Ajmer : Syed Zainul Abedin, the spiritual head of the Ajmer sufi shrine, was on Wednesday ‘sacked’ by his brother for the ‘blasphemous’ support to the ban on slaughter of ‘bovines’ and selling beef in the country and declared a “non Muslim”.
Syed Alaudin Alimi claimed he had the support of the family in sacking Abedin and anointing himself as the new ‘deewan’, spiritual chief, of the Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti mausoleum in Ajmer – one of the most famous Muslim shrines visited by millions of devotees from across the sub-continent every year.
The post is hereditary and belongs to heirs of the 12th-13th century sufi priest. Deewan has no control over the management of the shrine but gets a monthly remuneration from the management committee, which is appointed by the government.
“I am the new deewan. I have the support of the entire (Chishti) clan,” Alimi told IANS.
