The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has demanded a ban on the Tablighi Jamaat, following Saudi Arabia’s move, with VHP working president Alok Kumar calling the organisation “a manufacturing hub of radical Islamic terror” and “a host and patron of global terrorism.”
In a statement, Mr. Kumar said his organisation welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to ban the Jamaat. He also linked the Jamaat to several terror strikes across the world and in India, including the Godhra incident in Gujarat and the murder of Swami Shraddhanand.
“This radical Islamic fundamentalist organisation is already banned in many countries of the world, including Russia. Despite this, instead of welcoming the decision of the Saudi Government, some Bharatiya Muslim organisations, with their protests against the move, have exposed themselves and made their role in terror-rearing and fostering quite clear. In fact, Darul Uloom Deoband is its originator and designer,” added Mr. Kumar.
The Tablighi Jamaat was in the eye of a storm with regard to COVID-19 protocols in April last year, but no criminal act has been proven against the organisation in this context.
The VHP presented a four-part demand to the Centre with regard to the Tablighi Jamaat: a complete ban on “Tablighis, Tablighi Jamaat and Ijtima” in the country; the building of Nizamuddin Markaz and bank accounts associated with it should be sealed; their economic resources should be “plugged”; and a further crackdown by authorities on the Dar-ul-uloom Deoband and the Popular Front of India.
Saudi Arabia banned the Tablighi Jamaat nearly a week ago and also issued an advisory to Imams in the kingdom’s various mosques to dedicate the Friday prayers sermon for that week to warn against the actions of the group, saying it was following new texts not permitted under the Wahabbi way of Islam.
The Jamaat-ul-ulema-e-Hind has protested the ban.
