Hyderabad: The Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society has disassociated itself from Salamah, a city-based NGO that has been collecting donations stating it would provide copies of the Quran, Arabic primer and life of the Prophet, prayer mats, and head scarves for girls.
TMREIS secretary B. Shafiullah said he was not aware of any such NGO, which has started the project in the name of the society. He maintained that TMREIS has no association with Salamah or any other organisation to distribute any articles.
He clarified that parents themselves provide the holy Quran and other religious books to their wards. “We are contemplating to take legal action against the organisation if it is found collecting amounts in the name of TMREIS,” Mr Shafiullah stated.
Meanwhile, the NGO has prepared an estimate of Rs 1.51 crore for providing these materials and has also printed a brochure seeking donations from the general public. It is also depicting the emblem of TMREIS without intimating and getting prior permission from the society.
The brochure being circulated says 56,000 Muslim boys and girls have access to free boarding, lodging and education up to junior college level. However, owing to their secular nature, there is lack of facilities for Islamic knowledge among Muslim students.
The NGO claimed that basic texts, such as Noorani Qaida (Arabic primer) are not made available to students, nor do they have copies of the Quran or prayer mats. Muslim girls also do not have head scarves, it claims. It thus contemplates to provide 10,000 Noorani Qaida, 50,000 holy Quran copies, 200 prayer mats, 20,000 books on the life of Prophet and 25,000 head scarves for girls.
Mr Nazimuddin Farooqi, one of the promoters of Salamah, said before launching the project, they contacted community organisations and requested them to take up the project of providing holy Quran and other religious books to inmates of residential and other government schools. But no one came forward. They thus took up the responsibility of supplying copies of the holy Quran and prayer mats, along with Noorani Qaida and head scarves.
