How radical Islamists are using sacred places of Hindus to convert them to Islam

There have been many instances of radical Islamists forcibly converting Hindus. There has also been a gradual change with the Persian Khuda Hafiz now becoming the Arabic Allah Hafiz and Ramzan being referred to as Ramadan

New Delhi, Jan 24: Last week the Uttar Pradesh police arrested three Islamists, one of them a Madrasa teacher for operating a conversion racket at the annual Magh Mela.

Those arrested were Mehmood Hasan Gazi, Mohammad Monish and Sammer. The arrests were made after a BJP MP tweeted about the conversion that was going on in the sacred mela.

At the sacred places for Hindus:

This is not the first time that a conversion racket has been unearthed at a sacred site for the Hindus. The Magh Mela is an annual religious and spiritual fair that takes place on the banks of Ganga. It draws devotees from all across the world and exhibits a combination of religious and cultural features of Hindutva.

The agenda by these Islamists is clear and that is to convert as many Hindus as possible. A similar kind of racket had been busted when the same gang had put up a stall near the Hanuman Temple in Prayagraj.

They had also done the same thing at the Assi Ghat of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi.

At these sites, these Islamists put out stalls in which religious books are distributed free of cost. The nature of the text is objectionable in nature and tells Hindus to divert from their faith. These books portray Hindus and Hindutva in poor light and this is aimed at getting Hindus to denounce their faith and embrace Islam.

In the current case it was found that books had been printed by Mehmood in Delhi. He had also printed out pamphlets which had objectionable material on Hindus. Wrong interpretation of the Vedic hymns and sholkas were also found in these books.

Further more the police had also learnt that Sameer and Monish who were also arrested had converted to Islam. Such persons are used so that it could work as a convincing tactic for the Hindus to convert, explained one official to OneIndia.

Translation of Jihadi literature:

In almost all cases of religious conversions by Islamists it was noticed that the books that were printed were done so at the Abu Fazl Enclave in New Delhi. This area which is located besides the Jamia Milla Islamic University and Shaheen Bagh has become a hub to translate radical Islamist literature and then print them.

A 2016 report said that Jihadi publication houses had emerged in this area. Abu Fazl Enclave is part of Jamia Nagar, a Muslim dominated area and the headquarters of the Jamaa-e-Islami Hind. The books published from this area are openly sold in many parts of India. The report also said that there is a global ideological pattern in the literature published from the printing presses based in this area. They are outright transitions into Urdu from Arabic language Jihadi books written by Abul A'la Maududi, Syed Qutub, Hasan Al-Banna among others. The aim is to cultivate Islamist viewpoints among the Urdu speaking people in India.

Global connect and changes in India:

The Arabic influence has gradually gripped a large number of Muslims in India. Such books along with the influence of the Wahhabi preachers and the style of constructing Mosques have all contributed to the same.

Abhinav Pandya, a Cornell University graduate, who has authored the book Radicalisation in India-An Exploration says that if one takes a look at Kerala, there is a historical background and one of them is the Gulf connect. The Islamic State, Base Movement operate in the state. Moreover the local Islamic communities also resist action against the Wahhabis. He further says that the spread has been so radical that the Arabic phrases have begun to replace traditional Persian. The Khuda Hafiz has become Allah Hafiz and Ramazan has become Ramadan.

While the ideology is one part of the problem, the other remains foreign funding. In the most recent case of Islamic conversions, the accused told the police that they had been receiving funds from Abu Dhabi. They would click photographs with people taking books from them and then pass it on their supplier Mahmood Ghazi. He would forward these photographs to a foreign country and would receive payments in instalments of Rs 10,000 each.