New Delhi: Popular Front of India Chairman O M A Salam has, in a statement, welcomed the judgement of a Delhi court that 36 foreign Tablighi Jamaat members.
The decision of the Delhi court acquitting 36 foreign Tablighi Jama’at members picked up by Delhi police is highly welcome. The observation by the court that they were possibly picked up by the order of Home Ministry to maliciously prosecute points to serious situation. It is the only reasonable explanation to the Islamophobic campaign and the witch-hunt against Tablighi Jamaat and Muslims that went on for weeks following the arrests. Authorities with the help of media and Sangh Parivar social media networks intentionally promoted conspiracy theories of Muslim community being disease spreaders. In fact Tablighi Jamaat was made a scapegoat in this flood of anti-Muslim disinformation campaign to cover the administrative failures in dealing with the pandemic situation. It has caused serious damage to communal harmony and even sparked hate crimes against innocent Muslims. Unfortunately a pandemic was communalised and politicised in our country which damaged India’s image internationally. The observations made by the bench is a blow to communal politics. The judgment also underlined the role played by a section of media to demonize the Muslim community.
In the light of this judgment, Popular Front demands apology from the central government, Delhi state government, Delhi police and the sections of media for spreading fake news. The apology is owed both to Tablighi Jamaat and Muslim community.