Congress leader and disqualified MP Rahul Gandhi is currently in the United States ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The Indian Overseas Congress has organised multiple meet and greet sessions of Rahul Gandhi across the country for his week-long trip.
On June 4, Gandhi is scheduled to speak at Javits Centre in New York and the US-based IOC is working extensively to make it a successful meeting. However, a certain registration form that is being circulated on social media has raised eyebrows.
A registration form urging Muslims living in different areas around New York to attend the event was being circulated on social media. The said form is different from what is being shared by the Indian Overseas Congress on the official website of Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the US.
In the said form, which has now been closed for registration, the list of persons whom people can contact for more information has raised concerns as it contains the names of people who have alleged links to anti-India activities. List of people and mosques that have called for the registration are Tazeem Ansari and Niaz Khan of Masjid Al-WALI/MCNJ North Edison Woodbridge TWP NJ, Jaweed Syed, Habeeb Siddiqui and Mir Quadri of Masjid MCMC South Edison/Piscataway / East Brunswick NJ, Mohammed Aslam and Minhaj Khan of ISCJ/MCGP South Brunswick/ Kendall Park/Princeton NJ, Aquil Mohammed and Nazeer Syed of Masjid Sadar Sayreville/Old Bridge NJ and Shaheen Khateeb and Hashir Qazi of (Darul Islah) Teaneck NJ.
Prominent Indian politician Shri Rahul Gandhi, during his proposed #RahulInUSA tour,would attend several public events. He may not know, but some ‘coordinators’ who are claiming to be associated with events are Pak Jamaat-e-Islami & Muslim Brotherhood-linked fronts
— DisInfo Lab (@DisinfoLab) May 30, 2023
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As of now, the registration from the controversial form has been closed.
According to a detailed thread by the Twitter user and OSINT account Disinfo Lab, MCNJ is led by Imaam Jawad Ahmed, Project Director of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) who is of Pakistani origin. Notably, ICNA is a radical Islamist organisation that has connections to Jamaat-e-Islami of Pakistan. They have glorified Islamic terrorists including Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin for his views on separating Kashmir from India. Not to forget, his sons were removed from government offices in 2021. Furthermore, his son Syed Shakeel Yousuf was arrested by the security agencies in India in a terror funding case in 2018. Salahuddin also had links with Mehraj-ud-Din, a suspect in the Kandahar plane hijack in 1999.
Another coordinator of the eventis Mohammed Aslam a member of Muslim Center of Greater Princeton (MCGP), another close partner of ICNA. Banned radical group #SIMI founder is also ICNA member. Fronts like #JusticeForAll; #HhRD operate under ICNA/ Jamaat umbrella.
— DisInfo Lab (@DisinfoLab) May 30, 2023
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The second name highlighted by Disinfo Lab was Mohammed Aslam, who is a member of the Muslim Center of Greater Princeton (MCGP), a close partner of ICNA. The Twitter user highlighted that fronts like Justice For All operate under ICNA. Recently, OpIndia reported how ICNA was propagating Islam in prisons in the US and converting prisoners. Furthermore, they were found running fundraisers for distributing Islamic literature, hijab, and other Islamic items in the prison. ICNA is consistently indulged in anti-India activities and often posts anti-Hindu and anti-India statements on social media.
Another coordinator of the eventis Mohammed Aslam a member of Muslim Center of Greater Princeton (MCGP), another close partner of ICNA. Banned radical group #SIMI founder is also ICNA member. Fronts like #JusticeForAll; #HhRD operate under ICNA/ Jamaat umbrella.
— DisInfo Lab (@DisinfoLab) May 30, 2023
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The third name that raised eyebrows was Minhaj Khan who is linked to the anti-India lobbying group Indian American Muslim Council or IAMC. OpIndia has covered IAMC and its anti-India activities in detail.
IAMC had engaged US lobby firm, paying them USD 55K Dollars for Lobbying the USCIRF against India in 2013-14, during Dr. Manmohan Singh Govt itself.
— DisInfo Lab (@DisinfoLab) May 30, 2023
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Disinfo Lab pointed out how IAMC’s Exec Dir Rasheed Ahmed is also the Executive Director of another Jamaat-affiliated organisation named Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA). During Covid, IMANA organised a fundraising campaign in the name of helping India and allegedly siphoned off the money. OpIndia did a detailed report on its dubious activities during the Covid pandemic in 2021.
Fun Fact: IMANA at one end is associated with retired Pakistani Army/ Naval officials; & at another end associated with Terrorists groups – LeT & Hizbul Mujahideen. Full spectrum of Pakistani establishment. One can only imagine where the Covid relief fund has gone.
— DisInfo Lab (@DisinfoLab) May 30, 2023
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IMANA has links to retired officers of the Pakistani Army and Naval officers. It also has connections to terrorist organisations including Juzbul Mujahideen and LeT.
Furthermore, in 2017, IMANA’s members, according to Disinfo Lab, have been members of the Muslim Brotherhood’s front Islamic Society of North America or ISNA. Notably, Canada Revenue Agency implicated ISNA Canada in 2017 for funding the charity wing of the terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.
Orgs. like IAMC and ICNA sit at confluence of Jamaat & Muslim Brotherhood (MB). IMANA’s members have been part of MB front Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). In 2017 ISNA Canada was implicated by Canada Revenue Agency for funding ‘charity’ wing of Hizbul Mujahideen
— DisInfo Lab (@DisinfoLab) May 30, 2023
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IAMC and Rahul Gandhi
Interestingly, this is not the first time IAMC has been linked to Rahul Gandhi. In March 2023, when Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha following his conviction and sentencing of two years, IAMC came out in his support and called it proof of India being a ‘fascist’ nation.
IAMC issued a statement condemning the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha. In the statement, IAMC claimed that the defamation case against Gandhi was designed to harass and intimidate him. The organisation called his disqualification a “grave injustice and clear manifestation of the ruling party’s desperation to maintain its hold on power, decimate the opposition, and silence dissenting voices.”
IAMC and its dubious history
For the uninitiated, Rasheed Ahmed is the executive director of the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), a radical Islamist group that has alleged links with banned terror organisations such as the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and has a long history of lobbying against India.
The IAMC is a Jamat-e-Islami-backed lobbyist organisation claiming to be a rights advocacy group. In the past, it had reportedly collaborated with and even paid money to various groups in the USA to get India blacklisted by the USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom). A detailed report by Disinfo Lab has exposed its links with the terror outfit Jamat-e-Islami.
IAMC founder Shaik Ubaid and member Abdul Malik Mujahid have headed the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the US front for Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan. According to DisInfo Lab, ICNA has established links with Pakistan-based terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Rasheed Ahmed, who heads the IAMC currently, was the former executive director of the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA). IMANA’s Director of Operations is Zahid Mahmood, an ex-Pak Navy official.
