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FISHING RAIDS AND CRACKDOWN ON AUSTRIAN MUSLIMS POINT TO THE CHANGING NATURE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA. THESE WERE COORDINATED WITH EGYPTIAN AND ISRAELI SECRET SERVICES. THIS MEANS EUROPEAN MUSLIMS ASSOCIATED WITH MUSLIM ACTIVISM IN THIS CASE THE LAW ABIDING MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD ARE BEING TARGETTED.
THERE ARE SIMILAR PATTERNS IN FRANCE AND ELSEWHERE. THIS NEEDS TO BE MONITORED AND NEUTRALISED AND IT MEANS THAT EUROPEAN MUSLIMS NEED TO ACT ACROSS FRONTIERS ALSO IN TERMS OF COOPERATION AS THEIR CIVIC AND HUMAN RIGHTS ARE BEING ATTACKED.
EGYPTIAN AND ISRAELI COMPLICITY:
THE UNFOLDING OF A MAJOR CRACKDOWN ON MUSLIMS IN VIENNA
https://www.cage.ngo/egyptian-and-israel...in-vienna?
Nura Al-Izzedin explores how events unfolded following the attacks in Vienna, which exposed serious government failings and led to a major crackdowns on Muslims in Austria.
On the 2nd of November 2020, Austria experienced an entirely preventable attack. Austria’s Minister for the Interior Karl Nehammer, who oversees the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism (BVT), reported that a gunman who killed four people in Vienna, had tried to illegally purchase ammunition from Slovakia back in July.
This had been reported to the Austrian intelligence Services shortly after the attempt[1]. It was then revealed that it was not only foreign intelligence services who warned Austrian authorities about the perpetrator. The Austrian army intelligence services (Heeresnachrichtenamt), who had been responsible for monitoring the attacker’s probation, reported the perpetrator to Nehammer, after the perpetrator had been trying to illegally purchase ammunition[2].
Despite all of this, the most important fact to highlight is that the attack of November 2nd 2020 could have been entirely prevented within the framework of existing laws.
In response to this revelation, Austrians have called for the resignation of Nehammer. The right-wing politician has remained silent on the issue. Yet a further investigation into Nehammer’s failings might prove useful in determining his reasons for withholding the information that could have prevented such a horrific attack.
Austria’s Anti-Terror Package
One week after the attack on November 2nd 2020, Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz tabled a new and highly controversial “anti-terror package[3]” which was further revised on December 16th.
Key measures of the package include[4]:
- The process of shutting down associations or mosques deemed to play a role in “radicalisation” will be made easier. Likewise, the public will be able to report potential violent activities on an online platform.
- The possibility to strip Austrians of their citizenship after being convicted of terrorist offences.
- Introducing the criminal offence of “religiously motivated extremism”, which was initially meant to target “political Islam”1.
Integration Minister Susanne Raab of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), stated clearly that the criminal offence of “religiously motivated extremism” is a “central component in combating political Islam”[5].
- A central register of imams will similarly be created. Raab stressed that “we want transparency in Austria as to who preaches in which mosque”[6].
- Creating a register of threatening/dangerous individuals, with the aim of preventing former convicted terrorists from working in critical infrastructure companies, hence barring them from any security-related tasks.
- In some cases, people who have just been released from prison can be electronically monitored with an electronic ankle bracelet or wristband.
“At the moment there is only Islamism in Austria, which is specifically a religious extremist association” concluded Minister for Integration, Susanne Raab. She ignored the fact that just a few days before, police reported the largest weapon seizure in decades, intended to arm a right-wing militia.
Moreover, Amnesty International[7] views the announced measures as being serious encroachments on human rights and has called for an evaluation of existing instruments.
“At the moment there is only Islamism in Austria, which is specifically a religious extremist association”[8] and it is “specifically Islamism that poses the greatest danger”[9] concluded Minister for Integration, Susanne Raab. Raab meanwhile ignored the fact that just a few days before her statement, police authorities uncovered an organised right-wing criminal network, seizing over 70 guns in a raid. The police reported that it had been the largest weapon seizure in decades, with the weapons being intended to arm a right-wing militia[10].
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz ® with French President Emmanuel Macron (l) and Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen ©
Egyptian and Israeli missions in Austria and children rights violations: “Operation Luxor”
A week after the attack in Vienna, under the code name “Operation Luxor,” almost a thousand police officers stormed over 60 houses and apartments belonging to families and associations that are alleged to have links with the Austrian Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas[11]. To date, not one person has been arrested[12]. Nehammer, to whom the perpetrator of 2nd November attack was reported to beforehand, was personally present during the raids[13]. Prosecutors insisted that the raids were not connected to the 2nd November attack, but were the result of an investigation stretching back over more than a year.
It was the most elaborate operation in the history of Austria’s Ministry for Protection the Constitution, and, it is suspected by many that Austria’s judiciary and police have attempted
to show their support for the Israeli and Egyptian authorities in their fight against the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, while also pursuing the agenda to silence outspoken Muslim activists.
Indeed, at no moment in the more than the year-long investigation, was any evidence uncovered surrounding a direct terrorist threat in Austria[14].
Key measures of the Anti-terror package include:
- Introducing the criminal offence of “religiously motivated extremism”
- Shutting down associations or mosques deemed to play a role in “radicalisation” will be made easier.
- A central register of imams will be created.
- The possibility to strip Austrians of their citizenship after being convicted of terrorist offences.
- Creating a register of threatening/dangerous individuals, with the aim of barring convicts of terror offences from any security-related tasks.
- Electronic monitoring for released prisoners.
To many, this raised suspicion as to what extent the house searches had been carried out in cooperation with Egyptian and Israeli secret services[15]. It is interesting to point out that the language and reasoning employed in the search warrants and indictments is almost identical to the language used by Egypt and Israel when describing the Muslim Brotherhood[16]. Yet a key difference is that the Muslim Brotherhood in Austria, unlike in Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia, is not considered as a terrorist organisation.
What is even more concerning are the reports of excessive force employed by Austrian authorities, even against children during the “Operation Luxor” raids. The excessive use of force and violence by the police authorities was such that, according to a child psychologist’s report, the raids have had a profound psychological impact on children. Other children’s reports include instances of masked police standing in front of a child’s bed and shouting “target person spotted”.
Over 30 children between the ages of eight months and eighteen were affected by the raids. For those unaffected, the newfound pandemic life seems to continue as normal, all within the most livable city in the world, Vienna.
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WHETHER IT IS IN THE EAST OR WEST AS WELL AS NORTH OR SOUTH ISLAMOPHOBIA NEEDS TO BE EXPOSED. EVEN ALTHOUGH CHINA IS WOOING AND DEPENDENT ON MUSLIM COUNTRIES LIKE PAKISTAN, IRAN AND TURKEY. IT'S POLICIES AND PRACTICES IN XINJIANG MUST NOT BE IGNORED AS THERE IS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO STATE THAT THERE HAS BEEN AND IS SYSTEMATIC PERSECUTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION OF THE UYGHUR MUSLIMS.
IN THE VIDEO BELOW WHAT IS DISTURBING AND OBNOXIOUS IS HOW MAJOR CHINESE TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES HAVE BEEN EXPERIMENTING ON THE UYGHUR MUSLIMS WITH THE MOST EXTENSIVE SURVEILLANCE STATE CONTROL IN THE WORLD. ALSO AFTER PERFECTING THIS TECHNOLOGY IT IS EXPORTED GLOBALLY.
IF THIS IS IS HOW CHINESE STATE CAPITALISM OPERATES IT NEEDS TO BE BLACKLISTED AND SANCTIONS IMPOSED ON ALL THE COMPANIES INVOLVED IN THIS HITECH EMPIRE. CHINA NEEDS TO BE WARNED THAT IT CAN NOT TAKE THE MUSLIM WORLD FOR GRANTED AND IT NEEDS TO END IT'S ISLAMOPHOBIA. ALSO THE HAN COLONISATION OF XINJIANG NEEDS TO END AND IT SHOULD BE ALLOWED IT'S AUTONOMY.
CHINA UNDERCOVER
PBS Documentary FRONTLINE
HOW XINJIANG BECAME MUSLIM
LET's TALK RELIGION
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AN ISSUE THAT I HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO CAMPAIGN AGAINST AT THE START OF MY CAREER IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA ALBEIT IN THE UK HAS ARISEN IT'S HEAD AGAIN. THIS TIME IT ORIGINATES IN FRANCE. A HUGE BLOWBACK AND STORM HAS IGNITED IN PAKISTAN OVER THE FRENCH STATE'S SUPPORT OF BLASPHEMING AGAINST THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD'S DIGNITY. THE TLP BROUGHT THE COUNTRY TO A STANDSTILL OVER THE ARREST OVER THEIR LEADER. THIS COULD LEAD TO NOT ONLY STRIFE BUT A CIVIL WAR AND IT'S EXPLOITATION BY ENEMIES OF PAKISTAN. PAKISTAN AND PAKISTANIS MUST ENGAGE IN INTRA DIALOGUE AND REACH CONSENSUS ON THE MESSAGE THAT THE FRENCH AND THE WEST MUST BE GIVEN.
THE COMMON MESSAGE WHICH SHOULD BE GIVEN FROM AN UNITED GLOBAL MUSLIM PLATFORM TO FRANCE AND THE WEST IN PARTICULAR. IS THAT BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE PROPHET IS NOT A RIGHT AND FREEDOM AND NEEDS TO BE OUTLAWED LIKE HOLOCAUST DENIAL DEMANDED BY WORLD JEWRY. BECAUSE IT INSULTS MUSLIM SANCTITIES AND HURTS MUSLIMS DEEPLY BECAUSE MUHAMMMAD IS SOMEONE MUSLIMS RESPECT AND LOVE. THIS ISSUE HAS BECOME CENTRAL TO ISLAMOPHOBIA IN THE WEST AND SHOULD BE SEEN AS PART AND PARCEL OF THE RISE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA. WESTERNERS NEED TO REALISE THAT MUSLIMS ARE NOT AGAINST FREEDOM OF SPEECH BUT AGAINST THE ABUSE OF THIS RIGHT AND THINKING IT IS A LICENSE TO INSULT OTHERS SANCTITIES. JUST BECAUSE THE FRENCH AND EUROPEANS DON'T TAKE RELIGION SERIOUSLY DOES NOT ENTITLE THEM TO MOCK, ABUSE AND OFFEND OTHER RELIGIONS SANCTITIES. THIS IS NOT JUST ISLAMOPHOBIC BUT RACIST AND IMPERIALIST GIVEN THE HISTORICAL UNDERPINNINGS.
MUSLIMS AND ISLAM HAS NEVER TAUGHT DISRESPECTING OTHERS PROPHETS AND THERE SHOULD BE UNIVERSAL RECOGNITION THAT THIS IS A RED LINE THAT SHOULD NOT BE CROSSED IF WE WANT ANY SEMBLANCE OF A PEACEFUL MULTIFAITH AND MULTICULTURAL WORLD.
IF THEY DON'T GET THIS MESSAGE IT NEEDS TO BE UNDERLINED BY BOYCOTTING THE GOODS AND SERVICES OF THE OFFENDING NATION. EITHER NATION(S) RESPECT EACH OTHER OTHERWISE THERE WILL BE A CANYON OF THE DEAF DUMB AND BLIND IN A GLOBAL VILLAGE.
COMPLETE ADDRESS OF IMRAN KHAN TO THE NATION ABOUT FRANCE AMBASSADOR
PRIME MINISTER IMRAN KHAN ADDRESS TO THE NATION ON TLP ISSUE 19 April 2021
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THE ISLAMOPHOBIA INDUSTRY IN THE ANGLOSPHERE NEEDS TO BE UNRAVELLED AS IT IS DEEPLY ENTRENCHED AND INSIDIOUS. ENGLAND AND THE UK HAS HAD CENTURIES OF INTERACTION WITH THE MUSLIM WORLD BOTH GOOD AND BAD. HOWEVER, IN TERMS OF CONTEMPORARY ISLAMOPHOBIA THE ROLE OF THE ENGLISH MEDIUM PRESS, MEDIA, POLITICIANS AND THINK TANKS NEEDS TO BE UNVEILED AND NEUTRALISED.
AS THEY HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR BUILDING UP A TOXIC AND PHONEY IMAGE OF MUSLIMS ASSOCIATION WITH RADICALISM AND EXTREMISM FEEDING ISLAMIC TERRORISM WHICH IS AN OXYMORON. THIS HAS FUELLED LEGITIMISATION OF THE STATE'S SO CALLED COUNTER TERRORIST POLICIES AGAINST THE MUSLIM COMMUNITIES.
THIS WHOLE NEFARIOUS NEXUS AND INDUSTRY NEEDS TO BE DISMANTLED AND FOCUS SHOULD BE ON DECONTRUCTING FALSE FLAG TERRORISM AND THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR IT
THE QUILLIAM FOUNDATION HAS CLOSED BUT ITS
TOXIC LEGACY REMAINS
For 13 years, the organisation promoted policies that were harmful to the British Muslim community
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/...cy-remains
Malia Bouattia
Pannelists T.J. Leyden, Usama Hasan, Melvyn Haward Jr., Maajid Nawaz, Susan Cruz, Paul Carrillo and moderator Jared Cohen speak at the Youth Radicalization Redefined during the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival at SVA Theater on April 29, 2011 in New York City [File: Jason Kempin/Getty Images/AFP]
The news that the Quilliam Foundation, a so-called counter-extremism think-tank, has closed, was welcomed by many – particularly by Muslims who have long been targets of the harmful practices of the organisation. On April 9, one of its founders, Maajid Nawaz, announced on Twitter that the decision was made due to the “hardship of maintaining a non-profit during Covid lockdowns”. Although the foundation had experienced financial difficulties over the past few years, there has been some speculation that Nawaz’s flirtations with Q-Anon conspiracy theories about the US elections and the electoral defeat of Donald Trump may have contributed to internal splits and the decision to close down.
Despite the relief many of us feel, the foundation leaves behind a toxic legacy, which will continue to harm the Muslim community in the United Kingdom and beyond. The organisation was founded in 2008 by self-proclaimed ex-extremists and former members of the reactionary organisation Hizb ut-Tahirir (HT), Nawaz and Ed Husain. Named after Abdullah Quilliam, it received funding from the Home Office and purported to combat radicalisation in the wake of the 7/7 attacks in London. Instead, for 13 years Quilliam reinforced the idea that Muslims are a suspect community and supported the draconian “counter-terrorism” policies being pushed by the government. Its members peddled the unevidenced logic that to fight terrorism, the state had to identify and undermine extremist ideologies, which would lead to terrorist actions.
This logic gave birth to the British government’s obsession with so-called “non-violent extremism”. This conveyor belt theory became the bedrock of anti-radicalisation policies and served to normalise the criminalisation of thought rather than actions, and therefore the targeting of individuals who had not committed any crimes but were imagined to be at risk of committing unlawful acts in the future.
In the time that Quilliam was active, the counter-extremism apparatus in the UK grew more aggressive and pervasive by infiltrating every area of public and even private life, with public sector workers being drafted in to help spot these ill-defined signs of radicalisation. This process was cheered on energetically by the foundation.
In addition, it stoked up considerable hate towards Muslims and racialised communities in Britain. For example, when following the child sexual exploitation scandal in Rochdale and other cities, Quilliam published a report claiming that 84 percent of “grooming gang offenders” were Asian. This was later debunked by the Home Office’s own report that confirmed research has found that group-based offenders “are most commonly White”. Unfortunately, much of the damage had already been done. As Dr Ella Cockbain, a researcher on child exploitation, pointed out in her criticism of the report by Quilliam, “the more ‘grooming gangs’ are seen as a Muslim problem, the more a ‘counter-extremism’ think-tank stands to gain.”
Quilliam was not only confident in making statements and publishing “findings” which were not backed up by data, but it was also ruthless in making sure it held the attention of the government and international arena when it came to Muslims and counter-extremism. The foundation, in assuming the role of protectors of democracy, attempted to tarnish a whole spectrum of Muslim groups and collectives as being aligned with terrorist ideology. In fact, it supplied the Home Office with a “blacklist” which included the Islam TV channel, Muslim Safety Forum and the Islamic Human Rights Commission.
As a result of these activities, the reputation of the foundation within Muslim communities was quite low; many approached its work with distrust. Had its members sought to undertake de-radicalisation work among British Muslims, it is highly doubtful that they would have gotten anywhere. This, however, was clearly never the intention.
Quilliam’s PR stunt with English Defence League (EDL) founder, Tommy Robinson, is one striking example of how little its members cared about or considered Muslims. In 2013, the foundation announced that it had worked with the far-right leader to help him leave the EDL and his anti-Muslim activism; it even held a high-profile official press conference on the occasion. Robinson, who had spent years mobilising people against Muslim communities, targeting their mosques, and using them as scapegoats for every imaginable social, political and economic problem, announced he would start working with Quilliam. Just two years later, however, he established the UK branch of the German anti-Muslim, anti-migrant far-right group, PEGIDA.
This was not the only deeply problematic association Quilliam had. Among its funders, there were quite a few Islamophobic entities and figures. In 2012, for example, the foundation received $75,000 from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, which often funds so-called counter-jihad organisations including the anti-Muslim hate group the David Horowitz Freedom Centre. It also won a grant of over $1,000,000 from the John Templeton Foundation, a conservative organisation with links to the Tea Party in the US and reactionary Christian groups. Its former head, Jack Templeton, had funded groups opposing same-sex marriage and defending the war in Iraq. Another of Quilliam’s donors was “New Atheist” figure Sam Harris, who supports the use of torture and has encouraged the profiling of Muslims in his call for a “war with Islam”.
While Quilliam’s deplorable work towards the institutionalisation of Islamophobia and the destruction of civil liberties may be over, the damage that it has done will continue to be felt. It is enshrined in our counter-extremism policies, in the rhetoric of our politicians, and the far-right thugs that they have empowered as well as legitimised through their work.
As Dr Rizwaan Sabir, a lecturer in criminology who specialises in counter-terrorism at Liverpool John Moores University, told me recently, Quilliam’s impact “should not be taken lightly, since they, especially some key individuals from the organisation, had access to high-ranking policymakers, politicians, and civil servants and were therefore able to influence their ideas around security policy as well as the way they viewed Muslim organisations”.
Quilliam’s groundwork continues to bear fruit through state-led counter-extremism practices, like the Prevent programme, which profiles and criminalises Muslims. Threats to our civil liberties continue to worsen as the government pushes through more and more repressive policies, from the Coronavirus Act being extended, to the introduction of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill attempting to hinder our right to protest. All of this falls into the remit of state securitisation that was so strongly supported by Quilliam.
The work of normalising and pushing forward the government’s narrative has been done and it no longer requires Nawaz and his ilk to help in the process. In addition, there are still other neo-conservative think-tanks, like the Henry Jackson Society, which will carry forward their legacy.
Our focus must now be on completely dismantling the counter-extremism apparatus which continues to be used to erode our civil liberties, defending our freedoms and fighting Islamophobia. Quilliam faced years of opposition and critique from a broad coalition of trade unions, students, teachers, healthcare professionals, anti-racist activists and politicians who all opposed the Prevent strategy.
It is this broad network that must be reinforced and mobilised. As Islamophobic laws are passed with increasing speed across the continent, such mobilisation is urgently needed.
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WHILST WE DON'T FOCUS ON ANY POP CELEBRITIES WE WILL MENTION THIS BECAUSE IT HAS TO BE NOTED. THE ZIONISTS AND THEIR ALLIES DESPITE HAVING A STRANGLEHOLD ON MAINSTREAM MEDIA HAVE LOST THE GLOBAL MEDIA WAR AS THEY ARE UNABLE TO CONTROL SOCIAL MEDIA. THE POP STARS WITH PALESTINIAN AND BOSNIAN HERITAGE WHO HAVE A BIG FOLLOWING SHOULD BE APPLAUDED. AS THEY HAVE CALLED OUT THE INDEFENSIBLE ZIONIST ETHNIC CLEANSING AND INDISCRIMINATE BOMBING OF CIVILIANS IN GAZA. THESE ARE WAR CRIMES AND THEY WILL BE HELD TO ACCOUNT SOON.
THOSE WHO PLACED THE ADVERT NEED TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. WHAT TYPE OF CIVILISED COUNTRY BOMBS GAZA WHICH IS AN OPEN AIR REFUGEE CAMP?
WHAT DO YOU CALL BARBARISM WHICH BOMBS CIVILIAN HOMES, HOSPITALS, DESALINATION WATER PLANTS?
WHAT DO YOU CALL AN AIR FORCE WHICH KILLS CHILDREN AND WOMEN?
WHAT DO YOU CALL THE MINDSET OF A COLONIAL SETTLER STATE IMPOSING A MEDIEVAL SIEGE ON GAZA SINCE 2007?
THEY SHOULD NOT INSULT THE INTELLIGENCE OF WORLD PUBLIC OPINION AS ZIONISTS NOT JEWS ARE BEING MADE TO ACCOUNT. THE ADVERT APPEARS TO MISREPRESENT AND SENSATIONALISE. THE ZIONIST PROPAGANDA OF BEING VICTIMS RATHER THAN THE FOREIGN COLONIAL SETTLERS AND OPPRESSORS WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED. THIS ZIONIST MYTHOLOGY WILL BE DECONSTRUCTED AS IT HAS REACHED IT'S HIGH NOON.
EVERY ACT OF ISLAMOPHOBIA NEEDS TO BE IDENTIFIED AND NEUTRALISED ANYWHERE ANY TIME IN THE WORLD. ALSO A DETAILED LIST OF ISLAMOPHOBES AND THOSE WHO SUPPORT THEM NEEDS COMPILATION GLOBALLY.
A FULL PAGE AD IN NEW YORK TIMES AGAINST BELLA, GIGI HADID AND DUA LIPA
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THIS IS A GREAT MOVE TO BOYCOTT BRANDS ASSOCIATED WITH ISLAMOPHOBIC COUNTRIES OR WESTERN CULTURAL IMPERIALISM AND ALCOHOLISM. IF CELEBRITIES ENDORSE THESE MOVES AND CONSUMERS SUPPORT THEM IT WILL HURT THESE BRANDS BY THE BILLIONS AND DEVALUE THEIR STOCK MARKET VALUE. MUSLIM FOOTBALLERS NEED TO SHOW WHERE THEY STAND. COUNTRIES WHICH SHOW HATRED TO ISLAMIC SYMBOLS LIKE THE HIJAB, MOSQUES, THE QURAN AND THE PROPHET AND ASSOCIATION OF ISLAM WITH TERROR SHOULD BE BOYCOTTED. THEY NEED TO FEEL THE PAIN. BRING IT ON AND POWER TO THE PEOPLE.
HOW COCA COLA LOST $4 BILLION DUE TO CRISTIANO RONALDO IN 30 MINUTES
REFUSING COCA COLA BY FOOTBALLERS IS GETTING MOMENT AFTER RONALDO
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THE FOLLOWING VIDEOS OFFER INTERESTING PERSPECTIVES ON HOW A NEW AGE OF ABANDONMENT OF FAITH AND RELIGION DAWNS IN THE WEST AND VIRULENT GENOCIDAL ISLAMOPHOBIA ARISES IN THE EAST. THE SECOND VIDEO LAMBLASTS ISLAMOPHOBIA ESPECIALLY IN INDIA AND CHINA.
THE SPEAKER ARGUES THAT THE AGE OF REASON HAS BEEN ABANDONED TO AN AGE OF FEELING OR DESIRE OR HAWA. THIS NEW IDEOLOGY IS DEFINING MORALITY AND ETHICS IN OUR TIMES IN A HI TECH ENVIROMENT. HE ADMITS A HUGE SPIRITUAL CRISIS IS ENVELOPING THE WESTERN WORLD.
HE REFERS TO MUSLIMS BECOMING WITNESSES TO THE TRUTH. SOMEONE SHOULD ASK HIM WHAT IS THE POINT OF BEING A WITNESS WHEN THE TITANIC IS SINKING? THE COMMUNITY IS BEHAVING LIKE A WORRIED RESIDENT ON THE TITANIC ONLY CONCERNED WITH THEIR LIVING ROOM AND UTTERING SOME WARNINGS INSTEAD OF GETTING OUT WITH LIFE BOATS.
IN THE SECOND VIDEO FOCUSSING ON INDIA AND CHINA THE SPEAKER DOES NOT RELATE THE CONCEPT OF HIJRA WITH JIHAD. MUSLIM SELF DETERMINATION IN THE MODERN WORLD CAN NOT JUST PLEAD FOR ASSISTANCE FROM OTHERS. THEIR NUMBERS ARE IN THE MILLIONS AND THEY NEED TO RE-ORGANISE TO RESIST AND DEFEND THEMSELVES. MUSLIM LEADERSHIP NEEDS TO RISE TO THE CHALLENGE IN INDIA AND IF NECESSARY THEY NEED TO CHANGE THEIR LEADERSHIP.
BUT WHAT THE SPEAKER FAILS TO ADDRESS IS HARNESSING THE CONCEPT OF HIJRAH TO MUSLIM HOMELANDS OR CREATE NEW ONES IF REQUIRED . HE IS COMFORTABLE IN DIGGING DEEPER INTO NONMUSLIM SOCIETIES AND IDEOLOGIES AS THOUGH UPHOLDING PERSONAL PIETY AND FAMILY VALUES WILL PROTECT MUSLIM IDENTITY AND SURVIVAL.
IN THIS RESPECT HE HAS FAILED IN OFFERING RADICAL ISLAMIC SOLUTIONS TO THE NEW GENERATIONS. THEY HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD URGENTLY AND DEVISE A NEW ISLAMIC SURVIVAL STRATEGY AS NOTHING ELSE WILL SUFFICE .
THE CHALLENGES OF OUR TIME
Yasir Qadhi
INDIAN MUSLIMS UNDER THE PHARAONIC RULE OF THE BJP
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THIS BOOK TOUCHES THE TIP OF AN ICEBERG OF NOT JUST THE FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF EUROPE BUT IN THE MAKING OF MODERN EUROPE. THE EUROPEAN FEAR HAS NOT ONLY BEEN OF THE TURK BUT THE ARAB AND TATARS.
BEFORE THE COMING OF TURKS PRONOUNCED AS TOORKS INTO ANATOLIA AND CONFRONTING THE EASTERN BYZANTINE EMPIRE THERE WAS THE HUGE PRESENCE OF BERBERS, ARABS AND AFRICAN MUSLIMS IN AL ANDALUS COVERING MODERN SPAIN, PORTUGAL AND MANY MEDITERRANEAN ISLANDS. THERE WAS AN IMMENSE HISTORICAL PERIOD OF La Convivencia FOLLOWED BY THE RECONQUISTA. THIS CONTRIBUTED FUNDAMENTALLY TO SPANISH, PORTUGESE, FRENCH AND ITALIAN ATTITUDES TO ISLAM AND MUSLIMS.
ALSO THE TATAR INCURSIONS INTO THE LANDS OF THE RUS OR RUSSIANS AFFECTED THE SLAVIC ATTITUDES AND POLICIES TO MUSLIMS AND ISLAM IN THAT PART OF EUROPE.
THE STORY IS VERY COMPLEX BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THE STORY OF EUROPE AND THE MAKING OF EUROPE CAN NOT BE UNDERSTOOD WITHOUT ISLAM AND MUSLIMS. PERHAPS THE ROLE OF THE EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND IN PARTICULAR THE VATICAN IN ROME NEEDS TO BE DECODED AND UNVEILED. THEY WERE BOTH AT THE CENTRE OF OPPOSING AND CONFRONTING THE PRESENCE OF ISLAM IN EUROPE.
ANYONE WHO DISPUTES THIS CAN GO AND TAKE A WALK ON THE WIDE SIDE. HISTORY NEEDS TO UNCOVER TRUTH AND NOT BE A WHITEWASH OF HISTORY. THIS IS NOT TO DISTURB RELATIONS BUT TO UNDERSTAND THAT HISTORY OF CIVILISATIONS IS NOT JUST ABOUT CO-EXISTENCE OF CIVILISATIONS BUT A CLASH OF IDEAS AND VALUES. WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS AS THE WORLD FACES A WESTERN CIVILISATION IN CRISIS AND WHICH CAN NO LONGER DOMINATE AND MOULD THE WORLD IN IT'S IMAGE. THIS IS WHERE ONLY ISLAM AND ONLY IT'S UNIVERSAL IDEAS, VALUES AND INSTITUTIONS CAN SAVE THE WORLD FROM EXTINCTION.
THE WEST AND WESTERN VALUES HAVE HAD THEIR TIME AND ARE FAILING THE WORLD OF 2021. IT IS TIME FOR IT TO SHOW REMORSE AND BE HUMBLE AND MOVE OVER AND LET ISLAM SHARE RATHER THAN BE SUFFOCATED ON THE GLOBAL STAGE. AS PRESIDENT ERDOGAN OF TURKEY STATES THE WORLD IS MORE THAN 5. MORE WILL BE SHED ON THIS URGENT PRESCRIPTION AS WE REACH THE END OF HISTORY.
ACROSS THE BALKANS :
BOSNIA ON THE BRINK OF BREAKING UP ?
Since the end of the Bosnian War in 1995, people for the first time are asking if the country could be heading back towards armed conflict. Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik says he will withdraw the Serb-led entity, Republika Srpska, from state institutions and work towards full autonomy. The new High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt is warning the country faces its 'greatest existential threat of the postwar period'. Aksel Zaimovic reports from Sarajevo.
‘MINARETS IN THE MOUNTAINS’:
A JOURNEY INTO MUSLIM EUROPE
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/minare...rope-51679
Author Tharik Hussain discusses how his travels to the Balkans shed light on issues like identity and belonging, the roots of Islamophobia, and the European fear of the ‘Turks’. The footsteps of 17th century Ottoman explorer, Evliya Celebi, have been re-traced by travel writer and author Tharik Hussain in his groundbreaking new book, Minarets in the Mountains. The book brings to life this rarely told story of Muslim Europe, and unearths a living history of Balkan people and their 600-year-old Ottoman Muslim heritage and culture.
As we journey through Islamophobia Awareness Month this November, and reflect on the hatred, exclusion, misunderstanding and misrepresentation of Muslims from all racial and ethnic backgrounds, this story of blond-haired, blue-eyed, white Muslims indigenous to Europe provides a lot of food for thought on the nature of anti-Muslim rhetoric from the past to the present day.
As Tharik highlights, Islam and Muslims have a historic and long-standing connection with Europe but their contribution to the Western world is ignored or overlooked by historical narratives and present discourse.“For Muslims in the West, we often feel like we are under some kind of attack. We’re made to feel like we don't belong here but to discover that we have this heritage that goes back 14 centuries, it feels almost criminal that this stuff is not being discussed,” Tharik told TRT World.
Book cover of Tharik Hussain's 'Minarets in the Mountains', published on 15 July 2021. (Tharik Hussain)
The roots of Islamophobia go deep, and as Tharik shows in his book, it has historical roots. Despite Muslims in Europe having the same ethnic roots as their Christian neighbours, they are still seen as the ‘other’. There is reluctance to recognise the Balkans as properly part of Europe, yet easy to accept Greece, when geographically it’s part of the Balkans too. “That's because Western Europe considers Greek and Hellenic heritage as the very foundations of Western civilisation. They want Plato, they want Aristotle, they want Hippocrates but they're not so keen on Sultan Suleiman or Mehmed Sokollu Pasha,” Tharik says.
Islam in the Balkans was brought over by the Ottoman Empire in the late 1300s. The Empire at its peak was powerful and wealthy with superior government, social and economic systems. On the other hand, Western powers were weaker, economically disadvantaged and less advanced. This led to the Christian world wanting to catch up and dominate.
As a result, when the power dynamic shifted, the narrative was controlled by the Christian West and changed to suit political aims.
“All too often we're led to believe that Europe has only Judeo-Christian heritage, maybe with a sprinkling of some paganism, and apparently Islam has had nothing to do with the evolution and development of Europe,” says Tharik. “Of course, when you realise that it's quite the opposite, it's a sad moment.”
A decorated mehrab inside a mosque in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Tharik Hussain)
In fact, through Tharik’s travels, he unveils a much larger Muslim presence in countries other than just Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania, which are Muslim majority. He also meets Muslim communities living in Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro, places you would not normally link with Muslims.
There are Ottoman-built mosques and architecture, some attributed to the Chief Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, who lived in the 16th century. The names of places, people, cuisines and cultural norms such as Muslim hospitality and welcoming travellers are all practiced in these areas. There is also a rich Sufi heritage, another legacy of the Ottomans.
While there has been a desire to wipe out that Muslim heritage, including the bulldozing of mosques, rewriting history and genocide, some of the heritage described by Evliya in his book
is still there in many places, which was a pleasant surprise for Tharik. Although some of the heritage was damaged and demolished, it has been rebuilt by local communities and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), who are keen to preserve Turkish history.
Traditional Ottoman houses in Berat, Albania. (Tharik Hussain)
While European Islam lives on, the negative attitude towards ‘Turks’ and ‘Muslims’ continues
to thrive in the West, and we have seen it play out in the US, European nations and in Britain with the Brexit campaign.In his book, Tharik writes: “One of the key undercurrents of the Brexit campaign was selling Britain the idea that Muslim refugees were swarming Europe.” There was a fear of Turkey joining the EU, and if Britain remained then the Turks would swamp the UK.
There was also a rising hatred towards the Polish and all eastern Europeans. Tharik believes these attitudes are actually rooted in Islamophobia. “I think the eastern European hatred and Islamophobia were all wrapped into one and there’s no surprise that the two were interchangeable during the Brexit rhetoric,” he says.When asked how to get rid of these Islamophobic attitudes, Tharik believes it is not straightforward nor a quick fix.
“In the unconscious of Western Europe there has always been a mistrust and a suspicion of eastern Europe,” he says. “Whilst some will say it's because they were communists, I believe that's only the tip of the iceberg and that it was built on Islamophobia, because long before it was communist, for almost six centuries much of it was Muslim.”
Tharik rightly points out that Islamophobia has been centuries in the making and as a result is quite solidified and canonised in Western psyche and culture. His aim is to try and normalise Europe’s Muslim stories and history. “All of this work is to essentially just try and move towards a normalisation of Islam being a part of the Western cultural landscape.”
A local woman sits inside Sarajevo’s Gazi Husrev Mosque courtyard, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Tharik Hussain)
Even if the West does not accept Muslims anytime soon, Tharik believes it is important for Muslims to at least know their own history. “Heritage is essential for anchoring identities and if we don't know our heritage in the way that we should or we're denied aspects of it, it's little wonder that we sometimes feel a little bit adrift,” he says.
Tharik is committed to raising awareness of Islam in Europe and its living legacy, and Minarets in the Mountains is part of several other projects that he is involved with. However, while the perception of Muslims may not change as quickly as he would like, it definitely had an immediate and lasting impact on him and his family.“The real joy was seeing my children and wife come back seeing Muslims just like us, who have always been here in Europe and who were not converts or recent migrants. This knowledge was massively empowering.”
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IHRC.TV LIVE BROADCAST
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Islamophobia Conference 2021 (Sunday, 12 December, 12.15 – 5pm GMT)
Co-organised by Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), Scotland Against Criminalising Communities (SACC) and the Decolonial International Network Foundation (DIN). Is it possible to tackle racism, Islamophobia and other injustices by working in the system, or must there be complete or near total refusal to work with governmental and other institutions of the state? What are the dilemmas Muslims face and what lessons can be learned from contemporary movements from various communities.
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THE SICKENING HINDU NAZI EXTREMIST CALLS FOR ETHNIC CLEANSING AND MUSLIM GENOCIDE IN HINDUTVA IS CHILLING. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT TO CHILL AND FREEZE TO DEATH WITH THEIR HATE SPEECH. BUT THE THE ONLY SOLUTION TO THEIR FINAL SOLUTION IS FOR MASS MUSLIM MOBILISATION OF INDIAN MUSLIMS AND OTHER MINORITIES.
THE INDIAN AUTHORITIES LACK OF ACTION HAS ALLOWED THIS FILTH TO FLOURISH IN HINDUTVA INDIA. AS THE SURVIVAL OF OTHER FAITH COMMUNITIES IS AT STAKE THEY CAN NOT ALLOW IN ACTION TO PREVAIL. THESE EXTREMISTS WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND EXPOSED. BUT THERE IS A NEED FOR A GRAND STRATEGY AGAINST THE ISLAMOPHOBIA ALLIANCE.
SUFFICE TO STATE THAT HINDUTVA IDEOLOGY REVEALS THAT IT IS MORALLY BANKRUPT AND NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE TO UPHOLD A MULTIFAITH AND PLURALISTIC INDIAN SOCIETY. THERE IS ONLY ONE PLACE FOR THIS HUMAN EXCREMENT AND THAT IS DOWN THE TOILET. ALSO HINDUTVA HAS EXPOSED ITSELF AS NOT FIT TO GOVERN INDIA. THERE IS A NEED FOR A RENEWED CALL TO ISLAMISE INDIA AGAIN. ONLY ISLAM WHICH HAS RULED INDIA FOR CENTURIES IS UP FOR THIS TASK. THIS WAS ONLY BROKEN BY BRITISH IMPERIALISM. HISTORY HAS TO REPEAT ITSELF TO SAVE INDIA FROM IMPLOSION.
ALSO A FINAL PAINFUL SLAP ON THE FACE OF HINDU FANATICS THAT THEY HAVE BEEN PUT ON NOTICE TO END THEIR INTOLERANCE. OTHERWISE IN THE SPIRITUAL WARFARE THAT UNFOLDS WHICH THEY HAVE STARTED THEY WILL BE CONQUERED AND THEIR LEADERS WILL BE CHAINED AND DRAGGED AWAY.
SILENCE OF POLITICAL SILENCE OF POLITICAL LEADERS ON GENOCIDE CALLS IS OMINOUS
Admiral Arun Prakash, former Naval Chief
US PROFESSOR WARNS US AND ENTIRE WORLD TO STOP INDIA BEFORE SOMETHING HAPPENS
HATE SPEECH AND ONLINE SPEECH AND ONLINE ABUSE : INDIA’s GROWING EXTREMISM PROBLEM
WILL BJP FIELD YOGI ADITYANATH AS CANDIDATE FOR
PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA IN 2024?
PM BLASTS MODI 'CONTINUING SILENCE' ON HINDUTVA SUMMIT CALLING FOR INDIAN MINORITIES GENOCIDE
https://www.dawn.com/news/1668685/pm-bla...s-genocide
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said the Narendra Modi-led government was "a real and present threat to peace" in the region, adding that all minorities in India were at the target of extremist groups operating under the patronage of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Last month, leaders from several far-right groups in India had issued calls for the ethnic cleansing of minorities in the country, especially targeting its 200 million-strong Muslim population.
A report by The Quint had said that the "hate speech conclave" was organised by Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand from Dec 17 to 19 in Uttarakhand's pilgrimage city of Haridwar, where multiple calls to kill minorities and attack their religious spaces were made.
PM Imran, in a series of tweets today, blasted Modi for his "continuing silence" and inaction against extremist Hindutva groups calling for genocide of minorities in the country.
He said the "extremist ideology" of the ruling BJP government was behind the provocations against India's minorities.
"Under the extremist ideology of the BJP Modi govt, all religious minorities in India have been targeted with impunity by Hindutva groups," he said.
The prime minister called out the continuing silence of Modi government, adding that it warranted clarity whether the BJP government supported the extremists' call.
He urged the international community to take notice of the calls and act against it.
According to an October report in The Print, Hindu leader Narsinghanand has been accused of inciting communal tension against the Muslim community on several occasions.
"Like Myanmar, our police, our politicians, our army and every Hindu must pick up weapons and conduct a safayi abhiyan (clean-up). There is no other option left," Swami Prabodhanand Giri, president of the Hindu Raksha Sena, was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Sadhvi Annapurna, the general secretary of the political party Hindu Mahasabha, also gave a call to arms and incitement to genocide.“Nothing is possible without weapons. If you want to eliminate their population, then kill them. Be ready to kill and be ready to go to jail. Even if 100 of us are ready to kill 20 lakhs of them (Muslims), then we will be victorious, and go to jail," The Wire quoted her as saying. According to the report, religious leader Swami Anandswaroop gave an example of how Muslim street vendors should be treated. “The street in which I live, every morning I used to spot a mullah with a big beard and nowadays they keep a saffron beard. This is Haridwar, Maharaj. There is no Muslim buyer here, so throw him out,” he said.
The Wire reported that BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay and BJP Mahila Morcha leader Udita Tyagi also attended the three-day summit "giving the event a level of political encouragement from the ruling party".
However, speaking to the Indian Express, Upadhyay said: "It was a three-day event and I was there for one day, during which I was on the stage for around 30 minutes and talked about the Constitution. What others said before and after me, I am not responsible for it."
INDIA MONKS CALL FOR 'MUSLIM GENOCIDE' IN HATE SPEECH SUMMIT
https://www.trtworld.com/asia/india-monk...mmit-52911
Outrage as far-right religious and political groups seek Rohingya-like mass murder and exodus of Indian Muslims, in presence of the leaders of ruling BJP, in a three-day Hindutva conclave held in northern Haridwar city.
Leaders of several far-right groups with ties to the ruling Narendra Modi's government have called for ethnic cleansing of minorities in India, especially the country's 200 million Muslims, in a three-day summit, according to local media and online videos of the event, sparking widespread outrage and calls for action against them.
The three-day hate speech conclave was held by the controversial Hindutva figure Yati Narsinghanand from December 17 to 19 in northern India's Haridwar city where multiple speakers made calls to kill minorities and attack their religious spaces, The Quint reported on Wednesday.
"Economic boycott won't work. Hindu groups need to update themselves. Swords look good on stage only. This battle against Muslims will be won by those with better weapons," Narsinghanand, an engineer-turned-firebrand leader, told the gathering as the crowd cheered.
Another speaker Sadhvi Annapurna, general secretary of the Hindu Mahasabha [Hindu Grand Assembly], called for the mass murder of Muslims, according to the English news website
The Wire.
"Nothing is possible without weapons. If you want to eliminate their population then kill them. Be ready to kill and be ready to go to jail. Even if 100 of us are ready to kill 20 lakhs of them [Muslims', then we will be victorious, and go to jail," Annapurna said. The Wire said the summit witnessed an "extraordinary quantity of hate speech, mobilisations to violence and anti-Muslim sentiment."
Open call for Muslim Genocide by Hindu Right-Wing leaders in India! https://t.co/KJRtEDmISs
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) December 22, 2021
Political encouragement from BJP?
BJP politicians Ashwini Upadhyay and Udita Tyagi also participated that "gave the event a level of political encouragement from the ruling party," The Wire reported. Speakers cited 2017 mass atrocities against Rohingya Muslims and their exodus from Myanmar as an example and called for a similar policy to enable Muslims' ethnic cleansing in India.
"Like in Myanmar, the police here, the politicians here, the army and every Hindu must pick up weapons and we will have to conduct this cleanliness drive (ethnic cleansing). There is no solution apart from this," said Swami Prabodhanand Giri, head of the Hindu Raksha Sena [Save Hindu Army], a far-right group based in northern Uttarakhand state.
READ MORE: Israel, India and the Islamophobic Alliance
"If I was present in the parliament when PM Manmohan Singh said that minorities have first right over national resources, I would've followed Nathuram Godse, I'd have shot him six times in the chest with a revolver," said another speaker Dharamdas Maharaj, according to The Quint.
Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948, and is hailed by Hindutva groups in India. Maharaj's remarks were made in reference to Singh's 2006 Parliament speech in which the then-prime minister said Indian minorities must have the first claim on resources of the country.
A portion of the summit was live-streamed on social media, sparking anger with users using the hashtag #HaridwarGenocidalMeet and #HaridwarHateAssembly to call out the far-right groups.
READ MORE: Facebook failed to curb anti-Muslim content in India, says leaked report
Muslims under Modi's rule
The Wire also shared photographs of the speakers with members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) warning, "the statements calling for ethnic cleansing and genocide are particularly alarming" given the speakers' connections with the BJP.
The controversial conclave of Hindutva chiefs comes more than a week after Indian PM Modi reportedly told a US-hosted "Democracy Summit" that the democratic spirit, including respect for rule of law and pluralistic ethos, is "ingrained in Indians".
Critics say Modi has failed to intervene and stop rising incidents of attacks on minorities, misuse of religion by Hindu hardliners, and intolerance against dissent in the country.
Since Modi came to power in 2014, Hindu mobs have lynched dozens of people — mainly Muslims and Dalit Hindus — suspected of illegally transporting cows or consuming beef.
Hindu far-right groups have also targeted Muslims over "love jihad", the conspiracy theory that Muslims are luring Hindu women with the aim of conversion and eventually national domination.
Muslims were also accused of spreading Covid-19. In recent months, Hindu mobs have targeted Muslims praying on Fridays in northern India.
HINDUTVA LEADERS AT HARIDWAR EVENT CALL FOR MUSLIM GENOCIDE
Despite the open calls for violence by leaders, many of whom have BJP connections, the police have failed to register cases or make arrests.
https://sarifm.org/hindutva-leaders-at-h...m-genocide
Swami Prabodhanand Giri, Sadhvi Annapurna aka Pooja Shakun Pandey and Swami Anandswaroop.
22 December 2021
Between December 17 and 19, a large collection of major religious leaders, right-wing activists, hardline fundamentalist militants and Hindutva organisations came together at Haridwar for an event called the ‘Dharma Sansad’ or ‘Religious Parliament’. Over the course of three days, this event witnessed an extraordinary quantity of hate speech, mobilisations to violence and anti-Muslim sentiment. The event was also attended by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay, who has previously been arrested for an event he helped organise where slogans were raised calling for violence against Muslims, and BJP Mahila Morcha leader Udita Tyagi, giving the event a level of political encouragement from the ruling party.
New Delhi: The ‘Dharma Sansad’ organised at Haridwar in Uttarakhand on December 17-19 saw an assortment of leaders from the Hindutva ecosystem taking the stage to set a new benchmark for brazen hate speech in the country.
“We have to make preparations,” said Swami Prabodhanand Giri, president of the Hindu Raksha Sena, a right-wing organisation based out of Uttarakhand. “And I’ll tell you what preparations those are. I will make myself clear, this is the solution, and if you follow this solution, then the path is made for you… in Myanmar, Hindus were being chased away. The politicians, government and police were just standing and watching. They started by killing them by cutting their necks, and not only this, but they began to cut them in the streets and eat them. The people watching thought we are going to die, we are not going to live.”
“This is our state now. You have seen this at the Delhi border, they killed Hindus and hung them. There is no more time, the case now is that either you prepare to die now, or get ready to kill, there’s no other way. This is why, like in Myanmar, the police here, the politicians here, the army and every Hindu must pick up weapons and we will have to conduct this cleanliness drive (safai abhiyan). There is no solution apart from this.”
The statements calling for ethnic cleansing and genocide are particularly alarming given Prabodhanand’s connections with the BJP.On two occasions, Prabodhanand has shared photographs of himself with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
undefinedSwami Prabodhanand Giri with Yogi Adityanath. Photo: Facebook
The first ‘photo op’ took place in January 2018, and the second a little over a year ago in August 2020 – and it continues to be the header image on his Facebook page today.
undefinedFacebook header of Swami Prabodhanand Giri.
Photo: Facebook
Adityanath is not the only BJP leader Prabodhanand has been connected with. On September 14, 2020, he was pictured with Naresh Sharma, a former BJP leader from Haridwar, who joined the Aam Aadmi Party a year later.
He was also photographed with the higher education minister of Uttarakhand and BJP member Shri Dhan Singh Rawat on August 12, 2021.
In June 2021, he was also photographed with former Uttarakhand CM and BJP member Tirath Singh Rawat, giving him a sword.
Swami Prabodhanand Giri giving a sword to former Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat.
Photo: Facebook
Prabodhanand’s anti-Muslim rhetoric is not a recent event. In 2017, he issued a widely reported statement calling for Hindus to have eight children for the purposes of contributing “towards conserving, preserving and protecting Hindutva and the society.”
In a speech at Shamli in 2018, he said that only Muslims rape Hindu women and spoke about the bogey of ‘love jihad’, apart from expressing other anti-Muslim sentiments. He has also made genocidal statements in a video with Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati that was made public in June of this year. In that video, he says, “In the entire world, if we want humanity to last, we will need to clean it of jihadis. There should be treatment, management for jihadis on this earth. A few days ago someone said that in Islam, rapists are born, jihadis are born – I have been saying this for some time, there is a jihadi and a terrorist in each Islamic home… Hindu society needs to stand up and find a cure for jihadis, otherwise these jihadis will find a cure for Hindus, and there will be no place on this earth for us to live… One thing is certain, if he comes into my space and I find out, he will not leave. I have lived for 14 years among jihadis, I’m not that weak… They should not think that if Narsinghanand or I are killed, you can live happily. There will be a pile of corpses, across the country you will see corpses. This is certain, nobody will stop us.”
He goes on to tell all ‘jihadis’ to return to the Hindu faith and apologise.
Yati Narsinghanand and Swami Prabodhanand Giri.
At the just-concluded Dharam Sansad in Hardwar, Sadhvi Annapurna aka Pooja Shakun Pandey, a mahamandleshwar of the Niranjani Akhara and general secretary of the Hindu Mahasabha also gave a call to arms and incitement to genocide.
Without any ambiguity, she gave a direct call for the mass murder of Muslims.
“Nothing is possible without weapons. If you want to eliminate their population then kill them. Be ready to kill and be ready to go to jail. Even if 100 of us are ready to kill 20 lakhs of them (Muslims), then we will be victorious, and go to jail… Like [Nathuram] Godse, I am ready to be maligned, but I will pick up arms to defend my Hindutva from every demon who is a threat to my religion,” she said.
In an interview to a YouTube channel called ‘Vishalviews’ shot at the Dharma Sansad, she said, “Today is the time when women need to take swords in one hand along with belans in the other. I request my mothers to not become the weakness of their sons but instead become their strength. Tell them if adharma is happening anywhere I will come with you to cut them up. There won’t be any cases but only a little inconvenience for some days; call us, we will be there with you.”
When asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s critical reaction in 2019 to Sadhvi Pragya’s endorsement of Gandhi’s assassin Godse, she said that Modi has to compromise because of the secular constitution. But she said it was “Modi and others like Modi” who in the past had explained what Godse and Gandhi were all about.
Pooja Shakun Pandey, Sadhvi Pragya and Yati Narsinghanand.
Pandey is a prominent leader of the Hindu Mahasabha and is often in headlines for hate speech against Muslims. Just recently, she made headlines for her comments against Modi after he announced that the Union government will repeal the three farm laws in the wake of a year-long protest by the farmers at the borders of Delhi. Pandey had Modi’s portrait from the Aligarh office of the Hindu Mahasabha removed, saying “Jiski ek baat nahi, uska ek baap nahi.”
In April 2020, a criminal case was filed against Pandey for promoting enmity between different groups on religious grounds and issuing a statement conducive to public mischief after a video in which she purportedly made provocative comments against Tablighi Jamaat members went viral. Later, she was briefly arrested. In March 2021, after a minor Muslim boy was beaten up by Hindutva activist Shringi Yadav for entering a temple in Dasna, Pooja Shakun demanded that other temples put up boards prohibiting the entry of Muslims, like the one in Dasna.
In May 2019, Pooja Shakun distributed knives to minor girls on Savarkar Jayanti. In January 2019, Pandey shot at an effigy of Mahatma Gandhi and raised slogans in support of Godse. She later set the effigy on fire. While the BJP dismissed its association with Pandey, she regularly interacts with leaders of the party like BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya and the Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan. Despite her open call to murder Muslims on multiple occasions, the police in UP is yet to act against Pandey.
Pooja Shakun Pandey, leader of the Mahasabha, shooting an effigy of Mahatma Gandhi.
A third religious leader, Swami Anandswaroop, whose hate speeches and incitement to violence have been documented by The Wire in the past, was also seen making genocidal statements.
“The decision of this Dharma Sansad would be a word of God and the government will have to listen to it,” he said. “If it won’t, then we would wage a war that would be more gruesome than the revolt of 1857.”
He went on to explain through personal examples how Hindus should deal with Muslim street vendors. “The street in which I live, every morning I used to spot a Mullah [derogatory word for a Muslim] with a big beard and nowadays they keep a saffron beard. This is Haridwar, Maharaj. There is no Muslim buyer here, so throw him out,” he said.
Swami Anandswaroop had earlier also expressed support for Ajendra Ajay’s campaign against the so-called ‘land jihad’ in Uttarakhand. Earlier this year, he had demanded non-Hindus should be banned from entering Uttarakhand. “If the entry of non-Hindus is not banned, then Hindu priests will take to the streets,” the far-right priest had said in a video posted on his Facebook account.
“Members of the Muslim community are creating a ruckus here, spreading non-vegetarianism, throwing meat and cow meat in the Ganga to defile it (sic). If we don’t take note, then it will become Kashmir. There should be one state for Hindus at least. If a title suit on the lines of Ayodhya would be fought for Uttarakhand, Hindus will win it,” he said.
When The Wire asked if he agreed with the views of Anandswaroop that non-Hindus should be banned from possessing land in Uttarakhand, BJP MLA Ajendra Ajay, who supported the unfounded allegations of ‘land jihad’, replied, “I agree with him to a great extent. There are two reasons. First, it’s a question of national security since we are a border state. Second, Uttarakhand is sacred to Hindus and why can’t we have exclusive holy sites for Hindus?”
Swami Anandswaroop made headlines in January 2021 when he addressed a ‘Hindu Panchayat’ in Meerut, explaining the rationale of these campaigns in clear terms.
“My argument is that if you [Muslims] want to remain associated with us, you should first stop reading the Quran and stop offering namaz,” he had said at the event. Then he had offered a ‘solution’ to Hindus: “You decide that you will not buy anything from a Muslim. If you destroy them socially, politically and economically, they will begin converting to Hinduism from Islam,” he had said.
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