ESCHATOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY: INTERFAITH AND COMPARITIVE PERSPECTIVES

WAR CLOUDS ARE MOVING FAST AND FURIOUS RIGHT ACROSS THE REGION FROM THE MIDDLE EAST TO THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT. THIS REQUIRES URGENT REVIEW TO PREPARE FOR THE COMING MALHAMA 


ISRAEL ELECTION RESULTS 2019 IS SHOWING ANOTHER DIRECTION  
Sep 17



ISRAELI ELECTIONS FUNDAMENTALISM


UPCOMING CHANGES WILL BRING NEW ERA OF DEVELOPMENT 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt2gGW6JMNM 
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Benny Gantz Greater Israel plan for Jordan Lebanon Syria  Egypt and rest of GCC Arabs will fight Iran and a coordinated India attack on Pakistan
 

BRILLIANT TOUR OF IMRAN KHAN TO SAUDI ARABIA ENHANCING OIL TRADING 
Sep 20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idkIoIV21RE 

Saudi visit confirms his interest to militarily protect Makkah Madina  and not intervene in Yemen Iran wars .
 

ECONOMY OF EGYPT IS TAKING TURN AFTER GETTING LOAN FROM IMF 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXT0J_72QhE 

Arab Spring part 2 about to start centred on Egypt and the entire Middle East is about to witness convulsions which will lead to Israeli victories and conquest
 


 
PM AZAD KASHMIR FAROOQ HAIDER's EMOTIONAL SPEECH, ATTENDEES BURST INTO TEARS   
18 Sep 




IMRAN KHAN HAS GIVEN ORDERS TO NATION STAY AWAY FROM GOING OUTSIDE 

Key date is the UNGA Sept 27 in the meantime there is a lull before the storm 
 

IMRAN KHAN REACHES SAUDI ARABIA AFTER OIL PRICE GOING UP 

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGU17tFolBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGU17tFolBE  
Pakistan needs to be neutral between the Saudi and Iran conflict
 

THE OIL SELLING MARKET MAKE A DIRECTION FOR SAUDI ARABIA 


USA wants a war so it can capture oil assets from the region. USA  is threatening Saudi to give sign of starting war. Saudi will sell non Dollars so that their economy will not last 1 week. Ball is in the Saudi court and where do Saudis stand.  A single wrong move can start a regional war
 
ADVANCE DRONE TECHNOLOGY GOT ANOTHER DIRECTION OF CAPTURING 


They want an all out war and weaken it's Western border and then signal India to attack from the eastern border  


HARF E RAAZ  Orya Maqbool Jan 
19 September 2019 | Neo News 



Pakistani army doesn’t have a monopoly over Jihad. Peoples jihad is and will arise. This is the time. The time to call for Jihad.  Look at Afghan Jihad since 1979 compared to Kashmiri Jihad since 1989. Civil defence is required urgently  NARA I JIHAD. Otherwise the nation will not survive. They will call war upon you rather than other way around. Jinnah called for a Jihad and the Imran Khan speech at UNGA diplomacy is useless. Need for action not diplomacy. War is imminent and there is a need for mass mobilization  to prevent chaos. 
 
HARF E RAAZ  Orya Maqbool Jan  
18 September 2019 | Neo News



Pakistan has to declare Jihad. BJP has ordered military training. The Islamic concept of Jihad over Kashmir is not about an unfinished territorial dispute but about r[/font][/size][/color]eligious identity and affiliation with Islam. Pakistan needs to forget about developing tourism it is not going to happen.  Call for Jihad and start making a list of volunteers. Jailed volunteers need to be freed. The military must call Mullahs to give Khutbahs for Jihad.  [/b]
1:36 / 16:37
HARF E RAAZ  Orya Maqbool Jan 
17 September 2019 | Neo News





THE F-35 WITH ADVANCE FEATURES AND LATEST TECHNOLOGY TOOK PART 

GREAT SPEECH BY IMRAN KHAN NO DOUBT BUT IN AN UPSIDE DOWN WORLD THERE WAS A MISSING DIMENSION IN PAKISTAN'S DIPLOMATIC POSTURE AND POLICIES. PAKISTAN'S DELAYED RESPONSE TO INDIA HAS BEEN TOO LITTLE AND LATE. TO ASSUME THAT THE UN WHICH IS A PARTY TO CREATING THIS PROBLEM IS THE SOLUTION IS LIVING IN CLOUD CUCKOO LAND. ALSO IT NEEDS TO REALISE AND WILL TO IT'S COST FIND THAT NO ONE WILL COME TO IT'S MILITARY RESCUE EXCEPT SEVERAL COUNTRIES. 


IT SHOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN THE REAL THREAT OF WAR OFF THE TABLE AS IT IS SELF DEFEATING AGAINST IT'S ENEMIES.  THERE WAS A NEED TO SAY LOUD AND CLEAR THAT GENOCIDE IS TAKING PLACE ON A DEFENCELESS UNARMED POPULATION FACING INDIAN BRUTALITY AND OPPRESSION BY MODI THE NAZI BUTCHER OF KASHMIR AND THAT IF IT WAS NOT  STOPPED IMMEDIATELY THAT PAKISTAN WOULD HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE BUT GO TO WAR. IT SHOULD HAVE THREATENED WAR, MOBILISED THE MASSES FOR WAR AND TEST FIRED SOME BALLISTIC MISSILES. IT SHOULD HAVE NOTIFIED THE WORLD THAT THERE WOULD BE A WASTAGE OF INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT IN INDIA. ONLY THIS WOULD RESULT IN THE DESIRED OUTCOME. SO SORRY NO APPLAUSE FROM US.

ALSO A NOTE HERE FOR ALL OUR READERS AS TO  WHY THESE MATTERS ARE BEING DISCUSSED HERE ON THIS ESCHATOLOGY THREAD. THIS IS SIMPLY BECAUSE WE ARE DEEPLY ENMESHED IN ESCHATOLOGICAL TIMES. AS WE ARE IN ESCHATOLOGICAL TIMES WE NEED TO GO FURTHER INTO THIS PARADIGM. IN THIS PARADIGM WE NEED TO HAVE BELIEF AND HOPE THAT THERE WILL INDEED BE AN UNIVERSAL MUSLIM LEADER WHO IS INDEED RIGHTLY GUIDED AND WHO WILL NOT BE ASHAMED TO DECLARE A JIHAD FOR LIBERATION FROM OPPRESSION FOR ALL OF HUMANITY. WE NEED TO BELIEVE IN AND START PREPARATIONS FOR NO LESS THAN THE ENLIGHTENED IMAM MAHDI TO MEET AND CONFRONT THE CHALLENGES OF OUR AGE. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN AND WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE THEREOF WILL FOLLOW SOON.   


THERE WILL BE BLOOD: WHAT’s NEXT AFTER THE LION ROARED?

For the first time in history, it is quite reassuring to know that Kashmir issue has become the center point of Pakistan’s foreign policy

https://nation.com.pk/02-Oct-2019/there-...ion-roared


PM IMRAN KHAN HISTORIC SPEECH IN UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 
27 Sep 2019






REMARKABLE SPEECH OF IMRAN KHAN AT UN WON THE HEARTS OF EVERYONE 




A SOFT AND DIFFERENT KIND OF SPEECH OF NARENDRA MODI AT UN 






IMRAN KHAN SHOULD MAKE SECURITY MEASURES AFTER RETURN FROM USA 




BILATERAL MEETING HELD BETWEEN IMRAN KHAN AND DONALD TRUMP 




BRILLIANT REPLY OF IMRAN KHAN AND HOW ECONOMY CAN GROW IN FUTURE 








NARENDRA MODI AND DONALD TRUMP GAVE CLEAR MESSAGE TO GENERAL BAJWA AND IMRAN KHAN 







FAZAL UR REHMAN IS TAKING DIRECTION UPON IMRAN KHAN'S RETURN 



ZAID HAMID ON UNGA
25 September 2019 


AISAY NAHI CHALAY GA WITH FIZA AKBAR KHAN  
27th September 2019 | BOL News








PM IMRAN KHAN SPEECH AT UNGA DETAILED ANALYSIS 
Orya Maqbool Jan

PM IMRAN KHAN COMPLETE SPEECH AT ISLAMABAD AIRPORT 
Receives Warm Welcome | 29 September 2019









THE BRILLIANT AND POSITIVE IMPACT OF IMRAN KHAN's SPEECH AT UN 







A NEW DIRECTION FOR IMRAN KHAN TO MAKE A PROGRESSIVE ECONOMY 






SAUDI ARABIA IS GOING TO INVEST $100 BILLION IN INDIA IN PROJECTS













THE DEVELOPMENT FOR SAUDI HIGH SPEED RAIL STATION IN JEDDAH
 

GHAZWA I HIND ANALYSIS  



IMAM MAHDI AND GHAZWA I HIND  
Dr. Israr Ahmad


IMAM MAHDI KA ZAHOOR I HINDI
Dr. Israr Ahmad




ARAB KI TABAHI - ARMAGEDDON WAR  




GHAZWA E HIND 





WARNINGS BY QURAN 
Orya Maqbool Jan



PREDICTION ABOUT END OF TIMES 
Orya Maqbool Jan 






2019 BAD CONDITIONS AND PREPARATIONS FOR THE MUSLIMS OF INDIA 




A BEAUTIFUL AND REMARKABLE UPCOMING JOURNEY IS ON THE WAY 




GHAZWA-e-HIND HAS ARRIVED 




GHAZWATUL HIND AND ALLAH's ARMY 




NARENDRA MODI IS MOVING WITH THE RULES OF 
CHANAKYA  KAUTILYA 





THE UPCOMING AND FINAL SHOWDOWN IS ON THE WAY 




PREDICTIONS ABOUT INDIA PAKISTAN GANGA AND YAMUNA RIVER BY NAIMATULLAH SHAH WALI 



GHAZWA E HIND HADITH  Dr Tahir ul Qadri 




THE OLD DAYS ARE COMING WITH NEW POSITION AND PICK PACE AHEAD 



ROLE OF SIKHS IN CURRENT SCENARIO BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN 


ISRAEL ELECTION RESULTS 2019 IS SHOWING ANOTHER DIRECTION 





TIME TO FULFIL PREDICTIONS THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN UPCOMING YEARS 





THE MOST AWAITED MAN IS READY TO DOMINATE ALL OVER THE PLACE 

Trump's role and the coming of the Dajjal the Jewish Messiah

THE IMPORTANT HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF GOLAN HEIGHTS AND ITS FUTURE



THE REAL UPCOMING FUTURE THAT SHAPES EVERYTHING IS ON THE WAY 

WHAT AGGRESSION AND ATROCITIES ARE OCCUPYING INDIAN FORCES COMMITTING IN KASHMIR AND WHAT ARE THE REALITIES IN KASHMIR AFTER 67 DAYS LOCKDOWN.  ALSO WHAT IS THE SITUATION ON THE BATTLE LINES AND BLOCS BEING DRAWN FOR THE FORTHCOMING WAR OVER KASHMIR    


AN IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT IS GOING TO OCCUR ALONG VISIT TO PAKISTAN 






ONLY OPTION LEFT FOR IMRAN KHAN QAMAR BAJWA AND PAKISTAN 





THE TOUR OF CHINA PRESIDENT IS GIVING RESULTS 




IMRAN KHAN AND QAMAR BAJWA REACHES TO CHINA ON OFFICIAL VISIT 









IMRAN KHAN IS GOING TO VISIT CHINA FOR THE NEXT TOUR 









NARENDRA MODI IS VISITING SAUDI ARABIA IN OCTOBER 








REPORT OF AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ON INDIA IS A DIRECTION FOR EVERYONE 






DESPITE IMRAN KHAN's MOVE NEW DEVELOPMENT IS VERY UNIQUE 

EVERY MOVE INDIA HAS MADE SINCE AUGUST 5 2019 POINTS TO A COUNT DOWN TO WAR BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN. THERE IS RISING MILITARY TENSIONS ON THE LINE OF CONTROL AND CONTINUOUS FALSE FLAG TERROR ATTACK ATTEMPTS. ALSO MODI HAS THREATENED TO CLOSE RIVERS FLOWING INTO PAKISTAN. WHILST THE PAKISTANI ARMED FORCES ARE READY THE NATION NEEDS TO BE ALERT, READY AND PREPARED FOR WAR WHICH IS FACING IT. THE NATION NEEDS TO TREAT OCCUPIED KASHMIR AND IT'S CITIES AS THOUGH ISLAMABAD, KARACHI AND LAHORE WERE UNDER OCCUPATION. THERE IS A NEED FOR A NEW MINDSET AND DETERMINATION TO LIBERATE THE LAND AND PEOPLE IN THE NAME OF ISLAM AND FREEDOM FROM AN OPPRESSOR NATION. THE INDIANS NEED TO BE WARNED THAT ONCE THE BATTLE FOR KASHMIR KICKS OFF THEY WILL BE REPONSIBLE FOR IGNITING THE BATTLE FOR INDIA. AS THE RULERS IN NEW DELHI NEED TO BE HELD TO ACCOUNT FOR THE OCCUPATION AND OPPRESSION CONDUCTED SINCE 1948.  SO THE TRUE LIBERATION OF SRINAGAR RESTS IN NEW DELHI.        


THE PAKISTANI NATION WANTS THE ARMED FORCES TO INTERVENE IN OCCUPIED KASHMIR AND LIBERATE IT ONCE AND FOR ALL FROM INDIAN OCCUPATION. CONFLICT WILL OF COURSE LEAD TO DAMAGE AND DESTRUCTION BUT IT WILL ALSO HIT THE OTHER SIDE AND IT WILL BE HIT BADLY NOT ONLY MILITARILY BUT ECONOMICALLY AS FDI WILL EVAPORATE AS INDIA WILL NO LONGER BE SEEN TO BE SAFE, SECURE OR PROFITABLE FOR GLOBAL CAPITAL. IT IS ALSO CLEAR THAT THE AFGHAN TALIBAN, IRAN, TURKEY, MALAYSIA AND CHINA ARE RE-ALIGNING WITH PAKISTAN. SO INDIA AND IT'S USA-ISRAELI AXIS NEED TO DECIDE TO EITHER START TALKING TO RESOLVE THE KASHMIR CRISIS OTHERWISE WAR IS THE ONLY OTHER OPTION.  ALSO THE WORLD SHOULD BE WARNED THAT THIS CONFLICT WILL NOT END UNTIL THE INSTIGATORS IN JERUSALEM AND WASHINGTON ARE DEFEATED IN THEIR OWN BACKYARD AND THE BLACK FLAG OF ISLAM PREVAILS AND ENDS THEIR EMPIRE OF DEATH.   HASBUNALLAH AND TAWAKULLAH.    



A UNIQUE DECISION AT RIGHT TIME MAKING NEW DEVELOPMENT IN UPCOMING DAYS 





IMRAN KHAN HAS SET THE DIRECTION FOR QAMAR BAJWA AND TEAM 





PERFECT RESPONSE OF PAKISTAN ARMY TO INDIA ON NEELUM VALLEY SIDE 




HISTORIC DEAL BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES UPON A BRILLIANT TOUR 



THE MEETING WITH ISI CHIEF IS PAVING THE WAY FOR USA
WITHDRAWAL 



PACK YOUR BAG BECAUSE AN UPCOMING VISIT OF CHINA IS ON THE WAY 



NARENDRA MODI IS REACHING SAUDI ARABIA AND NOT USING PAKISTANI AIRSPACE 



NARENDRA MODI IS GOING FOR OFFICIAL TOUR AT THE END OF OCTOBER 





SAUDI ARABIA RULED OUT THE MEDIATION OF IMRAN KHAN FOR IRAN 


NEAR  ESCAPE OF GENERAL RANBIR SINGH LIKELY TO BECOME NEXT INDIAN ARMY CHIEF  





DONALD TRUMP IS GOING  TO MAKE A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT




A NEW REPORT TO TAKE THINGS VERY POSITIVE IN A RIGHT WAY 

BLACK SWAN ALERT HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR FAZAL UR REHMAN DURING AZADI MARCH 





HOW IMRAN KHAN AND FAZAL UR REHMAN ARE GOING TO FACE EACH OTHER









THE NEXT MOVE IS READY TO TAKE PLACE FOR IMRAN KHAN AND PAKISTAN





HOW INDIAN MEDIA IS REPORTING THE AZADI MARCH OF FAZAL UR REHMAN

WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN AYODHYA'S BABRI MOSQUE, THE  KARTARPUR CORRIDOR AND MASJID AL AQSA IN QUDS? 

WELL IF YOU DON'T KNOW YOU SHOULD PAY HEED AND PREPARE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES COMING YOUR WAY. AND I DO MEAN COMING YOUR WAY.  THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COINCIDENCE AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE INDIAN SUPREME COURT'S DECISION ON THE FATE OF THE BABRI MOSQUE IN AYODHYA WAS ANNOUNCED ON THE SAME DAY AS PAKISTAN OPENS THE KARTARPUR CORRIDOR FOR INDIAN SIKHS TO VISIT THE SACRED PLACE OF SIKHISM IN PAKISTAN. 


THE ISSUES ARE TOO MANY TO REHEARSE HERE BUT SUFFICE TO STATE THAT HINDUTVA EXTREMISM HAS NOW SILENCED THE INDIAN SUPREME HIGH COURT AND ENSHRINED HINDU FASCISM AND NAZISM. 2019 IS THE YEAR WHEN INDIAN FASCISTS RIP UP THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND GO ON THE LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL RAMPAGE BY DECLARING INDIAN MINORITIES AS SECOND CLASS CITIZENS. 

ANY INDIAN HINDU YOU COME ACROSS GLOBALLY SHOULD BE ASKED WHETHER IT IS OK FOR HINDU FANATICAL MOBS TO RESORT TO THE BESTIAL LAW OF THE JUNGLE AND TEAR DOWN A HISTORICAL RELIGIOUS SITE WHICH HAPPENS TO BE ALSO A MOSQUE ON FALSE AND PHONEY GROUNDS. ALSO IS IT OK FOR THE SUPREME HIGH COURT OF THE SO CALLED LARGEST DEMOCRATIC STATE IN THE WORLD TO RUBBER STAMP THE DECISION. 

THIS IS NOT ONLY A MOCKERY OF JUSTICE AND STAMPING ON THE RIGHTS OF MUSLIMS AND THE DEATH OF INDIAN DEMOCRACY. HINDUTVA INDIA AND IT'S LEADERS NEED TO REALISE THAT IT WILL PAY A PRICE AND THE PRICE MAY LEAD TO THE DISSOLUTION OF INDIA AS AN UNITARY STATE. IT HAS STARTED DIGGING IT'S OWN GRAVE. MORE ON THIS WILL FOLLOW AS IT HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIA, THE REGION AND WORLD.     


EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW OF ZAID HAMID 
INDIAN SUPREME COURT DECISION ON BABRI MOSQUE  EXPOSE INDIA 




BABRI MOSQUE AND KARTARPUR CORRIDOR DETAILED ANALYSIS 
Zamana Gawah Hai Ep #182



TIME TO CHANGE THE DYNAMIC OF HISTORICAL PLACES IN UPCOMING YEARS 






INDIAN ARMY HAS STARTED MILITARY EXERCISE WHILE FAZAL UR REHMAN STARTED PLAN B 




NARENDRA MODI IS FOLLOWING ISRAELI MODEL TO GAIN  PROGRESS IN COUNTRY 



LEADERS OF TWO COUNTRIES HAVING MEETING IN UPCOMING DAYS 

IN ISLAMIC ESCHATOLOGY THE CONCEPT OF DAJJAL IS OF CENTRAL SIGNIFICANCE. HOWEVER ALTHOUGH DAJJAL IS CLEARLY MENTIONED IN THE AHADITH COLLECTIONS THERE HAS BEEN A MONUMENTAL FAILURE IN ISLAMIC SCHOLARSHIP TO MEANINGFULLY UNDERSTAND, INTERPRET AND DEAL WITH THE DAJJAL. IT IS EVEN MORE CHALLENGING TO FIND ENGLISH SPEAKING MUSLIM SCHOLARS TO ADDRESS THIS SUBJECT . 


IN ORDER TO ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING TWO CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM SCHOLARS ARE HIGHLIGHTED HERE IN TERMS OF THEIR INTERPRETATIONS AS A WAY OF INTRODUCTION TO STUDENTS OF THIS SUBJECT.  THIS CAN BE VIEWED AS A STARTER COURSE TO DEEPER RESEARCH HEREAFTER.  THIS SUBJECT IS IMPORTANT AS ALL  3 MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS REFER TO THIS SUBJECT IN THEIR OWN WORLDVIEWS.  SO THIS MATERIAL ALLOWS FOR A MEANINGFUL COMPARITIVE APPROACH. WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY SHOULD BE VIEWED AS THE STARTING POINT NOT THE END OF THE MATTER. 


QUR'AN DAJJAL AND THE JASAD  
Sheikh Imran Hosein


THE ANTI CHRIST- DAJJAL  
Sheikh Imran Hosein    




THE RETURN OF JESUS THE MESSIAH  
Sheikh Imran Hosein 




THE ANTI-CHRIST DAJJAL AND CRYPTOCURRENCY  
Sheikh Imran Hosein 




THE MEANING OF THE DAJJAL 
Hamza Yusuf  




DAJJAL AND THE NWO   
Hamza Yusuf 




DAJJAL, ILLUMINATI, DEVIL WORSHIPPERS 
Hamza Yusuf 




DEVIL's TOOLS: ACTORS AND MUSICIANS 
Hamza Yusuf





THE ISLAND OF DAJJAL THE ANTI-CHRIST
             



TRAILER LAUNCHED OF AN UPCOMING WEB SERIES MESSIAH ON NETFLIX

NARENDER MODI IS FULFILLING THE PREDICTIONS OF NAIMATULLAH SHAH WALI 




ISRAEL EYES THE FUTURE PLAN OF INDIA WITH NEW COOPERATION 





INDIA HAS RELEASED INTEL REPORT ABOUT ISI FOR NARENDER MODI's RALLY 





AROUND 700 FLIGHTS IN DELHI DELAYED AND CANCELLED AT THE MOMENT 



WE ARE READY TO RESPOND TO INDIA WITHOUT WASTING TIME - Imran Khan



VISIT OF QAMAR BAJWA TO CHECK THE PREPARATIONS EVERYWHERE 



10 POINTS DOCUMENT APPLIED BY NARENDER MODI AND INDIA 



OWAISI IS SHOWING BOOK OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA FOR LOYALTY 



RESPONSE OF HAQEEQAT TV TO ASADUDDIN IN A SOLID WAY




Dr M URGES MUSLIM NATIONS TO CONSIDER GOLD, BARTER TRADE TO BEAT SANCTIONS 






TUMULT IN INDIA  
https://www.dawn.com/news/1523502/tumult-in-india

OVER the past week, Hindutva backed by the brute force of the state has bared its fangs in India. Hundreds have taken to the streets to protest the BJP-led government’s ill-planned moves of passing the Citizenship Amendment Act — which allows only non-Muslim refugees from some of India’s neighbouring states to apply for citizenship — and the introduction of the National Register of Citizens, widely seen as a fig leaf for stripping Indian Muslims of citizenship.

Clearly, there is an Islamophobic agenda behind these diabolical moves by the Modi clique, which is why India’s Muslims as well as conscientious citizens from other communities are protesting. Violence continued on Friday; at least 13 people have been killed in various cities so far, while hundreds have been temporarily detained as the state tries to put a lid on the protests. Curfew has also been enforced in certain areas, while the internet has been shut down in many cities.

While the Sangh Parivar was largely shunned in the post-independence era, because M.K. Gandhi’s assassin was an ideological child of the RSS, in today’s India, the storm troopers of Hindutva control the levers of state. It is no surprise then that ever since coming to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to remake India in the image of the Sangh — a Hindu rashtra to be built on the model of a fabled Vedic golden age. In this programme, there is no place for minorities, specifically India’s Muslims, hence the legal efforts to disenfranchise the community. However, though the Sangh ideologues are trying their best to label Indian Muslims as ‘outsiders’, history points to another reality. Islam has existed in the subcontinent for over a millennium, while Muslims have been living in what is now India for centuries. That should remove any lingering doubts about the right of India’s Muslims to citizenship of that country. No bigoted law can be allowed to deprive them of their identity and dispossess them from the land of their ancestors.

As India drops the facade of a secular democracy and champions the politics of hyper-nationalism, the international community needs to speak up. Under the Modi regime, Muslims have been lynched by vigilante mobs on suspicions of consuming or transporting beef and the world has kept silent. Under the BJP dispensation, India-held Kashmir has been under lockdown for months and its people held prisoner, but the world has looked away.

Now, as New Delhi lights the fires of communalism by disenfranchising millions of Muslim citizens, will the international community still keep silent?  Moreover, questions of identity and citizenship are best left to academics to discuss.  If zealots — guided by imagined histories — are put in charge of such sensitive matters, and worse, given the legal powers to decide who is and who is not a citizen, disaster is sure to ensue.

ITS NOW OR NEVER: WHY YOUNG, URBAN INDIAN MUSLIMS PLUNGED INTO THE ANTI-CITIZENSHIP ACT PROTESTS
[url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1523363/its-now-or-never-why-young-urban-indian-muslims-plunged-into-the-anti-citizenship-act-protests]https://www.dawn.com/news/1523363/its-now-or-never-why-young-urban-indian-muslims-plunged-into-the-anti-citizenship-act-protests

 
Rehan Sheikh had been disturbed by the prospect of a nationwide National Register for Citizens since April when he first heard Indian Home Minister Amit Shah announce plans to bring in the Citizenship Amendment Bill. Addressing a public meeting then, Shah said the legislation would grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and then flush out “infiltrators” through the NRC. In the following months, as the NRC was implemented in Assam and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government became more vocal about a nationwide citizenship register, Sheikh realised how closely it was linked to the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Yet, when the Bill was passed by Parliament and became an official Act on December 12, Sheikh was taken by surprise. “It happened so suddenly,” said Sheikh, a 30-year-old investment advisor working with a bank in Mumbai. “I always knew this was going to be a dangerous law, but I did not expect to be passed so quickly after they tabled it in Parliament.”    Since then, like almost every other Muslim he knows, Sheikh has been brimming with feelings of anger, indignation, dread and a sense of urgency. These feelings have intensified after December 15, when the Delhi police unleashed an unprovoked assault on students of Jamia Milia Islamia University in Delhi, and students around the country began to protest in response.

For young, urban, middle-class Muslims like Sheikh, who had been more invested in their community’s educational and economic development than politics, the Citizenship Amendment Act and the police crackdown on protests have been an eye-opening jolt.   “We have been silent about a lot of things for the sake of peace, including the Supreme Court verdict about the Babri Masjid,” said Sheikh, referring to the court’s decision on November 9 to hand over the disputed land in Ayodhya to the Hindu side. “But now it is a question of our very existence in this country. We have to speak out now.”

‘I cannot believe this is happening’
This “now or never” sentiment was palpable at Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan on Thursday, when thousands of people across communities turned up to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act. Several protesters had never considered stepping out on the streets to raise slogans before, but now, for the first time, they felt compelled to raise their voices. “My family has never been interested in politics before,” said Alam Khan, a travel agent in his 30s. “My wife did not watch the news even when the Ayodhya verdict came out or when Article 370 was removed [in Jammu and Kashmir].”  “But this time our community is directly being targeted, so many of my family members wanted to protest,” he said.

Khan’s personal desire to be vocal is rooted in both fear for his community and a rising sense of patriotism. “Muslims from my grandparents’ generation were not literate enough to preserve documents. How will people like us show proof of residence in India from the 1950s and 70s?” he said. “I cannot believe this is happening in my country – we cannot let it happen.”     Firdos Farooqui, a medical doctor from South Mumbai, said that the protest at August Kranti Maidan was only the second time she ever felt the need to participate in a public agitation. “I had protested triple talaq last year because it is an un-Islamic practice, and now I am protesting CAA and NRC because they are against India,” she said. “I did not expect that the law would be passed so easily, without much opposition in the Parliament.”    Like Farooqui, Farzana Khan, who had travelled for the protest all the way from the northern suburb of Mira Road, was also rattled by the idea of Indian Muslims being asked to prove their citizenship. “My father was a freedom fighter who won medals for this country,” she said. “What more do I need to prove?”

Wearing religion on one’s sleeve
According to 39-year-old Javed Sayed, it is the support of non-Muslim Indians that helped Muslims across the country to step out in large numbers and protest visibly in public.   “I think Muslims had resigned themselves to a lot of injustice towards the community, so there were hardly any protests against NRC in these last few months,” said Sayed, a graphic designer from Mumbai. “But after CAA [Citizenship Amendment Act] was passed, when so many non-Muslims came out to speak for us and to support the students of Jamia, we found it easier to protest.”

 

Indian Muslims’ discomfort with public dissent is rooted in a history of bitter experiences with street protests, particularly since the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. But some Muslims are now ready to discard the past and take control of their narratives.  Journalist Humaira Ansari, for instance, said that after the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed, she decided to “stop giving a damn” about how other people perceive her political stances.  “Earlier, whenever there were terror attacks and Muslim groups went out of their way to condemn the violence, I always felt uncomfortable about it,” she said. “I always questioned, why should we have to do it? Why should I have to wear my religion on my sleeve?”  Ansari, 33, has had sleepless nights since the Act was passed. “Now I feel it is time for us to embrace our religion, to step out and say yes, I am a Muslim and I have a problem with the way Muslims are mistreated and targeted in this country.”