At the launch of “All India Dawah Centres Association” on 10th Oct 2014, at Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh. From left: Imran Shaikh, Ashraf Mohamedy, Umar Shariff, Adv. Faiz Syed, Ashraf Motlekar, Mohsin Khan.

Mumbai: The All India Dawah Centres Association (AIDCA), an association of various Islamic organisations, from across the country was launched today in Mumbai, with the goal of “standing up for the rights and security of the Islamic organisations and its members”.

Addressing the press here at the Marathi Patrakar Sangh on the occasion of its launch, AIDCA’s goals and objectives were elaborated to the Media.

Mr. Umar Shariff, the Program Manager of AIDCA, expounded about working with people across the country, to work on social welfare activities.

Mr. Shariff said that, AIDCA was established this year, in the month of August, soon after the second summit which was attended by the members of 70 Islamic organisations from states across India. AIDCA, he said was setup with the intention of uniting the Ulama (Muslim scholars), and community leaders to unitedly address issues concerning the community in the country.

“AIDCA would stand up for the victimised members of the Muslim community, who are picked up by the intelligence and authorities on the basis of suspicion alone. We would engage through all legal actions that are necessary to contest the actions of the authorities who take undue advantage of the much vulnerable Muslim community of India. All our endeavour would be within the framework of the constitution of India,” said Mr. Shariff, who is the president of Discover Islam Education Trust (DIET), an educational institute, which operates a school under its aegis in Bangalore.

On being asked about whether AIDCA would work with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he replied that it would work with him in all the good work the PM does in the country, like ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ campaign. He said the Association would work not only with minorities but even with the majority community, to remove “misconceptions about Islam and Muslims from the minds of the people.”

Mr. Ashfaq Motlekar, the National Correspondent of AIDCA spoke of conducting regular training programs for the youth to train them in equipping themselves with the knowledge of law to pursue their legal rights when they are violated.

One such “Legal Aid Workshop” is to be organized on Saturday, wherein experts from legal fields are to conduct workshop at the city’s Best Western Hotel Sahil, said Mr. Ashraf Mohamedy, the National Spokesperson of AIDCA. “Participants from all over India are expected to benefit from the same,” he added.

The Members of the Representative Council of AIDCA are: Ashraf Mohamedy, Idafa, Mumbai, Ashfaq Motlekar, Mumbai, Zaid Patel, IIC, Mumbai, Imran Khalil, Al Birr, Mumbai, Dawood Vaid, Burooj Realization, Mumbai, Umar Shariff, DIET, Karnataka, Moinudeen, Gujarat, Adv. Faiz Syed, Aurangabad, Alam, Kolkata, Mohsin Khan, Mumbai and Mujeebur Rahmaan, Tamil Nadu.

The coordination office of the Association is located at Al Birr Foundation, Mumbai.