Religious Profiling in
India Echoes in the Gulf region
Syed Ali Mujtaba
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As a school boy, I heard these words on the black and white
TV at my sister’s home in New Delhi. His words still keeps ringing into my
years and now some 37 years after, when I watch the Corona - Tabligue Jamat
link debate, on my Sony Bravia HD TV his words becomes prophetic.
This is because the way Islamofobia, communalism and hate
mongering against Islam and Muslims being broadcast in the Indian media has definitely
‘disturbed the stars.’
These concerns are not unfounded, because there are two worrying
statements coming from two prominent individuals one from the GCC and other
from the UAE, both make 11 sovereign countries in the gulf region.
These statements even though are coming from individuals and
not from state heads is a source of worry to the eight million of Indian
expatriates earning their livelihood in the oil rich gulf region. It is also a
cause of concern to the families in India who are living on tax free remittances
coming from the Gulf region.
The first statement is made by a scholar from Saudi Arabia
Mr. Abidi Zahrani who has proposed that Hindus involved in spreading hatred and
committing crimes against the Muslims should be sent back to India from GCC countries.
GCC means Gulf Cooperation Council which is a group of six
countries in the Persian Gulf region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi
Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are its members.
In a tweet Mr Zahrani said; “Gulf States host millions of
Hindus, some of whom are infected with COVID-19 and are treated free of charge
regardless of their faith while fascist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
his Hindu terrorist gangs while following the Hindutva agenda are committing
crimes against its own Muslim citizens.”
Mr Abidi Zahrani further said; “I propose to the respected
followers of Islam to list out all the Hindus who are working in the GCC region
and spreading hate against Islam, Muslims or our beloved Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH), to track them and initiate the process to send them back to India.
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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) consists of seven independent
city-states: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm al-Qaiwain, Fujairah, Ajman and
Ra's al-Khaimah. Around 3.3 million
Indians are living in the UAE and they constitute roughly 30 per cent of the
country's population.
Princess Qassimi while responding to a series of
“Islamophobic posts” on the micro blog Twitter said anyone who is “openly
racist and discriminatory in the UAE will be fined and made to leave”
immediately.
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According to our government sources, a total of 3,336 Indians
tested positive for Covid-19 infection, majority being in the Gulf region. There are 2,061 Indians who have been tested
positive residing in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Most
of them are getting free treatment in their respective countries.
India as a matter of policy has decided not to bring back its
stranded citizens from these countries. The Indian official sources say that
Prime Minister Modi had discussions with leaders of the Gulf countries about
the welfare of Indians in the Gulf region.
However, the official sources did not divulge upon what the
leaders of the gulf region told to the Indian Prime Minister. It is on record
that the United Arab Emirates has warned of possible action against countries
refusing not to allow their citizens to return back to their respective
countries.
Well, India media is always in the habit of sacrificing the
other side of the story and we the people have to swallow the information what
is told through the elaborate paraphernalia of mass communication.
It is untrue that hate Muslim, hate Islam campaign going on a
full throttle scale in the Indian media is unnoticed. TN Ninan, Chairman of
Business Standard and a well regard journalist, has boldly said that
marginalization of Muslims has become a ‘jan-andolan’ in India.
Many self-conscious and peace loving people of this country
do agree with this statement. Abusing Muslims and denigrating Islam has become
the pet theme of a large section of Indian media. This narrative has a
cascading impact on the world wide Indians who live on the staple diet fed by
the Indian media.
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The epic center of all
such hate mongering is the broadcasts done from India. This is because some
Indian media have declared the faith of the killer Corona virus to Islam, and
Muslims are being dubbed as terrorists fighting the ‘Corona Jihad’
All these are happening under the state patronage. India’s
ruling elite gleefully watching these rants of the wounded civilization on their
television sets, are taking solace they are winning the battle in the ‘clash of
civilization.’ Little they realize, India rests in the soft belly of the Islam
arch, can only survive like a tongue between the jowls and any such war may be
a nightmare.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a
journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com
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