An imam? Wait, what? There must be some mistake. How could someone who has dedicated his life to understanding Islam properly and communicating it effectively somehow get the idea that Islam commands violence against unbelievers? Surely that most learned of imams, Pope Francis, is on his way to Kushinagar right now, in order to explain to him that “authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.”
“Uttar Pradesh: Imam amongst those arrested for hiding explosives inside mosque in Kushinagar, report suggests ‘something big’ was planned,” OpIndia, November 13, 2019:
The Uttar Pradesh police have nabbed four persons including a Muslim cleric in connection with a blast at a mosque in Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh. As per Jagran report, the explosives were procured in April 2019 itself. One Haji Kutubuddin had reportedly told the youth who had stored the explosive that ‘something big’ is being planned. The explosives reportedly weigh around 8-10 kgs….
According to the reports, the UP police had registered an FIR against seven persons. Among the four arrested is the Imam of the mosque, Maulana Azmuddin, while three others are absconding.
Vinod Kumar Mishra, SP (Kushinagar) said that the others arrested are Izhar, Aashiq and Javed, who are residents of the Bairagi Patti village. The Uttar Pradesh police are yet to ascertain the motive behind the blast that occurred at the mosque on Monday.
According to the forensic reports, the explosion was caused by explosives stored in the mosque. Initially, it was believed that the blast was caused by an explosion in an inverter battery. However, it further investigation had revealed that it was not the case.
ATS Gorakhpur, intelligence agencies and Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) teams have joined the investigation. During interrogation, the cleric admitted that he and some other youths had kept the explosives in the mosque.
The blast took place in Bairagai Patti village here on Monday afternoon. The explosion was strong enough to rip apart doors and windows in the mosque.