On 8th September, the banned Islamic terrorist organisation Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) organised a large rally in the Bugam area of Kulgam district in South Kashmir. This was the first political rally of JeI since 1987. Notably, the organisation was banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India (GoI), in February 2019 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). In February 2024, after a suicide bombing on a CRPF convoy at Lehtpora in Pampore near Kashmir, the ban was extended for another five years. When Article 370 was abrogated in August 2019, several JeI leaders were detained by Central agencies, and their properties were seized.
Jamaat-e-Islami held massive rally in South Kashmir’s Kulgam
— Rising Kashmir (@RisingKashmir) September 8, 2024
Reports Younus Rashid pic.twitter.com/wS6RJ8bgO2
JeI has supported independent candidates for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections, scheduled to take place in three phases starting from 18th September. As the organisation was banned by the GoI, its members are contesting the elections as independents in Kulgam and Pulwama. Hundreds of JeI supporters were present at the rally. In the first phase of the Assembly Elections, three of its former members, Dr Talat Majeed, Sayar Ahmad Reshi, and Nazir Ahmad, are contesting as independents. Furthermore, Ajaz Ahmad Mir, who was denied a ticket by the PDP, is also contesting as an independent and receiving support from JeI.
Jamaat-e-Islami held massive rally in South Kashmir’s Kulgam
— Rising Kashmir (@RisingKashmir) September 8, 2024
Reports Younus Rashid pic.twitter.com/wS6RJ8bgO2
JeI-backed candidates had been holding low-key door-to-door campaigns for several weeks before organising a massive rally on 8th September. Notably, an 8-member committee of JeI had approached the GoI to lift the ban imposed on the organisation so that it could participate in the elections. However, the request was denied by the Central Government. The organisation has claimed it would support any pre-poll and post-poll alliance with parties that believe in “restoring the dignity of the people” of Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement, one of the candidates, Sayar Ahmad Reshi, said, “We will support the Constitution of India. But if there is suppression, we will call it suppression. We will also plead for peace and tranquillity.”
Ban imposed on Jamaat-e-Islami in 2019, terror funding and more
On 28th February 2019, the Government of India banned Jamaat-e-Islami following the Pulwama attack. Several leaders were detained, and properties were seized following the ban. As per reports, 350 leaders were detained, 70 Srinagar-based bank accounts were seized, and assets worth Rs 52 crore were confiscated by the government. The organisation was running 400 schools, 350 mosques, and 1,000 seminaries across Jammu and Kashmir at that time. It was estimated that the organisation possessed properties worth Rs 4,500 crores.
In June 2022, the Jammu and Kashmir administration ordered the suspension of academic activities at schools run by the Falah-e-Aam Trust (FAT), an offshoot of JeI. The decision was taken following a probe by the State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu and Kashmir Police, which revealed major illegalities, open fraud, and widespread encroachment of government lands by FAT. The FAT was created in 1972 and is linked with Jamaat-e-Islami. The SIA discovered that all FAT schools, totalling over 300, were built on fraudulently obtained government and community land, where land was occupied through coercion, at gunpoint, and collusion with revenue officials who committed fraud and forgery by deliberately distorting entities in revenue documents.
In October 2022, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out searches at multiple locations in Jammu and Kashmir in connection with its ongoing probe into a terror funding case. The raids were conducted about the suspicious activities of Al Huda Educational Trust, Rajouri, which is backed by JeI. The trust came under scrutiny for its involvement in terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the rest of India. It was reported that the funds collected by the trust were allegedly being diverted to terrorist organisations, such as Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba, for promoting terrorist activities in the Kashmir Valley and the rest of India. The case against the trust was filed by the NIA suo moto in February 2021.
Again, in November 2022, nine properties of the organisation were seized. JeI was suspected of funding the terror organisation Hizbul Mujahideen, in the valley’s Shopian district. In December 2022, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) seized properties worth hundreds of crores belonging to the banned Jamaat-e-Islami in several districts, including Baramulla, Bandipora, Ganderbal, and Kupwara. The SIA has identified as many as 188 JeI properties across Jammu and Kashmir, which have either been notified or are in the process of being notified for further legal action.
The radical Jamaat-e-Islami J&K has long been at the centre of the Kashmir dispute, supporting separatist ideas and contesting Indian sovereignty over the area. It adheres to the teachings of Hasan Al Banna, Syed Qutb and Maulana Maududi which state that politics and society must be in line with Sharia. It backs Pakistan’s illegal claim to Kashmir. The Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest indigenous terrorist group in Kashmir was regarded as JeI’s military wing in the 1990s. Security services suspected that even though the JeI publicly disassociated itself from the Hizbul in 1997, it is still secretly supporting the outfit.
It is said that JeI is supporting demands for secession from India, and has been supporting terrorist and separatist groups. Its notorious leaders include Abdul Hamid Fayaz, Zahid Ali, Mudasir Ahmad and Ghulam Qadir.
Jamaat-e-Islami extended support to Hamas
Following the horrific terror attack in Israel by the Islamic terrorist organisation Hamas on 7th October, Jamaat-e-Islami came out in support and organised an event in Kerala. The poster of the event, written in Malayalam, reads “Zionist Adhinivesha Bheekarathakkethire,” meaning “Against Zionist Occupying Terrorism.” The Islamist organisation reportedly extended invitations to the Ambassador of Palestine to India, Adnan Abu Alhaija, and the Islamic University of Gaza Vice Chancellor, Dr Kamlain Shaa’ath. To everyone’s shock, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal participated in the event virtually and addressed the attendees which was criticised by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
Support for Hijab protests
In July 2021, an audio clip of senior Malayalam journalist MP Basheer, former editorial head of the now-defunct Indiavision, went viral. In the clip, Basheer revealed how radical Islamic organisations funded projects promoting Islamism in India. He recounted that, while he was Editor at Indiavision, T Arif Ali, secretary-general of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, invited him to the organisation’s office in Trivandrum. During the meeting, Ali expressed concerns about three women reporters not wearing Hijab and subtly warned that their conduct sent the wrong message to Muslims.
Basheer also disclosed that Jamaat-e-Islami had requested King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia to increase funding to promote Islamic dress codes in India. He said that the organisation had been running a project for three decades, supported by Saudi funds, to promote the Hijab in India, and many top Muslim journalists were allegedly employed to assist in this initiative.
Apart from the Islamisation of India’s educational institutions, the JeI Hind and its affiliated units in India have been holding events to radicalise Muslim youth and lure non-Muslims, particularly Hindu girls to Islam.
Incidentally, in March 2023, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind put out a poster stating that it was holding an “awareness program” for Muslims to make them “full Muslim”. The banner read, “‘poore ke poore Islam mein aa jao’ (turn fully to Islam)”. It is supposed to mean that Muslims who practice the faith but half-heartedly should embrace it fully and become ‘full Muslims’.
Additionally, in October 2022, JeI Hind organised a get-together event for ‘non-Muslim’ girls in the Karimnagar area of Telangana. However, the Telangana Police refused to grant permission for the event after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) intervened in the matter.
Backed Tahir Hussain, ex-AAP councillor accused of killing IB officer Ankit Sharma
In March 2020, Jamaat-e-Islami supported Tahir Hussain, the former AAP councillor accused of the brutal murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma during the anti-Hindu Delhi riots of 2020. JeI claimed Tahir was innocent and being framed, arguing that his voluntary surrender indicated he was guilt-free. They also asserted that Hussain had not instigated violence but was merely defending himself, which they stated was his constitutional right.
Jamaat-e-Islami’s actions put the lives of Hindus in Bangladesh under threat
After Sheikh Hasina’s removal, the situation for Hindus in Bangladesh deteriorated significantly due to the actions of Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI). As reported by OpIndia, JeI and other radical groups have escalated their attacks on Hindu communities, including creating lists of Hindu businesses and homes to systematically target them. This has led to widespread looting, vandalism, and arson of Hindu properties and temples, with numerous reports of Hindu homes being burned and Hindu women being raped. In some cases, Hindu women have come forward describing the brutal assaults they faced, including threats of murder and the destruction of their homes and temples. JeI members blocked roads, preventing Hindus from fleeing to safer locations, effectively trapping them in their communities. The violence against Hindus has been so severe that even hospitals were reportedly refusing to treat injured Hindus.
OpIndia spoke to a few Bangladeshi Hindus who told us that the dire situation is only getting worse for Hindus. They said that Jamaat-e-Islami members have been making a list of Hindu businesses and Hindu houses since the fall of Sheikh Hasina. “They have made a list of the Hindu houses and Hindu businesses. There are some local Muslims who are trying the help us, but thousands are trying to kill us”, the man said.
JeI has continued to support radical elements, but now it seeks to participate in elections. This highlights that the radical Islamist organisation aims to increase its influence in the country through politics and defy the ban imposed by the Government of India. Its involvement in terror funding, links to terrorist groups, and efforts to promote Islamist agendas within and outside India are more than enough reasons not to be swayed by its claims that it would adhere to the Constitution of India.
