New Delhi: Voicing his support for Hamas militants in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) president Arshad Madani said in a statement Sunday that they can’t be called terrorists because “they are fighting for the freedom of their country.
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, which was launched in 1919, is an influential body of Muslim clerics and is one of India’s largest Muslim organisation. Madani has been heading the organisation since 2006.
In a statement released Sunday, Madani said: “Those who fight for the freedom of their country are called freedom fighters and not terrorists…. The world knows that Israel is an usurper and has illegally occupied the territories of Palestine by force, for the freedom of which, the people of Palestine have been struggling for a long time.”
Ever since Hamas militants attacked Israel on 7 October, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, has been vocal in supporting Palestine. In a post on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) on 17 October, Madani wrote, “JUH has been a supporter of every struggle for the protection of Jerusalem, Palestine, and Gaza from day one, and it still stands with Palestine today. Israel is an usurper country that has usurped the land of Palestine with the support of some world powers.”
JUH has been a supporter of every struggle for the protection of Jerusalem, Palestine and Gaza from day one, and it still stands with Palestine today. Israel is an usurper country that has usurped the land of Palestine with the support of some world powers.#غزۃ_الآن#الاقصی pic.twitter.com/R26Ojk0MRC
— Arshad Madani (@ArshadMadani007) October 17, 2023
ThePrint has reached Madani for his comment via call and text messages. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
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‘Muslims fighting for freedom of country’
In Sunday’s statement, Madani lauded the “courage and bravery” shown by Hamas and how they have risked their lives. “The courage and bravery they showed in the last few days, even entering the house and killing the powerful usurper by attacking them, was an extraordinary act. Although they put their lives at risk by doing this, they probably think that without such sacrifices, the country cannot be freed from the clutches of usurpers,” the statement read.
Madani further said that a terrorist is someone who spreads terror everywhere, but here the case is “totally different”. “Rather, all their activities are limited to Palestine, its resources are limited, even sometimes they do not have food items, but despite this, they are constantly active for the freedom of their country,” the statement read.
Citing the case of the Taliban, he said they were also called “terrorists”. “But now that they have come to power in Afghanistan, this opinion has changed, no one calls them terrorists anymore”.
Madani claimed it’s not right to call Hamas a “terrorist” organisation just because they are “Muslims who are fighting for the freedom of their country”. He went on to criticise Israel, saying the country has been “shedding the blood of helpless people for the past several decades” but the world has not called them “terrorists”.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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