India has been a witness for centuries to predatory religious conversion techniques by the theologists of the Abrahamic faiths. The vulnerabilities of the indigenous Hindu communities are exploited and they are lured to the new faith through concealment, monetary and material support, and other devious strategies.
Amidst growing concern about such practices, it has come to light that several masjids are now using the Hindu concept of ‘darshan’ under the pretext of fostering ‘religious harmony’ and ‘universal brotherhood.’
On Sunday (March 5), a Twitter user named Ramesh Shinde informed how the Mapusa unit (Goa) of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind is conducting a ‘masjid darshan’, besides meet-and-greet session with the Islamic cleric (Maulana). Interestingly, the cleric is also referred to as a ‘priest’, with stated objective of creating a better India.
In December last year, a similar initiative of ‘Masjid Darshan’ was launched by Al-Aqsa mosque in Vijaypura city in Karnataka to allegedly dispel ‘false notions and misconceptions’ about Islam.
In Bengaluru, one such ‘Masjid Darshan’ event was undertaken at Masjid E Khadria in Benson Town of Bengaluru.
In September 2022, the Masjid-e-Bilal in Banerghatta Road of Bengaluru organized a ‘Masjid Darshan’ for people of all faiths.
“Promoting harmony between communities, Masjid-e-Tur in Kaval Byrasandra of #Bengaluru organized ‘Masjid Darshan’ for non-muslims including women. Explained the concept behind Islamic rituals,” informed journalist Niranjan Kaggere in June last year.
Opindia found that the trend of appropriating Hindu customs has been in practice since December 2019.
It must be mentioned that ‘darshan’ is a pious concept in Dharmic faiths, especially Hinduism, where devotees visit religious shrines to offer prayers to the deity. Interestingly, Masjid is a place of prayer that bear no idols or form of any deity.
This religiously significant exercise has been reduced to a mere visitation under the pretext of ‘secularism’, thereby misleading gullible Hindu worshippers into believing it a ‘noble exercise.’
While it is not certain whether such darshans are an exercise in Daw’ah, it certainly undermines Dharmic beliefs and practices.