Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), along with five other groups, raised awareness about the threat of mass violence faced by Indian Muslims on Saturday. They spoke about “egregious human rights violations” happening in the country that cannot be ignored.
The event was called “The Impending Indian Muslim Genocide and Global Islamophobia”. It was organised by San Diego Coalition For Human Rights and saw noteworthy intellectuals present their case.
Attendees like anthropologist and activist Dr Angana Chatterji said, “India is subsumed in a momentous political crisis, the most daunting since 1950.” Dr Chatterji also said that the BJP manifests caste oppression in the violent relationship of dominant caste privileged Hindus to Adivasis and Dalits, supports forcible conversions of Christians to Hinduism, and prohibits Muslim women’s rights to wear the hijab.”
“Many of us need to understand the replacement theory, which has been developed in France, but the Hindu nationalists are using the same type of argument,” said Dr Hatem Bazian, Professor of Islamic Law and Theology at Zaytuna College.
The professor spoke about how Hindu nationalists say that Muslims are attempting to replace Hinduism, and said that it was similar to how conservative Americans think minorities coming into America are trying to replace the white race.
“How can I represent an India where Muslim girls and Muslim women are stripped of their head covering, which is part of their clothing, in the middle of the streets before they step into their schools and colleges?” said Dr Samina Salim, Associate Professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Houston. “I do not represent this India where Muslim women are raped, killed, and burned alive. I am not proud of India. This is an India I did not grow up in; this is an India that I do not identify with.”
Malcolm Morgan, Public Relations Director of Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego said, “We must unite together, whether we are Muslim or not, to hold the oppressive Indian government accountable for spreading Islamophobia and inciting violence against Muslim minorities. This is not merely a case of religious rights being violated. This is an egregious human rights violation that must not be ignored.”
The San Diego Coalition For Human Rights comprises of the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) -San Diego Chapter, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Jewish Voice for Peace, Pillars of the Community San Diego, Muslim American Society–PACE, and the Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego.
