On 17th March 2016, a young boy named Vivek left his home for school in Chandigarh, but he never returned. Eight years passed, and he was finally found in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, living as Mohammad Umar. A case has been filed in the matter against four people, including a Maulvi, a Maulana and a village head, on 14th October 2023. One of the accused has been granted bail while the rest of them are still on the run. Vivek has been handed over to his family.
It has come to light that Vivek underwent a religious conversion at a Madarsa in district Saharanpur of Uttar Pradesh. He was circumcised, and his name was changed from Vivek to Mohammad Umar. Media reports suggest that the case is under the jurisdiction of the Charthawal police station area of Muzaffarnagar.
Vivek’s father, Veerndra, worked as a labourer in Chandigarh. He originally hails from district Hardoi of Uttar Pradesh. As per reports, Vivek went missing after he left for school in March 2016 from the Raipur Kalan area in Chandigarh. A missing person report was filed at the Mauli Jagran Police Station in Chandigarh. At that time, Vivek was studying in 4th class.
On 4th October, a person named Matloob, a resident of Nagla Rai village of Charthawal police station area of Muzaffarnagar, approached an Aadhar card centre in Muzaffarnagar requesting to change the name and the address on the Aadhar card of the boy, claiming that the boy was his son Mohammad Umar. However, when the boy’s biometric was run through the Aadhaar system, the person at the centre noticed that the child’s name was registered as Vivek and his father’s name was Veerendra Kumar, with a Chandigarh address. He suspected foul play and refused to change the address. He also informed the village head Jaiki Saini of Luhari Khurd.
The matter was then reported to the police, and Vivek was rescued from Matloob. His relatives were informed about the matter. During the questioning, it came to light that Vivek went through a forceful religious conversion at Madarsa named Jamia Usmania Rahmania in Ramapur Maniharan in Saharanpur district. A Maulvi from Muzaffarnagar and village head of Naglarai in Muzaffarnagar were involved in the conversion. A person named Maulana Mukarram Jamal has been named as the fourth accused.
Based on Vivek’s father Veerendra’s complaint, the police filed a case under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act. The complaint names Nagla Rai head Afsarun, a Maulvi of Jamia Osmania Islamia, Matloob and Maulana Mukarram Jamal. OpIndia accessed the copy of the FIR.
Notably, one of the accused was granted bail even before the investigation into the matter was over. Village head Afzal, Jamia Usmania Islamiya madrasa’s Maulvi and Maulana Mukarram Jamal are reportedly absconding.
After verifying all details through Aadhaar cards, Vivek was handed over to his parents Virendra and Saroj in the presence of the Child Welfare Committee. The family then took the boy back to their native village Goswa in Baghauli police station area.
Speaking to OpIndia, Vivek said he did not remember who brought him from Chandigarh and how. The only thing he remembered were the events that took place in Saharanpur. He told OpIndia that he now eats buffalo meat. Furthermore, a bride was also being considered for his marriage.
On Tuesday (31st October), Bolivia became the first Latin American country to sever its diplomatic ties with the Jewish state Israel amid its ongoing war against Hamas terrorists. Apparently, the latest move by Bolivia has triggered a coercive response against Israel from several leftist governments around the world prompting the Israeli government to condemn its move. After Bolivia’s announcement to cut ties, Chile and Columbia also declared that they were recalling their ambassadors from Israel.
Bolivia’s decision ‘a surrender to terrorism’, says Israel
Retorting to Bolivia’s decision to cut diplomatic ties, Israel likened it to “a surrender to terrorism and to the Ayatollah’s regime in Iran.”
The spokesperson for Israeli Foreign Minister Lior Haiat tweeted, “By taking this step the Bolivian government is aligning itself with the Hamas terrorist organisation, which slaughtered over 1,400 Israelis and abducted 240 people, including children, women, babies, and the elderly.”
The government of Bolivia's decision to cut diplomatic ties with Israel is a surrender to terrorism and to the Ayatollah’s regime in Iran. By taking this step, the Bolivian government is aligning itself with the Hamas terrorist organization, which slaughtered over 1,400 Israelis… pic.twitter.com/gqTdq58VUC
He added, “Israel condemns Bolivia’s ‘support of terrorism’ and its submission to the Iranian regime, which attest to the values the government of Bolivia represents.”
However, he noted that bilateral relations had been “devoid of content” anyway since the current government came into power.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday (31st October), Hamas hailed Bolivia’s decision stating, “it holds it in high esteem”. It also urged Arab countries that have normalised their relations with Israel to do the same.
Bolivia accuses Israel of committing “crimes against humanity in Gaza’, refrains from condemning 7th October Hamas terror attacks
Earlier, the Bolivian government announced that it is cutting off diplomatic ties with Israel accusing it of carrying out “crimes against humanity” in Gaza. The Bolivian officials rationalised their response citing a large number of Palestinian casualties in Gaza as a result of Israeli airstrikes and ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave. However, their response made no mention of the deadly 7th October terror attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists that triggered this latest cycle of war in the region.
At a news conference, Bolivia’s deputy foreign minister, Freddy Mamani said, “Bolivia decided to break diplomatic relations with the State of Israel in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip.”
Additionally, Bolivia’s minister of the presidency who is acting foreign minister, María Nela Prada accused Israel of “committing crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian people.” She called on Israel to “cease attacks in the Gaza Strip that have already resulted in thousands of civilian casualties and the forced displacement of Palestinians.”
Prada added that Bolivia “rejects the Israeli hostile treatment of international actors providing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.” Subsequently, she announced that Bolivia would send aid to the Gaza Strip without elaborating details about what that could entail.
Continuing with a pattern for the Bolivian government that never condemned the 7th October Hamas assault, neither Prada nor Mamani mentioned the Hamas terror attacks on Israel, the Times of Israel reported.
The Israeli media reports highlight that on 7th October, the Bolivian Foreign Ministry said only that it had “deep concern over the violent events that occurred in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Palestine.” Later, on 18th October, it condemned Israeli attacks and emphasised its “solidarity and unwavering support for the Palestinian people.”
The Bolivian now led by leftist President Luis Arce, has long been critical of Israel. Previously in 2009, it severed diplomatic ties with Israel over a war against Hamas in Gaza which was later reestablished in 2020.
Following a meeting with Palestinian Ambassador to Bolivia Mahmoud Elalwani, Bolivian President Arce expressed his solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Taking to X, he said, “We cannot remain silent and continue to allow the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially of the children, who have the right to live in peace. We condemn the war crimes being committed in Gaza.”
(Screenshot of translated version of the tweet)
Chile, China, and Columbia: Leftists governments add woes to Israel
Apart from Bolivia’s announcement, Chile and Colombia informed that they have recalled their ambassadors to the Jewish state as they criticised offensive retaliation by the Israeli military against Hamas terrorists.
Calling for “an immediate end to hostilities”, Chile condemned Israel’s operations arguing that they “constitute collective punishment against the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.”
Just like Bolivia, Chile also made no mention of the 7th October Hamas terror attacks on Israel.
In a statement, the South American country’s Foreign Ministry said that Chile has decided to recall its ambassador “in the face of the unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.” The statement was also shared on X by its President Gabriel Boric.
(Translated version of the tweet by President of Chile)
Similarly, Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, also announced that he was recalling his country’s ambassador to Israel. Taking to X, Petro tweeted, “If Israel does not stop the massacre of the Palestinian people, we cannot remain there.”
(Tweet by Colombian President Gustavo Petro)
It is important to note that all the three nations – Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia, that have recently taken coercive steps against Israel have leftist governments.
Meanwhile, on 31st October, the communist country in Asia, China also joined in taking anti-Israel steps. Evidently, several top Chinese tech companies including Alibaba and Baidu dropped Israel’s official name from their digital maps that are available online.
???? China has REMOVED ISRAEL from its online maps, including Baidu and Alibaba! pic.twitter.com/UwcD86N3Pz
The development comes at a time when the Chinese internet is flooded with antisemitism content amidst the war between the Jewish country – Israel, and the Islamist terror outfit Hamas. On Monday (30th October), US media outlet, Wall Street Journal first reported that Baidu and Alibaba no longer referred to Israel by name.
The WSJ reported, “Baidu’s Chinese language online maps demarcate the internationally recognized borders of Israel, as well as the Palestinian territories, plus key cities, but don’t clearly identify the country by name.”
Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad recently justified the October 7 terror attack in Israel and vowed to repeat it again and again until the Jewish nation is destroyed.
“We will repeat October 7 again and again until Israel is annihilated,” Hamad said remorselessly over an attack that killed over 1,400 Israelis, including women, children, and the elderly after multitudes of Hamas terrorists intruded the southern border with Israel and went on a murderous spree in Jewish villages.
“Israel is a country that has no place on our land. We must remove that country because it constitutes a security, military, and political catastrophe to the Islamic and Arab nations, and, therefore, must be finished. We are not ashamed to say this, with full force,” Hamad said.
“We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do this again and again. The Al-Aqsa flood is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth, because we have the determination, the resolve, and the capabilities to fight…We are called a nation of martyrs, and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs,” Hamad added.
Hamas Official Ghazi Hamad: We Will Repeat the October 7 Attack Time and Again Until Israel Is Annihilated; We Are Victims – Everything We Do Is Justified #Hamas#Gaza#Palestinianspic.twitter.com/kXu3U0BtAP
Defending attacks against civilians in Israel, Hamad said, “We did not want to harm civilians, but there were complications on the ground. And there was a party in the area with a civilian population. It was a large area, across 40 kilometres…the occupation must come to an end, not just in Gaza but in the entire Palestinian lands.”
“The existence of Israel is illogical. The existence of Israel is what causes all pain, blood, and tears. We are victims of occupation, so therefore, nobody should blame us for things we do. October 7, October 10, October 100,000—everything we do is justified,” Hamad said.
On Wednesday (1st November) Malayalam television actress identified as Dr Priya died of a heart attack in a private hospital while eight months pregnant. Notably, the actress had just had a regular pregnancy examination at the hospital before suffering a heart attack. Her newborn has been admitted to the intensive care unit as of now.
Actor Kishor Satya broke the devastating news to her fans via his social media account. “One more unexpected death in the Malayalam television sector. Dr Priya died of cardiac arrest yesterday. She was 8 months pregnant. The baby is in the ICU. There were no other health issues,” he wrote.
This comes days after Malayalam actress Renjusha Menon, 35 died at her flat in Thiruvananthapuram by committing suicide. Last month, another Malayalam actress Aparna Nair died of suicide. She was 33 and was found hanging inside her residence.
The Instagram post by Kishore Satya breaking the death news of Dr Priya added, “The mother is devastated at her only daughter’s passing away. The suffering of Nanna, Priya’s loving spouse, who stayed home for six months with her is painful. I was struck down by the thought of sadness last night as I was traveling to the hospital. There is no way we can console them. Why did God treat those naive and devout minds so cruelly?”
“The questions in my mind kept coming up unanswered. Next one more before the shocking news of Ranjusha’s passing fades…The mind is unable to express sympathy for the death of a person who is only 35 years old. How will Priya’s mother and husband bounce back from this setback? Not sure…Give their minds the capacity to do that,” he prayed.
After getting married, Dr Priya, who was well-known in Malayalam television for the role she played in “Karuthamuthu,” decided to take a break from acting. Furthermore, she was a doctor. In addition to working at the PRS hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, she was reportedly pursuing an MD.
Atrocities including love jihad against Hindu women and girls are on the rise. Now, a 13-year-old 9th-grade Hindu student has been abducted by a Muslim youth named Aryan Shashif Baloch who is a vegetable seller in the Hodko market on 30 October, shocking the residents of Gujarat’s Rajkot.
She was being followed by him for a considerable amount of time and when she arrived at the school he kidnapped her from the gate. However, the authorities rescued the minor and arrested the accused from a Dwarka-bound train.
According to reports, he stalked her to the educational institution at 12 p.m. on 30 October, abducted her from the entrance and took her away on a two-wheeler. Later, her uncle (father’s brother) lodged a police complaint at Bhaktinagar police station after which the cops responded promptly and nabbed him from a train that was headed for Dwarka on the Rajkot railway station on the same night.
The minor attends a school on Kothariya Road and is enrolled in class 9, per the police report. Her grandmother had dropped her off at school in the afternoon, but when she went to pick her up in the evening, the old woman could not find her. Afterwards, the distraught family looked for the child but was unable to locate her. The family members then notified the police right away.
The cops questioned the perpetrator’s father on the basis of suspicion, however, they discovered that he was not present at the place of business or home. Meanwhile, after reviewing CCTV footage and mobile location they learned that the current location of the culprit’s device was Rajkot railway station. Furthermore, it was revealed that he was on a train which was going to Dwarka with the girl, after which the two were found by the police.
The authorities saved her and took him into custody. She told the police that Aryan Shashif Baloch molested her after abducting her from the school. The girl said that he touched her inappropriately and also assaulted her.
It has been reported that the accused had created a fake social media account in the girl’s name, and had threatened to make some of her photos viral if she did not accompany him from the school.
The police have filed a case under sections 363 (kidnapping), 354-K (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code and section 8 (punishment for sexual assault) of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act in response to the complaint. We tried to get in touch with the Bhaktinagar police station to inquire further about the situation but failed to do so due to the busy schedule of the officials.
The complainant also disclosed that the offender and his father sell vegetables near their shop in Hodko market. She used to frequent the store which is how she attracted Aryan’s unwanted attention. He watched her as she went to and from school while sitting at a paan shop close to their home. He had already manipulated her to meet with him prior to the occurrence but was reprimanded and sent away by her family after they came to know about it.
They have also accused him of running a social media account in the name of their daughter. He reportedly obtained images of the girl and was using them to blackmail her. Moreover, they insisted that a medical examination should be performed in order to determine whether or not she had been sexually assaulted by him.
Even as Yemen is engulfed in its worst humanitarian crisis and conflict with the Saudi coalition, the Iran-backed Houthis have declared war against Israel over 1000 miles away. On Tuesday (31st October), Houthis claimed responsibility for the drone and missile attacks on Israel. With Houthis declaring war on Israel in support of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Iran has been drawn an inch closer to entering the Israel-Hamas war. The development comes after Israel’s military informed that it shot down approaching “aerial targets” off the Red Sea city of Eilat.
In a televised statement released on Tuesday, Yahya Sarea, a spokesperson for the Houthis said, “Our armed forces launched a large batch of ballistic and cruise missiles at targets in occupied Palestine today, making it our third operation.”
?Spokesman for Yemen’s Houthis, Yahya Sarea, has just released a statement:
"Our armed forces launched a large batch of ballistic and cruise missiles at targets in occupied Palestine today, making it our 3rd operation."
Ironically, while the Houthi Islamists are waging a war against Israel, their own country Yemen is undergoing everyday worsening crisis and its people living in deplorable conditions. From conflict with the Saudi coalition to the widespread cholera epidemic, starvation and surging deaths, Yemen is facing adversity at all ends. Yet the Houthis have prioritised attacking a country 1300 miles away to extend support to their co-religionists in Palestine while their own people are living miserable lives. It is worth noting that the Houthis seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014 and control large swaths of the country.
Amidst the ongoing efforts for a potential ceasefire agreement between Houthis and a Saudi Arabia-led coalition comprising 8 Sunni majority nations including Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Sudan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Houthis recently killed four Saudi soldiers in Jazan province during a clash. Basically, regardless of the Yemeni civilians suffering perpetual adversities caused by the yearslong deadlock war, the cholera epidemic etc, the Iran-backed Islamist group has priortised annoying Saudi Arabia and on another front waging a war against Israel despite knowing that their offensive will invite retaliation from the Israeli forces.
With Houthi the attack on Israel at the Red Sea coast, the Israel-Hamas war extended to a third front. While the main battle is taking place in Gaza, Hezbollah is also targeting Israel from Lebanon on the north. And now, Israel has a new adversary at its southernmost point.
Humanitarian crisis in Yemen
According to a UNICEF report, over 23.4 million people including 12.9 million children are in dire need of humanitarian assistance and protection in Yemen this year. As has been ongoing for years, Yemen witnessed regular outbreaks of cholera, measles, diphtheria and many other diseases. The report adds that the Houthi-Saudi coalition conflict, large-scale displacement, and periodic climate shocks are all contributing to an accessory setting for infectious disease outbreaks. Over 17.8 million people, including 9.2 million children, lack access to adequate drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services. Yemen’s health system is in shambles: barely half of health facilities are operational, leaving 21.9 million people without adequate health care.16 Nationally, immunisation coverage has plateaued, with 28% of children under the age of one not receiving vaccinations.
A ReliefWeb report says that Since March 2023, Yemen has recorded the second-highest number of measles cases in the world. This comes as Houthis continue to ban several vaccines including the measles vaccine in Northern Yemen.
It is notable that the Cholera outbreak in Yemen began in 2016 and over the years has persisted in the war-torn nation claiming thousands of lives. Between October 2016 to April 2021 alone 3997 cholera-related deaths were reported. Prior to this, in the year 2020, a UNICEF report warned that over 5 million children under the age of five in Yemen are facing a heightened threat of cholera and Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD).
In addition to Cholera, starvation has been another major issue in Yemen over the years. In a country like Yemen, there is plenty of guns, missiles, ammunition, bloodshed and destruction but no food for the people. According to a recently published World Food Programme (WFP) report, over 17 million Yemeni people are “food insecure”. This alarming figure has been recorded even when international agencies are providing humanitarian assistance to the country.
The WFP report outlined that child malnutrition in Yemen is among the highest in the world. Citing a recent survey, the report says that about one-third of Yemeni families have dietary gaps and rarely consume items like legumes, vegetables, fruit, dairy products, or meat. Yemen’s maternal and child malnutrition rates remain among the highest in the world, with 1.3 million pregnant and breastfeeding women and 2.2 million children under the age of five requiring treatment for acute malnutrition.
Although a UN-brokered truce last year did slightly bring down the intensity of the conflict in Yemen between Iran’s proxy Houthis and Saudi Arabia-led coalition, UNICEF reported in December last year that 11,000 children have now been killed or maimed as a result of the conflict in Yemen, an average of four a day since the conflict erupted in 2015.
Fighting the Kafirs is the bigger priority of Islamists than protecting the Muslims
Apparently, the hatred for Jews and Israel is more dear to the Houthi Islamists than ensuring that the people of Yemen live in peace and dignity. While their own citizens lead their lives in unimaginably terrible conditions, the Zaydi Shiite group has decided to fight its “axis of resistance” ally’s war owing to the religious imperative that the Houthis forget when it comes to the Yemeni people.
The “axis of resistance” is a loosely knit alliance of Sunni and Shia Muslim groups and governments in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and Iraq, with varied degrees of affinity to one another and to Iran. While Houthis might have entered the Israel-Hamas war to consolidate its standing in the axis and also earn support and sympathy from Yemeni people for hostility towards Israel and the United States which is backing Israel in its war against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
It is clear from the Houthis’ indifference to the plight of Yemen’s 99 percent Muslim population, as well as Hamas’ use of Gazan civilians as human shields, that waging a war against the Kafirs or infidels is more important to these Islamist terror groups than the lives of Muslims in their own country. The hatred that Islamist terror groups harbour towards infidels, particularly infidels of top order such as Jews, takes precedence above care and concern for Muslim men, women, and children. While Islamist terror groups use violence against infidels in the name of “resistance” and struggle for “self-rule,” they do not wish to bear the burden of government and responsibility.
A recent instance of this hypocrisy came from Hamas leader Abu Mazruk, who claimed in an interview that since refugees make up 75% of the population in the Gaza Strip, it is the UN and not Hamas that should bear the responsibility of protecting them.
On 30th October, a 21-year-old Cornell University student identified as Patrick Dai was arrested for circulating horrendous anti-Jewish death threats over the campus. The death threat posts by Dai had put the Ivy League campus on high alert over the weekend.
Patrick Dai, a junior engineering associate at the highly regarded university, was named in a federal complaint. The authorities are said to have charged the student for using interstate communications to make murder threats or injure another person, which might put him in prison for up to five years. He might also be imposed with a monetary fine of $250,000.
Dai, the resident of Pittsford, New York was charged just hours after New York State Police officers identified him as a person of interest in connection with online threats to “bring an assault rifle to campus.”
Some of the threat messages shared by Dai included calls to follow Jewish persons to their homes and slit their throats. “If you see any Jewish person on campus, follow them and slit their throats. Rats need to be eliminated from Cornell,” the anti-Jewish death threat read.
“The genocidal fascist zionist regime will be destroyed. Rape and kill all the Jew women before they birth more Jewish Hitlers. Jews are excrement on the face of the Earth. No Jewish civilian is innocent of genocide,” another message read.
Some of the messages also extended support to Palestine. The messages read, “Allah-hu-Akhbar! From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. Glory to Hamas. Liberation by any means necessary.”
The parents of the accused meanwhile refused to accept the fact that their son had done something like this. They claimed that he was undergoing severe depression. “My son is in severe depression. He cannot control his emotions well due to the depression. No, I don’t think he committed the crime,” the father of the accused said.
As per the reports, Dai fell into a deep depression in 2021, one year after beginning his engineering studies at the prestigious university.
He entered the school as one of five National Merit Scholars from Pittsford-Mendon High School, as well as a 12-time AP Scholar who volunteered at Rochester General Hospital.
Dai collaborated at Cornell as an undergraduate advisor, tutoring other engineering students in the computer language for programming MATLAB, and as the director of logistics for the institution’s Science Olympiad.
According to his LinkedIn, Dai also worked as a leader of orientation and received a promotion to supervisor after only two months on the job. Dai’s parents claimed that he changed dramatically after just one year, even though he had no history of violence.
“He was always very nice to society, well organized, helpful to my family and his classmates before 2021. He told us he lost his life goal and motivation … As parents, we tried to give him more love,” his father said.
Dai took two semesters off from school, in the spring of 2022 and 2023, at the doctor’s recommendation to try to recover, but he struggled with regaining his ambition.
Dai’s communications with his parents had been shut just days before his arrest, around the time he allegedly threatened to “shoot up 104 West,” a university dining hall that caters primarily to Kosher diets. He also threatened to “slit the throat” of any Jewish men he encountered on the campus.
“My wife called him or sent messages to him many times but got no answers. She was worrying that he might commit suicide and drove to his apartment to see what happened. By the time she made the 80-mile trip to the Ithaca building, Dai had already been arrested,” Dai’s father added.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Joel Malina, Cornell’s vice president for university relations, confirmed the arrest of a Cornell student but did not name Dai. “We remain shocked by and condemn these horrific, antisemitic threats and believe they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We know that our campus community will continue to support one another in the days ahead,” Malian said. The school also said that heightened security has been deployed at the campus.
On October 7, over 2,500 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel by land, air, and sea, killing 1,400 people, the vast majority of whom were civilians, and kidnapping 230 people, including 30 children. The smallest is nine months old. Entire families were massacred in their homes, and over 260 people were slaughtered at an outdoor music festival.
The terrorists raped the Israeli women and also didn’t spare the elders and the children. The videos of these horrific incidents were also made viral. The attack on Israel by the Hamas terrorists marks the most brutal attack against Jews after the Holocaust.
After the attack by Hamas, Israel launched a counter-attack on Gaza. Over 5,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, including women and children as well as journalists, medical workers, and first responders, with more than 15,000 injured. IDF has been asking Gazans to move away from Northern Gaza but Egypt has closed the Rafah crossing and has declared that it won’t allow any refugees from Gaza.
Islamic preacher Zakir Naik’s Nigeria visit has caused massive uproar in the African country. Reportedly, he is currently on a visit to Nigeria at the invitation of the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar as per his post on X. Zakir Naik is a fugitive offender wanted by the Indian government on charges under anti-terrorism law.
The radical Islamic preacher seemingly landed in Nigeria on Monday (30th October) following which he posted pictures of himself alongside some Nigerian soldiers and immigration officials. In these posts, Naik labeled the officials of the Nigerian forces as Muslim Air Force and Muslim Immigration.
In one of the posts, Naik captioned, “Interaction with Muslim Airforce Group Captain Abbas Hashim, Military Airport Commander Abuja airport, Abuja, Nigeria.”
Interaction with Muslim Airforce
Group Captain Abbas Hashim Military Airport Commander Abuja airport, Abuja, Nigeria pic.twitter.com/qNKSryT3fV
After learning about his visit to Nigeria, many Nigerians issued a public appeal to the authorities asking them to stop his visit to the country. For this, they asserted that he could incite religious “disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred” through his religious sermons which they noted have been reflected in the early part of his visit.
“There has been an uproar by most Nigerians after the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, invited Zakir Naik, a controversial Islamic preacher wanted by several nations for terrorism, violence, and money laundering, to Nigeria”, news outlet This Day reported on 1st November.
Similarly, here are headlines from Nigerian media highlighting how they have covered the Nigeria visit of Zakir Naik.
(Nigerian media The Cable report highlights the anger in Nigerian public over the visit of hate-preacher Zakir Naik)
(Nigerian media highlights criminal and terror-talks of Islamic Preacher and fugitive Zakir Naik)
(Zakir Naik has been banned from public speaking by many nations)
Several Nigerian social media users lambasted him for spreading religious bigotry, giving communal Islamic colour to the forces of Nigeria, and fanning communal discord in a country that is grappling with religious divisions. His consistent mislabelling of Nigerian institutions and authorities as ‘Muslim’ has forced Nigerians to question his motives in the country and his background.
Here are some of the reactions to his communal posts calling Nigerian Air Force and Immigration office as ‘Muslim’ outfits. While some users highlighted his past criminal antecedents and provocative speeches, some called him a ‘terrorist’.
Nigeria is a multi-religious nation; It has & will always be. The country is already battling with religious intolerance, don't worsen it by undermining the importance of any religion. "Muslim Airforce" is a wrong statement, acknowledge ur Muslim brothers but do that without…
One user wrote, “You’re stoking hatred and division in a sovereign nation. No wonder you ran away from India where you’re wanted for acts of terrorism.”
You're stoking hatred and division in a sovereign nation.
No wonder you ran away from India where you're wanted for acts of terrorism.
As a Nigerian Muslim i wholeheartedly Condemn this. Our Country is a Secular State, and our Institutions are not affiliated with any religion. Please do not cause strife in our country, now i see why you were banned in multiple other countries. pic.twitter.com/JlWEkmrfJx
Some Nigerian X users also pointed out the mischievous attempt of the radical Islamic preacher Naik when he referred to the Sultan of Sokoto as the ‘Head of the State’. Seemingly, this deliberate error of calling the Sultan of Sokoto – the head of the state was seemingly an effort to box democratic Nigeria into an Islamic theological state with an Islamic cleric as its head.
This is the Head of State… PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, don't be unfortunate with your religiously divisive statements in a secular country of muslims, christians and traditional worshippers… this is Nigeria not Taliban Afghamistan or Pakistan? pic.twitter.com/YL1XoDKDvR
Notably, the 16th and current president (Head of the State) of Nigeria is Bola Tinubu who assumed office on 29th May 2023.
While Sa’adu Abubakar is the current holder of the title – ‘The Sultan of Sokoto’. It is a position that is considered to be the spiritual leader of Nigeria’s ummah and comprises roughly half of the country’s citizens of faith.
Abubakar is the leader of the Qadiriyya Sufi order which is historically the most important Muslim position in Nigeria and senior to the Emir of Kano, the leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi order.
Notably, Sokoto is a major city which is located in extreme north-western Nigeria. It lies near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. Sokoto follows Islamic Sharia law.
Nigerian Media’s description of Zakir Naik
Nigerian media outlet, The Cable highlighted that Naik is a Muslim scholar infamous for views that some have described as extreme. In 2006, Naik declared support for Osama bin Laden “as far as he is terrorizing America”, and added that “every Muslim should be a terrorist“, outlet added.
The president of the Islamic Research Foundation and founder of the Peace TV channel, Naik was banned from entering Britain by Theresa May, then UK home secretary, for “numerous comments” and “unacceptable behaviour” in June 2010, the Cable noted, apart from highlighting his criminal history in India.
Nigerian Bulletin emphasised that Naik gained notoriety when one of the suspects in the 2016 Dhaka attack attributed his motivations to Naik’s teachings. The media outlet noted that his visit has raised concerns in Nigeria due to its history of religious violence and Boko Haram activities.
Nigerian Bulletin report on Zakir Naik’s Nigeria trip added, “Besides terrorism-related charges, Indian authorities also accused Naik of money laundering totaling $28 million, used to purchase opulent properties in India and Dubai. India’s Enforcement Directorate investigated the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), owned by Naik, for receiving funds from dubious sources. Naik faced bans in the UK and Malaysia due to his provocative speeches.”
(Excerpts from Nigerian Bulletin report on Naik’s controversial visit to Nigeria)
Nigerian media, Foundation for Investigative Journalism highlighted that the IRF is banned in India, where Naik has been a wanted fugitive since 2016. It added, “India, Bangladesh, Canada, and the United Kingdom have all outlawed Peace TV, a broadcast station that airs his teachings.”
Meanwhile, according to Nigerian media reports, Naik’s religious sermons are yet to start in Nigeria, which is scheduled to kick off on Wednesday. But before that Nigerians have been putting up pressure on their authorities to intervene and not let him fan communal bigotry in Nigeria. Interestingly, the Sultan of Sokoto, who according to Naik invited him, has not responded to inquiries about harboring a wanted fugitive and hatemonger.
On Wednesday (1st November), lyricist Javed Akhtar went on an unhinged rant against the Jewish State of Israel over its retaliation against the Gaza-based Hamas terror group.
In a tweet (archive), he claimed, “So now Israel is justifying its indiscriminate round the clock bombing on helpless civilians of Gaza by giving example of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
“And the so-called civilised world is listening. They are the same people who teach us human rights,” Javed Akhtar brazened out.
So now Israel is justifying its indiscriminate round the clock bombing on helpless civilians of Gaza by giving example of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . !!! .. and the so-called civilised world is listening . They are the same people who teach us human rights .
Social media users were quick to lambast the lyricist over his biased take on the Israel-Hamas war. “Where was Mr. Javed akhtar on 7th October? He didn’t tweet on #HamasTerrorrists . Why they skip what happened on 7th?” tweeted one Amit Jha.
Where was Mr. Javed akhtar on 7th October? He didn't tweet on #HamasTerrorrists . Why they skip what happened on 7th ?
“You liars are like weeds popping up everywhere. There is not “indiscriminate round-the-clock bombing”. ISRAEL provided advanced notice and Hamas uses human shields and does not allow human shields to heed Israeli warnings,” one user debunked the claims of the Bollywood lyricist.
You liars are like weeds popping up everywhere. There is not "indiscriminate round the clock bombing". ISRAEL provided advanced notice and Hamas uses human shields and does not allow human shields to heed Israeli warnings.
“This one parades as an atheist but when it comes to ummah the Ms inside screams and comes rushing out!” one Kuldeep Gaurav called out the hypocrisy of Javed Akhtar.
This one parades as an atheist but when it comes to ummah the Ms inside screams and comes rushing out!https://t.co/kshfiG1owj Always remember: once a Ms, always a G-hadi! (Q 2:216).
“Just yesterday, an entire Hindu Village was burned down in Sindh, Pakistan. Persecution of minorities have been happening for decades in Pakistan & Bangladesh. Why do Javed ignores atrocities on minorities in Islamic county?” asked popular X handle ‘Incognito.’
Just yesterday, an entire Hindu Village was burned down in Sindh, Pakistan. Persecution of minorities have been happening for decades in Pakistan & Bangladesh.
Why do Javed ignores atrocities on minorities in Islamic couny?
OpIndia did not find any tweet by Javed Akhtar condemning Hamas and its attack on Israel, which claimed the lives of 1400 people.
Screengrab of the tweets by Javed Akhtar on Hamas
On October 7, over 2,500 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel by land, air, and sea, killing 1,400 people, the vast majority of whom were civilians, and kidnapping 230 people, including 30 children. The smallest is nine months old. Entire families were massacred in their homes, and over 260 people were slaughtered at an outdoor music festival.
The terrorists raped the Israeli women and also didn’t spare the elders and the children. The videos of these horrific incidents were also made viral. The attack on Israel by the Hamas terrorists marks the most brutal attack against Jews after the Holocaust.
On 31st October, several MPs, politicians, and other prominent persons claimed to have received an alert from Apple suggesting that ‘state-sponsored threat actors’ might have been trying to access their phones. The generic warning quickly turned into a political outrage where the opposition blamed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for trying a so-called cyber attack on their Apple devices, including iPhones.
Notably, Apple itself on its website states that these alerts regarding the so-called “state-sponsored threats” to their users’ devices are not reliable.
It has now come to light that the security threat messages were from a Soros-linked NGO named Access Now. Notably, the screenshots of the message shared on social media mentioned that those who received the warning message could contact the 24×7 helpline of Access Now.
The message read, “Enlist expert help such as the rapid-response emergency security assistance provided by the Digital Security Helpline at the nonprofit Access Now. If you are an activist, independent journalist, or non-profit worker – you can contact them 24 hours a day, seven days a week through their website*: accessnow.org/help.”
Access Now link and recommendation in the Apple alert, image shared by Shashi Tharoor on X
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, Sanjeev Sanyal, pointed out the connection. He wrote, “Very curious indeed. The security threat messages being received by some prominent Apple users is not quite from Apple but from a Soros-linked NGO called http://accessnow.org. How is this external agency able to send such authentic-looking messages through the system??”
Very curious indeed. The security threat messages being received by some prominent Apple users is not quite from Apple but from a Soros-linked NGO called https://t.co/6Lc3ZlnxTQ. How is this external agency able to send such authentic looking messages though the system??
Access Now is a non-governmental organisation that claims to defend digital civil rights. It operates on a multifaceted mission with primary areas of focus on shaping policy guidelines that respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The group offers advocacy campaigns to promote these policies in governmental and corporate arenas. Apart from the policy and advocacy, it claims to provide vital technical support to those facing online risks. The NGO claims that their support ensures that the communication remains open, free and secure. They have a Digital Security Helpline available around the clock and offers technical guidance and incident response to many individuals and organisations, including journalists, activists, human rights defenders and civil society actors.
Access Now claims that it addresses five key issues with online security, which include business and human rights, digital security, freedom of expression, net discrimination, and privacy. The organisation has offices in New York, Washington DC, Brussels, San Jose, Manila, and Tunis.
Access Now funding raises serious questions about its neutrality
Notably, Access Now is funded by several organisations, including George Soros’ Open Society Foundations. On the “Funding” page of the website Access Now, it is mentioned that OSF has donated USD 700,000 to the NGO in 2023 itself. Furthermore, In December 2022, the organisation received USD 140,815 in December 2022, USD 350,000 in July 2022, USD 298,112 in June 2022, USD 400,000 in December 2021, USD 700,000 in September 2021, USD 250,000 in July 2021, USD 145,000 in March 2021, USD 145,000 in November 2020, USD 200,000 in August 2020, USD 87,500 in July 2019, USD and 87,500 in May 2019. That means, the organisation has received USD 3,503,927 or over 3.5 million USD from George Soros’ OSF in less than five years.
OSF donations to Access Now
Apart from OSF, Ford Foundation has donated USD 775,000 in 2023, USD 350,000 in 2022, USD 350,000 in 2021, USD 100,000 in 2020, USD 75,000 in 2019 and USD 25,000 in 2018. In short, in the past five years, the Ford Foundation has donated USD 1,775,000 or 1.7 million USD to the organisation.
The program is also funded by several government departments, including The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Global Affairs Canada, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the German Federal Foreign Office, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and more. Notably, SIDA was the largest donor in 2023, with a donation of over 2.4 million in July 2023. Large tech companies like Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others are among the donors.
OSF and Ford Foundation are known for funding anti-India elements.
Access Now targetted India for internet shutdowns
An X user who goes by the handle I_am_the_Story wrote a detailed thread on Access Now, and its links to anti-India reporting. In February 2023, The Wire published a report, “India Remains Internet Shutdown Capital”. It was based on the data compiled by Access Now and the KeepItOn coalition. Similar reports were published by several other Western publications based on the same research.
KeepItOn Coalition is hosted by Access Now. It was started in 2016 as a campaign against Internet shutdowns. There are 220 members in to coalition as of now. Furthermore, Access Now has a Shutdown Tracker Optimization Project (STOP) that records the instances of shutdowns and identifies the possible emerging challenges. Interestingly, in 2016, the UN passed a resolution on the Promotion, protection, and enjoyment of human rights on the internet, condemning internet shutdowns and urging states to refrain from ordering such measures.
According to the Wire’s report based on Access Now and KeepItOn data, India had 84 internet shutdowns in 2022, the highest worldwide. The report suggested that the shutdowns were used for various reasons and had significant consequences for digital communication and democratic movements. The #KeepItOn campaign identified India as the primary offender, responsible for 58% of documented shutdowns. The report further noted that the legal challenges against shutdowns persist due to a lack of transparency from the central government.
India’s high number of internet shutdowns in 2022 has been scrutinised, but it’s essential to view this fact from a nuanced perspective. As the world’s most populous and diverse nation, India faces multifaceted challenges, ranging from regional unrest to national security threats, communal clashes, riots, and terrorism-related issues.
Though the number of shutdowns was high, it is worth noting that it decreased over the years. It shows that the government is working to reduce reliance on such measures and has been responsive to the concerns raised by the concerned parties and the Supreme Court. This shows that the government is committed to enhancing transparency and upholding freedom of expression.
CPI(M)’s General Secretary’s wife is Access Now’s board Member
Another point that needs to be discussed here is that the wife of General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Sitaram Yechury, Seema Chishti, is a board member of Access Now. Chishti is also an editor at The Wire and joined the publication in January 2023.
Source: Access Now
Access Now’s profile page of Chishti describes her as a highly experienced multimedia journalist with over 30 years of experience in print, radio, and television. The profile pointed out that she has worked with BBC, HTV and The Indian Express, covering an array of news on topics including cultural change, minority communities, youth, and India’s major political developments.
Interestingly, Seema Chishti’s husband Sitaram Yechury was one of the politicians who claimed to have received the alert message that mentioned Access Now.
In February 2023, Chishti sent a legal notice to The Organiser’s editor, Vijay Patel, and Twitter for exposing her connections with a foreign-funded NGO allegedly involved in a hitjob against businessman Gautam Adani. An article titled ‘Decoding the hit job by Hindenberg against Adani Group‘ was published in The Organiser on its website on 4th February 2023. Also, Vijay Patel – the founder of fact-checking website ‘Only Fact India’ – wrote a thread on 2nd February 2023, exposing the connections between the torchbearers of the anti-Adani propaganda campaign and foreign-funded NGOs. Seema Chishti has also made Twitter an answerable party for publishing the thread by Patel.
Geroge Soros wants to topple democratically elected Modi government in India
In February 2023, George Soros inadvertently revealed what we have known for a long time – that the billionaire is eyeing a ‘colour revolution’ in India. The term ‘colour revolutions’ originated from a series of popular uprisings in the early 2000s in Eastern Europe following the fall of communism.
It has since been used to describe similar movements in the Middle East and Asia. The protests often involve mass demonstrations disguised under calls for free and fair elections or for the removal of authoritarian leaders. These types of uprisings have been criticised as foreign-instigated attempts to destabilise regimes for the benefit of Western powers.
George Soros and his vicious ecosystem of NGOs, activists and journalists had been trying to prove PM Modi as an ‘electoral autocrat’ who needed to be ousted for this country’s ‘greater good’. And it has been a work in progress for a long time. Even though India holds regular elections at the state and central level and no party has so far been able to prove any kind of election rigging, Soros and his network of Leftists propagate the narrative that the Modi government in India is ‘fascist’, and autocratic, and hence needs to be ousted.
The Hungarian-American billionaire has several intellectuals on his payroll, including the former PM Manmohan Singh’s daughter Amrita Singh. Not to forget the curious case of ‘author’ and ‘social activist’ Harsh Mander, who had been at the forefront of creating civil unrest during the Anti-CAA protests.
In 2018, George Soros-funded NGO Sherpa attempted to thwart India’s defence deal with France and stall the delivery of Rafale fighter jets.
Moreover, Open Society Foundations (OSF) run by the billionaire had funded the Socio-Legal Information Centre (SLIC), which had been active in seeking the repeal of the sedition law currently used against anti-India elements.
