Following October 7 Hamas pogrom on Israel, Islamic leaders in India are running notoriously vile propaganda targeting Israel, Jews and allies of the Jewish State, while there have been several rallies in the country in support of Hamas and Palestinian terrorists, while Indian Muslims are calling for destruction of the State of Israel.
It may be mentioned here that, although soon after the barbaric attack of Hamas, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is known as a strong supporter of Israel condemned this attack through a tweet stating: “Deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour”, Indian authorities are refraining from terming Hamas as a terrorist entity.
The above tweet was published on Narendra Modi’s personal Twitter account – not on Prime Minister’s official account, proving it was Mr. Modi’s personal opinion, which did not reflect official position of the Indian government.
On October 12, Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the India’s Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said, “India always advocated the resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent, and viable state of Palestine, living within secure and recognized borders, side by side at peace with Israel. I think that position remains the same”.
Bagchi categorically stated that the October 7 attack in Israel was a “terrorist attack” but he – according to an Indian newspaper report – “did not give a clear answer to a journalist’s question on whether India considers Hamas a terror organization”.
India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also has been strong supporter of Israel, although it also has refrained from terming Hamas as a terrorist entity.
Meanwhile, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), several Indian Muslim leaders and groups have been expressing extreme hostility towards Israel while been showing support to Palestinian terrorists and Hamas.
Maulana Ejaz Kashmiri, a prominent Islamic religious scholar, delivered a fiery speech during the Friday prayers in Mumbai on October 13, 2023, condemning Israeli actions in Palestine and warning: “Do not stir the lions of Islam, otherwise they will destroy you even while dying… We are not the leaves that break from their branches, tell the storms to stay within their control”.
Maulana Ejaz Kashmiri is the chief of the Haandiwali Mosque in Mumbai.
“No one should teach us justice. For 550 years, Christians did not allow Jews to enter Bait-ul-Muqaddas [Jerusalem]. When Hitler was killing the Jews, they ran away. Why did America and Britain not give place at that time? Listen to one thing with open ears. If even one brick of Bait-ul-Muqaddas is damaged, then Muslims will destroy you”, Ejaz Kashmiri said.
The Mumbai-based Islamic cleric questioned Narendra Modi for his expression of support to Israel, saying: “The supporters of Israel are cowards. We threw the British out of our country. This is the work Palestine is doing… We appeal to our government not to do something that is wrong. Our prime minister should not give any message that shows he is against Muslims. Or, has the prime minister of India turned into a slave of Israel? May Allah destroy Israel, keep us safe from Israel”.
Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, a Barelvi cleric and national president of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council, a regional party, told a press conference that Hamas was not a terrorist organization and Palestinians were victims of Israeli aggression.
According to a report in the Hindi-language newspaper Dainik Navbharat Times, Khan even targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing him as “a traitor” for supporting Israel, said and that he had damaged the country’s interests.
All India Muslim Personal Law Board, which mainly represents Islamic religious scholars across the country, also issued a statement attributed to its president Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rehmani, a leading Islamic cleric. Maulana Rehmani said: “The war that is underway at this time between Hamas and Israel is very sad and troubling. And clearly, it is natural reaction to Israel’s cruelties and disrespect for Al-Aqsa Mosque. To call this reaction terrorism is like strengthening the oppressors and an injustice against the oppressed”.
Maulana Arshad Madani, a leading Islamic religious scholar and president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (Assembly of Indian Islamic Scholars) which controls Darul Uloom Deoband seminary, expressed support for the protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, and Gaza. In a statement dated October 15, Arshad Madani said: “Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind considers the attacks on Gaza to be a serious attack on human rights and strongly condemns it. Unfortunately, today even those countries of the world that claim to be champions of global peace and unity are silent on this cruelty and continuously violate human rights. The international institutions are also silent”.
According to a report in Urdu daily Roznama Qaumi Awaz, Arshad Madani said: “Israel is a usurper country that has usurped the land of Palestine with the support of some world powers and is now seeking to eliminate the existence of the Palestinian people from this land”.
Arshad Madani also said that “some of the world’s major powers have been playing dangerous games in the Middle East in view of their own interests, due to which the people of Palestine are constantly suffering from Israel’s illegal rule and its cruelty and brutality”.
He added: “Israel has also been sabotaging every attempt at peace and for 75 years Israel has not only been expanding its settlements but has been occupying all the areas of Palestine one by one”.
Maulana Sajjad Nomani, another prominent Muslim religious leader, issued a statement asserting that the recent attack on Israel by those struggling for Palestinian freedom has garnered worldwide attention. He stated, “If there is a terrorist state in the world, it is Israel”.
Describing Israel as the “illegitimate offspring” of America and Britain, Sajjad Nomani that “the British and Jews conspired to establish Israel in Palestine,” an act he said was “entirely wrong and unlawful”.
According to a Hindi-language website, Maulana Sajjad Nomani highlighted “severe injustices committed by Israel against Palestinians, including imprisoning them in Gaza” and said: “I salute the Hamas youth who organized a significant attack against Israel… Israel has become powerful due to support from major world powers, particularly America and the Arab nations… They have committed brutal acts against innocent Palestinians, including imprisoning them in Gaza and capturing their homes”.
Maulana Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi, the National President of All India Muslim Jamat, urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to facilitate dialogue between Israel and Palestine to end the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
According to a report in the Hindi-language daily Dainik Amar Ujala, Razvi said that India and Indian Muslims have always stood by Palestine and that resolving the Gaza issue through peaceful negotiations is crucial. He advised Muslims in India “not to engage in street protests but to pray for the safety of Palestinians and Masjid Al-Aqsa in their homes, mosques, and madrassas” to avoid further complications.
Meanwhile, according to MEMRI, on October 17, 2023, the media office of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas published an Arabic-language statement on the Telegram account of the official website of Hamas, which listed six officials who are authorized to speak on the group’s behalf in English. Since the statement’s release, at least one of the “spokesmen” has conducted an English-language interview with American broadcaster NPR. Another, Osama Hamdan, is a US-Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
Osama Hamdan (also known as Usama Hamdan) is a senior Hamas leader based in Lebanon, who was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the US Department of the Treasury in August 2003.
In several interviews since Hamas’ attack on Israel, Hamdan has disputed that the group is holding American “hostages,” instead arguing that they are “prisoners of war.” He also noted that Hamas is “prepared to repeat this ruse and this attack in the West Bank,” threatening further violence.
Additionally, in an interview with Al-Jadeed TV on October 11, Hamadan Hamas would “help the Israelis go back to where they came from”.
Hamas collecting fund through MasterCard
On October 15, 2023, a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades shared a poster promoting a donation campaign in support of the October 7 attack by Hamas against Israel, dubbed “The Al-Aqsa Flood”.
The poster indicated that the donations will be part of “an Iraqi humanitarian campaign to assist the brotherly Palestinian people through financial aids.”
It urged supporters in Iraq to make donations using money transfer through ZainCash Wallet, which is one of the largest mobile phone networks operating in Iraq, while it also has urged the potential donors to use MasterCard for making donations.
Meanwhile, according to media reports, Popular Front of Liberation of Palestine has called upon supporters of Hamas and Palestinian terrorist groups to “besiege US embassies”.
UK asylum-seeker plots attack on Israeli embassy, Jewish establishment
According to Blitz report, following Hamas pogrom on Israel and slaughter of 1,400 innocent Israelis, Americans, British, French, Nepalese and other foreign nations, Zulkarnain Sami, who currently is seeking asylum in the United Kingdom began massive propaganda on social media in favor of Hamas, while he has been demonizing Israel, Jews, the United States, Britain and other European nations for standing in defense of the Jewish State.
On October 14, 2023, Zulkarnain Sami in a Facebook post wrote: “Even as the UK government threatens to crack down on pro-Palestine activists and protesters, the masses come out in support of Palestine on the streets of London amid Israel’s bombardment and siege of Gaza”.
On October 16, 2023 sharing a video in a post he wrote: “Moroccans take to the streets in support of Palestinian citizens besieged in Gaza. This is how millions of Moroccans showed their support in the central streets of the capital Rabat today”.
On the same day, by sharing an Al Jazeera article link he wrote: “Iran has warned Israel of regional escalation if the Israeli military enters Gaza for a ground invasion as the war with Hamas enters its second week.
“If the measures aimed at immediately stopping the Israeli attacks that are killing children in the Gaza Strip end in a deadlock, it is highly probable that many other fronts will be opened. This option is not ruled out and this is becoming increasingly more probable,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Al Jazeera on Sunday”.
According to a credible source, Zulkarnain Sami has formed a team with several Hamas members in the United Kingdom and is collecting funds for a “massive showdown” in Britain.
The source said, Sami also is plotting attacks on the Israeli embassy in London as well Jewish residential and business establishments as well as synagogues and schools.
