The Vedic Ashram Gurukula Mahavidyalaya in Uttarakhand’s Kotdwar has organized a five-day yoga camp exclusively for Muslims. The camp is said to be the first of its kind in the world and is expecting 500 participants.
The event will be held from November 20-24 and will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Trivendra Singh Rawat. Patanjali Yogpeeth will teach various Yoga postures to the participants who will also offer Namaz in the same event.
“There was a misconception among Muslims that Yoga is against Islam. Some youths from the community approached me and expressed an interest in holding such a camp. To remove that misconception, this camp is being organized,” founder of the Mahavidyalaya, Dr Vishwapal Jayant, told The Indian Express.
Yunus Kasmi, a professor at the Jamia Tibbiya Unani Medical College in Deoband, also supported the Yoga camp. “Yoga does not belong to any particular religion. It is essential for our physical health and mental peace, ” ANI quoted him Kasmi as saying.
BJP leaders including Union Ministers Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Mahendra Nath Pandey, MoS Sanjeev Balyan, and State Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat will be attending the camp. Apart from them, there will be several party leaders coming from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
Acharya Balakrishna of the Patanjali Yogpeeth will also be present at the camp along with Swami Chidanand of the Paramartha Niketan and Bhramachari Kailashananda of Kali Dham.
Speaking on the presence of Indresh Kumar, the RSS ideologue and margdarshak of RSS backed Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), Jayant said that Kumar is interested in bringing many people from the Muslim community to attend the camp and associate them with Yoga.
Leaders from the RSS – backed Muslim Rashtriya Manch are also expected at the event. The national convener of the MRM Mohammad Afzal was reported by the newspaper saying, “The MRM is at the foundation of the event. The camp is aimed to make Muslims aware of the benefits of Yoga.”
Despite the presence of many political leaders in the upcoming camp, any political connection to this event has been denied by the advisor and coordinator, Dharmendra Balyan. He was reported saying, “An invitation has been sent to several eminent personalities who hold important positions. But there is no political connection with this event.”
Speculations were rife about the RSS national executive member Indresh Kumar attending the event to which Jayant said that Kumar is interested in bringing many people from the Muslim community to attend the camp and associate them with Yoga.
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