Islamophobia in India: 'We're God's creations, let's not create differences'

Dr Azad Moopen, founder chairman and MD, Aster DM Healthcare.-Supplied photo

Members of the community are in a state of shock as series of anti-Muslim tweets surface from various parts of the UAE - a land of peace and tolerance. In the past few days, many tweets were reportedly posted by Indian expats blaming Muslim community for the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.
Hitting hard at such fanatics, Mohan Jashanmal, the 81-year-old Indian businessman, underlined that human beings should serve others and not be like animals.
"A human being is a God's blessing. We call ourselves human being but we need to ask ourselves are we being a human. You may have a form of a human being but act like an animal."
On Muslims facing backlash in India, he noted that all nationals are equals and should be treated accordingly. "Muslims are human beings. Does Indian passport identify a person as Hindu or Muslim or Christian? No. 'Satyameva Jayate' (Truth alone triumphs) that's the only thing. We believe for an Indian of any religion, the path followed should be one of truth."
To those who make anti-Islamic remarks, he said: "Those people should stop breathing the air, sitting under the sun. The air one breathes, is it a Muslim air or a Hindu or a Christian air? Then we all accept we are one. People need to have common sense. We are all one. The coronavirus is not an enemy of any one religion. And we are fighting as one human being. We are one human family of the world. Serve God's creations and don't create differences."
Let's ignore and tackle Covid-19
Dr Azad Moopen, founder chairman and MD, Aster DM Healthcare, urged community to stay united and focused on fight against the pandemic.
"The visionary rulers of the UAE have made this country into an oasis of peace and prosperity through the philosophy of tolerance. There are people from nearly 200 countries having different faiths and beliefs who are co-existing harmoniously here. It is most unfortunate that few people with pathological minds are trying to vitiate the atmosphere and produce religious hatred through social media. Let us ignore them and join together in the concerted fight against the sinister Covid-19 monster."
'Follow path of our leaders'
V.T.V. Damodaran, head of Gandhi Sahitya Vedi, said he believed in oneness of mankind as one family.
"I believe in 'oneness of God, oneness of man and oneness of religion'. I hail from the land which believes in 'unity in diversity' and live in the 'land of tolerance' for more than two decades. I am blessed to have such a background. We all are children of one God, gifted with various abilities, which should be used for the well-being of mankind. I cannot imagine people talking about religious discrimination while living in the UAE, which practices tolerance in letter and spirit. We are the followers of great sons of Mahatma Gandhi and Baba Zayed, who lived and showed us the path of religious tolerance," Damodaran said.
'Time to unite and not fight'
Yogish Prabhu, president, India Social and Cultural Centre, Abu Dhabi, condemned the comments from fringe elements and said the developments are a strange feeling.
"I have been associated with the ISC for past two decades and have never heard anyone mention or talk about caste, colour, creed or religion. Everyone is same at the ISC. We are carrying out relief efforts to people. Our efforts are towards humanity in need and not just Indian nationals. In such crisis, I can't understand how some elements write something like this. This is a time to unite in this fight against the virus and not among ourselves."
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com 

• India

Ashwani Kumar

Ashwani Kumar is a versatile journalist who explores every beat in Abu Dhabi with an insatiable curiosity. He loves uncovering stories that are informative and help readers form their own opinions.

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com