The crackdown on radical Islamist outfit, Popular Front of India (PFI) and the arrest of over 100 of its members by the Modi government has riled up certain section of the society. One of them irked by the development seems to be a journalist associated with the English daily ‘The Hindu’, Ziya Us Salam.
In an article dated September 28, Ziya lamented how the Islamic organisation, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, has maintained silence over the government’s crusade against PFI. The journalist then used statements made by members of another Islamist outfit, Jamaat-e-Islami, to make a case for the PFI.
Citing Jamaat’s President Syed Sadatullah Hussain, he tried to suggest that the ban on PFI was ‘selective, unjustified and undemocratic.’ Ziya then again quoted Jamaat to claim that the ‘culture of banning organisations’ violated fundamental rights that are enshrined in the Constitution.
‘The Hindu’ journalist failed to mention why the Modi government was forced to ban the outfit in the first place, including the event that was the final nail in its coffin. Ziya also skirted incidents of systemic violence, vandalism, and killings orchestrated by its members.
In a follow-up article on Saturday (October 1), he went on a tirade against Jamiat Ulama-e-Hindu for being a mute spectator to the government action against PFI. The Hindu journalist went on to suggest that the Islamic organisation is pandering to the BJP.
“Quietly, unobtrusively, the oldest Muslim organisation in the country, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind is warming up to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Without making any formal announcement about it or lending explicit support at the time of elections, the Jamiat has been happy to support the BJP…” he wrote.
Ziya further added, “…Be it the recent ban on Popular Front of India or the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to start a survey of non-regular madrasas. Much of the support is hush-hush though.”
‘The Hindu’ journalist accused Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind of washing their hands off the ‘PFI crackdown’ in its entirety. He also lambasted the Islamic organisation for being hands-in-gloves with the BJP and supporting the survey of unregistered madrassas in Uttar Pradesh.
“The new political tone of the Jamiat comes as a surprise, considering the body has been softly but consistently aligned with the Congress since Independence though in recent years in U.P. at least, it has never been too far from extending tacit support to the Samajwadi Party,” he stated.
Quoting one Jamiat member, he suggested that the Islamic organisation has been forced to reach an ‘existential compromise’ with the ruling BJP. However, nothing can be further from the truth.
Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind and its history of defending terrorists
While the BJP has been firm on the issue of nationalism and defending the country’s integrity from both internal and external threats, the same cannot be said about Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind.
The Islamic organisation has a history of providing legal support to Muslims accused of terrorism cases for over a decade now. It has defended its actions, saying that they provide legal services to ‘innocent Muslims’.
The legal cell, set up by JUH president Maulana Arshad Madani in 2007, takes up the cases and enlists lawyers to defend the terror accused in the courts. According to a New Indian Express report, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind has offered its services to around 700 accused.
What is worrying about such interventions is that they have been able to get acquittals of at least 192 terror accused since 2007. Most of the acquittals did not take place owing to the proven innocence of the accused. Instead, the Muslim men were released due to a lack of evidence or shoddy investigation by the police.
Some of the other cases in which Jamiat has come forward to provide legal aid to terror-accused:
- Lashkar Connection Case (Abdul Rahman V/s State SLP)
- ISIS conspiracy case Kochi (State of Kerala v/s Arshi Qureshi & others)
- ISIS conspiracy case Mumbai (Arshi Qurashi & others v/s State of Maharashtra)
- ISIS conspiracy case (State of Rajasthan v/s Sirajuddin)
- 26/11 Mumbai attack case (Syed Zabiuddin v/s State of Maharashtra)
- Chinnaswamy Stadium Bomb Blast Case (State V/s Qatil Siddiqui and others)
- Jungli Maharaj Road Pune Bomb blast case (A.T.S. v/s Asad Khan & others)
- Indian Mujahideen Case (Maharashtra VS Afzal Usmani & others)
- Zaveri Bazar Serial Blast (State v/s Azaz Shaikh and others)
- SIMI conspiracy case (Madhya Pradesh) State V/S Irfan Muchale & others)
- Jama Masjid Blast Case (Delhi State V/s Qateel Siddqui Others)
- Indian Mujahideen conspiracy case (State vs. Yasin Bhatkal & others) Ahmedabad Serial Blast Case 2008 (State V/s Jahid & Others)
While the usual suspects are busy peddling conspiracy theories and batting for radical Islamist outfits, those acquainted with the Modi government’s track record of last 8 years are unlikely to fall for it.