Indian Islamists have repeatedly exposed themselves through their double standards, which has become even more evident during the ongoing Israel-Hamas/Palestine conflict. From attacking Hindu festivals to standing in solidarity with the Hamas terrorist organization, Indian Islamists have always stood against Bharat out of their deep-seated hatred for Hindus and Hindu Dharma.

A brief history of Islamism

It would be apt to remind Maulana Arshad Madani of the history of radical Islamic movements (under the garb of revivalist movements) in Bharat and how it is extremely intolerant of everything un-Islamic (the only aim being to turn Bharat into Darul Islam from Darul Harb or the land of infidels):

1) Shah Waliullah of Delhi (1703-1753 or 1762 by some accounts) combined religious scholarship with an active role in political matters. He wrote to the Afghan chieftain Ahmed Shah Abdali (1722-1772), asking him to attack the Marathas and save the Mughal empire from losing territory. He emphasized the importance of Muslim political power and ascribed Muslim decline to the rise of the secular monarchy at the expense of the religiously guided caliphate.

2) The Mujahidin Movement was initiated by Sayyid Ahmed Bareili (aka Syed Ahmad Barelvi, 1786-1831) in northwest India. The founder Sayyid Ahmed Bareili was influenced by Wahhabi teachings during a pilgrimage to Mecca and returned to Bharat with the belief that there was a need to purify Islam as it was practised in Bharat and to re-establish Muslim power.

3) Founded in 1866/67 by Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, the Darul Uloom (Center of Learning) at Deoband (a town in Uttar Pradesh, Bharat) spearheaded a traditionalist reform movement among South Asia’s Muslims after the last Mughal emperor was exiled by the British following the 1857 war of Independence. The basic goal of the Deoband School is ‘purifying Islam of such un-Islamic beliefs and practices’.

4) The Tablighi Jamaat that originated in the Mewat region of Bharat in 1926/27 to urge Muslims to return to a ‘pure form’ of Sunni Islam is another offshoot of the Darul Uloom of Deoband.

5) The Jamaat-e-Islami, founded in 1941 by Abu Ala Maududi, divided itself into three organizations after partition, one each for Bharat, Pakistan, and Kashmir. Maududi’s main ideas focused on the notion of a single law (i.e., Sharia), divine sovereignty, and the belief that the struggle between Islam and un-Islam would lead to an Islamic revolution that would bring about the creation of an Islamic state. Maududi insisted it was necessary to Islamize society before creating the Islamic state.

These are just some of the Islamic movements that were started in the Bharatiya subcontinent. It must be emphasized that all Islamic movements are ultimately driven by the Quran and Hadith and Muslim revivalism to cleanse Islam of ‘corrupt’ (Hindu) influences in the Bharatiya sub-continent gained strength from their exchanges with the Saudi Wahhabi ideology.

The Wahhabi movement was founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the 18th century in Najd, Central Arabia, to be adopted by the Saudi ruling dynasty in 1744 and, since that time, has been the brand of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia. They reject all acts that they consider polytheism (shirk), and this includes visiting tombs or venerating saints. They advocate following only the original teachings in the Q’uran and Sunnah and recommend literal interpretation of these texts. Other sources of doctrine are considered ‘innovations’ (bid’ah) and not true to the faith.

Regarding the influence of Wahhabi ideology in India, Uday Mahurkar mentions the Taqwiyat-ul-Ima:

…a book being taught in all Wahhabi madrasas in the country for over 150 years now, which preaches hatred…..The book was written in the 1820s by Delhi-based Wahhabi Maulvi Shah Ismail, who was a disciple of Syed Ahmed Barelvi.

The term “Taliban” originates from Pashto or Dari, rooted in Persian, meaning “students.” This radical Islamic group emerged in Afghanistan. The Deobandi tradition, founded in the Deoband seminary in India’s Uttar Pradesh, gained prominence among the Pashtuns, an ethnic group straddling the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Following India’s partition in 1947, numerous Deobandi scholars migrated to Pakistan, where they established numerous madrassas.

During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the CIA covertly supported mujahideen through Pakistan’s ISI, many of whom were linked to Deobandi madrassas. Simultaneously, Saudi Arabia funded these madrassas, introducing Wahhabism. Certain Sufi groups exhibited anti-Hindu sentiments, exemplified by the dargah of Moinuddin Chisti. Taliban sympathizers have also emerged in India.

The emergence of support for radical Islam like the Taliban and Hamas within India is an indication that Deobandis and other Indian Muslim fundamentalists are waiting for an opportune moment to advance their interests.

Atrocities on Hindu minorities in subcontinental Islamic nations

Abduction, rape, forced conversion, and marriage of minor Hindu girls are common occurrences in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. At least 1000 minority girls suffer such sex slavery every year in Sindh province alone. Apart from this, Pakistani Hindus face systemic and institutionalized discrimination and neglect, such as frequent attacks on Hindu temples, demonization of education curriculum, police and judicial antipathy, denial of fundamental rights, and even untouchability.

Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh are relentless and designed to cleanse the religious minority from the country gradually. According to a study by Prof. Abul Barakat of Dhaka University, no Hindus will be left in Bangladesh by 2050 due to systemic and institutionalized persecution. Temple desecration, land grabbing, mob attacks after false blasphemy charges, rape/forced conversion of women, and hate speech are tools used to intimidate and drive Hindus out.

Indian Islamists vocal for Palestine

It is in this background that the support of Indian Islamists to Palestine (read Hamas) must be seen.

1) Ilyaz Riyaji called India a terrorist state along with Israel while openly supporting Hamas in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. He was speaking at a massive demonstration held in Tamil Nadu’s (TN) Coimbatore in a show of ‘solidarity’ for Palestine organized by All Jamaat and Islamic organizations. Riyaji, who was one of the speakers, is an Imam from Mandaveli.

2) Kerala’s IUML held a pro-Palestine rally in Kozhikode that was not only attended by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor but also addressed by Former Hamas Chief Khaled Mashal. The state’s Communist CM, Pinarayi Vijayan, downplayed the virtual address by Mashal.

3) Not surprisingly, Asaduddin Owaisi, who refused to say Bharat Mata ki Jai, was heard raising slogans of ‘Palestine Zindabad’ in a pro-Palestine rally.

4) The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) held a pro-Palestine rally in Mumbai’s suburb of Mumbra.

5) Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Abu Asim Azmi mobilized Muslim support for Palestine in Mumbai’s Islam Gymkhana. Several members of the Muslim community were on the streets ‘condemning’ Israel and supporting Hamas.

6) Rallies expressing solidarity with Palestine/Hamas were conducted by ‘The United Milli Forum’ in Mumbra and Jamat-e-Islami Hind’s student organization (SIO) in Sambhaji Nagar. There were accusations of children being used in the Sambhaji Nagar, which was taken cognizance of by NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights).

7) Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq said that Hamas was ‘not a terrorist organization’ but one that was ‘fighting for its rights’.

8) Controversial Kerala Assembly Speaker A.N. Shamseer, who spoke sacrilegiously about Sri Ganesha and Hindu Itihasa under the guise of promoting a ‘scientific temper’, criticized the Israeli army for standing up against Hamas terrorists. The speaker said he was with Palestine in the war in West Asia. Shamseer responded that he has a ‘correct’ political side and stands with the ‘struggling’ Palestine. He even refused to apologize for hurting the sentiments of Hindu devotees. Can we expect such a person to sympathize and empathize with persecuted Hindu minorities of subcontinental Muslim nations?

9) Another SP leader who justified the attacks on Israel was Sumaiya Rana. Like her party colleague Barq, she held that Hamas was ‘not a terrorist outfit’ and that it was ‘fighting’ for Muslims.

10) Then there are Islamists like propagandists Sayema, Rana Ayyub, Arfa Khanum Sherwani, and POCSO-accused Mohammad Zubair, who have constantly run pro-Hamas propaganda. Far from sympathizing with Hindu minorities, Sherwani got into a war of words with former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria. However, she ended up exposing her own Islamist mindset, one that she shares with Sayema, Rana Ayyub, and Zubair, among other Islamists.

This is merely a snapshot of what mindset Bharatiyas are against. If they were really standing up for ‘humanity’ as claimed by Owaisi, then they should be equally moved by the plight of persecuted Hindu minorities of Islamic nations of the subcontinent and raise their voices against atrocities perpetrated by their Islamist brothers in these countries.