Indonesian Muslim Hold Peaceful Action to Support Indian Muslim Women
Jakarta, MINA – Jama’ah Muslimin, today on Tuesday held a peaceful protest at the Indian Embassy in Jakarta to support Indian Muslim girls and college students who experienced rights violations because they were prohibited from wearing hijab.
“This action was held as a form of our support and defense for Muslim students and students in India, regarding the prohibition of the hijab and the persecution carried out against them,” said Amir Syubban Pusat Muhammad Ridwan Thalib.
Ridwan said, in this action there were readings of statements, speeches and poetry and was attended by around 100 participants. He also appealed to the participants to take part in the action in an orderly manner and still adhere to health protocols by wearing masks and maintaining a distance.
Previously, Jama’ah Muslimin also condemned the prohibition of hijab for Muslim students in Indian schools and colleges because it violates human rights and also contradicts the teachings of Mahatama Gandhi, Founder of the State of India.
“To all civic groups who are pro on the policy of banning the hijab in India, it is conveyed that this attitude is not only against religious principles, human rights, even Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings about not hurting anyone (ahimsa) and love for the homeland based on humanity (swadesi),” said Ridwan.
He also called on the Government and the ruling party in India to coexist, embracing the nearly 200 million Muslims as compatriots. Because Muslims in India are a part that cannot be erased from Indian history.
A ban on the headscarf at universities in the southern Indian state of Karnataka has sparked a major spat amid growing concerns that attacks on Muslim symbols and practices are part of a Hindu right-wing agenda to impose majority values on minorities.
On Tuesday, February 15, Muslim students and college students wearing hijabs were barred from entering schools and colleges across the Indian state.
The country’s 200 million Muslim community fears the hijab ban violates their religious freedom guaranteed under India’s constitution. The US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom said the ban would stigmatize and marginalize women and girls.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which runs the government in Karnataka as well as at the centre, has backed the discriminatory ban. The BJP has campaigned for decades for the adoption of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which minorities believe will equate to the adoption of Hindu law. (T/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
