On July 27, activist and academician Madhu Kishwar along with over 20 academicians wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring to his notice the ‘Jihadi Islamic course curriculum’ being followed by state-funded Islamic universities, including Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia and Hamdard University.
Demanding a Total Ban on Extremist Course Curriculum in AMU, Jamia & Hamdard Universities.
— Madhu Purnima Kishwar (@madhukishwar) July 27, 2022
An Open Letter by Academics to Hon’ble PM Narendra Modihttps://t.co/to03i7M4GG
In the letter, the academicians said that the continuous attacks on the Hindu society, culture and civilization are a direct result of such a curriculum. It read, “It is a matter of deep concern that leading Islamic universities are providing a cover of legitimacy and respectability to such ideologies, especially since some prominent Muslim leaders of India have openly declared their determination to Islamize all of post-Partition India by 2047. Since these universities are being supported by public money, we as taxpayers and concerned citizens have a right to demand action against such teachings.”
They included a detailed note on how anti-Indic and anti-national curriculum is openly taught to the students in Islamic universities. The letter read, “it is a matter of deep concern and worry that the writings of Abul Ala Maududi, widely recognized as the authoritative fountainhead of Islam, is part of the course curriculum of the above-mentioned three Islamic universities.”
Notably, Maududi calls for “genocide of non-Muslims everywhere in the world.” Despite the fact that his teachings are anti-non Muslims, the writings by Maududi are included in undergraduate and postgraduate courses in these universities. Furthermore, the students who are pursuing PhDs in these universities are encouraged to go through his writings. Maududi was the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, which is committed to the total Islamisation of India.
The letter read, “The hydra-headed ideology of Maududi has created many offshoots such as the Indian Mujahideen, Wilayah of Hind (Islamic State’s India province), the JKLF, the Hurriyat, the Raza Academy, The Popular Front of India, etc. JIH also founded the SIMI. All these have had to be either banned at different points or are currently under the NIA scanner on extremely serious charges.”
It further read, “Internationally designated terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, Muslim Brotherhood, Taliban, etc., continue to drive their inspiration from Maududi’s core ideology and framework of political Islam.”
Speaking about Maududi and his opposition to secular ideas, the letter read, “Maududi opposed the secular pretensions of Jinnah who occasionally paid lip service (practising Taquiyya) to democracy and secularism in his speeches so that he could appear as a “modern and progressive leader”. But Maudidi’s Islam does not believe in making even token concessions to democracy, leave alone secularism. That is why Jinnah was rapidly side-lined soon after his dream of an Islamic State became a reality.”
The academicians alleged it was because of Maududi’s teachings, “pogroms and targeted killings against Shias, Ahmediyas and other smaller sects have a rout been a routine affair”.
They quoted Professor Kevin McDonald, Professor of Sociology and Head of the Department of Criminology and Sociology, Middlesex University, who documented how ISIS chief Al Baghdadi was inspired by Maududi. He wrote, “When he made his speech in July at Mosul’s Great Mosque, declaring the creation of an Islamic State with himself as its Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi quoted at length from the Indian / Pakistani thinker, Abul A’la Maududi, the founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami party in 1941 and originator of the contemporary term “Islamic State”.
Similarly, Maududi was an inspirational figure for Muslim Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb, current Al Qaeda chief Al-Zawahiri, and even General Zia Ul Haq of Pakistan. The letter read, “Maududi’s ideas were eventually adopted by General Ziaul Haq, who had pulled off a successful military coup in July 1977 and then invited Maududi to help him shape policies to help make Pakistan a ‘true Islamic country’ run on ‘Nizam-e-Mustafa.”
The letter added, “The Government of India needs to listen to the belief system and mandates of Islam in the words of prominent Muslim leaders instead of coming up with naive goodwill gestures towards the Muslim community which have continually boomeranged on politicians who try to goad Muslims towards secular reform.”
It further read, “Given this spine chilling belief system which glorifies the total annihilation of non-Muslims who refuse to embrace Islam, it is both shocking and disgraceful that books by Aurangzeb-minded Maududi are currently part of the curriculum and are being taught at the Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia and Jamia Hamdard, just to name the three leading Muslim universities.”
Expressing their concern about the political and moral legitimacy being given to the anti-Indic and anti-India ideology by the Indian state by allowing them to be part of the academic curriculum, the academicians urged the PM to take note of the matter and act on it at the earliest.
They wrote, “Indian taxpayer money is being used for preparing Jihadis to wage war against non-Muslims (Kafirs) in India. That such fears are not the product of our wild imagination is evident from the recently exposed Agenda 2047 of Popular Front of India (PFI) whereby, this umbrella organization of sundry Jihadi outfits inspired by Maududi ideology has openly stated that they are mazhab-bound to ensure total Islamization of the remaining part of India through means that include waging war against the Indian state and decimate Kafirs who still hold on to their faith.”
Speaking about the multiple incidents where Hindus have to leave their homes because of the change in demographics, they wrote, “Just as Hindus had to flee from areas that became Pakistan, today Hindus of India are forced to abandon their homes and mohallas where Islamists have come to hold sway. The well-planned Demographic Invasion of India through millions of illegal migrants from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Afghanistan and even Pakistan is being executed in defiance of the Indian state under the influence of the Islamic agenda of Ghazwa-E-Hind.”
“Its openly declared aim is to destroy the remaining vestiges of Indic civilization and decimate the remaining share of the native population in their own homeland through Demographic Invasion and a series of civil wars,” the letter further added
The academicians also expressed concern that the curriculum that they have pointed towards is available in traditional Arabic, Urdu, Turkish and Persian, and it is not easy to find a non-Muslim proficient in any of these languages. “Therefore, not just ordinary citizens but even the Government of India and its security apparatus seem unaware of the imminent existential threat India faces at the hands of this virulent political ideology,” they added.
The academicians put forward three demands:
- The entrenchment of such ideologies in state-funded universities needs to be stopped on a war footing since it has deep national security implications and pertains to the impending bloodbaths being openly threatened by outfits inspired by Maududi.
- A comprehensive academic review of the course curriculum of Islamic universities, colleges, schools and madarsas be undertaken by the best available experts who are not themselves trapped in the stranglehold of such ideologies. Special effort must be made to review their courses and reading essential lists given to students in Urdu, Arabic, Persian and Turkish.
- There should be a total ban against the publication or circulation of books by Abul Ala Maududi and other ideologues of Islam that openly call for Jihad against non-Muslims and instigate mass murders and/or forced conversions to Islam in order to bring about total Islamization of India.
The signatories to the letter include:
- Prof. Anand Kumar, National Fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla
- Dr. Anil Kumar Vajpayee, Central Government College, Daman & Diu (Retd.)
- Dr. Bhakti Devi, Rashtram School of Public Leadership, Rishihood University, Haryana
- Prof. Bharat Gupt, University of Delhi (Retd.)
- Dr. Gautam Sen, London School of Economics (Retd.)
- Prof. Hari Om Mahajan, Former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Jammu University
- Prof. Kanchi Gopinath, Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bangalore
- Prof. Lakshmi Bandlamudi, LaGuardia Community College, City University of New York
- Prof. Madhu Kishwar, Senior Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML)
- Dr. Mala Kapadia, Rashtram School of Public Leadership, Rishihood University, Haryana
- Shri Neeraj Atri, Chairman, National Center for Historical Research and Comparative Studies
- Dr. Nidhi Shendurnikar, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
- Prof P Kanagasabapathi, Former Director, Tamil Nadu Institute of Urban Studies
- Prof. Prashant Singh, Rashtram University
- Dr. Prem Parkash Khosla, M.M.D. University, Haryana
- Shri Sahil Aggarwal, CEO, Rishihood University, Haryana
- Prof. Sangit Kumar Ragi, Dept. of Political Science, University of Delhi
- Dr. Satish Malhotra, Retd. Prof., G.G.S. Medical College, Punjab
- Dr. Saumya Dey, Rashtram School of Public Leadership, Rishihood University, Haryana
- Dr. Shilpi Tiwari, VIMHANS, Delhi
- Prof. Uma Iyer, Bronx Community College, City University of New York
- Prof. Ved Prakash Kumar, Chaudhary Bansi Lal University, Haryana
