Mohammad Riyaz Ansari and Ghouse Mohammad, two Muslim youths, brutally killed Kanhaiya Lal, a Hindu tailor, on June 28 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. They made a video of the macabre killing and put it on the Net. Lal was killed as he reportedly expressed support to now suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma after she made comments on Prophet Mohammad which were widely condemned. 

There was an all-round denunciation of Kanhaiya Lal’s killing by liberals as well as Muslim organizations who underlined that this was not an Islamic act. Blasphemy laws have no place in a democracy or a civilized state, whatever be the religion of the majority of the population.

One recalls the equally horrific killing of Afrazul, a Muslim worker, by Shambhulal Regar a few years ago. Regar was worked up over the issue of so-called Love Jihad. While many condemned that murder too, there were others who praised Regar and collected funds for his family and for his defense. One also recalls the brutal murders of other Muslims: Akhalaq, Junaid and Rakbar Khan among many others.

Muslim victims 

Two wrongs don’t make a right. Any violence in the name of any religion is wrong and against the morality of religions and against the values of our Constitution. While those involved in murders of Afrazul and those indulging in lynching of nearly 100 innocents are called “fringe elements”, those killing Kanaihay Lal and Pundits in Kashmir are linked to madrassas or Islamic seminaries. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan is concerned that in all the madrassas jihadist Islam is drilled into the heads of young boys, leading to acts of insanity as in Udaipur.

The roots of violence leading to Afrazul and victims of lynching lie in an ideology which presents Hindus as victims and Muslims as perpetrators and a threat to Hindus. This is also the ideology which saw Mahatma Gandhi as an appeaser of Muslims. This misplaced ideology hides itself under the guise of Hinduism. The Hinduism of Mahatma Gandhi and the majority of Indians is inclusive and looks at all Indians as part of the “Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam”. (The world is my family.)

As far as 'Jihadi Islam' and its relation to madarassas is concerned, we need a deeper introspection. Madrassas have been there for a long period. Jihadi Islam is a post 9/11 phenomenon. We should try to understand its genesis. It is not due to what is being taught in Indian madrassas. This type of jihadi thinking was implemented in few madrassas in Pakistan.  

Wahabi Islam 

In the Cold War era, America was competing with Russia as the global superpower. Its goal was to control the oil wealth of West Asia. It picked up a version of Islam, Wahabi, which was used in a few madrassas of Pakistan to train Mujahedeen-Talban; the base from which Al Qaeda and ISIS came up in due course. Mahmood Mamdani in his book “Good Muslim Bad Muslim” shows that the US invested 8,000 million dollars and provided these groups with 7,000 tons of armaments to fight the Soviet forces.  

After the defeat of the Soviet forces, these forces entered Kashmir and communalized the Kashmir issue, tormenting the Pundits, forcing the latter to quit the Kashmir Valley and become refugees. It is another matter that same elements were totally against Muslims with a pro-India bent of mind and did not hesitate in murdering many of them in the Valley.

It is this version of Islam where jihad justifies killing the non-believers. This was picked up from Saudi Arabia, intensified and implemented in some Pakistani madrassas. The result is there for all to see. The real meaning of the word ‘kafir’ is one who hides the truth. This was distorted to mean non-believer. Jihad, which stands for utmost striving for betterment, became synonym for killing the ‘kafir’.

All this is summed up in this 1.35 Minutes video clip of Hillary Clinton (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY-BWScpdZw) . It shows the deeper American planning in funding these jihadi groups, who have vitiated the whole atmosphere in West Asia.

Jihadi terrorism

Interestingly, this jihadi terrorism is concentrated in West Asia and not in a Muslim-majority country like Indonesia. It is true that India has suffered a lot due to this terrorism. It is also true that this jihadi terrorism is like a Frankenstein’s monster. Pakistan is also a major victim of this terrorism, with nearly 75,000 of its citizens having lost their lives to it.  

There is no case to uphold the type of curriculum-syllabus of Indian madrasas. Still these madrassas are not the breeding ground of terrorism. Today, while a large section of the Muslim community lives in intimidation and fear, at the same time there are elements like Riyaz Ansari and Ghouse Mohammad whose insanity is not only a blot on Indian Muslims but also is totally contrary to the sayings in Koran that if you kill a single innocent person, it is like killing the whole humanity (Koran 5.32).

Shambhulal Regar, who killed a Muslim, and these two Muslim youths who beheaded a Hindu belong to the same category of criminals who indulge in heinous crimes in the name of their religion.  

(The writer, a former IIT Bombay professor, is Chairman, Center for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai. Views are personal.)