Syed Zainul Abedin Ali Khan, the diwan (spiritual head) of the Ajmer Dargah, the famous Sufi Shrine of Rajasthan, has been removed from his post by his own brother, who thought that this views on cow slaughter and beef eating was against Islam.
A couple of days back, Syed Zainul Abedin had not only supported ban on cow slaughter but had appealed to Muslims to give up beef eating to respect the sentiments of their Hindu brethren. He had also spoken against triple talaq.
“My family and I have taken a pledge on this day that we will never have beef for the rest of our lives,” he is reported to have said on Monday.
But now it appears that this family is in no mood to support his beliefs.
He has apparently been “sacked” from the post of diwan by his younger brother Syed Alaudin Alimi, who not only declared himself the new diwan but also declared Syed Zainul Abedin as a “non-Muslim” for his views on cow slaughter and beef.
Alaudin Alimi claims that he has the support of the family, who are supposed to be the direct descendants of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, in whose honour the dargah has been made.
Alimi says that he discussed his brother’s views with some clerics who apparently told him that Zainul Abedin had become an ‘apostate’ because he had spoken in violation of Islamic laws. He further claims to have called a meeting of the family (Chisti clan) and declared himself the diwan.
“He (Zainul Abedin) has lost the right to continue as the diwan of Ajmer Dargah because one needs to be a Sunni and Hanfi Muslim for that,” Alimi is reported to have said, justifying his deeds.
However, Syed Zainul Abedin claims that his brother has no right to remove him as the dargah is governed by a committee as per the provisions of the Durgah Khawaja Saheb Act, 1955. The post of diwan has no management control but gets a salary from the committee, which is appointed by the government.
Although the post of diwan is hereditary and Alaudin Alimi is claiming support of the entire clan and clerics, he will have to move court as the committee is in support of Zainul Abedin.
