“Issue Fatva To Make Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati Prophets”: BJP Leader Abdullakkutty To Muslim Scholars
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national vice president A. P. Abdullakutty has stirred a fresh political and theological debate by urging prominent Islamic scholars to re-evaluate traditional stances on national symbols. Speaking on the ongoing controversy surrounding the recitation of the national song Vande Mataram, the senior politician called upon Muslim clerics, specifically naming Kerala based prominent Muslim leader Samastha president Sayyid Muhammad Jiffri Muthukkoya Thangal, to issue a decree that bridges religious practice with national reverence.
Addressing the long-standing opposition expressed by sections of the Muslim community regarding specific verses of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s composition, Abdullakutty claimed that the theological objections raised against the song lack foundational merit within Islamic jurisprudence.
BJP national vice president, AP Abdullakutty said: “Now, Muslims are not permitted to sing certain stanzas; the argument is that it contradicts Islamic beliefs because the song references Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati.”
“But if you look at this through the lens of Muslim religious belief, there is no substance to it. One of the fundamental tenets is the belief in angels, prophets, and messengers—what does that mean?”
“That means accepting all the prophets and teachers to date. If that is the case, what is wrong with respecting angels like Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati?”
“My humble request is that (Muslim) scholars like Jiffri Thangal should resolve this issue by issuing a new fatva.”
The friction surrounding Vande Mataram dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Composed in 1875 by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and later integrated into his 1882 novel Anandamath, the poem played an instrumental role since in then the debates surrounding India’s secular nature.
Its full version contains distinct imagery that has historically divided opinion among different religious groups.
While the initial stanzas focus primarily on praising the natural beauty, fertility, and personification of the motherland, the subsequent stanzas explicitly identify the nation as a divine mother figure, equating the motherland directly with Hindu deities. Specific verses invoke Durga, the goddess of power and protection, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and wisdom.
For many devout Muslims, Islamic theology rests strictly upon the doctrine of Tawhid—the unyielding belief in absolute monotheism. Under this principle, acts of worship, veneration, or personifying the land as a deity are viewed as incompatible with core Islamic practices.
Historically, scholars and organisations, such as the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, have taken the stance that while Muslims respect the motherland and are deeply patriotic, they cannot engage in rituals or sing stanzas that attribute divinity to any entity other than the Almighty.
In 1937, recognising these sensibilities during the freedom movement, the Indian National Congress adopted only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram as the official national song, omitting the later stanzas that contained explicit religious iconography. Despite this historic compromise, debates surrounding the full recitation of the song periodically resurface in Indian political discourse.
Abdullakutty’s intervention, though many argue that he is trying to find relevance in national politics, aims to reframe this historical impasse by invoking Islamic concepts of past prophets (Anbiya) and angels (Mala’ikah).
