On Friday (October 21), the Jamat-e-Islami linked ‘Indian American Muslim Council’ (IAMC) took offence to the term ‘Hindu American’. It claimed that such a word is leading to the erasure of relationships between the Hindu community and South Asians.
In a tweet, it said, “Carving out the category of “Hindu-American”—as opposed to its alternatives, “Indian-American”—has been a key step. It allows a group such as the Hindu American Foundation to erase the relationships between many Hindus and other South Asians.”
IAMC, which has a history of peddling anti-Hindu propaganda, plugged a 2-year-old article by leftist rag, The Caravan, to further its claims.
While responding to the tweet by the Islamist outfit, the Hindu advocacy group ‘Hindu American Foundation (HAF) pointed out the irony in the claims of IAMC.
HAF stated how an organisation with the name ‘American Muslim’ was objecting to the use of ‘Hindu American’ for representing the Hindu community in the United States. “Said without a hint of irony by the…wait for it…Indian American Muslim Council,” it added.
The IAMC is a Jamat-e-Islami-backed lobbyist organisation claiming to be a rights advocacy group. In the past, it had reportedly collaborated with and even paid money to various groups in the USA to get India blacklisted by the USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom).
IAMC hounds BJP leader Sambit Patra
Earlier this month, Opindia reported how IAMC had been pleading with lawmakers from New Jersey to ban BJP leader Sambit Patra from entering the United States. The Islamist outfit had accused Patra of being ‘Islamaphobic’ and hoped that the US government would revoke his visa.
In a press release on October 5, the Indian American Muslim Council said that a delegation met lawmakers from the New Jersey General Assembly and Senate and supposedly handed them ‘evidence’ of Hindu supremacist organisations in India and the US.
The Islamist outfit sought a probe into organisations such as Overseas Friends of the BJP (OFBJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The meeting of the IAMC delegation with New Jersey politicians was part of an ‘outreach programme’ to strengthen the relationships of Muslims in the State with the lawmakers.
The Jamaat-e-Islami-backed organisation has been seeking the revocation of Sambit Patra’s visa since August this year. On August 14, the Indian Business Association (IBA) took out a parade in Edison township of New Jersey in the United States.
Some Indians were seen leading the parade with bulldozers, adorned with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath. “Baba ka Bulldozer,” read one such banner. The National spokesperson of the BJP, Sambit Patra, was invited to be the Grand Marshal of the parade.
While the purpose of such a display was to congratulate the swift action by the BJP government against illegal encroachments, Islamist outfit IAMC cried foul over it. “Hindu right-wing in Edison, New Jersey marched with bulldozers, which have become a weapon in the hands of the BJP government to destroy Muslim homes and livelihoods.”
Despite this, IAMC has remained fixated on the display of bulldozers in the India Day parade in Edison, where BJP leader Sambit Patra was the grand marshal.