A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court by Shia leader Wasim Rizvi seeking declaration of 26 verses of the Quran as unconstitutional, non-effective and non- functional on the ground that these promote extremism and terrorism and pose a serious threat to the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country.
- Wasim Rizvi is a former chairman of Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board.
- In his petition, Rizvi has alleged that the 26 verses “promote violence”, and were not part of the original Quran, but were added in later revisions, and should hence be removed from the holy book.
- In his plea, Rizvi states that ‘Islam is based on the concepts of equity, equality, forgiveness and tolerance is drifting away from these basic tenets.
- However, this PIL has not gone down well with the Muslim religious leaders, Shia and Sunni both. They claim that the PIL is nothing but a publicity stunt and an attempt to hurt religious sentiments.
