, who perform namaz, also worshipped rivers.
