Amidst the political furore over the Citizenship Amendment Act, a number of Muslim influencers have come out in support of the law. Dr Feroz Bakht Ahmed, former chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MAANU), said there’s nothing for the Muslim community to debate or protest about the CAA since it does not concern them.
“Every channel is debating CAA, leading to the perception that there are issues with CAA… but there’s nothing to debate…there should only be discussions which clarify that this law is about giving right not taking away,” Ahmed told CNN-News18.
The CAA amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to provide Indian citizenship to migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who belong to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian communities and had entered India on or before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution in their home countries.
When asked about the spectre of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) that has been raised by opposition politicians like Mamata Banerjee and Asaduddin Owaisi, Ahmed said, “NRC kal aata hai, aaj aa jaye (Doesn’t matter whether NRC comes today or tomorrow). Why should an Indian Muslim, who has sacrificed for this country, shed his blood against the British…why should he worry? So many other Islamic countries including Pakistan have NRC…Only the illegal immigrant should fear the NRC.”
Owaisi and Banerjee in their statements on Wednesday said that the CAA was just a precursor to the NRC. “Amit Shah took my name in Parliament and said Owaisi ji, NPR (National Population Register) bhi hoga aur NRC bhi hoga,” Owaisi said.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was accused of fearmongering by BJP leaders after she told a gathering, “The moment you apply under CAA, your citizenship will be taken away. What will happen to your property? They will take you to detention camps.”
Dr Imam Muer Ahmed Ilyasi, chairman of the All India Imam Organization, called these statements political attempts to gain Muslim votes. “A lot of politicians have always misled people by saying that CAA is inimical to Muslim interests. But in reality, CAA is only about minorities of Pakistan, Afghanistan. India has always provided refuge to persecuted people. No Muslim or Indian is impacted by this law. This is just to divide votes ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, ” he said.
When asked if the CAA was anti-Muslim since it didn’t make provisions for persecuted Muslims like Ahmadiyyas, Balochs, or Rohingyas, Ilyasi argued that Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh were Islamic countries, so it was more important to make provisions for non-Muslim persecuted minorities in these countries. He said this did not mean that the law should be seen as anti-Muslim.
He added, “As chief imam, I appeal to all Indian Muslims not to get misled by these political statements and fearmongering.”
Faheem Baig, chairman of Shama Educational And Charitable Society, agreed. Baig comes from north-east Delhi’s Jafrabad, which saw communal riots in 2020 that took place following protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. “The way we saw violence in north-east Delhi…people were misled that detention centres were being built in Assam where Muslims would be rushed…I come from north-east Delhi, so I saw real-time. The government failed (then) in communicating the right message and the opposition succeeded in misleading. Videos of detention centres in other countries went viral, outsiders came to the area and incited Muslim women who ordinarily never step out of purdah,” he said.
Asked about statements made by opposition leaders against CAA, the Muslim influencers who spoke to CNN-News18 were unanimous — both sides were playing politics.
“Muslims now won’t get misled by Mamata, Kejriwal, Owaisi. Wo apne pair par kulhadi mar rahe hain., jeetne ke liye sabka vote chahiye hoga, ye sab karke wo apna kaam kharab kar rahe hain (They are harming their own prospects. To win they would need everyone’s votes and this way they are reducing their own chances),” they said.
