On Monday, October 9, 2023, a screenshot of Md. Shaun Meo’s tweet congratulating the Hamas jihadis for executing their attack on innocent Israelis flooded the internet in India. His outrageous message in Hindi translated to “We salute your valor, O mujahids of Palestine, the tales of your bravery are world famous now.” He was instantly called out by numerous X users for endorsing terrorism and adulating the killers of hundreds of innocent civilians.
Meo is not a random Islamic jihad sympathizer who finds glory in the gory acts of Hamas. He is a politician and a local leader of the Congress party in India. While the specter of some Indian Muslims cheering jihad activities outside India is nothing new or unheard of, it hits differently when those occupying prominent political positions openly praise terrorists. As soon as netizens started reporting this message to other senior leaders of the Congress party, Meo’s post disappeared from the platform. He has, however, continued to voice his support for the Palestinians, albeit in a contained manner, and has been more careful with his words.
The horrifying video of Hamas terrorists gloating over the naked dead body of a woman in a pick-up truck have shaken the whole world, but few in India.
Irena Akbar, a renowned journalist, floated an absurd theory suggesting that it wasn’t the terrorists who stripped the woman, but perhaps she was dressed in a bikini when she was captured. She defended her theory by detailing how women are respected in Islam, glossing over the fact that the victim — a woman — was after all abducted and killed, and her dead body proudly displayed by Islamic jihadis.
Also reacting to the violence in Israel, popular Indian television personality Gauahar Khan tweeted: “Since when did the oppressor become the oppressed ????? Convenient eyesight of the world !!!!! Blind to years and years of history of oppression.” A journalist immediately upbraided her for being a brazen apologist of the Hamas. When she attempted to flash the “Muslim lives” victim card, complaining that the world doesn’t care about Muslims, she was slammed by netizens who asked if she would support the Islamic State (ISIS) and nations that are enemies of India, because they are Muslims, too.
These were just a few among the numerous instances of support and defense pouring in for Hamas from India. Social media is rife with pro-Hamas and anti-Israel write-ups and narratives. The cheering for Hamas isn’t just coming from the celebrity class; ordinary people are also celebrating this barbarity. Students at Aligarh Muslim University were arrested on Monday, October 9, 2023 for taking part in an illegal march in support of Hamas and “Palestine.” A video of their rally went viral on social media, prompting Aligarh police to swing into action. Several political leaders also raised objections to this demonstration. The students have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 153 A for promoting enmity among different groups, 188 for disobedience to order promulgated by public servants, and 505 for making statements conducting public mischief.
While the camaraderie between India and Israel dates to the 1960s, India has for the most part shied away from publicly acknowledging this association. This hesitation could be attributed to the then-newly independent country’s political ties with the Arab world, or its vast Muslim population. With the recent developments in India’s sociopolitical situation in the global arena and the introduction of a strong government, however, India now openly stands in solidarity with Israel. Official government statements aside, most Indians have jumped on all social media platforms to support Israel as it is under Islamic jihad attack. However, the stance of many Muslims in India remains just as it was in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Muslims from all strata of Indian society not only are showing their support for the Palestinians, but they have been open in their defense of Hamas as well. It’s embarrassing to see women in India defend Hamas, albeit discreetly, despite their knowledge of how these terrorists have abducted Israeli women, paraded them naked, and raped girls as young as five years old. It’s also confusing, because ordinarily, such women would swear by the ideals of feminism; their silent support for rapist Islamic jihadis is hence mind-boggling.
India has plenty of jihad sympathizers scattered across its length and breadth. They hide beneath a facade of being liberal, communist, feminist or socialist in off-seasons; then, in times like this, they crawl out of their burrows to spread their common narrative. They even cook up rationales for the most unprovoked, gruesome and inhumane attacks on innocent people. What drives these people to side with the jihadis with an unabashed conviction that the terror group is serving the cause of Islam. Compassion, sympathy, humanity, sanity or any other human trait you can think of stands defeated in the face of this one common cause.
Aum says
Ashlyn,
No surprise – Ummah & Muslim brotherhood.
Pintu says
This is what we are facing in India. Hindus are forced to defend themselves, religion and culture from their toxic ideology. When we did all leftist and western country starts crying over human rights and all….
Elizabeth Lawson says
Judging from the reading here, and from the stance taken by many regarding the horrifying, bestial, inhuman treatment accorded Jewish victims by Hamas, there can be only two rational conclusions drawn from both: two steps taken to resolve potential future outrages. The first recognizes the dangers that Moslem populations represent in our countries – they have told us, in many ways over the years, that they WILL be guided by Islam – not by democracy, or ANY other religion, and occasionally by Human Rights issues IF those rights fit in to their estimates of right and wrong. We are left ( all Western cultures who welcomed these future warriors) confronting future wars with the very people we believed we were helping. I say play it safe. Send them back to where they came from. We have had enough war – and we hoped that Hitler’s reign was/would be the last!
Kuffar says
What do you expect. Savages will back savages.