BeyondHeadlines International Desk
Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama of Lucknow, a reputed Islamic seminary in India, has refused to welcome a Saudi delegation asked to visit the institution on 9th March.
The latest move from the seminary came as a major setback to Saudi Arabia’s public diplomacy in India driven by some Muslim outfits like Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind and Jamiat Ahle Hadees.
Nadwatul Ulama is the second largest Islamic seminary in India and third most important after Al Azhar and Deoband. Saudi Arabia has recently sought closer cooperation with Israel to stop Iranian nuclear deal with the West and had supported massacres of 1000 Egyptians following a military coup in Egypt on 3 July.
Saudi Arabia has also mobilized a diplomatic campaign against Qatar and has withdrawn its ambassador accusing Qatar of supporting Muslim Brotherhood. This week, Saudi Arabia has also declared Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.
Maulana Salman Hasni Nadwi has posted on his Facebook account that Saudi rulers have become more repressive than India’s Narendr Modi. Saudi Arabia is doing whatever Israel wants in the region.
In past, Maulana Salman Nadwi had invited Muslim organizations which are supporting and inviting Saudi ministers and Saudi diplomats and their agents for an open debate at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi.
It should be noted that many Saudi scholars have openly opposed Saudi Arabia’s support to military dictatorship in Egypt which has created serious crisis for Saudi Arabia.
Amid increasing anger from its own scholars and worldwide condemnation, Saudi Arabia has recently stepped up its public diplomacy efforts in India and Pakistan and has sent many Imams and scholars to defend Saudi Arabia’s politics against Muslim Brotherhood and Qatar.
