Ujjain: A little known Islamic organisation called Paigham-e-Insaniyat has created a controversy. It was organising an essay writing competition on Mohammad. General public raised a hue and cry regarding the intention of organisers. Therefore, MP government had to intervene and subsequently, the competition stands cancelled.
Most striking part of the competition was that it was open for non-Muslims only. As a result, Hindu population became suspicious. This sparked off suspicion that the organisers were trying to convert Hindus by organising the essay competition for non-Muslims. Again, announcement of Rs 21,000 for the first prize, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 for second and third prize created doubts as, it smacked off suspicion of allurement through prize money, which is a grave crime under the anti-conversion law.
The posters of this competition went viral on social media. Subsequently, Hindus raised suspicions about the event. Taking cognisance of it, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra directed Ujjain SP Satyendra Kumar Shukla to stop the competition.
Speaking on the issue, Mishra said, “I was taken aback after I came to know that the competition on Prophet Mohammad was only open for non-Muslims. This was shocking in itself. I fail to understand how can someone think of doing this. People are raising questions on the intentions of the organisers. Therefore, I instructed Ujjain SP Shukla to stop the competition.”
Writing an essay on controversial figure like Mohammad can be problematic. As per the traditional claims of Islamic organisations, Mohammad was a historical figure. On the other hand, many historians and archaeologists doubt these claims. They say that there is no historical evidence that such a person ever existed.
