Muslim Rashtriya Manch Congress is responsible for a leadership within the Muslim community. The MRM has also expressed support for many of the causes espoused by the RSS, including the banning of cow-slaughter. Its national convener, Mohammed Afzal, stated that the organisation faced significant resistance in the days following the Godhra train burning and the 2002 Gujarat riots. In November 2009 the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, one of the largest Islamic organisations in India, passed a resolution describing "Vande Mataram" as an un-Islamic song. The MRM expressed opposition to the resolution. Afzal stated "Our Muslim brothers should not follow the fatwa as Vande Mataram is
Vande Mataram unlike later verses that compare certain qualities of thee country and mother to goddesses like Durga and Lakshmi. There is no time limit or circumstantial specification for the rendition of this song [unlike the national anthem "Jana Gana Mana" that specifies 52 seconds]. The root of the Sanskrit word Vande is "Vand", which appears in "Rigveda" and other Vedic texts. According to Monier Monier-Williams, depending on the context, "vand" means "to praise, celebrate, laud, extol, to show honour, do homage, salute respectfully", or "deferentially, venerate, worship, adore", or "to offer anything respectfully to". The word "Mātaram" has Indo-European roots in