Bhopal, Mar 19 (PTI) Ahead of Eid, a Muslim leader here on Thursday appealed to his community members to do their festival shopping at Muslim-run establishments.
Pirzada Tauqeer Nizami, general secretary of the Ahle Sunnat Committee and leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), said Muslims are being harassed and their situation, as recorded by the Sachar committee, was not good.
Speaking to PTI Videos, he said, "Therefore, I have requested that people do their Ramadan and Eid shopping only within the Muslim community."
Promoting businesses within their own community will strengthen the social and economic status of the Muslims, he added.
Asked whether such an appeal can heighten communal polarization, Nizami said, "When there's talk of sending people praying on the streets to Iran, when people of other religions are barred from entering the Kumbh Mela, and when saffron flags are hoisted on mosques, why isn't there any talk of the country's Ganga-Jamuni (syncretic) culture?"
Chandrashekhar Tiwari, president of the Hindu Utsav Samiti in Bhopal, reacted strongly to Nizami's statement.
"I appeal to Sanatanis to refrain from shopping at Muslim shops during Gudi Padwa and Chaitra Navratri festivals," he said.
Chaitra Navratri festival began across the country on Thursday, while Eid will be celebrated on Saturday.