Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said on Wednesday that he saluted the patriotic spirit of Muslim body Islam Gymkhana for deciding to terminate the services of Abbas Kazmi as its trustee for defending Mumbai attacks terrorist Ajmal Kasab.
"Accepting Kasab's brief is like being the devil's advocate and is against the tenets of Islam. We call such Islam a national religion and salute it," Thackeray said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana.
"If all Muslims behave and live in this manner, no quarrel remains," he said, commenting on the gymkhana's decision to terminate Kazmi's appointment as a trustee for "agreeing to defend the most dreaded terrorist". Ridiculing Kasab's wish that he wants to move around in jail for a breath of fresh air, Thackeray said "those killed by Kasab also wanted to inhale fresh air. The people he killed were Hindus and poor Muslims. Islam Gymkhana has set an ideal and has displayed nationalism, he said. Had the Muslim community gone that way earlier, the picture of India would have been different," he said. "In this country, Hindus do not have the protection of those in power that Muslims enjoy," the Sena chief said.
Coverage: Terror strikes Mumbai