Muslims who keep beard without moustache are extremists, look scary: Shia board chief Wasim Rizvi

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board chairperson Waseem Rizvi has sparked a fresh debate. In his latest statement, Rizvi has stated that keeping a beard is a custom in Islam. But those Muslims who sport a beard without a moustache are extremists and have become a face of terror in the country and across the world. 

In a video, which has been shared on the social media, Rizwi said, "Muslims who sport a beard without a moustache look scary. Such Muslims are extremists and Islamic fundamentalists and are known to spread terror across the world. The intention to not sport a moustache with the beard is to ignite a sense of fear among people."

Adding further, he said that such Muslim, in the name of Shariyat, interfere in the personal lives of people and issue fatwas, which has nothing to do with Islam. Talking about the recent incident in which a Kerala girl was expelled from a Madrassa for wearing a sandalwood bindi on her forehead, Rizvi said, "Women in this country use bindi or vermillion (sindoor) as part of the custom after marriage. Such sacred customs can never be 'haram'." 

He urged the government to file sedition charges against clerics for issuing fatwas that give rise to enmity between different groups. "There is no right to make rules and regulations for the common people by moving aside from the Indian Constitution. Case of sedition must be filed against mullahs (clerics) who issue such fatwas." 

It is to be noted that the UP Shia Waqf Board chairman Rizvi was recently accorded a Y plus security by the state government after he claimed threat to his life. 

In April this year, Rizvi had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase his security after certain individuals, reportedly associated with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, were arrested by the Delhi Police. Rizvi told the Prime Minister that he was reportedly on the target of extremists due to his stand on the Ram Mandir issue.