Almost every year, while Hindus across the world celebrate the feminine divine during Durga Puja/Navratri, Moderate Muslim Intellectuals come out of the woodwork to use the festival to prove just how tolerant, embracing and respectful they are towards Hindus. In 2022, controversy raged on as the Madhya Pradesh government gave explicit instructions that non-Hindus would not be allowed inside Garba events. Bajrang Dal too found its voice again, thank god, and started patrolling Navratri events for Muslims, who often pretend to be Hindus to gain access to these religious events.

Even as this Garba controversy was brewing, OpIndia documented how Muslim men in Indore and Ahmedabad pretended to be Hindus to access Garba events just so they could film Hindu girls and how a minor was gang raped by Muslim men who said they will get Jannat because they raped a Hindu woman and that everything was “fair” in Islam. Even as the controversy brewed, Muslim youth forcibly entered a Garba event in Jaipur. Even as this controversy brewed, we reported NIA revelations about PFI planning to bomb several Hindu religious places during Dussera and Diwali. We also documented incidents of stone pelting and violence. In one of these incidents, Muslim students beat up Hindu students with iron belts and stones because the Hindus students had taken objection to the Muslim students insisting Islamic songs be played during Garba celebrations on the college campus. There were also multiple reports of stone pelting on Garba pandals by Muslim men. In one of these incidents from Bikaner, Rajasthan, a Hindu youth Madhusudan Modi was stabbed in the eye and is currently in critical condition after he opposed the harassment of Hindu women at the Garba event by Muslim men Shahrukh, Sameer, Zubair and others.

One would be pressed to find condemnation in any way, shape, manner or form from the Muslim intellectuals condemning this extremist behaviour of their co-religionists. These are “intellectuals” from India who are seen largely as those on the frontline of fighting the stereotypes against Muslims, Islamophobia and assorted victim cards that are usually handed down to the “minority” community. Therefore, as much as Hindus try to dismiss them as hateful, biased, motivated and agenda-driven, their voice in the Muslim community matters. In fact, people like Rana Ayyub are now seen as the face of “Islamophobic attacks” by the “Hindu nationalists”. Arfa is widely watched within the Muslim community and Leftist circles who also have the power to influence fence-sitters. It is therefore important to analyse what these Muslim intellectuals, seen as the representatives of Moderate, persecuted Muslims are saying about the spate of Jihadi violence.

Rana Ayyub spent the past 3 days talking about how Garba was a joyous cultural celebration for everyone, regardless of religion, and that Hindutvavadis should stop being communal, she whined about Modi, Trump and the state of democracy in India. There was one tweet where she shared the image of Rahul Gandhi standing in the rain and hailing him for being strong and resolute. And then, there were tens of tweets and retweets about a Muslim man being beaten up with a policeman’s lathi in Gujarat. There were cries of Islamophobia, persecution of Muslims in Modi’s India, Hindutvavadis being fascist and the usual tropes one hears from such elements.

How long will the world look away from the everyday decline of this democracy. This everyday anti- muslim violence, vilification enabled by the state, often at the hands of law enforcers and those meant to protect us. Will the world turn its attention to India ? #Islamophobia https://t.co/2fEk5kLvkk

— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) October 5, 2022

She asked for the world to turn attention to the regular anti-Muslim violence in India as she shared the video of a Muslim man being tied to a pole and being beaten up by the police.

Arfa Khanum Sherwani, the Muslim journalist and resident communal harmony expert of the Liberals and Islamists working at The Wire also tweeted the video calling it an example of what happens to Muslims in “Modi’s India” pointing out specifically that in the background, some Hindus could be heard chanting Bharat Mata ki hai. These are only two examples of the leading lights of the Muslim community talking about this video. This video went viral on social media, causing a furore among Muslims, Liberals and foreign commentators who used it as an example of atrocities being committed against Muslims in an India that has taken a turn toward Hindu majoritarianism.

Most of these commentators made it seem like this was unilateral violence against Muslims with no provocation whatsoever and that the violence is only a result of the demonisation of Muslims by Hindus. Almost all of them, especially the Muslim intellectuals, failed to mention that the flogging seems to have taken place after a Muslim mob had pelted stones at a Garba pandal. A mob that was led by two Muslim men had entered the Garba Pandal at Kheda, Gujarat and started causing a ruckus.

News agency PTI had reported that a mob of 150 people threw stones at a Garba event on the premises of a temple and subsequently, 43 were named in the case. According to the FIR, members of the Muslim community in the village objected to Garba being organised near a mosque, which is situated across the temple. “Police detained 13 persons after the FIR was registered at Matar police station,” Deputy Superintendent of Police VR Bajpai had told PTI. Police were deployed in large numbers at the village following the incident.

Now, let us break this down. The Muslim community had a problem because a Hindu festival was being held on the premises of a Hindu temple because the Temple was situated across the street from a Mosque. Essentially, the Muslims could not tolerate a Hindu festival being celebrated inside Temple premises simply because it was somewhere close to a Mosque. When Hindus went ahead with their festivities anyway, the Muslim community took matters into their own hands and started pelting stones at the pandal which was inside the Temple premises. They even forcefully entered the venue and created a ruckus. All of these details were conveniently left out by these Muslim intellectuals who seem to want to raise awareness about how Muslims are the ones being persecuted. If one critically analyses this incident, it is evident that the Muslim community were so intolerant, that they wanted to harm Hindus merely celebrating their festival in their own Temple because once a Mosque is built by them, the entire area seems to be under their ownership. It becomes a “Muslim area” where Hindus simply don’t have the same rights, where they must live according to Islamic rules of they are liable to be beaten, murdered, harmed and persecuted.

If these Muslim intellectuals had spoken about the facts of the case that led to the flogging of the one Muslim accused before he was taken into custody, most individuals would have grudgingly admitted that the police beating them up and making them apologise is certainly wrong, but the violence was initiated by the Muslim thugs and for unleashing violence against the Hindu community, the police were merely trying to “discipline” the offender. If they had spoken about it, their entire trope of Garba being a non-religious cultural celebration where Muslims had the right to participate would come crashing down and their agenda to paint the Muslim community as the perpetual victims would have been shattered.

Essentially, these individuals maintain studious silence when Hindus are being attacked by their co-religionists and scream “Islamophobia” the moment there is a semblance of self-defence and/or retaliation for the violence initiated and unleashed by them. While maintaining silence on the violence, they talk about the syncretic culture of India, the fact that our festivals have nothing to do with religion and that Hindus are the actual “fascists” for not being comfortable with Muslim presence at their festivals. 

While shielding their community, painting the aggressors as victims and the victims as “fascists”, they attend the very festivals that have come under attack by the Islamists. They, of course, don’t attend Hindu festivals because they have any veneration towards the feminine deity, but because they wish to prove themselves as “tolerant” and the Hindus as “fascists”, and also because they want to ensure that the Hindu spirit for fighting back is broken down completely and summarily. 

Let’s analyse this example. Arfa Khanum Sherwani, The Wire journalist who claims to fight for Muslim rights took to Twitter to talk about how the Hindu insistence that Muslims should stay away from Garba is breaking down the last shred of the composite culture that remains in India. She termed Hindus “Hindutva Fascists” for asking Muslims to stay away, given that certain sections of the Muslim community mock, desecrate and abuse Hindu deities.

Hindutva Fascists are mocking, discouraging, threatening and even beating up Muslims who are/want to participate in celebrations of Hindu festivals.
They are destroying the last bit of whatever has remained of India and its composite culture.

— Arfa Khanum Sherwani (@khanumarfa) October 1, 2022

Today, when Arfa is talking about the composite culture of India and calling Hindus ‘fascists’ for asking those who don’t believe in the feminine Hindu deity to stay away from Garba, it is important to remember that Arfa had earlier said that “Bharat Mata ki Jai” is communal because Muslims are being forced to submit to the concept of feminine deity when they follow the “One God” concept. 

Essentially, this is the chronology that the Muslim intellectuals seem to be following: 

1. They will cry Islamophobia when Hindus ask them why they are not assimilating into the innate Hindu cultural character of the nation. Case in point, Arfa’s tweet where she says chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai is communal because Muslims cannot be forced to worship the feminine divine as Monotheists who believe in one true God. 
2. After making it very clear that they have no faith in Hindu deities and the Hindu cultural character of the nation, they will cry Islamophobia when you take them at face value and ask them to stay away from religious festivals because they have no faith in the Hindu deity. They will paint Hindus as fascists for taking them at face value. 
3. They will then de-hyphenate the religiosity of the festival and call Hindus “fascists” for even suggesting that their festival is deeply religious. 
4. The very people who have no faith in Hinduism, Hindu deities and often call the Hindu faith in their religion and/or the civilisational values of the nation “fascist” and “communal”, will then attend religious festivals to prove that they are better than “communal Hindus”. 
5. After they win brownie points and create a global narrative against Hindus, they will again scream Islamophobia and persecution when Hindus call their hypocrisy out. 
6. When their co-religionists attack these Hindu festivals, they will maintain studious silence and let the violence brew. 
7. When Hindus start talking about the violence, defend themselves or retaliate, they will cry Islamophobia and persecution yet again. 

The pattern is repeated not just by such journalists, but other individuals who are touted as the beacons of moderate Islam. In fact, those who make a remotely critical comment on the conduct of the Muslim community are often forced to retract and then made to prove their anti-Hindu credentials, because their previous comments against the Hindu community do not absolve them of the sin of criticising Islamists.

In September 2021, Naseeruddin Shah said, “Even as the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan is a cause for concern for the whole world, there are celebrations among some sections of Indian Muslims. This celebration of the barbarians is no less dangerous.” Naseeruddin Shah urged all Indian Muslims to question themselves if they want to “reform Islam, support modernity, or live with the barbaric traditions and values”.

There was a substantial backlash against Shah, even though he has in the past made several comments against the Hindu community and defended the actions of Islamists. He was forced to retract and issue an apology. He later said, he didn’t mean to vilify the entire Muslim community. He further said, “At this time, Muslims are already being demonised enough when in several instances their livelihoods are being threatened, their lives are sometimes in danger, they are being attacked and openly vilified (There are) several right-wing Hindu preachers – who have said absolutely offensive statements propagating violence against the Muslims This was perhaps an inopportune time to say this, but what other time could I have said this? I didn’t intend to add to the demonisation of the Muslim community. Am I an idiot that I will demonise my own community and include myself in it?” the actor said.

The backlash against Shah making a fairly obvious and logical statement (for a change) was so massive, that Shah had to quickly blame Hindus for demonising Muslims and assert that his criticism of the Muslim community for supporting the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban came at an “inopportune time”.

Quickly, after his criticism of the Muslim community, Shah had to redeem himself by whitewashing crimes against Hindus and hailing Islamic barbarians. In December 2021, he gave an interview to The Wire where he whitewashed the atrocities committed by the Islamic invaders against Hindus by calling them “so-called atrocities” and asking people to call Mughals “refugees”. In 2022, while Nupur Sharma got threats of rape and beheading from across the globe, Shah went to NDTV and dismissed the threats. He said that the threats were being made by “empty vessels” and that nothing would anyway happen to her because she would be given security. It was soon after these comments that Kanhaiya Lal was beheaded for supporting Nupur Sharma. Naseeruddin Shah failed to condemn the murder.

Naseeruddin Shah had to overcompensate for his statement critical of the Muslim community by saving Islamist brutes, hailing Mughal barbarians, demonising Hindus and dismissing atrocities against them and belittling Sar Tan Se Juda threats. While Shah bent over backwards for Muslims who could not handle one critical comment, his wife, Ratna Pathak, went on to say that India was becoming a conservative society like Saudi Arabia because in this “day and age”, women were keeping Karva Chauth for the long lives of their husband.

Other “moderates” who claim to be atheists have maintained studious silence about Islamist atrocities as well. In fact, recently, Javed Akhtar was far more concerned about the fact that “Muslim men” was mentioned in the report rather than the fact that they had brutally gang-raped a Hindu woman.

Shame on such journalism . The problem is they were asked to bend by the powers that be and they started crawling to please them .

— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) October 2, 2022

On his Twitter timeline, the last condemnation for any sort of Islamic radical violence is the condemnation of Salman Rushdie being stabbed. Even in that tweet, he did not have the temerity to name the Radical Islamist who stabbed Rushdie and the religious motivations of the violence. Interstingly, it was Akhtar who had, years ago, dog whistled against Rushdie in 2021. After digwhistling against Satanic Verses, Akhtar claimed the high moral ground with a shabby condemnation of the violence, while keeping completely mum on other instances of violence by the Muslim community, crying Islamophobia at the drop of a hat, eulogising Mughals and whitewashing the atrocities against Hindus. All of this, while conveniently claiming that he has renounced religion itself.

I have boycotted religion which one of the biggest businesses in the world .

— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) September 25, 2022

While “moderate Muslim” intellectuals, either under the garb of their moderation, journalism or atheism, refuse to condemn (and even justify) violence against Hindus, festering the mistrust further, they call Hindus “fascists” for not wanting to entertain the community in their religious festivals.

The attacks against Hindus by Islamists, the world over, are not something that should surprise us. We don’t even need to go into Islamic theology to understand that their hate for Polytheists comes from their deep faith in their scripture. Frankly, I never understood why we need to start quoting scriptures to make our point. We don’t need to talk about Surah 2 (Al-Baqarah) Verse 191, Surah 3 (Ali ‘Imran) Verse 151, Surah 4 (An-Nisa) Verse 56, 89, 101, Surah 5 (Al-Ma’idah) Verse 14, 51, 57, Surah 8 (Al-Anfal) Verse 65, 69, Surah 9 (At-Tawbah) Verse 5, 14, 23, 28, 29, 37, 58, 111, 123, Surah 21 (Al-Anbya) Verse 98 so on and so forth. We just need to look at documented evidence about their collective conduct towards Hindus. 

Navratri, a Hindu festival, is one of the biggest and most grand celebrations of the feminine divine in the world where a Goddess slays the demons that the Gods could not. For those who have no concept of the feminine divine and have nothing but disdain for Hindus, there should be no place in our festivals which are, despite attempts to de-hyphenate, deeply religious affairs.