Indian-American Muslims protest against demolition of Muslim houses in India

Indian Americans in Texas and California on June 18 protested against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) atrocities on Muslims in India.

It is to be noted that the Indian government has resorted to the demolition of Muslim-owned houses and properties under the pretext of illegal demolitions in recent times. A considerable number of houses have been demolished after protests against derogatory remarks on Prophet Muhammad, turned violent on June 10.

The now-suspended BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and expelled Delhi media head Naveen Jindal had passed inappropriate comments against the Prophet following which several protests erupted across the country.

Renowned Islamic scholar, Shaikh Omar Sulieman led the protest in Dallas, which was jointly organised by the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and North Texas peace council. Shaykh Alaeddin El-Bakri of the Islamic Society of North America led the Bay Area protest organized by IAMC, which drew over 500 protesters.

Addressing the crowd during the protest, Sulieman said, “We will continue to tell Modi, who is a wannabe Hitler, that you are a coward and that you are not welcome in Texas.”

The scholar drew connections between the BJP’s parent organisation RSS and Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party stating that both of them spread hate.

He went on to take a dig at India for adopting the Israeli method of cracking down on protesters and said, “India says very openly it wants to follow the Israeli model. If India considers the Israeli model, expect a Palestinian resistance.”

He also criticised the Democrats and Republicans alike for acknowledging Modi’s leadership. “What changed to where now a man who once could not even enter this country could address Congress? What changed to where Barack Obama wrote the introduction for Modi as “reformer in chief”.

Addressing the rally at the Bay area protest, Shaykh Alaeddin El-Bakri, said that he met a Palestinian at the Al-Aqsa mosque who wanted to convey a message of solidarity with Indian Muslims. In Dallas’s Dealey plaza protesters, showed solidarity with 22-year-old student activist Afreen Fatima whose house was demolished by authorities in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Protesters in both Dallas and the Bay Area sought a unified response from the American Muslim community to mobilize US Congress and the Biden Administration to compel India to end its severe persecution of its 200 million Muslims.