No, APJ Abdul Kalam Didn't Say This Against Madrasas or Quran

A newspaper clipping of a quote about the Quran (a holy book in Islam) being used to 'teach religious intolerance in madrasas' (Islamic institutions of learning) and advising a ban on them to 'control terrorism' in India is being shared on social media.

The quote, which is being widely shared, is being attributed to Late Former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

However, there is no public record or news report that attributes the quote to Kalam. We also reached out to Kalam's nephew who said "Kalam never interfered with religion".

CLAIM

The quote is being widely shared as a photo of a newspaper clipping. The photo shows a photograph of Dr Kalam, accompanied by text in Hindi, which reads:

"मुसलमान पैदायशी आतंकीवादी नही होते, उन्हें मदरसों में कुरान पढ़ाई जाती है,जिसके अनुसार वो हिन्दू, सिक्ख, बौद्ध, ईसाई, यहूदी और गैर-मुसलमानो को चुन चुन कर मरते हैं। आतंकवाद पर नियंत्रण के लिए भारत में चल रहे हजारो मदरसों पर प्रतिबंध लगाना बेहद जरूरी है। ए.पी.जे.अब्दुल कलाम"

[Translation: Muslims are not born terrorists; they are taught the Quran in madrasas, according to which Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, and non-Muslims are to be selectively killed. To control terrorism in India, it is extremely important to impose restrictions on the thousands of madrasas running in the country. - A P J Abdul Kalam.]

At the time of writing this article, this post by Facebook user Jyotsna Lath was liked more than 2,200 times and was shared by nearly 14,000 users.

The post is being widely shared across social media platforms. Some of the posts can be seen here, here and here.

We also found some more claims dating back to 2020, 2019, and 2015,

The Quint received queries regarding the quote on its WhatsApp tipline as well.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We didn't find any news reports or public document/record of any such quote that was attributed to the former president.

However, on filtering by time of Google, we came across a blog post dated 14 December 2014, titled 'Computer and Quran' by one LR Gandhi, which was published approximately six months before Dr Kalam's demise.

The blogpost carried the quote and attributed it to Kalam.

The Quint reached out to APJMJ Sheik Saleem, the grand-nephew of Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, who rubbished the claim.

"This is a wrong message that has been circulating on social media. Yesterday, I also received the same message. But he never made these types of comments on any religion. He never interfered with religion."

APJMJ Sheikh Saleem, APJ Abdul Kalam's Grand-Nephew

Clearly, there is neither any public record nor any source to this quote which is now being attributed to the former president.

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