WR Desk: India’s largest Muslim religious organizations, scholars and political leaders will gather in New Delhi next week to formulate a joint response to a growing pattern of anti-Muslim persecution, including mob lynchings, home demolitions, attacks on Islamic institutions and discriminatory government actions. Organizers say the July 24 gathering marks an effort to move beyond reacting to individual incidents and instead develop a coordinated national response. Discussions are expected to focus on legal, political and social strategies to address issues affecting Muslims and strengthen cooperation among religious and civil society organizations.
The meeting is expected to examine a broad range of concerns, including violence by Hindu vigilante groups, the demolition of Muslim homes and businesses, disputes involving mosques, madrasas and Sufi shrines, police action against Muslim youths, and increasing discrimination against Muslims in different spheres of public life. Participants are also expected to adopt a joint resolution outlining future advocacy and legal initiatives.
Syed Sarwar Chishti, the spiritual head and custodian of the Ajmer Sharif Sufi shrine, said the meeting had been called in response to years of injustice against Muslims in India. He said attacks on mosques, madrasas, Sufi shrines and Muslim educational institutions, along with bulldozer demolitions of Muslim homes and allegations of mob lynchings and police encounters involving Muslim youths, have generated deep anger and anxiety within the community.
Chishti said Muslim leaders believe the time has come to move beyond responding to individual incidents and instead adopt a common national approach. He said the meeting would discuss concrete steps to defend the community’s constitutional rights while promoting national unity and social harmony.
The gathering is expected to bring together representatives from some of India’s most influential Muslim organizations, including Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Jamaat-e-Ahle Hadith and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
Opposition leaders, including AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and Member of Parliament Mohibullah Nadvi, are also expected to attend.
Organizers said the meeting is expected to conclude with a joint roadmap outlining legal, social and public advocacy initiatives, reflecting what they hope will become a unified national response to issues affecting India’s more than 200 million Muslims.
The gathering comes amid sustained criticism from U.N. human rights experts and international rights organizations, which have documented increasing anti-Muslim hate speech, vigilante violence and punitive demolitions in India in recent years, concerns that the Indian government has repeatedly rejected.