What Have Indian Muslims Gained From The Anti-Blasphemy Protests?
By
Arshad Alam, New Age Islam
17 June
2022
Ordinary
Muslims Have Paid The Price Of Their Self-Seeking Leadership
Main
Points:
1. The protests
should have stopped after the government took action against its spokespersons.
2. The Arabs do
not sympathize with the existential anxieties which the Indian Muslim community
is facing today.
3. The Muslim
leadership instead of educating the masses, fanned the narrative of blasphemy.
4. Ultimately
it is the common Muslims who suffers the brunt of state action.
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Photo:
The Times of India
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The
so-called anti-blasphemy protests, following the uncharitable remarks of ex-BJP
spokesperson, Nupur Sharma, on the prophet of Islam, has now more or less
subsided. What had escalated matters was the highly inflammatory, provocative
and reprehensible remarks by another BJP spokesman Navin Jindal in a tweet in
the middle of protests against Sharma, putting more fuel in the fire. Muslim
anger had grown when it came out that Nupur Sharma had tried to say the same
things against the Prophet in two other channels before Times Now anchor Navika
Kumar allowed that. The anchors of News 24 had stopped her soon after she
started her diatribe in the 7 to 8 pM show the same day, and so did the anchor
of Republic Bharat, after she had just completed one sentence, in the 8 to 9 PM
show.
It became clear after these revelations that
Sharma was well-prepared and determined to provoke Muslims on that evening's
widely-watched prime time shows. And that it was no heat of the moment
statement, as she claimed later.
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Also
Read: India's Current Blasphemy Battle Will Have Global
Ramifications
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However, it
is perhaps time for Indian Muslims to think about what these protests achieved?
And whether this was the right way to get their issue addressed? Should they
have fallen in the trap?
First and
foremost, it is important to underline that the ruling government was on the back
foot after an international outcry over the so-called blasphemous remarks by
its spokespersons. It had to suspend Sharma till further enquiry and expel
Navin Jindal from the primary membership of the party. (In several non-BJP
ruled states, complaints and FIRs were lodged against her.) For a party which
takes its no-compromise image seriously, this was indeed a climb-down. It was
even more embarrassing because it were Muslim governments which had forced the
government to call its own national spokespersons as the ‘fringe,’ angering its
own cadre which has since come out strongly in suppirt of Sharma and Jindal.
The
protests nevertheless did not stop. Perhaps emboldened by their ‘victory’,
‘Muslim leadership’ at various places stuck with their demand to arrest Nupur
Sharma and Navin Jindal. Certainly, Islamic countries did take notice but only
in defence of the Arabian Prophet.
If at all the idea behind such a move was to
put a spotlight on what is happening everyday with Muslims in India, it did not
serve the purpose. For it is foolish to think that these Islamic countries are
not aware of the pitiable state of Muslims in India. They very well know what is
happening in India as they are aware of what China is doing to its Muslims. But
they have chosen to remain silent and this has been their policy for years now.
The Arabs
especially are not concerned with the plight of Muslims for they do not
consider the non-Arabs as of equal status. The Arab-Ajam divide runs deep
wherein the Ajam (non-Arab) only exists to serve the needs of the Arabs. The
Arab world got mobilized simply because of the issue of perceived insult to the
Prophet Muhammad (an Arab). No sooner had the government of India clarified the
issue and apologized, the matter came to an end for all these Muslims nations.
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Also Read: The
Moral Lessons to Be Learnt From Nupur Sharma Episode
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Indian
Muslims completely misread the situation and continued to protest and agitate
over the issue, now without the support of Muslim nations. The message from the
so-called Islamic nations was very clear: we are not concerned with the loss of
lives and limbs of Indian Muslims; the government can deal with them as they
please. The message to the Indian government was also very clear. They
understood what the ‘new red line’ was. And they proceeded to teach a
collective lesson to Muslims by mass arrests, demolition of homes and even
direct shooting in places like Ranchi.
After all,
foreign governments are loathe to comment on what is perceived as internal
matter of any country, unless of course there are other considerations
involved. Indian Muslims had a high moral ground and when the BJP had taken
action against the spokespersons, the matter should have ended there. But then,
like in other instances, Indian Muslims squandered the opportunity and the
result is for all of us to see.
It is
unfortunate that when it comes to the issue of blasphemy, we hardly see any
difference between the articulation of educated Muslims and the average Mullah
on the street. As if Muslims have a special right to get hurt, calls to avenge
the insult of the Prophet were echoed from all quarters. The only difference
was whether it should be avenged by getting her arrested or asking her to be
hanged.
People
chant anti-India slogans to condemn the derogatory references to Prophet
Muhammad in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday.(Photo | AP)
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In normal circumstances, the more educated
section within the community is expected to persuade the common populace to see
things rationally rather than emotionally. Alas, the educated Indian Muslim
sees itself in no such role and in instances like these acts in an even more
belligerent fashion.
We have
seen the development of an active yet misguided group of Muslim activists who
have no regard for what the consequences of their mindless action would entail.
Most of these activists are privileged and hence their entitlement blinds them
to the sufferings of ordinary Muslims. After all, it is the ordinary Muslims
whose vegetable carts gets tossed away, whose houses are demolished and who are
routinely picked up by the police on mere alleged suspicion. Exceptions apart,
these activists, who seek to represent the whole of Muslim community, come from
the numerically small section of upper caste Muslims. This class and caste of
Muslims, have led the entire community to its present state of subjugation and
marginalization by having political priorities which have scant regard for the
living conditions of majority of Muslims in this country.
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Also
Read: Nupur
Sharma Only Stated What is written in Hadith; Why Are Muslims So Upset?
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Rather than
educating the community on the irrelevance of issues like blasphemy, they have
instrumentally fanned this narrative as a result of which ordinary Muslims are
suffering today. If these activists truly have Muslim interest at their heart,
then they need to pause and think what is more important: protecting Muslim
lives and property or getting bytes and inches in the international media.
The low
caste mother of the young teen, Mudassir, slain by police bullet in Ranchi has
no other alternative but to proclaim to the world that her son has become a
martyr. She is too poor to fight a legal battle against the police. And she
knows very well that none of the civil society actors will stand by her for
long. Her only hope is to immerse herself completely within an Islamic
worldview and draw comfort, solace and social capital from it. Her tears have
the power to rupture the many settled narratives in this country: police
brutality and their absolute communalization which have been pointed out in
various reports. But such issues can only be raised through a language of
citizenship and belonging.
Alas, for
our activists as well as the state, her sole identity is that of a Muslim. She
is emblematic of the larger Muslim community that remains fixed and frozen
between an othering state and an otherising self-seeking narrow minded elite.
------
Arshad
Alam is a regular contributor to NewAgeIslam.com.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/indian-muslims-anti-blasphemy-protests/d/127267
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