New Delhi: India's top Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband Monday opposed Salman Rushdie's visit to India and asked the government not to allow him to travel for a literary festival as the author had hurt the sentiments of Muslims the world over.
"Rushdie should not be allowed to visit India. If he visits it would be adding salt to the injuries of Muslims. He has hurt our religious sentiments," vice chancellor of the seminary Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani said to a news agency over phone from Deoband.
Nomani said the Darul Uloom was yet to formally write to the government over the issue.
"We will write to the external affairs ministry, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi if the government doesn't cancel his visa," Nomani said.
The 65-year-old author has come under attack for his controversial book "The Satanic Verses", published in 1988, in which he allegedly wrote blasphemous remarks against Prophet Mohammed. The book has been banned in India.
Rushdie has been invited to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival this month end.
IANS
First Published: Monday, January 09, 2012, 21:43