MES President receives death threat after burqa ban

Kozhikode (Kerala) [India], May 4 (ANI): Muslim Education Society (MES) President Dr P A Fazal Gafoor has received an anonymous call threatening to kill him, a day after he issued a circular banning students from covering their faces with religious veils at its educational institutions.
He received the call from an international number on Friday, following which he filed a complaint at Nadalkavu police here, he said in a complaint in which he had alleged that the caller used "threatening, harsh and demeaning" words against him.
Founded in 1964, MES runs as many as 35 colleges and 72 schools.
In the notice banning religious veils issued on May 2, he had also asked the institution heads and officer-bearers of the local management of the institutions to remain vigilant.
His notice had come days after Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna' demanded the imposition of a ban on the burqa in India in the interest of national security, citing a similar measure taken in Sri Lanka after the deadly Easter Sunday attacks last month.
The editorial had stated, "It has happened in Ravan's Lanka. When will it happen in Ram's Ayodhya? We ask this question to the Prime Minister as he is scheduled to visit Ayodhya on Wednesday."
The Sena's proposal, however, was rejected by an NDA ally, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale of the Republican Party of India, who said that burqa should not be banned as it forms part of the country's tradition.
The Sri Lankan government on April 28 took necessary measures to impose a complete ban on all types of burqas and face covers in the wake of the horrific terror bombings that rattled the entire country on the occasion of Easter Sunday on April 21, claiming the lives of more than 250 people and injuring hundreds. (ANI)