Leader of Jamiat Ulema Hind, Mufti Mohammad Ilyas Qasmi, stirred up a controversy on Thursday when he referred to Lord Shiva as the first messenger of Islam. Qasmi, a senior leader of the Jamiat who has been propagating Hindu-Muslim unity in Ayodhya, said he backed the RSS view that "every Indian is a Hindu." Qasmi elaborated that Muslims were also followers of Sanatan Dharma and "have no reservations in accepting that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati were part of the series of a lakh and twenty four thousand prophets sent to Earth with a mission to establish humanity, true religion and God's rule in the world".