Jamaat-E-Terrorist

Editorial

The patriots of this country expect that the Government ban ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ for the same reasons as Saudi Arabia has !

Experts believe that the oil and gas reserves in the Gulf region will get depleted soon. Hence, countries across the world are actively making alternative arrangements to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels to cater to their energy needs. These include harnessing solar and hydro energy, developing electric vehicles etc.

Among the Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia has taken lead to generate new sources of income to reduce its dependence on petro-dollars. It has even started projecting itself as a global tourist hub and a developed international market for various goods and services. For the past few years, Prince Salman has been personally working towards changing the image of his country from ‘fundamentalist’ to ‘reformist’. He is also trying to project Saudi Arabia as a Nation that welcomes people from all faiths and does not discriminate on the basis of religion.

We know that Islam imposes various restrictions on women. Since Saudi Arabia is known as the ‘home of Islam’, many of these restrictions are still applicable in Saudi Arabia. Prince Salman is trying to relax these stringent norms as well. On this backdrop, the country has banned ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ – a fundamentalist Islamic organisation. Not only this, the Saudi Government went a step further and ordered the Maulvis to ensure that the people do not have any connection whatsoever with this terrorist organisation other than offering a ‘Friday Namaz’ at mosques and that they inform the Government of the Jamaat’s devious plans and its dogmatic principles.

It is also unprecedented that the ‘home of Islam’ has banned an Islamic organisation that has more than 40 crore members across 150 countries and has also advised i

ts citizens to stay away from it. This is certainly praiseworthy. This ban will have far-reaching implications for other Islamic Nations. At this point, we must realise that this stance of the kingdom validates an adage in Hindu Dharma – ‘Raja Kalasya Karanam’ (The king is responsible for the fate of his kingdom).

Muslims have a special place in their hearts for Saudi Arabia. It is similar to how Hindus (across the world) revere India and its culture and consider it their role model. Saudi Arabia hosts Mecca and Madina – the most important mosques for the followers of Islam. The Muslims across the world face (the direction of) Mecca and Madina while offering Namaz five times a day. It is believed that Saudi Arabia provides financial support to many Islamic organisations across the world. Hence, this ban assumes greater importance. Saudi’s message to the world is loud and clear – ‘Development and National Economy are more important than Islam’, and imperatively, it will not support these radical Islamic organisations any longer. Here the subtle message is – ‘The winds of change are sweeping away radicalism. Hence, we should change accordingly’. If the Islamic Nations and Islamic organisations understand this writing on the wall and act accordingly, they will be able to protect themselves and their citizens from the danger that lies ahead.

India should place restrictions on the activities of the ‘Wahhabis’ and the ‘Jamaatis’

We should understand that despite Saudi’s ban on ‘Tablighi Jamaat’, it has not taken any punitive action against the terrorists and fundamentalists responsible for acts of terrorism and incidents that underscore their radical nature. ‘Wahhabi’ (ultra-orthodox) mindset or simply ‘Wahhabism’ gives rise to such coldblooded incidents. It seems that in future, Prince Salman may succeed in imposing restrictions on such people who have a ‘Wahhabi’ (meaning, extremist) mindset. The maulanas and maulvis preach Wahhabism at madarasas and mosques across India. We must not forget that these Islamic preachers get financial assistance from Saudi Arabia.

When Narendra Modi became the PM in 2014, he proactively restricted their activities. He effectively choked the funding of such radical religious outfits and foreign NGOs by imposing stringent disclosure requirements. As a result, their sphere of influence reduced substantially. Following the footsteps of Saudi Arabia, Modi should now go a step further and take strict action against these Wahhabi outfits operating in our country. Although there have been mixed reactions from Islamic organisations and leaders in India, Islamic countries have refrained from speaking against Saudi’s ban on ‘Tablighi Jamaat’.

Some Islamic organisations in India have demanded that Saudi reconsider its position on the ‘Jamaat’, while others have appreciated this decision by providing a rationale. According to them, the members of ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ brainwash specifically the poor and the illiterate Muslims and thus sow the seeds of Wahhabism (fundamentalism) in them. If this was brought to light by Islamic organisations themselves, why did the Government not pay heed and act accordingly ? The Government should consider these aspects and ban the ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ in India.

Since the rules in Saudi Arabia are strict and its citizens are wealthy, it rarely witnesses acts of terrorism. The situation is not the same in other Islamic Nations and India. Islamic terrorism has taken its toll on India over the past three decades, if not more. Even though successive defence forces have succeeded in eliminating many terrorists, the consecutive Governments have equally failed to address the root cause – brainwashing by the religious fanatics to foster the next generation of terrorists. The current Government should focus on this aspect and deal with radical Islamic terrorism once and for all. Saudi Arabia has shown the path to India. All India needs to do is to walk that path.

When the corona pandemic broke out in 2020, the country saw the irresponsible and reckless behaviour of ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ members and the violence they perpetrated. Many people then demanded an outright ban on this organisation. The Government should do a course correction and act immediately. The patriots of this country expect that the Government ban ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ for the same reasons as Saudi Arabia has and protect its citizens from radicalism and violence.