With a Thousand Lies and a Good Disguise

"History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated." --De Lacy O'Leary, Special Lecturer at the University of Bristol, 1908-1957.

To create the image that Muslims are tremendously dangerous, highly reckless, and care little for human life, old European fables about Muslims spreading Islam by the sword are reinvented. Yet the same cannot be true of the West. With the help of its secular doctrine and materialistic worldview, the West moved on to exploit, loot, and colonise large nations to control resources and increase wealth.

Contemporary Politics: “A Dirty Game”

Having a handy phantom enemy is essential in contemporary politics. It all begins with instilling a strong sense of mistrust in this adversary. The phantom adversary that the capitalists have concocted is Islam. The main strategy is to deflect the attention of the people from their vital issues. Another short-term objective is to polarise the political support base. It works because politicians exploit the electorate's political illiteracy to further their demagogy. The existing capitalistic ideology is failing and has no solutions for the catastrophe it is generating, which is inflicting misery around the world. For them, the strongest defense against people looking towards Islam for solutions and tranquillity is to demonise it and instil a fear psychosis against it. There is a little divergence among Muslims, with few individuals endorsing ‘moderation’ in Islam and willing to compromise. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that the majority of Muslims in general yearn for Islam and its solutions for life affairs.

Pre-emptive policies

The system is responsible for making policies, but it also "monopolises popular thinking." The issue of "Deradicalization of Muslims" is being emphasised and generalised to induce a fear and guilt psychosis in Muslim minds. By itself, the phrase fosters a phobia of Islam among the general populace. The normalisation of Islamophobia has amounted to sensationalising the issue to unite society against a common enemy. Muslims are struggling, defending their ideology and ineptly protecting their belief. De-radicalization has a very specific zone of influence, and that is to restrict individual thought, expression, and belief.

Intelligence Coordination to subjugate Muslims

For the past 20 years, there has been extensive cooperation among the intelligence agencies of the world on the issue of "Deradicalization of Muslims". Many global meetings and conferences were held to emphasise the issue of Muslim deradicalisation. The ‘International Peace Institute’, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the ‘Arab Thought Forum’ organised a conference in March 2010 with the theme "Countering Violent Extremism: Lessons from Deradicalization Programs in Certain Muslim-Majority States."^[1]  In the Indian context, Ajit Doval, the National Security Advisor of India, is active in the Global interactions concerning security issues. Earlier, he represented India in the 4th Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan which was held in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe, in May 2022.^[2,3] Recently in February 2023, India was part of the 5th Multilateral Meeting of Secretaries of Security Councils/National Security Advisers on Afghanistan which was held in Moscow, Russia.^[4,5] In April 2022, Spy chiefs from many countries met in India in the first such conclave. Aim was to develop a closer working mechanism.^[6]

India-Indonesia Security Dialogue to Pressurise the Muslim Leaders and Scholars

In January 2018, India and Indonesia had the first security conversation in New Delhi and committed to fighting radicalization.^[7] In continuation to the earlier meeting, Doval visited Indonesia for the 2^nd Security Dialogue between the two countries which was held in March 2022 in Jakarta.^[8]  In July 2022, the Interfaith conference was organised by the All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council. Muslim leaders belonging to prominent Muslim organizations along with other religious leaders attended the meeting. In the gathering, Ajit Doval remarked emphatically "We can't be mute observers,".  He further added that "We have to organize and raise voices and improve on the mistakes. We’ve to make every sect of India feel that we are a country together, we are proud of it, and that every religion can be professed with freedom here.” Ajit Doval asserted that mere condemning of radical forces is not enough and that society needs to go beyond just condemnation and work against these radical forces. Everyone participating in the conference pledged "unstinted support" to the government in all steps. He explicitly gave instructions to the leaders of various Muslim organisations to de-radicalize both their members and Muslims in general.^[9] This was a prelude to ongoing series of sessions on security issues with Indonesia.

In New Delhi, November 2022, Doval addressed another conference on ‘The Role of Ulema in Fostering a Culture of Interfaith Peace and Social Harmony’ in India and Indonesia. He emphasised the important role of the Ulema in Islamic society. In his opening address, Doval asserted we need to work together to develop common narratives on deradicalisation. He said that "In a democracy, there is no place for hate speech, prejudice, propaganda, demonization, violence, conflict and misuse of religion for narrow ends." He added that "State institutions also need to come together in detecting and identifying potential negative influencers and share information to counter their activities. In this, Ulemas, due to their deep connect with civil society, can play a vital role". Further to this he said that the Ulema have a leading role in "educating the people on the original tolerant and moderate principles of Islam and countering radicalisation and extremism with progressive ideas and thought". He emphasised that "Our youth should receive special attention towards this end. They are often the primary target of radicalisation, but if their energies are nurtured in the right direction, they can emerge as harbingers of change and building blocks of progress in any society." Doval said that together we should strive to propagate the moderate virtues of Islam as a beacon of hope and cooperation for the entire world.^[10]

The policies to regulate Muslims have been put into place, and the Muslim leaders and Ulema have been given precise instructions on how to carry out the goals. The mentioned concerns are unfounded and serve only to inflame hostility between Muslims and Hindus. To do this, Hindus are made to dread Muslims.

Conference of Senior Police Officials

Top police officials presented papers at the DGP and IGP conference in Delhi in January 2023 on issues related to national security. Police officers flagged the role of Islamist organisations in connection with growing radicalisation in the country, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.^[11] The papers placed a strong emphasis on the radicalization of Muslim youth. The significance of moderate Muslim leaders and clerics to contain radical organisations was promoted as a solution as this was the main challenge for national security. Suggesting remedies, the papers suggested that it is equally important to take moderate Muslim leaders and clerics into confidence. Accordingly, numerous nations have created programs to "inoculate their Muslim communities" and use "moderate Islam" to disconnect Muslims from its basic guiding principles.^[12]

Are those who capitalize on rare incidents to portray Islam as a security risk honest in their opinions when they ignore the pervasive persecution of Muslims across the world?

Cause and Effect Relationship

The Decline of Capitalism and the Rise of Islam

Back on 3^rd March 1924, 102 years ago, capitalism demolished the Caliphate and divided the Muslim lands to dominate world politics. Today, 102 years later, the collapse of capitalism is drawing near. Their strategy to delay its fall is by further demonising Islam. The ultimate solutions to issues faced by the human race are addressed in Islam. Muslims have been universally demonised in recent decades under the pretext of the "War on Terror," which serves to legitimize all horrible attacks against them.

As India earned its independence in 1947, the ruling elite routinely slaughtered Muslims under their controlled directions to further their political goals. In due course, the ruling class changed, and so did the strategies used to control and subordinate Muslims to advance their political objectives. The media controls the public discourse to foster radical views among the populace. However, the new scenario against Islam pushes Muslims to think about Islam as a solution. When Muslims turn to Islam for guidance in their life affairs, they are terrorised, threatened, and labeled as fundamentalists, extremists, and radicals. We should not and must not get disheartened, repressed, and subjugated under the prevailing circumstances.

Role of Muslim Leaders and Ulema

The Muslim political and religious leaders, under pressure, push Muslims to conform to ‘apolitical Islam’ under which Muslims perceive a directionless and uncertain future. Fictitious leaders of the Ummah are being persuaded to weaken the core principles of Islam. The degradation is so severe that one fails to object to the immoral and un-Islamic assault on the foundational principles of Islam. Allah (swt) has warned us in Surah At-Tauba: Ayat 31 that:

[اتَّخَذُواْ أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ وَالْمَسِيحَ ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ]

“They take their rabbis and their monks for their ‘Rab’ apart from Allah”

Furthermore, the directives and admonitions of the agencies to various Muslim leaders and Ulema had an impact on them. Many Muslim leaders and intellectuals could be seen to engaging closely with various non-Muslim clerics on certain specific set parameters of the interfaith dialogue. They are also meeting the leadership of the Rashtriya Swam Sevak Sangh, the ruling party's philosophical head, to further normalise their relationships and appease them. The human survival instinct (Jibillate Baqa) appears to have taken precedence over the reverence instinct (Jibillate Tadaiyyun), as evident by the behavior of many of them.

[وَلَن تَرْضَى عَنكَ الْيَهُودُ وَلاَ النَّصَارَى حَتَّى تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ]

“And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion.”

O Ulema of the Muslims

Your role is defined by Allah (swt) in the noble Quran as to those who clarify His (swt) hukum to people, similar to the role of the anbiyyah (prophets).  Since the destruction of the Khilafah (Caliphate) in Istanbul on 28 Rajab 1342 AH (03 Mar 1924 CE), Is it not a case that the Muslim Ummah became disunited, weak, scattered and failed to implement the Shariah (Shade) of Allah (swt) on earth.  A calamity orchestrated by the colonialists who ensure to resist any attempt to return of unity amongst Muslims globally with plans of all sorts. Is your scholarly knowledge of less appeal to you than of those who declare war on Islam and Muslims? Is not selective application of Islam admonished by Allah (swt) in the Quran?  Is it not a case that the calamity that befell the world has not only hurt Muslims but the whole of mankind under the hegemony of Western nations led by America be it economic, social or political.  Do you not ponder and calibrate the definitions of extremism that Kuffar bring to you with the ayats of the Quran and Hadith of our beloved Messenger (saw)?  Do you think that Islam being the truth will be of conformance with Batil instead of confrontation in all dimensions?  Do you think we live in a time where Kuffar have warmed up to Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw)?