Months after Kanhaiyal Lal was brutally murdered in the Udaipur district of Rajasthan, the National Investigation Team (NIA) Thursday (December 22) filed a chargesheet against two Pakistani nationals and 9 others in connection to the case. The two Pakistanis were identified as Abu Ibrahim and Salman. It has also come to light that one of the killers of the Hindu tailor, Riyaz Attari, was associated with the Pakistani-based Islamist outfit Dawat-e-Islami.
Attari along with his accomplice Ghous Mohammed were also invited to visit Pakistan by senior officials of Dawat-e-Islami in the year 2014. Reportedly, Salman, one of the Pakistani nationals named in the chargesheet, had directed the duo to avenge the insult of Prophet Muhammad in a dramatic manner to set an example.
It may be recalled that on June 28 this year, a Udaipur-based tailor named Kanhaiya Lal was brutally murdered by two Islamists, Riyaz Attari and Ghous Mohammed for an alleged post in support of former spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Nupur Sharma.
The Pakistani organization formed a team of 40 people in Rajasthan to target supporters of former BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma
Before we move further, it would be worth recalling that after the heinous murder of Kanhaiya Lal, the National Investigation Agency and Anti-Terrorist Squad, probing the murder case, had revealed that the Pakistani organization Dawat-e-Islami had formed a team of 40 people in Rajasthan to target people who have expressed support for the former BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma. A list of targets was created by the terrorist outfits that were to be executed in Taliban style.
As per reports, the 40 people linked to Dawat-e-Islami were given the task of “teaching a lesson” to those who publish posts on social media in support of Nupur Sharma. These people were associated with Dawat-e-Islami for over a year. The investigation agencies found out about the conspiracy by checking the call details of terrorists Riyaz Attari and Mohammad Ghous, who were arrested for brutally killing Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur for a social media post supporting Nupur Sharma.
Over 2000 donation boxes for Dawat-e-Islami found in Ahmedabad, money collected to brainwash Muslim youth
The Islamic outfit Dawat-e-Islami’s operations are not new, and reports about its role in radicalising and brainwashing Indian Muslims have long been discussed. It was also stated that the group has collected donations from border states to help fund its operations. In fact, in February this year, OpIndia reported that over 2000 donation boxes for the Pakistan-based Islamic organisation have been found in Ahmedabad itself.
Maulana Usmani accused in the Kishan Bharwad murder case runs a centre of Dawat-e-Islami
As per the report, the money collected in the donation boxes is sent to Pakistan from where it is routed back to India via Dubai under the guise of providing Islamic education to Muslims but it is used to brainwash them instead. Maulana Usmani, whose name had come up as an accused in the Kishan Bharwad murder case, is believed to be running a centre of Dawat-e-Islami.
How Dawat-e-Islami was started in India
Dawat-e-Islami is a Pakistan-based Sunni Islamic organisation that runs several Islamic educational institutions and online courses in Pakistan and many other countries. Dawat-e-Islami, which means “Invitation to Islam,” was established in 1981 by Maulana Abu Bilal Muhammad Ilyas Attari.
As per reports, a delegation of Ulema from Pakistan visited India in 1989. They initiated talks to open a branch of Dawat-e-Islami in India. Using Tablighi Jamaat as an example, it was decided by then-members of Dawat-e-Islami to start a similar organization in India.
In 2004, Maulana Ilyas Qadri visited Mumbai and founded a branch, with Qari Shakir Ali Noori serving as the first India head. Following a disagreement with his counterpart in Pakistan, Qari Shakir Ali Noori broke away from the parent group after a few years. His faction was renamed Sunni Dawat-e-Islami, while the second faction continued to operate under the banner of Dawat-e-Islami, with Mufti Abdul Halim Ashrafi of Nagpur as its head.
The organisation’s headquarters too was shifted from Mumbai and Delhi to Nagpur.
Following the divide, Maulana Ilyas Qadri returned to India, visiting Mumbai, Nagpur, Delhi, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, and Bareilly. Now several parts of the country have branches of the Dawat-e-Islami. Every year, Dawat-e-Islami organizes an annual Ijtima (event) to join more people. A large number of people attend these events every year.
The extremist group has since expanded into several nations around the world from its base in India. It began as a revivalist group influenced by Sufi beliefs, but it has since transformed into an extremist Islamist group with overt ties to terrorism.
Recently in 2020, one of the terrorists who were involved in the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris named Dawat-e-Islami founder Ilyas Attari as his guide. A Pakistani terrorist named Md Ashraf, who was arrested in Delhi in October 2021 was also found to be linked with this organisation.
Dawat-e-Islami brainwashing Indian Muslims into Jihad, offering online courses that glorify Pakistan
Notably, after the murder of Kanhaiya Lal, when Rajasthan police found in its probe that the murderers of Kanhaiyalal had links with Dawat-e-Islami, Pakistan refuted the claim. In the month of October, however, India Today made shocking revelations that exposed the lies of Pakistan. As per its report, Dawat-e-Islami has employed technology as a weapon to push its Jihadist ideology and instil hatred into the hearts of Indian Muslims.
The official website of Dawat-e-Islami provides a number of online programmes on religious subjects. Notably, the organisation is operational in Bangladesh, Canada, Hong Kong, the UK, and the USA but not in India.
However, India Today in its report claimed that when its investigative reporter applied for one of Dawat-e-Islami’s courses under a fake name, Rashid Ahmed, he received a response within hours over mail.
Notably, online classes were claimed to be strictly audio-based while the medium was Skype.
The files sent to Rashid Ahmed (the pseudonym used by the reporter) had content glorifying Pakistan and manipulating Indian Muslims to contribute towards strengthening Pakistan as a bastion of Islam.
In its pre-recorded audio messages, Dawat-e-Islami urged Indian Muslims to confront infidels (Kafirs), and even resort to violence for this cause.
Reportedly, the content provided by Dawat-e-Islami also championed sacrifices (Qurbani) in the name of Din-e-Islam.
Yogi govt in Uttar Pradesh shuts down Dawat-e-Islami run school in Pilbhit
On July 6, the Uttar Pradesh government initiated action against schools operated by Dawat-e-Islami in Pilibhit after the murderers of Kanhaiya Lal were found to be linked with the organisation. The administration had shut down all schools run by Dawat-e-Islami in Pilibhit.
Congress allotted 25-acre land to Pakistani org Dawat-e-Islami in Chhattisgarh, cancelled deal after outrage
On January 2, Chattisgarh state BJP leader and ex-minister Brijmohan Agrawal levelled serious allegations against the Congress-led Chhattisgarh government over the allotment of 25-acre land to Pakistani extremist outfit Dawat-e-Islami. After a massive outrage against the move by the BJP, the allotment of the 25-acre land in Raipur has been cancelled by the state government.