Interfaith couple from UP fears ‘love jihad’ accusations, flees to Delhi to get married
Date: 21 December 2020
Category: Discrimination
A Muslim man and his Hindu fiancee fled their homes and sought protection in Delhi, alleging that they feared both their families and the UP government. Shameem (25) and Simran (21) had petitioned the Delhi high court on December 16, seeking protection from their families as well as the Uttar Pradesh police.“The new law [UP’s ‘anti-conversion’ ordinance] is a problem for interfaith couples. That was one of the reasons we left Shahjahanpur,” Shameem told Indian Express. “Agar wahan se karte, toh love jihad keh dete (if we had married there, they would have called it love jihad)… even if I wasn’t being forced into marriage, they would have said that because I am with a Muslim boy. In UP, they do this deliberately to trap the man,” Simran added.The couple also asked the court to say that should the UP police register a case, they would not be taken out of the Delhi high court’s jurisdiction without prior permission. The court did not allow this plea, saying it was based on speculation.
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Himachal Pradesh implements act against 'forced conversions'
Date: 20 December 2020
Category: Discrimination
A more stringent law against conversion by force, inducement or through marriages solemnised for the “sole purpose” of adopting a new religion, with a provision of up to seven years in jail for violators, has come into force in BJP-ruled Himachal Pradesh, over a year after it was passed by the state assembly. The Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2019 was notified by the state home department on December 18, replacing a 2006 law that had been repealed by the assembly. There is a provision of stringent punishment of up to seven years in jail in the Act as compared to the three years under the old Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2006, which was on similar lines. The Act prohibits conversion by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, inducement, marriage or any fraudulent means. Any marriage for the sole purpose of conversion will also be declared null and void under Section 5 of the Act. As per the Act, anyone seeking to convert will need to give a month's notice to the district magistrate, stating that the person is converting on his/her own. The priest who performs a conversion ceremony will also give a month's notice in advance. Those reconverting to their “parent religion” are exempted from this provision. According to the new Act, if Dalits, women or minors were made to convert, the jail term will be between two-seven years. Section 10 of the Act states that no person or organisation violating the provisions will be allowed to accept any donation or contribution of any kind from within or outside the country. The Opposition had supported the Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2019, in the state Assembly and the legislation was passed unanimously with a voice vote.Explaining the objective and reason behind the legislation, the government had said in the Assembly that it was being introduced as the society had undergone many changes since the enactment of the previous bill due to which stringent and effective legislation was required to check forced religious conversions, which are "on the rise" in the state.
Sources:
https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/himachal-forced-religious-conversion-law-love-jihad-672907
Vigilantes pressure cops to add 'love jihad' to rape complaint against Muslim men
Date: 21 December 2020
Category: Discrimination, hate violence
Members of right-wing outfits are allegedly putting pressure on police to add a ‘love jihad’ component to a case of rape agaisnt two Muslim men. A woman was allegedly lured on the pretext of marriage and was gang-raped by two men in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. The woman got to know one of the accused through social media and was allegedly offered a job by him. The survivor is a resident of Mithapur, Delhi. The woman’s family has also approached the police, asking them to add a case of ‘love jihad’. A video of right-wing workers demanding the same to the police has also surfaced. The cops, however, refused to do the same. The accused were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
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Rate card offering cash for marrying non-Muslim women is fake
Date: 21 December 2020
Category: Hate speech
A dubious flyer offering cash incentives to Muslim men for marrying outside their religion, which was recently revived on social media, is fake. Fact-checking website BOOM had debunked the same rate card in June 2017, when Times Now had falsely reported it as true. The rate card, which has several red flags indicating it is fake, has existed online as far back as 2012. The channel ran a series of stories in June 2017 as "Super Exclusive", alleging radical Islamization entrapping young Hindus through academic coaching centers in Kasargod, Kerala, in which Times Now also showed the fake rate card. The graphic lists cash incentives for marrying Hindus women of different castes like Brahmin, Kshatriya and also for marrying other non-Muslim women such as Christian, Sikh and Buddhist women. Tellingly, the logo used on in the flyer is of Hezbollah - a Shia Islamist militant group and political party based in Lebanon- whereas the image lists the postal addresses of Popular Front of India (PFI) in Bangalore, Kozhikode and Chennai.
Sources:
https://www.boomlive.in/fake-news/fake-rate-card-for-marrying-non-muslim-women-revived-7048
https://abpnews.abplive.in/india-news/abp-news-exclusive-truth-of-love-jihad-rate-card-114116/amp
End minority status for Muslims: Sakshi Maharaj
Date: 20 December 2020
Category: Hate speech
Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Unnao Sakshi Maharaj, known for his controversial remarks, says that "as there are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan, their minority status should be abolished" while addressing a function in Unnao on 20 December. He said, "There are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan, therefore the minority status of the Muslims should be abolished with immediate effect. Muslims should now consider themselves to be the younger siblings of the Hindus and live with them in the country." Speaking about the rising population of the country, Sakshi said, "Soon a bill would be tabled in Parliament to check the increasing population. Those who will have more than two children will be deprived from contesting elections."
Sources:
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/end-minority-status-for-muslims-sakshi-maharaj-187003
Indian expat in UAE sacked over Islamophobic post
Date: 13 April 2020
Category: Hate speech
An Indian national working in the UAE was sacked by his company for allegedly sharing Islamophobic posts on Facebook related to the coronavirus pandemic, in yet another such case within weeks, according to a media report. Bala Krishna Nakka from Hyderabad, working as chief accountant at Dubai’s Moro Hub Data Solutions Company, was sacked after his Facebook post went viral, evoking widespread condemnation. His posts triggered demands both on Facebook and Twitter for action against him. In a quick response, the company announced that the person was being sacked from his job, as it had zero tolerance towards hate propaganda. Nakka joins a growing list of Indian expats who have landed in trouble for alleged Islamophobic social media messages in recent days.
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Indian expat in UAE faces jail for insulting Islam on COVID-19 Facebook post
Date: 10 April 2020
Category: Hate speech
An Indian expat in the UAE faces police action for allegedly insulting Islam on social media in response to a Facebook post on the coronavirus. Rakesh B Kitturmath, who worked as a team leader at Emrill Services, an integrated facilities management (FM) headquartered in Dubai, was sacked on 9 April after his post sparked outrage on social media, the Gulf News reported. "Kitturmath's employment stands terminated with immediate effect. He will be handed over to Dubai Police. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards such hate crimes," said Stuart Harrison, CEO of Emrill Services. Kitturmath’s comments ridiculed the Islamic practice of namaz and described Muslims as “pigs”. After the backlash from his company and police, Kitturmath put out a public apology on Twitter.
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UAE-based Indian in trouble over Islamophobic remark
Date: 7 April 2020
Category: Hate speech
A United Arab Emirates-based Indian national got in trouble over an Islamophobic post on social media and hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims. Mitesh Udeshi, a financial manager at an Abu Dhabi-based firm, could face legal action over his Islamophobic Facebook post which uses graphic images to show how a “jihadi coronavirus suicide spitter” could “cause 2,000 deaths compared to 20 by a jihadi bomber detonating a belt rigged with explosives”, the Gulf News report said. The post was in reference to videos falsely claiming showing members of Tablighi Jamaat, a Muslim missionary group in India spitting on police. Mitesh’s post sparked outrage on social media, with many demanding his immediate dismissal and arrest. Udeshi was later sacked from his job. Earlier, a police complaint had been filed against Sameer Bhandari, the CEO of an events management company in UAE, for asking an Indian Muslim job applicant to “go back to Pakistan”.
Sources:
https://www.siasat.com/uae-based-indian-trouble-over-islamophobic-remark-1870733/
Complaint against Indian businessman in Sharjah for Islamophobic post
Date: 18 April 2020
Category: Hate speech
Sharjah businessman and filmmaker Sohan Roy was forced to apologise publicly after a complaint against him for a video which depicted Islamic clerics leading blindfolded men in skull caps in an adaptation of his poem on religious bigotry. In his native Malayalam language poem titled ''Viddi Janman'' (Fool's life), Roy said religion had made people blind as they were ignoring coronavirus restrictions in the name of God. The illustration alludes to members of the Tablighi Jamaat, who had emerged as the prime suspects among potential coronavirus carriers, not just in India, but in Pakistan, Malaysia and Brunei. Roy, the founder chairman of Sharjah-based Aries Group, apologised for his "Islamophobic" post and for “unintentionally hurting religious sentiments” in a Facebook live video.
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Muslim man lynched in Bihar over alleged cow theft
Date: 18 December 2020
Category: Hate violence: Physical
A 32-year-old man in Bihar was beaten to death by a mob over suspicion of cattle theft near state capital Patna on Wednesday. All the accused were arrested immediately, the police said. The victim, Muhammad Alamgir, was thrashed after he was seen untying a buffalo from a cattle shed at around 3 am. A person who was with Mr Alamgir managed to escape. Muhammad Alamgir, who was thrashed for several hours, died on Wednesday afternoon at hospital. A local resident said that the victim was tied to a wooden pole and thrashed for over four hours till he was half dead. Afterwards, Alam was left on the road under the open sky in the cold weather. “Police reached the spot hours later, but he was about to die due to internal injuries that he sustained during the brutal thrashing earlier,” he said.
Sources:
https://www.newsclick.in/Muslim-Man-Lynched-Patna-Suspicion-Cattle-Theft-Family-Claims-Murder
Advocate who facilitated wedding of interfaith couple alleges 'harassment' by UP police
Date: 22 December 2020
Category: Discrimination
Mohommed Hashim Ansari, an advocate based in Delhi, says that he is being “harassed” by UP police for helping a woman who came to him in November voluntarily wanting to convert to Islam. The woman later married a Muslim boy named Javed Ansari who belongs to Jalesar, Eta, Uttar Pradesh – the same district as her. Almost ten people from Hashim’s family, including his father, elder brother, cousin, cousin’s friend, three brothers-in-law, father-in-law, father-in-law’s brother and his son have been arrested and taken to unknown locations over the last two days, he says. “They think that I am hiding the woman, and are telling me to produce her as if I know where she is,” he says. Of the eight, he has only been able to speak to his brother-in-law briefly. Around noon, he received a message from his brother-in-law saying, “We are being sent to jail. You please handover the Hindu girl to the police, otherwise we will be sent to jail by this evening.” Hashim says that it is possible that the police sent this message from his brother-in-law’s phone. Some members or the Bajrang Dal, who have been actively involved in tracking cases of inter-religious marriages and filing cases against them, had also forced some of the groom Javed’s relatives to shut their shops in Jalesar. This prompted Ayesha to send a declaration to the SSP and SHO of Jalesar, saying that her husband’s family members should not be harassed as she voluntarily married her husband. She also wrote to the National Commission for Women, seeking protection and explaining that she embraced Islam out of her own free will.
Sources:
https://thewire.in/communalism/advocate-interfaith-couple-harassement-up-police