Salamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Bismillahir rahmanir rahim. Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa manwila. So alhamdulillah, I have Sister Afrin Fatima here from India, alhamdulillah, who has been a voice of courage and a voice of inspiration personally to me and to everyone that I know. And subhanAllah, in just communicating with Afrin, the calmness and the courage that you radiate at the same time, and your calmness is courage, is absolutely incredible. But we also don't want to diminish the plight, you know, by praising the courage and praising the way you've been composed and the way you've been inspiring. Don't want to diminish the very real plight that you are in right now and that our brothers and sisters in India are facing right now. And it's significant. And inshAllah ta'ala, just for the few moments that we have, you know, we can inshAllah talk about some of these things that maybe are not known to everyone else. And inshAllah you can give us our marching orders, bidna nahi ta'ala. That's what we want inshAllah ta'ala for you to keep on telling us what we can do to support you inshAllah ta'ala. So if we can kind of go back to the beginning, I think, you know, where were you a few months ago and where are you right now? And just on a personal level, can you kind of tell us about how you go from being an activist, inshAllah, that is raising the voice of the plight of Muslims in India and also Palestine and so many other things, inshAllah, you've been involved in, alhamdulillah. But just tell me about like these last few months and then how it sort of reached this point that it's at right now. To be honest, like, you know, actually my father himself is a sociopolitical activist and is a community leader in Allahabad.
And I think I learned from him. He contested Students' Union election back when he was in university and he did not win the election. But then when I was in university and I just casually asked him once that, you know, I'm thinking of contesting because I think I know these are the problems and this is how we may be able to solve it as a student's initiative. And he was super supportive and then, you know, he was super supportive and he always encouraged me. And in everything, you know, a lot of times people would in fact be surprised that a Muslim father can allow his daughter to be an activist. And so for me, I had just finished my master's in linguistics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and currently I'm working as a researcher with the Polish Project. At the same time, I don't believe that I am an activist or that I would use that label for me, but at the same time I think I am someone who just, like, you know, writes and speaks up and who, that I just can't be, I just can't be when I know something is wrong and I just, like, you know, feel the need that I need to step up, that I need to, like, you know, when the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed, that I need to come out of my hostel room or from my house and be on the street and resist. And the same is with my father as well. I mean, I was in Delhi protesting Citizenship Amendment Act
and he was in Allahabad protesting the same. And so the last one month, in fact, like, you know, I've been, in fact, like, you know, I stopped using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. I stopped using any social media sites. I was preparing for my PhD. I have my, one of my entrance exams tomorrow and I'm not sure if I'd be able to, like, I would not be able to appear for it. So I've been, like, you know, focusing on my academics, focusing on my research, and I have also written this report on hate crimes in the year 2021. So I was basically focusing on a more research-oriented way to deal with what is happening in India and the problems that, you know, apart from participating in protests, mobilizing people, talking to people, giving speeches and all of those things, I felt the need that I need to do something about it, you know, some real action. So research, I thought that I can write. So, you know, research and writing about these things felt like the best way possible for me. And so I've been focusing on all of that. I have, in fact, completed the report that I was compiling on hate crimes against minorities in India. And I hope it's published soon. So that's what I was doing, like, you know, the past one month, in fact, the past three, four months. And then all of a sudden, like, you know, the political climate hasn't always been very hostile, especially for Muslims.
And but the past three, four months has seen an escalation in the sense that, you know, there are direct threat from the state itself in the form of demolitions. And we saw it in Madhya Pradesh. We saw it in Delhi itself. We saw it in Rajasthan, in several states across India. This demolition tactic was used to silence Muslims in India. And so when on 10th of June, Friday, the protests were happening against the objectionable comments that were made against Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, it was just that the situation was like, you know, escalating into a very tense situation in the city. And as an active member of the civil society in Allahabad and also a community leader in Allahabad, my father, like, you know, police came to our house at around 8.50 p.m. at night, and they asked him to accompany him to them to the police station to talk about what had happened. And he readily agreed. I mean, he did not, like, you know, there was no resistance from our side because we did not have anything to fear. And in fact, I was worried about the tense situation. And he was worried of, like, you know, what this clash between the protesters and the police might lead to. And it always, almost always leads to one thing, that is systemic persecution of Muslims and one-sided action against Muslims. Lives, bodies, livelihoods, houses, everything,
no aspect of our lives is left to be secure. What do we know about your father, your family right now? What are some things that we should know in that regard? Have you heard from your father, anything from your father for your family? Initially, like, you know, for the first 24 hours of his illegal detention, we had no idea where he was placed, in which police station, if he had been arrested. Everything that we got to know about him was coming through right-wing media channels. And that too with sensational headlines and, like, you know, he was being portrayed into this mastermind. And the entire right-wing media was, like, you know, this media trial was happening. And at the same time, he was, we had no idea where he was. He has blood pressure issues, he has diabetes, and he also has had heart issues. And he takes insulin injection every night. And we were concerned that, like, you know, we tried to, like, you know, just, in fact, beg the police to just, like, you know, let him have his medication. But we were not able to even establish contact with him on medical grounds. And then we got to know that he has been sent to Naini Central Jail, which comes in the Allahabad district. And then I went to meet him, my elder brother, went to meet him. He said he was fine. He said, like, you know, stay calm, don't worry, I'm fine. And given that he is someone who has been politically and socially active, he's aware of how long this process can be.
And he was just, like, you know, trying to be strong for us and, like, you know, letting us know that it's going to be a long battle. So, like, you know, don't exhaust yourself in the first in the very first round. And then yesterday morning, my mother tried to go and meet him in the police, in the jail. And the jailer said that there's no inmate named Javed Muhammad in the jail. And so we were shocked and surprised and we had no idea where he had been taken to. And again, we got to know through local media, news reports, that he's been shifted to some other district. And there was no official communication that was made to us as the family or to the lawyers. And so the whole, you know, everything that they're doing is not to, like, you know, because he's guilty or, like, you know, that the police has a lot of proofs against him. And they'd be able to prove that he is guilty, that they also know that they won't be able to. The idea is to make the process the punishment. And this is a form of a collective punishment, not just to him for speaking up and not just to give a clear message to him that he cannot be doing what he had been doing, but the entire community, to his family, to me, that this is something that will not be allowed in India. Allah Subhana wa ta'ala, free him, bring him home, protect you and your family and allow you to face this with great courage as you have been and keep you firm and steadfast and your entire family. I know this isn't easy for anyone in the family, even if it's just your father. May Allah free him who's been jailed. Obviously, the entire family suffers as a result of that. So may Allah free him and bring him back to you and protect you all. Allahuma Ameen.
And freeing this sort of collective punishment, the punishment being the process, especially home demolitions. You know, SubhanAllah, as I was watching that happen, like many of us in the world, we were watching your home being demolished and trying to find a way to get to you. And I know a lot of people were trying to find a way to get to you at that time. And we're fearing sort of what comes next. One of the reasons being is that it resembles quite a bit what Israel has been doing to the Palestinians, right? Like this idea of using home demolitions as a tactic of intimidation and collective silencing and punishment. When did this start happening in India? And did you all know that this was about to happen in some way? I mean, what can you tell us about this new tactic of home demolitions in India? I mean, for us, it resembles a lot with the way Israeli forces and the settler colonial occupation of Israel is doing in Palestine. And the reason of it resembling the Israeli model so much is that the Hindu supremacists, in fact, take inspiration from Israel. And not just Israel, in fact, every oppressive fascist regime that had been there in history, from Nazi Germany, from Rwanda, from Israel. And so the idea of demolitions as a form of collective punishment is not a new idea. It's not a new punishment that has been just introduced. And my house is my first house that has been demolished. But I do hope it is the last, Inshallah.
Inshallah. So, this has been happening for a very, very long time. It has like, goes back to several decades. But its outright calls for demolition as an act of punishment towards the Muslim community and, in fact, members of the majority community enjoying and hooting over demolitions happening of Muslim houses and livelihoods, its outright presence is new. And its outright celebration is new. So, I think the biggest example would be the northeastern state of Assam in India, which is in a very serious citizenship crisis, in the sense that over thousands and thousands of Muslims have been rendered citizenless. And they've been facing demolitions and evictions and being called illegal migrants in their own homeland. And its exact same model of Israel. That, you know, people who own the land are being evicted from their own land and their houses are being demolished by the government forces and administration. And, like, you know, I think around six months, seven months ago, just last year itself, we heard the news of this massive eviction that happened in Assam. And Shaheed Moinul Haq was martyred by the security forces. And because he stood there and he tried to defend his home.
And then this idea of punishment is not new to us. In the past three months, it has escalated more so with BJP coming into power in several states of India and announcing that they're here. This is their announcement towards the people of the country, to the majority community that they have made into people who enjoy the plight of Muslims. Who in fact enjoy not just our persecution, but like, you know, when it's live telecast. The whole idea that my house was live telecasted on television and every brick coming down was on show, was to in fact, like, you know, stroke the egos and the satisfaction of the Hindu majority that the BJP is doing what they're doing. And I feel that it's also in a way, it also in a way disempowers the Muslim community. It pushes us further back economically, financially, in every way. And the biggest problem in all of this, the most disturbing thing in all of this has been that they target the poorest of the poor in all of this. The most marginalized, even in the Muslim community, the people who just have like a room that they call their home.
And a small shop that they earn from on a day to day basis. And that is what is demolished and that is what is taken away from them. So... No, please go ahead. So, I'm like, you know, this idea of enjoying and like, you know, ruining or seeing our houses and like, you know, physical structure of our houses go down gives them pleasure. And I believe that is the sole reason why we have been trying to let them know that it's just the structure that has been demolished. It's just that. If they think that they've scared us or that they can demolish our faith or our belief that a better day will not follow, then they're completely wrong. Allahu Akbar. And Allah's parents are keep you strong. You know, and SubhanAllah, when I was talking about this, when I'm talking about this to a lot of people, I think the scope of this is not immediately apparent to many that are not in India right now. You know, the fact that over 200 million Muslims are there. And again, this is over one tenth of our ummah. Over one tenth, not one tenth, over one tenth of our ummah is there. And many will come back and say, you know, what are you talking about genocide? You know, even though we see genocide alerts that are being passed by international bodies now, you know, immediately the comeback will be, well, there are plenty of Muslims that are living just fine. And this is very similar to the tactics of Israel with the Palestinians, too, right?
Like we'll show you this small community or whatever it is of Arab Israelis or Palestinians that seem to be doing well and say, see, we we're a democracy. And the irony of the largest democracy in the world and the only democracy in the Middle East, both of these in quotation marks, really mastering the art of apartheid and the art of disenfranchising in this fashion, both against, you know, Muslim, the Muslim community. Entirely in India, but other minorities as well, and definitely in Palestine as well. But people will come back and say, you know, it doesn't seem to be all the Muslims in India. And so you point out the genocidal speech that is being given by mainstream politicians. And it's like, well, you know, that's just one fringe person. We've seen this play out over and over and over again, right? It's the downplaying until it becomes too severe for us to combat it at this point. But what is it like being a Muslim in India right now? And what is the threat of genocide really like? Like, what are we really looking at with the Muslims in India in this regard? And what would you say to the skeptic that says this is just happening to a few Muslims that are causing problems? I think. The only way I can frame a sentence that can be serious enough for people to understand that the threat is really, really real is that it's absolutely serious. It is serious. And the alerts that are coming out from several rights organizations and in fact, from the people like me also is not an exaggeration of what is happening in India.
I mean, like, you know, if one sits down and try to compile a list of acts and a list of things that the government, that the Indian state and it's the state and non-state actors are doing. Like, you know, several volumes of a book can be compiled, but the list will just go on. And I think that. The threat that the Indian Muslim community is experiencing is not just of a genocide. That is to follow, it is of a perpetual state of genocide that the Indian Muslim community is being forced to live in. We are, in fact, living in a perpetual state of genocide. I'm sorry, am I audible? Yes, I can hear you. Go ahead. All right. Image is a bit frozen, but we can hear you. Yeah, yeah. All right. You know, there's not just politicians who are giving speeches and like, you know, or like, you know, some fringe monk in a saffron robe giving speeches. It's this massive ecosystem that is thriving on anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia in India.
And it's scary to the extent that you can not know who is not a part of this ecosystem. Because everyone is the entire. I mean, there's just two categories in the Hindu majority. Those who actively participate in the violence and hate against Muslims and those who are just silent spectators. And the active participants exceed in massive numbers the silent spectators. And both are equally serious categories. For people, for members of the Hindu community to silently watch over Muslims being lynched, pogroms being planned where Muslims are butchered in broad daylight in the streets of this country. Muslims are detained, arrested on false, fake, ukdub charges to teach Muslims a lesson, especially those who are politically aware and active and speaking. Our house is being demolished. Several propaganda ideas that resemble the Nazi Germany, Love Jihad, IAS Jihad, Corona Jihad. I mean, everyone in the world saw the way the Tabligh Jamaat was made into a scapegoat and blamed for COVID-19 in India. When it was a pandemic and the Muslim community was blamed for the pandemic.
It's not just one thing that is happening. I mean, Muslim women were sold online on a virtual auction. And calls for abduction, rape, direct call for murder, taking up arms. It's normalized to the extent that it's scary for us. And people can come and say that, oh, you're giving, that there are so many who are just sitting in their houses and nothing is happening to them. Just 10 days ago, my family was sitting in my house and there was nothing happening to my house. Just 10 days ago. So the threat is imminent. It's real. And it's going to be disastrous if people do not take action. Earlier I used to say that the world needs to keep a close eye on India. I can't say that anymore. The world needs to act up before it turns into another Nazi Germany or another Rwanda. And then people of the world will say, how come? How did this happen? And never again. We are serious and we're not exaggerating. In fact, whatever I'm saying is an understatement to the reality of what is happening in India right now. And what's going on with this, the hijab bans? Some states have banned hijab. Obviously, there's now, you know, we've seen this in other places. It starts with a nationwide call to ban hijab.
And this, of course, coupled with the insult of the Prophet, peace be upon him, with the very real policies that are taking place here. As a young Muslim woman who wears hijab and was at the forefront of challenging the full scope of what that insulting of the Messenger, peace be upon him, meant. How does that make you feel? And what do we take from that? You know, this sudden pivot to this next level of religious rhetoric, but bans on hijab and trying to ban sort of that Muslim identity from public. It's not just the hijab. I mean, all aspects of Islamic faith are being targeted, are being banned. The azan is being banned. This Ramazan itself in Allahabad, several policemen would come to the mosques and ask the Muslims to lower the volume of the azan. And to in fact, even like, you know, just shut it down, remove the loudspeakers. Mosques are, of course, demolished in broad daylight. There's Babri and there's several others. Babri was made into a political issue by the right wing. And so people know about it. But there are several other mosques that are targeted, that are demolished. And, you know, every physical or every public embodiment of Islamic faith is being targeted. And hijab is one of them. And it's the most recent one.
It started in the southern state of Karnataka, where college wing girls were not allowed to wear hijab in their classrooms. And it started with them sitting in protest outside of their classrooms for over a week. And, you know, begging and pleading and protesting the school authorities to allow them to wear their hijab. And when that did not happen, they went to the court and then the court also judicially sanctions apartheid. It excludes thousands of Muslim women, Muslim girls who had been wearing hijab to their classrooms, who had been practicing their faith to just, you know, that you can't, you either practice your faith or you pursue education. And in all of this, like, you know, it is a scary thought, just imagining that I might have to remove my hijab and walk out if I do have to. Or that I just have to stay inside my house for the rest of my life because I can't wear my hijab in public. And I mean, it's to do with the presence of Islamic symbol and Islamic identity in public space. And it also has to do with this voyeuristic gaze of the Hindu majority. The Muslim woman's body has been sexualized to that the act of unveiling is romanticized.
And that is why, like, you know, apps and websites like the Surli Deals and the Gulli Wahi were created in the first place. And it is a very disturbing and it's a very, it's a very disturbing thought. I mean, I can't imagine. I mean, my sisters can't imagine. My mother can't imagine. We just can't imagine a day where, like, you know, we might be, like, you know, that someone might pull our hijab off. The idea just sends shivers down. And it has been made a reality for some of us, for some of Muslims in Karnataka. And the way the right wing ecosystem has been, I mean, it's just going to expand to several other parts. And it's going to come to every one of us. May Allah protect you, protect all of our sisters there. And SubhanAllah, I mean, I think this is one problem that we also have as a Muslim Ummah, is that we celebrate the heroes. We celebrate Muskaan. May Allah bless her, mashallah, putting the fist up in the face of all of those that were trying to prevent her from wearing her hijab. We celebrate Afrin today. And mashallah, you're an icon to us. But sometimes I think we turn away from our sisters and brothers after some time passes. And unfortunately, these things become more widespread and become more enshrined in policy. And we don't want that to happen. We want to be with you all, bismillah ta'ala, throughout this.
May Allah protect you, protect our sisters, protect our brothers. Again, this is an attempt to remove Islam from public, remove the masjid, remove the hijab, remove Islam, and in the process, satisfy the cravings of fascism. And subhanAllah, like you said, it's an ugly reality, but the majority also needs to be taken to task here that it's not okay to be passive. It's not okay to just watch this happen and to say, I don't agree with it. This has reached that alarming level at this point that requires more action. So my questions, I mean, I just I don't want to hold you too long, too much longer. What do you say to the Muslim world, to your Muslim brothers and sisters that are saying, you know, well, this is happening here and here and hearing about this situation, that situation. I don't know how I can meaningfully help and I don't know how serious this really is. What are your marching orders for us as an ummah, for inshaAllah, ta'ala, for us to move, inshaAllah, ta'ala, whoever's watching this? I don't think that I am someone who can be giving orders or I mean, you know, I might or and I just think that, you know, my request to all of my Muslim brothers and sisters would be to, of course, first keep all of us Indian Muslims in your prayers and just make dua for us. At the same time, I think, you know, maybe ask your governments to take some action against India to do something.
I mean, I don't really know what all can be done and what cannot be done. But there needs to be a way for the Indian government to be held accountable for everything that it's doing and for it to be held answerable and for it to be told loud and clear that this is something that cannot be tolerated. When several Muslim countries issued statements against the comments that were made against Prophet Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam and the entire Muslim community in India, like, you know, we were all happy. And like, you know, our liberal allies and everyone like, you know, the Muslim countries only care about the Prophet and not about the people. The quote unquote liberal allies of Muslim community in India were like, you know, saying that, oh, but they don't care about you and like, you know, the persecution that's happening. And it's just about Prophet Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam and it's just about the religion. But like, you know, we were, we had that moment of relief that something is happening, that someone is holding this government accountable. Someone is holding its spokesperson who are like, you know, abusing the community, our faith, our prophets, Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam, day in and day out. And gaining TRPs over it and like, you know, creating, peddling hate over it.
And we were just relieved that something is happening. And so I believe that that something can happen again. And I believe that the Indian government can be held accountable. It can be stopped. It can be like, you know, alerted that what they are doing is wrong and is, and that they will be held accountable for it and that they can't get away with it. So I, to be like, you know, there's no specific way that I, there's no specific way that I can tell that, you know, that might, you know, the magic wand that might make everything disappear and like, you know, it's a process of over seven decades that is unfolding and has become this monster today. And it will take a lot of time. And as for the Indian Muslim community, we are willing to fight it until the very end. And we will be strong and we're with each other. We are, you know, understanding the importance of that sense of community within ourselves as Indian Muslims. And I just hope and pray that the entire Ummah understands that sense of community and stands up for their brothers and sisters everywhere, not just in India, but in China and Palestine, in every other part of the world where Muslims are being persecuted simply because they are Muslims. May Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la bless you and protect you and protect all of you.
And I think, as you know, you know, Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, as I've told you, we're making du'a for you, but also that we will, inshaAllah, continue to put out community action alerts for people to sort of follow the guidance of their local Indian Muslim activist groups, when that exists and to put pressure, certainly pressure, pressure, pressure, sanctions, accountability, when that can happen, inshaAllah, to continue to raise our collective voice and to continue to keep our collective du'as and to not just pass this off as, you know, another just flashpoint for a moment, but this is something that has been in the works for a very long time and unfortunately has the risk to become, you know, one of the worst genocides that we have seen in our history. And so we pray that that's not the case. I have one more question for you, Afreen. You know, there are a lot of young Muslims watching this as well. What have you been doing to keep yourself sustained with faith, with iman? What have you been doing to keep yourself strong with your faith, to fill your heart, to fill your mind? I think it has a lot to do with, it's like, you know, it's like, it's my Ammi, like, you know, who pastored us into offering our namaz and like, you know, reading Quran every day. And, and like, you know, the, when, when we heard the news that, when we saw the first bulldozer taking on our house, the, one of the first things that my mother said was that, we, we, does not matter. It's just a building.
I mean, my brother was in mind at that time. He was like, you know, reminding us of all the, all the times that we've had in that home. And, but my mother was like, you know, calm. And she said that, and she just sat on his janamaz and she was just offering her namaz. And, you know, it's, it's, it's enough for us to act of worship. It's like, you know, I said in one of the interviews that I will not cry. I will not shed a single tear, but my Allah knows how many tears I've shed to him. And it's he who, who gives the calm. And it's, it's, it's one of the, like, you know, this, this whole idea of like, you know, doing dhikr, especially like the entire day when my father was being called, my everything, the only thing that we were repeating was, husband Allah, husband Allah. And so like, you know, there's this calm in it and there's, and there's strength in it. And it's, it's, it's, it's, it's the belief that we know that, like, you know, whatever injustice is happening will be brought to justice. If not here, then in hereafter. JazakumAllahu khayran for everything and Allah subhana wa ta'ala bless you and protect you. We ask Allah azawajal to, to protect you, to protect your family, to release your father, to sustain you with sincerity and steadfastness and continued strength.
May Allah subhana wa ta'ala grant you a better home in Jannah. May Allah azawajal join you with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam, you and your family. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala alleviate the suffering of our brothers and sisters in India and all over the world. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala bring out of this ummah what is pleasing to him and allow us to unite upon that which is pleasing to him. And may Allah subhana wa ta'ala allow us to be like that one strong body with the beating heart of that love of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala allow you, sister Afreen, to continue to go forward and to lead us and your family to lead us. And may Allah subhana wa ta'ala allow us to properly support you. Allahumma ameen. JazakumAllahu khayran for everything and for taking the time even. I know subhana wa ta'ala you've been having to do this a lot, but just know that you've inspired a lot of us. And inshallah ta'ala we will heed the call that's come from you inshallah ta'ala as well as our brothers and sisters in India inshallah ta'ala to continue to be by your side inshallah. JazakumAllahu khayran. May Allah bless you. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.