Waseem Rizvi has done the unthinkable – he has written a New Quran excluding the 26 controversial versus of Quran which he says promotes terrorism. Waseem Rizvi, the former Chairman to Shia Central Wakf Board of Uttar Pradesh, is a target of choicest abuses, death threads, open beheading appeals, with massive Islamist crowd chanting, Gustakh e Quran ka ek hi saza, Sar tan se juda, Sar tan se juda” for daring to petition the Supreme Court for review of Quran and deletion of its 26 controversial verses. AAP’s Amanatullah Khan openly said that Waseem Rizvi under Sharia rule should be beheaded for ‘blasphemy’. Sayed Kalbe Jawad, a prominent Shia cleric, declared him a non-Muslim and said he should be awarded capital punishment for blasphemy.

The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Rohinton Nariman added to the fundamentalist fury by dismissing his petition without even examining the said controversial verses of Quran calling for killing of all non-believers (Kafirs), referring to idol worshippers as Devils revering Satan and all other faiths other than Islam as false religions.

In an interview to Newsroom Post Waseem Rizvi can be seen saying, that he has created a new Quran by removing the 26 verses which promote terrorism and violence. He also says that he has rearranged the sequencing of the verses in Quran. He also appeals in the interview to PM Modi to make his new Quran a part of curriculum in madrasas across the country, so that young minds are not mentally brainwashed to hate non-Muslims and take to terrorism by radical Maulanas. He says he has written a letter to PM Modi and enclosed his new version of Quran with his letter. He also says that he plans to publish many copies of the new Quran and make it available in the market for sale.

Notably, Rizvi had sought in his petition to the Supreme Court to delete the following controversial verses of Quran: –

Surah 9 Verse 5; Surah 9 Verse 28; Surah 4 Verse 101; Surah 9 Verse 123; Surah 4 Verse 56; Surah 9 Verse 23; Surah 9 Verse 37; Surah 5 Verse 57; Surah 33 Verse 61; Surah 21 Verse 98; Surah 32 Verse 22; Surah 48 Verse 20; Surah 8 Verse 69; Surah 66 Verse 9; Surah 41 Verse 27; Surah 41 Verse 28; Surah 9 Verse 111; Surah 9 Verse 58; Surah 8 Verse 65; Surah 5 Verse 51; Surah 9 Verse 29; Surah 5 Verse 14; Surah 4 Verse 89; Surah 9 Verse 14; Surah 3 Verse 151; and Surah 2 Verse 191.

It is hoped that the central government takes Rizvi’s version of the new Quran seriously and tries to promote a new Quran without controversial and inciteful passages with respect to other faiths, non-believers and conversions to Islam. There should be a healthy debate in academic circles and public discourse for amendment of crude and barbaric Mediaeval ideas and practices in Islam, just as other faiths have removed and outlawed certain barbaric practices violating basic human rights not acceptable in civilized society.

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