To quote Albert Einstein, “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.” Some people and organization leave no stone unturned to prove Einstein right. The latest effort in the direction to validate Einstein’s point has been made by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JIH) which is going to conduct a ‘quiz’ competition for ‘non-Muslims’ in Hyderabad on January 6, 2019. The quiz based on the life of Muhammad will be conducted in two languages: Telugu and English. According to a Hans India report, the questions will be asked from the book ‘Muhammad, the benefactor of humanity,’ authored by Naeem Siddiqi. The winners of the quiz will be awarded cash prizes.
The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) which is conducting this absurd quiz has found itself amid controversies and is known as an orthodox organization with a motive to establish an Islamic order in India. Officially, the organisation describes its objective as “Iqaamat-e-Deen” or “Establishment of (Islamic) way of life in all aspects of life” with “achievement of divine pleasure and success in the Hereafter” as the sole motive of the effort. Its core doctrine is “La Ilaha Illallahu Muhammadur Rasulullah”, i.e. “the Divine Being is solely Allah, there being no God except Him, and that Muhammad is Allah’s messenger”. The India Today has quoted Syed Zia-ul-Hoda, the president of the Bihar JIH saying, “The present Islamic renaissance the world over is the outcome of the failure of man-made ‘isms.’ People are bound to come to the divine line – as prescribed by Islam.”
It also strongly opposed the government’s stand on Triple Talaq. In a statement, its chief said that Muslims consider divorce, polygamy and other personal laws as “an intrinsic part of their religion and are hence obliged to follow the Sharia in those matters”. It had also rejected the Triple Talaq bill in January last year and termed it meaningless. Criticising the Triple Talaq Bill, JIH president Maulana Jalaluddin Umari said, “It is against the rights of women as there are a many cases where a Muslim wife wants to get rid of her husband immediately. She does not want to continue being his wife even for a day. She wants her freedom by opting out of marriage with immediate effect. Are we not going to prolong her agony by bringing such a law?” It also raised questions on the government’s intention on the Uniform Civil Code.
The Jamaat-e-Islami-Hind (JIH) is an extremely orthodox organization. It was disappointed by the Supreme Court’s verdict which struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The JIH in a statement said, “Such filthy experiments have destroyed human society and violated the rights of women on large scale in certain countries and we should learn a lesson from it.” It also said, “Save this country from falling into sexual anarchy, protect our children from vile sexual predators, safeguard the rights of our daughters and sisters and prevent the infringement of the fundamental rights of its citizens as the abrogation of section 377 of IPC will have a cascading effect on the Personal Laws of many religions. We sincerely hope and pray that the country will be rescued from the dark precipice it is rushing headlong into.”
According to the India Today report, the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind is a part of the pan-Islamic movement and draws its inspiration from the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, the Fidayan-e-Islam of Iran and the Darul-Islam of Indonesia. In 1954, its many leaders were detained under the Preventive Detention Act. The organization was also banned during the emergency for their communal and inflammatory politics.