The Qur’an explicitly states:
Indeed this, your ummah, is one ummah, and I am your Lord, so worship Me.
(Qur’an 21:92)
Our Beloved Messenger Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) stated:
The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever.
(Reported by Bukhari and Muslim)
In accordance with the teachings of the Qur’an and the Messenger of Allah as set out above, we cannot as Muslims sit by and be bystanders while witnessing the oppression, lynching, killing and usurping of rights of our fellow 200 Million Muslims in India.
The recent Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) introduced by the BJP Government and passed by Parliament in December 2019 provides a pathway for residents to obtain Indian Nationality. However, it restricts eligibility to only Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians and will not be applicable to Muslims. This is nothing but a glaring act of discrimination on the basis of religion against Muslims by the Indian Parliament in contradiction of a supposedly secular Indian Constitution Parliament swore to uphold.
The CAA, the recent revoking of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution (which allowed Kashmir autonomy), and the destruction of centuries old Babri Mosque are all testament to the disturbing trajectory toward division and the alienation of its own Muslim citizens the Indian State is taking, and we continue to be staggered and puzzled by the silence, and in several cases, tacit approval, of World governments and leaders who present as sticklers for human rights and global harmony.
Islam and Muslims are as interwoven in the rich fabric of Indian history as are the other creeds and customs in India suddenly afforded preference and protection by the State. It should not be forgotten that it was the Muslims of India who started the uprising against oppressive colonisation with the likes of great scholars such as Maulana Qasim Nanotawi (who later became one of the founders of the prestigious Dār al-ʿUlūm Deoband), Maulana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi and Hafiz Zamin Shaheed who fought the imperial army under the leadership of Haji lmdadullah at Shamli Field. They fought under the unifiying banner of freedom and justice for all Indians and were loath to let racial or credal sensibilities stand in the way of their noble cause.
We thus urge World Leaders to stand together for every oppressed peoples as they would their own people to end the brazen Islamophobia taking root in India and encouraged by the Indian Government.