Threats – Jaagologo

Threats

There is no doubt that the party in power is bent upon taking every possible step to set aside Muslims in particular, and other minorities and weaker sections of our society in general, isolate them and deprive them of their fundamental rights of a respectful living. To achieve this, they are trying to bring about constitutional changes by any possible means and use these changes ruthlessly. This looming threat can be ignored only at our own peril. The next three years are very important for the Hindutva forces as well as for those who are trying to stop the onslaught of fascism in India. However, in view of our position as dayee, we are to be extra careful in designing the strategy and in no way let our position be compromised. Measures of our safety should not be counterproductive and should represent our humanitarian approach and concern. Coming to real measures, we must realise that a community which is internally strong in knowledge, wisdom and skills and is capable of enhancing these qualities on its own without becoming a liability on others can’t be uprooted and isolated easily. And this will become increasingly difficult if the strong community humanely shares its success and gains with other communities, even with the opponent communities. Muslim community’s strength or any community for that matter, is driven from its economy, education, intellectual fitness, and internal system of care (Zakat and Khidmat-e-Khalq, etc.), and Quranic injunction of Fastabiqul Khairat (measures to make common man’s life easy and comfortable). In some of these areas Muslim community is not that weak, but in some others, it is, and appears to be a liability.

Following measures may be undertaken depending upon availability of human and material resources. We are not suggesting to launch a new organization or set up another platform; instead, we are asking individuals to take up as many of the following measures as they can easily handle based on their own capacity and the availability of both the human and material resources. One person can influence ten, and ten can reach out to 100, and so on. We also do not anticipate that everyone will agree to or participate in all the items listed below. Choose the one you feel comfortable with, then do your best to enhance the scope of it and involve as many people as possible. All of the following action plans can be implemented under the theme of “Save India, Save Indians.”

Making effective and strong alliances with other groups, NGOs and communities which are being threatened is a key to safeguarding our interest. Although such alliances are now surfacing, their concretization is needed. Alliances are meaningful only when all the constituents have a common purpose and are willing to work together with shared resources. Today we find a number of NGOs and civic organizations working to protect the constitution, democracy, civil liberties and civilian rights. Many such organizations are also challenging the autocratic and undemocratic measures being taken by the Central and various State governments. Muslim’s presence in such NGOs is minimal. We should make a list of all such NGOs, groups and individuals and recruit volunteers from among Muslims and persuade Muslim organizations to join such NGOs and organizations.

Political mobilization, guidance and direction is another key area to be considered. The fascists are taking upon one state at a time. It was Bihar and now they are aiming at West Bengal. They use hatred, fear, false narration of history and money to win or topple governments such as in Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry. Muslims are either being exploited or misinformed and misguided. We should recruit volunteers and train them to work during the elections to support a certain candidate and/or educate, inform and mobilise them for voter registration and participation.

Most mainstream media are creating havoc. Social media are used to further mislead and inflame the masses. We should effectively use as many social media platforms as possible to disseminate constructive and positive news and boost the morale of the people. A detailed media strategy could be created to deal with the challenges in this area.

Effective and strong da’wah measures are needed for offsetting the imbalance and this is to be done on as large a scale as possible. Strategy should be, for example in education field, in addition to establishing their own institutions wherever possible, encourage and facilitate Muslims and also the other downtrodden communities to enrol in the existing educational institutions. Innovative institutional structures like Shaheen Foundation of Bedar are wonderful examples.

In the area of “Social Justice” we can collaborate with other non-Muslim groups and NGOs and participate in efforts aimed at eradicating injustices against weaker sections of society as well as initiate, wherever possible, such efforts for the benefit of all Indians. In areas of common relevance which serve to strengthen our community’s relations with other communities, programmes can be proposed and planned. For example, in case of economy, Janseva and Islamic Chamber of Commerce are examples of worth consideration. Considering these as models, many similar efforts may be initiated in various parts of the country. A third example may be identifying various communities and develop them into model communities by involving people in cleaning up, medical clinics, civic responsibilities, setting up of small-scale educational centres, and interest free cooperatives. Increasing the frequency and the intensity of Khidmat-e-Khalq and likes, will improve social bonding and trust between Muslims and Non-Muslims. Exploitation of common people through interest, increasing impact of drug addiction, dowry system, breaking of family system, unjust distribution of parental property and uncared for jail inmates are some of the areas which are of common concern. Health related issues are also of great concern in which common man’s exploitation is quite obvious. Carefully carved NGOs for addressing such issues can be a legitimate, public protected and time-tested format which we can dependably propose.

Along with all the above, even more important is a mechanism for documentation i.e., collection of data relevant to threats for and violence against Muslims and other weaker sections of the society. Keeping in view the fact that verifiable and provable data and information play an important role in raising issues at national and international platforms. An NGO exclusively for data collection is a need of the hour. We may collaborate with existing measures and establish more such centres if needed.