By TCN News
New Delhi: Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) has expressed its unequivocal condemnation of the inflammatory and provocative language used by Akbaruddin Owaisi but also called up the state and central governments to apply the law uniformly to all cases of public speech that ridicule any group of people, religion, or culture.
Majlis-e-Ittahudul Muslimeen (MIM) leader in Andhra Pradesh assembly was recently charged with sedition for a speech given on Dec. 24th in which he suggested Muslims can take care of Hindus if police is removed.
Akbar Owaisi's speech “threatens public order and breeches the norms of civil behavior, it also represents a violation of the Qur'anic injunction to desist from denigrating other religions,” read IAMC statement issued today.
"If hate speech had been consistently punished according to law, Mr. Owaisi would not have dared to engage in the kind of incendiary rhetoric that pits one community against another," said Mr. Ahsan Khan, new President of IAMC.
"Absence of any prosecution against other hate-mongers will only reinforce the perception that the administration is active in invoking laws selectively, based on sectarian and political considerations," added Mr. Khan.
IAMC has also called upon liberal activists to introspect on the implications of defending insults against religion heaped by individuals like Tasleema Nasreen and Salman Rushdie under the guise of free speech, while condemning sectarian zealots for similar provocations. Ridiculing that which is held sacred by any group of people can only lead to alienation, acrimony and the tearing apart of the nation's social fabric.
“The sectarian hate espoused by Pravin Togadia, Narendra Modi, Varun Gandhi and Akbaruddin is not representative of the majority of India's Hindus and Muslims, who share a long and rich tradition of peaceful coexistence. IAMC appeals to the public to reject the divisive agenda of hate-mongers, and to strengthen grassroots efforts that promote communal amity.”
Indian-American Muslim Council is an advocacy organization of Indian Muslims with 13 chapters across the United States.
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