Social Jihad, which is considered to be the most important element of Muslim society, is trying to take root in India with the help of preachers’ fervent speeches. It takes hold in the form of religious extremism by appealing to the youth of the target population and subsequently their dependents.
Blasphemy is the basis of social jihad in Muslim countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh. But in societies like India, where Hindus are the majority and Muslims are the minority, radical Islam takes a different approach.
The first step is to portray Muslims as victims. They propagandize that the Muslims who ruled India for centuries should take back the rule by establishing an Islamic state. The next way is to inflame incidents like blasphemy, the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and recent remarks against the Prophet.
Advocates of social jihad challenge the target population by asking them to hold on to their faith. The first step in spreading extremist ideas is to misrepresent other religions. Once people join them, they move on to the next step. They organize protests and start voicing opinions on political issues. By giving more publicity to conservative religious views, they pave the way for more people from the society to join them. And the agenda is revealed through a show of force.
Their mode of operation starts from one place using their own people and spreads to other places and more people.
the beginning
In 2006, radical Islamists formed the Popular Front of India in Kerala. The Popular Front was formed from the banned organization Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). SIMI’s main weapon was social jihad. Similar to terrorist organizations, they try to spread ideas but only on a smaller scale. This shows that Muslims in India are not like many Muslims in Pakistan or Bangladesh and are not interested in organizations like SIMI and Popular Front.
Created in 1977, SIMI was banned in 2011. In its 24 years of operation, the organization had established a presence across the country. From the very beginning of SIMI, many affiliated organizations were formed to give more publicity to their ideas and to give more acceptance to radical ideas. In 2006, some of these merged to form the Popular Front. They made the issue of Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 the center of their campaign and stated that they will never forget this issue. The 2019 Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya temple was used by the Popular Front to create outrage among people who felt it was unfair.
In 2009, the Popular Front formed two organizations to expand its field of activity. While the SDPI started functioning as a political party in Kerala, the youth wing Campus Front of India started in Delhi. Although Campus Front claims to be an independent organization, it is a sister organization of Popular Front.
In the last 15 years, Popular Front has established a presence not only in India but also abroad. They had roots in 22 states of India when it was banned yesterday. The headquarters of the organization, which started operations in Kerala, was in Delhi. The fact is that they are present even in North Eastern states. Internationally, they received funding from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Qatar and other countries. Some Popular Front workers in Kerala have joined IS. According to official sources, the organization has links with Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh.
Cowardly “Hindus”
A 2012 Kerala government affidavit says that Popular Front is the reincarnation of Simi. It says that the organization, which works with the intention of Islamizing the society, is also trying to categorize issues in a way that benefits Islam. The affidavit also stated that they are recruiting youths who are attracted to extremist ideas to eliminate selected people who are considered enemies of Islam.
Another affidavit states that despite their declaration that they were working for the upliftment of the Muslim community, soon after their formation, they indulged in extreme activities and violence. In this affidavit filed by the Kerala government in the High Court, it was stated that the Popular Front was involved in at least 106 religious cases, 27 communal killings and 86 attempted murders.
In 2015, 13 Popular Front members were sentenced to prison in a case related to the 2010 amputation of college professor Josephine’s hand. They were also involved in the case of Akhila, a Hindu girl who changed her religion by adopting the name Hadiya. It was a case that gained national attention. The Popular Front was also allegedly involved in the February 2020 anti-CAA riots in Delhi.
The capture of a large contingent of the Popular Front from Bihar this year reveals the organization’s reach. It was after this arrest that information came out that they are planning to turn India into an Islamic state in 2047, the 100th year of India’s independence. The Popular Front has circulated a secret document calling on Muslims to take back the Islamic rule wrested from the cowardly Hindus by the British.
Campus Front, the student wing of the Popular Front, was actively involved in the recent hijab controversy in Karnataka. In a recent affidavit filed by the Karnataka government in the Supreme Court, the students who petitioned against the hijab ban were attracted by the idea of the Popular Front. It also states that these students were wearing normal uniform without hijab earlier.
Slogan of beheading
The situation surrounding the suspended BJP leader’s remarks against the Prophet in a channel chat was heavily used by social jihadists. The slogan “Sir Tan Se Juda” (beheaded) coined in Pakistan to kill those who insulted the Prophet was widely used in India during this period and attracted youth.
Some speakers repeated this several times and it was even reflected in the rally held in Hyderabad. Even children were chanting this slogan in that rally. After the video went viral on social media, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has asked the Hyderabad police to take action against those responsible. The protest in Hyderabad was triggered by BJP MLA T Raja Singh’s remark against the prophet.
Due to such slogans and radical speeches, some common people who were addicted to radical ideas, committed the murders after Nupur Sharma’s controversial remarks. Kannaiah Lal, a tailor from Rajasthan, was brutally murdered in broad daylight at his shop on June 28. The accused also shared the video of shaking their heads and threatening Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. A week before this, a rally was held in Udaipur shouting the same slogan. After that, the murder took place. According to the National Investigation Agency, the video was widely disseminated to create anxiety in the minds of people and unleash violence across the country. Similarly, the killer of Umesh Kolhe, a medicine seller in Amaravati, was his friend for 16 years.
These two are not isolated incidents. Many people have received such threatening messages. The Bihar module of the Popular Front was also involved in the conspiracies targeting Nupur Sharma. Pakistan connection is also behind the rise of radical ideas in India at present. The killers in Udaipur were linked to the Pakistani militant group Dawat-e-Islami. Later investigation revealed that 18-19 operatives of the organization in Pakistan were in regular contact with 300 people in India with the motive to destabilize the society through such beheadings.
Action delayed?
After many years, the government banned SIMI. The government’s action against Simi was after 24 years of working in the country. As for the Popular Front, worrying reports were available since 2012. P Koya, EM Abdul Rahiman, E Abubakar and many of the founding leaders of the Popular Front were former SIMI workers. If SIMI is still banned, observers say the Popular Front was an organization that should have been banned earlier to prevent the spread of extremism and extremism in India.
Read the most reliable news, live information, world, national, Bollywood, sports, business, health and lifestyle news on News18 Malayalam website.