Mumbai, June 15: Seventy-six-year-old Gulzar Azmi has been general secretary of the Maharashtra wing of Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind for the past two years after being associated with the organisation for 45 years. The organisation provides legal aid to poor Muslims accused in terror-related offences. The Jamiat provided legal aid to accused Faheem Ansari, accused in the November 26, 2008 terror attack case. Here he speaks to Menaka Rao about the other activities of Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind.
When was the Jamiat established?
The Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind was set up in 1919 after the First World War to help Turkish Muslims affected by the defeat. We were a set of nationalist Muslim freedom fighters, fighting for freedom from the British rule. Mohan Karamchand Gandhi became the Mahatma after Maulana Abdul Bari Farangi Mehli conferred on him the title of ‘Mahatma’ after he joined the Khilafat movement. Mehli was from the Jamiat. Mind you, we were against the formation of Pakistan.
When did you start your legal aid cell?
In 1947. The riots resulting from the Partition had started at the time and innocent Muslims were being booked by the police. We helped these Muslims.
What kind of people do you provide legal assistance to?
We believe that many Muslims are framed in the bomb blasts-related cases by the police. The police have not been able to prove their cases in court many times. A lot of our cases have ended in acquittals, like that of Faheem Ansari. But, we are very clear that we provide legal assistance only to people we believe are innocent. For example, we didn’t take up the case of Mohammed Hanif, accused in the 2003 Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar blasts. However, we have filed the appeal of his wife, Fehmida, in the Bombay high court. We took up Faheem’s case, but didn’t take up Kasab’s case for instance. Our religion orders us to love our country. We provide legal aid to Hindus, too, if we believe they are innocent. We have provided legal assistance to Hindus convicted in the 2002 attack on the American embassy in Kolkata. If we believe the accused is innocent, we don’t see what religion he/she belongs to.
How badly has the murder of advocate Shahid Azmi affected the functioning of the Jamiat?
It has affected us very badly. When Shahid was around, we didn’t have to worry about finding a lawyer or paying his fees because Shahid refused to take any money from us. Now, we have to provide lawyers’ fees. But, some new lawyers who have been empanelled, like advocate RB Mokashi, didn’t take a single paisa to appear for Faheem.
How do you collect money for the organisation?
In Islam, we have a different kind of income tax, whereby every man who owns Rs14,000 worth of silver or gold has to pay tax of 2.5%. This tax is called zakat. As per the Quran, the man has to donate it to poor relatives, orphans, beggars, or someone who has lost money in a tragedy. The last category is that of a person who is stuck in some financial or other mess. In those days, a lot of Muslims were slaves and the donation was used to free them. Now, Muslims are stuck in false cases. Also, Muslims consider interest earned through investments as haraam. This income is also donated.
What else does your organisation do?
Our organisation also provides scholarships to deserving candidates. This year we are providing scholarships of Rs16lakh for children.
Courtesy: DNA