Islamic texts, Prophet acknowledged ill effects of beef consumption:Kathiria

Gandhinagar

Amid a controversy over a billboard of the Gauseva and Gauchar Vikas Board of the Gujarat government appealing people to abstain from eating beef citing the Quran, chairman of the board Vallabhbhai Kathiria today said that those who were creating a fuss over the issue must know that the disease causing effects of beef was mentioned in the Islamic religious texts and was even acknowledged by Prophet Mohamed himself.

He also said that the billboard was just a part of a bigger campaign to make people aware of various benefits from the preservation of cows.

‘As per best of my knowledge the information in the billboard was true and rightly quoted. Even the revered Prophet Mohamed’s teachings in the Hadis mentions the ill effects of beef consumption. It is also found in the Islamic religious texts elsewhere. Our purpose was to aware people about cow preservation which entails many benefits. The very purpose should not be lost,’ Mr. Kathiria said adding the board has prepared at least 15 different billboards including this one to propagate the benefits from cow like the medicinal properties of cow milk, ghee and even its urine and dung.

On being asked whether the government would remove the disputed billboard, Mr. Kathiria said these are temporary ones and are meant to be replaced within a given time period.

Billboards have come up in Bapunagar locality in Ahmedabad that sought protection of cows and use a verse, claimed to be from Quran, to justify it. The billboards carry the picture of state Chief Minister Anandiben Patel and the Islamic symbol of the crescent moon and star.

The verse on the billboard reads “Akramul Bakra Fainaha Saiyedul Bahaima”. It has been translated as: “Show respect to cows as it is the leader of all bovines. Its milk, ghee and butter have therapeutic properties and its meat is the cause of several diseases’’.

However, Several Muslim leaders have denied the verse is from Quran.

– DeshGujarat