Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy Condemns Iran's Authoritarian Laws, Urges Indian Muslims to Extend Support

The Wire Staff 23 September 2022 FILE PHOTO: A newspaper with a cover picture of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police" is seen in Tehran, Iran September 18, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ----- Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) has condemned Iran’s “authoritarian laws and their murderous enforcement”, saying it is “inhuman and barbaric to kill a fellow human being merely for not covering her head”. A 22-year-old Iranian young woman Mahsa Amini died in the custody of police, allegedly due to wounds she sustained after the police thrashed her for taking off her head cover. Several protesters demonstrating against the murder in a peaceful manner have also been killed. IMSD said that in this epochal moment, “the Indian clergy and conservative Muslims in general that support mandatory head covering for Muslim women, citing the principle of right to choose attire, must be questioned whether they support Iranian women’s ‘right to choose or refuse head coverings’?” “It will be hypocritical of all those who tom-tom this liberal democratic argument that ‘forced removal of burqa, naqab, hijab is against the basic human rights of a woman’, but who do not come forward in support of Iranian women of different faiths who are forced to cover their heads in consonance with Islamic Shariah practices of Iran. It is to be noted here that in Iran the rule of mandatory head covering is applicable to Muslims and non-Muslims alike,” the statement, signed by 95 people, said. The collective called upon Indian civil society to “challenge the hypocrisy of those religious power elite” who choose the liberal principles of the Indian constitution as per their “fundamentalist and misogynistic conveniences” while remaining tight-lipped when these principles are “flouted against the progressive aspirations of the citizens in Islamic States”. The complete statement and the list of signatories are reproduced below. “IMSD strongly condemns the repressive Iranian regime, questions the hypocrisy of the Muslim clergy in India” Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) strongly condemns the Iranian State’s obscurantist, authoritarian laws and their murderous enforcement, as also the denial of the citizens’ right to protest. In this third decade of the 21st century it’s inhuman and barbaric to kill a fellow human being merely for not covering her head. At the same time, we question the hypocrisy of India’s Muslim clergy in not supporting the Iranian women’s right to choose, an argument it puts forward in the context of the ongoing hijab controversy in India. The world is witnessing a horrendous turn of events in Iran where State atrocity has caused the custodial murder of a 22-years-old young woman, #MahasaAmini , just for taking off her head cover. No less shocking is the fact that those protesting the murder by peacefully defying the mandatory head covering are being subjected to violence, humiliation and arrests on the streets by the police. The news and real time videos coming from Tehran and other parts of Iran are heart wrenching. However the heart-warming aspect of these protests is the active support of young Iranian men who are opposing both archaic traditional practices and State atrocities. In this epochal moment, the Indian clergy and conservative Muslims in general that support mandatory head covering for Muslim women, citing the principle of right to choose attire, must be questioned whether they support Iranian women’s ‘right to choose or refuse head coverings’? It will be hypocritical of all those who tom-tom this liberal democratic argument that ‘forced removal of Burqa, Niqab, Hijab is against the basic human rights of a woman’, but who do not come forward in support of Iranian women of different faiths who are forced to cover their heads in consonance with Islamic Shariah practices of Iran. It is to be noted here that in Iran the rule of mandatory head covering is applicable to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. IMSD calls upon the civil society in India to challenge the hypocrisy of those religious power elite who choose the liberal principles of Indian constitution as per their fundamentalist and misogynistic conveniences while they remain tight lipped when these principles are flouted against the progressive aspirations of the citizens in Islamic States. Signatories: Akbar Shaikh, Indian Muslims Secular Youth Movement, Solapur Amir Rizvi, IMSD, Designer, Mumbai Anjum Javed, Delhi Anjum Rajabali, IMSD, Film writer, Mumbai. Ali Bhojani, IMSD, Mumbai Alok Sheel, retired IAS, Delhi (Dr) Anthony P. J. (Dr.) Anuradha Chenoi, Delhi Anurag Chaturvedi, senior journalist, Mumbai Arif Kapadia, IMSD, Business, Mumbra Arshad Alam, IMSD, Writer, Columnist, Delhi Asha Puri, Delhi Ashhar Khan, Jaunpur Asiya Shervani, Hyderabad Askari Zaidi, IMSD, Senior Journalist, Activist, Mumbai Dr. Azeez Pasha, Hyderabad Deepak Sanon, retired IAS Dipak Malik, Varanasi Dipak Roy, Delhi Feroz Abbas Khan, IMSD, Theatre & Films Director, Mumbai Feroze Mithiborwala, Co-convener, IMSD, Mumbai (Dr) G. G. Parikh, Freedom fighter, Mumbai Ghulam Mohiuddin, USA Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, Writer, Teacher, Researcher in Culture, Media & Islamic Studies (Prof.) Girija Gupte, Feminist, Mumbai Guddi S. L. , Activist, Mumbai Harsh Kapoor, Independent researcher, Editor, France Irfan Engineer, IMSD, CSSS, Mumbai (Dr.) Jamsheed Rizwani, France Jasjit Randhawa Javed Akhtar, IMSD, Poet, Film Writer, former MP, Mumbai Javed Anand, Convener, IMSD, Mumbai Jyoti Badekar, Bharat Bachao Andolan, Panvel Kanhaiya Lal Sharma Kasim Sait, IMSD, Businessman, activist, Chennai Kishor Jagtap, Ganai Cultural Movement, Kalyan Kusum Verma, Varanasi Madhu Prasad, IMSD, retired professor, activist Delhi Mahabub Shaikh, Indian Muslims Secular Youth Movement, Bengaluru Mallika Sarabhai, activist, Indian classical dancer, actress, Ahmedabad Mandita Mitra, Delhi Medha Patkar, NAPM Convener, Mumbai Mohammed Imran, USA, Delhi Prof. Mridula Mukherjee, Delhi Muniza Khan, IMSD, Social Activist, Varanasi Nandita Sehgal, retired IAS Naseeruddin Shah, Actor, Mumbai ND Jayaprakash Neelima Sharma, Theatre, Delhi Nihar Bhattacharya, Varanasi Nirmala George, Delhi Persis Ginwala, Ahmedabad Pratibha Shinde, Lok Sangarsh Morcha, Jalgaon (Dr) Ram Puniyani, Author, activist, Mumbai (Dr.) Qaiser Shameem, Delhi Renu, Delhi Ritambhara Shastri, Delhi Rooprekha Verma, activist, former vice-chancellor Lucknow University. Sabah Khan, IMSD, Parcham, Mumbai/Mumbra Sadique Basha, IMSD, Activist, Mira Road, Thane Saif Mahmood, IMSD, Lawyer, Supreme Court, Delhi Sandip Pandey, Political activist, Lucknow Sarita Sabiruddin, USA (Dr.) Satish Mishra, Delhi Satya Narayan Sahu Satyen K Bordoloi, IMSD, Copywriter, editor, Mumbai Shabana Azmi, Actor, former MP, activist, Mumbai Shabana Dean, Naturopath, Mumbai Shafat Khan, IMSD, Writer, Mumbai (Dr) Shanawaz Alam, IMSD, Asst Professor, Sultanpur Shalini Dhawan, Designer, Mumbai Shama Bano, Varanasi Shama Zaidi, IMSD, Documentary Film Maker, Mumbai Shamsul Islam, Author, Delhi Sheeba Aslam Fehmi, IMSD, feminist writer, research scholar and a senior journalist, Delhi Shikha Sen, Delhi Smita Salunkhe, Vidyarthi Bharti, Kalyan Subhashini Ali, CPI(M), AIDWA, Kanpur Sujata Bhattacharya, Varanasi Sultan Shahin, Editor-in-chief, New Age Islam, Delhi (Dr.) Sunilam, former ex-MLA, activist, Indore Sunita Vedantam, Delhi Taizoon Khorakiwala, IMSD, Businessman, philanthropist, Mumbai Teesta Setalvad, IMSD, CJP, Mumbai Tushar Gandhi, Author, activist, Mumbai Utpala, Delhi Vasanthi Raman, Retired professor, Delhi Vibha Wahi, Varanasi Vibhuti Narain Rai, IMSD, retired IPS, writer, commentator, Noida V.K. Singh, Varanasi Vimla Chand, Sydney Yashodhan Paranjpe, social activist, Mumbai Yogendra Yadav, Swaraj Abhiyan, Delhi Zakia Soman, BMMA, Delhi Zeenat Shaukatali, IMSD, Islamic Scholar, Wisdom Foundation, Mumbai Source: IMSD Condemns Iran's Authoritarian Laws, Urges Indian Muslims to Extend Support https://thewire.in/rights/imsd-iran-mahsa-amini-muslims-india-support URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/indian-muslims-secular-democracy-iran-/d/128017 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism