RSS chief Bhagwat is 'Rashtra-pita' & 'Rashtra-Rishi': Muslim cleric

New Delhi, Sep 22: Chief Imam of All India Imam Organisation Dr Umer Ahmed Ilyasi on Thursday called RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat the 'Rashtra-pita' and 'Rashtra-Rishi' after he visited a Masjid and Madarsa in Delhi on Thursday.

"Mohan Bhagwat Ji visited on my invitation today. He's 'Rashtra-pita' & 'Rashtra-Rishi'. A good message will go out from his visit. Our ways of worshipping God are different, but the biggest religion is humanity. We believe country comes first", tweeted Dr Ilyasi.

The RSS chief along with senior Sangh functionaries met Umer Ahmed Ilyasi at a mosque, taking forward his outreach to the Muslim community. The closed-door meeting, which lasted for more than an hour, was held at Kasturba Gandhi Marg mosque where the office of the All India Imam Organisation is located.

During the meeting, the RSS chief had raised the issue of usage of the word "kafir" for Hindus which, he said, does not send out a good message.

On their turn, the Muslim intellectuals objected to some right-wing activists calling the Muslims "jihadi" and "Pakistanis". The Muslim intellectuals also told Bhagwat that the real intent behind the usage of 'kafir' was something different, but in some quarters now, it is being used as an "abuse", PTI reported.

The RSS chief acknowledged the apprehensions of the intellectuals and underlined that the 'DNA of all Hindus and Muslims are same'.

Responding to Bhagwat's meeting with Muslim leaders, RSS Prachar Pramukh Sunil Ambedkar said, "Sarsanghachalak meets people from all walks of life. It is a part of the continuous general 'Samvad' process."

The All India Imam Organisation is the representative voice of the community of Indian Imams and claims to be the largest imam organisation in the world. It was formed to undertake at all levels the socio-economic issues which directly influence the earnings of Imams, their status in society and the expectations that the community and state have from them.

Bhagwat was accompanied by senior Sangh functionaries -- joint general secretary Krishna Gopal, Ram Lal and Indresh Kumar.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief has been holding discussions with Muslim intellectuals for strengthening communal harmony. He had recently met Delhi's former Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, former chief election commissioner SY Quraishi, former chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University Lieutenant General Zameer Uddin Shah, former MP Shahid Siddiqui and businessman Saeed Shervani.