Uttar Pradesh High Court Restores Petition Seeking Demolition Of 17th-Century Mosque
The Uttar Pradesh High Court restored a petition by Hindu extremists seeking to demolish the 17th-century Shahi Idgah mosque, which extremists say was built on a holy Hindu site. While the petition had been dismissed earlier by a court in Mathura city, High Court judges restored the plea.
Shahi Idgah Masjid has been threatened several times by Hindu supremacist groups. In December 2020, security was deployed around the Shahi Idgah Masjid after Hindu extremist groups threatened to call for the mosque’s destruction, install an idol in it, and “purify” it with a Hindu ritual. BJP leaders have also called for the mosque’s destruction and demanded that the mosque be converted into a Hindu temple.
Indian law prohibits such acts due to the risk of sparking mass communal violence as per the Places of Worship Act, which “prohibits conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.” However, Hindu extremists in Mathura have called for the act to be repealed in the case of Shahi Idgah Masjid.
50-Year-Old Muslim Shrine Vandalized, Painted Saffron By Hindu Extremists
A 50-year-old Muslim shrine in Madhya Pradesh state was desecrated and painted saffron, a color commonly weaponized by the Hindu supremacist movement. Damage was also done to the shrine’s structure. The attack was reported just one month after a similar hate crime occurred in the same district.
“The wooden doors of the shrine were broken open and dumped in the Maru river. Not only the minaret, but also the tomb and the entrance were coated in saffron paint. Furthermore, the hand pump inside the shrine compound was also uprooted,” shrine caretaker Abdul Sattar said.
While locals complained to the police immediately, they did not receive a response until they blocked traffic on a state highway in protest. The extremists behind the hate crime have yet to be identified and arrested.
Hindu Extremists Amp Up Anti-Muslim Threats Following BJP Victory In Uttar Pradesh
Hindu extremists amped up their public and hateful calls to discriminate against Muslims following the Hindu nationalist and paramilitary-affiliated Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) a record-breaking victory in the state legislative assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh state.
Members of the extremist group Hindu Yuva Vahini were caught on video making threats against Muslims while smeared in saffron pigment to celebrate the BJP’s return to power.
“Send this message to those Jihadis who had been trying to create terrorizing environment within the last two months. I want to tell them, I want this message to reach them. Send this message to those pigs to remove the loudspeakers within mosques or the Hindu Yuva Vahini will enter mosques and do it instead,” said one extremist before a crowd.
In another instance, BJ leader Nand Kishor Gujar demanded that authorities shut down all meat shops, which are largely owned by Muslims.
“I want to give the authorities a message through you that if even a single meat shop is visible by evening… Have you ever seen a meat shop in Ram Rajya (Rule of Rama)?” he said, calling for further economic discrimination against Muslims.
Islamophobic Bollywood Movie Leads Audiences To Chant “Shoot The Traitors” In Theaters
The Kashmir Files, a film based on the tragedy and exodus of Hindu pandits from Kashmir in the 1990s, has served as an anti-Muslim propaganda tool for its depiction of Muslims as terrorists who pose a threat to Hindus. Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, an open supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the film has led inflamed anti-Muslim sentiments among Hindu extremist moviegoers.
In theaters across India, audiences chanted the Hindu religious slogan “Jai Shri Ram,” hurled abuses at non-BJP politicians, called for the boycott of Muslim Bollywood stars, including Shah Rukh Khan and Amir Khan, and chanted “shoot the traitors to the nation,” a common slogan used by the BJP and their supporters to encourage violence against Muslims.
“I would like to warn my Hindu brothers to beware and maintain your distance from [Muslims]. Be wary of them, they might attack anytime,” said one Hindu viewer in a viral video on Twitter.
RSS Annual Report Alleges Growing Religious Fanaticism Under Guise Of Constitutionalism
The paramilitary Hindu supremacist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is the parent organization of the BJP, claimed in its annual report that there were “plans” by a “particular community” to further its ”malicious” agenda in India, clearly referring to Muslims.
“The formidable form of growing religious fanaticism in the country has raised its head again in many places… Series of dastardly acts revealing communal hysteria, rallies, demonstrations, violation of social discipline, custom and conventions under the guise of the Constitution and religious freedom… is increasing,” the report alleged.
The report added that the Hindu majority in India is “awakening” and “standing with self-respect,” alleging that this would trigger more violence from minority communities, ignoring the fact that the BJP and supporters of Hindu extremism have been slammed internationally for encouraging violent atrocities against minorities in the name of creating a Hindu nation.
The RSS also falsely claimed that there was a plot to forcibly convert Hindus to Islam and Christianity, a baseless conspiracy theory that has led to an increase in violence against Muslims and Christians.
