Row Erupts Over UP Cleric Claiming Lord Krishna Offered Islamic Prayers

Varanasi: A massive controversy has erupted following highly polarizing remarks by a controversial Uttar Pradesh-based cleric, Maulana Jarjis Ansari, who publicly claimed that Lord Krishna was a Muslim and offered Islamic namaz (prayers) five times a day. The statements, which recently surfaced across social media platforms, have sparked intense outrage and led multiple Hindu organizations to demand the immediate arrest of the cleric.

The row stems from a video clip of a religious address delivered by Ansari. In his speech, the cleric attempted to validate his claim by citing Verse 10 of Chapter 6 from the holy Hindu scripture, the Shri Bhagavad Gita. He argued that if closely scrutinized, the text instructs devotees to worship with their "whole body," which he explicitly mapped to Islamic prayer rituals. "If you do not believe it, see the tenth verse of the sixth chapter. Lord Krishna himself offered prayers five times a day," the cleric asserted, adding that historical Hindu deities originally preached universal Islamic values.

However, standard theological interpretations flatly contradict the cleric's claims. The cited Gita verse translates purely to an instruction for a yogi to constantly engage in deep, solitary meditation with complete self-control, completely free from materialistic desires and possessiveness. The text contains absolutely no references to Islamic rituals or time-bound prayers.

Condemning the remarks, right-wing outfits and local seers filed formal police complaints, accusing Ansari of deliberately trying to sabotage communal harmony amid ongoing sensitive temple disputes. Security has been stepped up in sensitive areas, and cyber units are actively monitoring online platforms to curb the spread of inflammatory content. Notably, the cleric has been a deeply controversial figure in the past and was previously convicted in a separate criminal case by a Varanasi court.