Muslims for Peace, a progressive Muslim body, participated in the India Day Parade here with the organisation’s float joining those of Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians, negating another hardline group’s claim of Islamic boycott.

Members of Muslims for Peace marched ahead of their float on Sunday with a banner, “Love for all, hatred for now”, stretched across Madison Avenue.

Another organisation, Indian Muslims of North America, had announced that they were withdrawing from the parade in protest against the inclusion of a float depicting the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

The announcement of the boycott by the group’s president Imtiaz Siamwalla featured prominently in a news story on CNN’s website, which ignored the Muslims for Peace participation.

Ironically, while Siamwalla was quoted as saying the Mandir float was a “symbol of bias against Muslims”, the Muslims for Peace included members of the Ahmadiyya community of Muslims who are themselves victims of Islamic persecution.

Indian American Muslim Council that led a campaign against the Ayodhya float criticised its inclusion as “Muslim hate, bigotry” and tried unsuccessfully to ban it.

But Ahmadiyyas are victims of Islamic hate and bigotry.

For example, they are forbidden from “practicing aspects of their faith under Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws” and facing persecution according to Amnesty International, which documented the deaths of three in an attack last month on the community.

In contrast, in India, Ahmaddiyas are free to practice religion.

Besides the Mandir and Muslims for Peace floats, a tableau honouring Guru Teg Bahadur and another from one from the National Association of Indian Christians in the USA joined the parade.

The International Organisation of Bene Israel – USA representing the Jews of India and a group of Buddhists proclaiming “Om Shanti” also marched in the parade showcasing India’s religious diversity.