Newsletter (May 22) – Attacks on Indian Muslims, their places of worship, and more
In May 2022, police unleashed terror on Muslims in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states in the aftermath of April’s Hindu extremist violence in Muslim neighborhoods. In Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone, police arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned, and tortured Muslim men. At least 150 Muslim men, including 14 minors, were imprisoned, while Hindu supremacists responsible for rioting, looting, arson, and physical assault largely remain untouched.
Hindu extremists launched a series of campaigns attacking historic mosques across India, claiming that these structures were once Hindu temples and should be reclaimed by Hindus. Hindu extremists declared that a wudu fountain in the 358-year-old Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh was actually a Shivling or a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva. Clamor has also increased for demolishing the 352-year-old Shahi Idgah mosque over the false claim that the mosque was built on the exact birthplace of the Hindu deity Krishna.
India’s court system has been largely complicit in enabling these campaigns to erase and saffronize India’s Islamic history. In a move to stop prayers in Gyanvapi, the Supreme Court ordered the mosque’s wudu fountain to be sealed off for “protection.” Meanwhile, a Mathura court declared that the Places of Worship Act, a law which makes it illegal for the character of a religious place to be altered, does not apply to Shahi Idgah, hinting at the notion that the mosque could soon meet the same fate as the Babri Masjid. These statements have enabled Hindu extremists to launch attacks demanding that the Taj Mahal and Delhi’s Qutub Minar monument be searched for idols.
Hindu extremist leaders and politicians, especially from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP, have continued to incite anti-Muslim hatred. Pramod Muthalik, chief of the extremist group Sri Ram Sena, called on Hindus to take up arms against Muslims. News anchor Suresh Chavhanke administered an oath to a crowd of Hindi extremists, including BJP leader Aseem Goyal to turn India into a Hindu nation.
India Genocide News
Hindu Extremists Call Muslims A Cancer, Say They’ll Behead Muslims »
Muslim Riot Victims Protest State Persecution in BJP ruled Madhya Pradesh »
More News
- Hindu Extremists Plant Saffron Flag Atop Karnataka Mosque »
- Hindu Extremist Mob Pelt Stones At Muslim Homes, Set Mosque Ablaze In Madhya Pradesh »
- Hindu Extremists Target Historic Shahi Idgah Mosque To Turn It Into A Hindu Temple »
- BJP Legislator Attends Illegal Arms Training By Hindu Extremist Group Bajrang Dal In Karnataka »
India Genocide News Round-up
IAMC Responds
Court Order to Seal Historic Gyanvapi Mosque condemned by Indian Americans »
The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos, today strongly condemned the order of an Indian court to seal part of the historic Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.On Monday, a lawyer commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra, who was directed to survey the mosque — after a group of Hindu women filed a petition
More
- IAMC Condemns Police Terror Against Muslims in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh »
- Letter Urging President Biden to Designate India as Country of Particular Concern »
IAMC Report
State of Religious Minorities in India (March 2022) »
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) still have not effectively condemned recent and past calls for mass violence against Christians and the genocide of Muslims, this report details the continuing hate speech (including renewed calls for mass violence and genocide), discriminatory policies, harassment, and violence targeting Christians and Muslims over March 2022.
IAMC in Media
- India Today: IAMC condemns court’s order on Gyanvapi mosque »
- Republic TV: IAMC Accuses RSS & BJP’s Involvement In Gyanvapi Case »
- The Wire: IAMC’s statement on Gyanvapi mosque »
- Survival International: IAMC participates in global protests to mark int’l day of action to #SaveHasdeo »
