KOZHIKODE: A Facebook post by young Sunni scholar Shuhaibul Haithami has invited significant backlash online after he questioned the wisdom behind Muslims “getting organised” on their own in a democracy like India. As criticism mounted, Haithami changed the post’s visibility to “only me”.
Haithami had argued that if Muslims decide to get organised on the basis of their identity, it would prompt similar reactions from other communities.
He hinted that it would be better for Muslims in India to align with secular parties rather than organising on the basis of religious identity.
“What’s needed is the integration of Indian Muslims in the democratic set up by ensuring their educational, cultural and spiritual development,” he said, while rejecting the argument that “Islamic India” was the Plan A and that Muslims were opting for the present system as Plan B since establishment of Islamic system was not possible in the country.
In a hard-hitting reaction, Shareef Sagar, a social media activist of IUML, posted that the argument that Sangh Parivar will grow if Muslims get organised was absurd.“Minority rights are enshrined in the Constitution as minorities like Muslims and Christians face issues,” he said.
Without naming Haithami, Sagar said minority organisations will move forward in efforts to protect these rights and neglect the words of the traitors. Others said Haithami’s argument was as ridiculous as asking Muslims not to perform namaz or honour the azan call.
Haithami later said he decided to make the post private as it was being misinterpreted. “After the victory of the Gen Z agitation in Jantar Mantar, some on social media argued that 20 crore Muslims in the country should unite and launch similar agitation. My post was a reaction to this,” he told TNIE. “It had nothing to do with IUML. I made it private to avoid misinterpretation,” he said.
