Bengal Islamic cleric deplores attack on people in name of protest

Shafique, the Imam of Nakhoda Masjid, an over 100-year-old mosque of Kolkata, also claimed that majority of the people from other religions are against the newly enacted Act.

Kolkata: A prominent Muslim cleric of West Bengal on Sunday deplored violence during the agitation against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, in some parts of the state, adding that attacking people in the name of protests was against the tenets of Islam.

“Those who carried out attacks on innocent people cannot be part of any democratic protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. What they did goes against the tenets of Islam,” said Moulana Shafique, the Imam of the more-than-100-year-old Nakhoda Masjid of Kolkata.

He and the city’s other Imams were addressing a news conference in the wake of the violence at Suti, Samserganj, Dhulian and other places in Murshidabad during protests against the new law.

At least three people were killed, and several others, including policemen, were injured in the violence on Friday and Saturday.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee already stated that the new law would not be implemented in West Bengal. She would have a meeting with the Imams on April 16.

He said that secular people of West Bengal would not be provoked by rumourmongers and troublemakers. He alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched by some people with vested interests in order to disturb the communal harmony of the state and sow the seeds of division among the people of the state.

Shafique said that the majority of people of other religions in West Bengal were opposed to the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025.

“Bengal will show the way to peacefully and democratically fight the new law with the participation of various communities. Bengal will live up to the tradition of maintaining harmony among different communities, which has been our hallmark for centuries,” said the Imam of Nakhoda Masjid.