Hindu faith denigrated, Muslim cleric claims idol worship bigger sin than child rape
India 
25 January, 2025
Case Summary
US-based Muslim cleric Mufti Dr Yasir Nadeem Al Wajidi was heard denigrating the Hindu faith. In a social media live stream, the cleric brazenly proclaimed that idol worship is a greater sin than the rape of a child. By making this comparison, he disparaged Hindu religious beliefs, demeaned the sanctity of Hindu worship and deeply hurt Hindu religious sentiments. Mufti Dr Yasir Nadeem Al Wajidi is an Islamic scholar of Indian origin who originally hails from Deoband. He is currently a United States citizen and lives in Chicago, Illinois. He conducts online question-and-answer sessions through Darul Uloom Online, where people worldwide participate and ask him questions. The disparaging remark that recently resurfaced and went viral again was originally made during a discussion that dated back to 2024, although the video was uploaded to YouTube on 26 January 2025. During the online question-and-answer programme, a participant posed a question, asking him to compare two individuals: one engaged in idol worship and the other committing a sexual offence against a minor girl. The participant asked which of the two acts constituted the graver sin. In response, Mufti Yasir identified idol worship as the greater sin from an Islamic theological perspective and proceeded to explain his reasoning. The video subsequently circulated on the social media platform X. Harendra Chaudhary, a resident of Haryana, shared the video and submitted a written complaint to the police in Deoband, Saharanpur. He objected to the cleric's remarks, saying they hurt religious sentiments and sent a harmful message to society. He sought legal action against Mufti Yasir over the statement. Following the complaint, Deoband police took cognisance of the matter and registered a criminal case against Mufti Yasir under the relevant legal provisions concerning the hurt to religious sentiments. The police initiated an investigation and said they examined the viral video, the remarks in the complaint, and the available evidence and facts before deciding on further legal action. After the FIR, Mufti Yasir released the full recording of the question-and-answer programme on social media to explain himself. In the full video, he addressed another question and distinguished between a religious sin and a crime requiring human intervention. He claimed that although the rape of a child was a crime, Allah would forgive the accused if the victim pardoned him, but idol worship constitutes the gravest sin in Islamic theology. He further said that, according to Haqooq ul Ibad, or the rights of God, Allah has said that he can forgive every kind of sin except idol worship. Mufti Yasir claimed the original discussion took place in 2024 and that only an incomplete portion of the recording had been circulated on social media, omitting the subsequent clarification. He also claimed that he had previously appeared before the police and explained the same matter the previous year.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to the tracker under the primary category: Hate Speech against Hindus. The subcategory selected is: Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. The incident reflects hostility towards Hindu religious beliefs and the sanctity of Hindu worship. By declaring idol worship a greater sin than the rape of a child, Mufti Dr Yasir Nadeem Al Wajidi made a deeply derogatory comparison that placed a central practice of Hinduism beneath even a grave act of sexual violence. His remarks did not merely express a theological disagreement with idol worship; they demeaned a form of religious devotion practised by millions of Hindus and portrayed their worship as an offence of extraordinary gravity. Such a comparison is particularly disturbing because Hindu murtis are not objects of worship in isolation but sacred representations through which devotees express their faith, reverence and relationship with the divine. Any attempt to mock or desecrate them is not merely an expression of individual opinion; it is an act of deep religious insult. In this case, the Muslim cleric made objectionable remarks denigrating sacred Hindu idol worship, explicitly describing it as a greater sin than the rape of a minor girl, thereby disparaging a central tenet of Hindu religious faith and practice. This was not a random or misguided act, but a calculated and ideologically rooted expression of religious hatred. In Islamic theology, idol worship, referred to as Shirk, is regarded as the gravest sin. The Qur'an strictly condemns it, and Islamic teachings emphasise the complete rejection of any practice associated with idol worship. Muslims are taught from a young age that idolatry is an unforgivable sin. While this belief is central to Islamic faith, it has also led, historically and in contemporary times, to intolerance and hostility towards idol-worshipping religions, especially Hinduism. When individuals publicly mock Hindu deities, it reflects more than personal disrespect. It is often the manifestation of deep-seated theological contempt against Hindu practices, stemming from the Islamic doctrinal view that idol worship is impure and offensive. Such actions target the identity, beliefs, and dignity of Hindus. Mockery of deities is a deliberate attack on the religious sentiments of Hindus that stems from the intrinsic animosity against the religion. This is why this incident warrants inclusion in the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case has specified the exact date when the remarks were made. The cleric stated that the original discussion dated back to 2024; however, the video was uploaded to YouTube on 26th January 2025. As none of the media reports specified the exact date of the original discussion, for documentation purposes, the incident date has been recorded as 26th January 2025, based on the video's upload date.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
