Reciting Vande Mataram not against Islam: RSS-affiliate Muslim Rashtriya Manch leader

Jabalpur, Nov 6 (PTI) Reciting 'Vande Mataram' is not against Islam, and those opposing it are misleading the Muslim community, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliate Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) national convenor S K Muddin said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the year-long commemoration of the National Song 'Vande Mataram' in Delhi on Friday and will also release a commemorative stamp and coin. It will mark the formal launch of the year-long nationwide commemoration -- from November 7, 2025 to November 7, 2026 -- celebrating 150 years of the timeless composition.

"The meaning of Vande Mataram is 'O motherland, I salute you'. How can this be termed un-Islamic or not as per Shariah when it praises the fertile land, trees, flowers, water, mountains, and the beautiful mornings and evenings of the country," Muddin said in a press statement.

He is former MP OBC and Minority Finance Corporation vice chairman and ex-MP Madarsa Board chairman.

"The song expresses love for the nation, known in Islam as Hubb-ul-Watani and in Hindi as nationalism. Some fundamentalists try to mislead Muslims by linking it to worship. Muslims should feel proud to say Vande Mataram and must recite it with pride," he added.

Before Independence, leaders like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and other prominent Muslims used to recite it with pride, but after Independence, some separatist elements have tried to misguide the community and keep it away from the national mainstream, Muddin claimed.

In 2006, as chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Madarsa Board, he had the song translated and circulated among Muslims and all madrasas registered with the board across the state, Muddin added. PTI LAL BNM