The two leaders, Mohan Bhagwat and Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, held a closed door meeting at the Kasturba Gandhi Marg mosque for over an hour.
New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday met Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, the chief of All India Imam Organisation in Delhi. The move is being seen as a major reach out to the Muslim community.
The two leaders held a closed door meeting at the Kasturba Gandhi Marg mosque for over an hour. According to reports, Bhagwat was accompanied by RSS functionaries Krishna Gopal, Ram Lal and Indresh Kumar.
After the meeting, Ilyasi’s son Suhaib Ilyasi said, “It sends out a very good message to the country. We had discussions like a family. It was wonderful that they came on our invitation.”
RSS prachar pramukh (communication in-charge) Sunil Ambekar said, “RSS Sarsanghachalak meets people from all walks of life. It is part of the continuous general ‘Samvad’ process.”
The RSS chief also met students at a madrassa and interacted with them, said reports.
RSS has been holding meetings with several Muslim intellectuals to strengthen communal harmony in the country. On August 22, the RSS chief met with five Muslim intellectuals and shared his concerns about the “current atmosphere of disharmony” in the country. Both the sides had agreed to dial down divisive rhetoric and discussed what each had objections to.
Speaking after the meeting, former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said even he was worried about the situation in the country. “I’m not happy with the atmosphere of disharmony in the country. It is completely wrong. The country can move ahead only if there is cooperation and cohesion,” Quraishi quoted the RSS chief as saying.
