Al-Qaeda accuses India of acting against Muslims

Nahla Abdelmonem

Al-Qaeda is stepping up its campaign against the Indian government, especially after its approval of the new citizenship law.

It said in a statement it released in early May that the new law would marginalize Muslims arriving to India from neighboring countries, even as India gives its citizenship to the adherents of all other religions.

Al-Qaeda said the visit U.S. President Donald Trump paid to New Delhi in February this year came to reward the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for its suppression of Indian Muslims.

It said the persecution of Muslims in India amounts to a war against Islam and Muslims.

Terrorists mobilized

Al-Qaeda has used the row over the new Indian law to promote itself among Indian Muslims and draw in new recruits.

It invited Muslims to join it to fight what it described as the enemies of the Islamic religion.

It also warned those reluctant to join it against punishment.

Objectives

The new statement of al-Qaeda comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region.

Al-Qaeda apparently wants to incite Pakistanis and Indians against their central governments and undermine them as they lock horns over Kashmir.

In doing this, the organization tries to portray the governments of the two countries as enemies of the Islamic religion.

Al-Qaeda wants to project the view that the Indian government has been taking decisions hostile to Muslims year after year.

It works, at the same time, to deny accusations that it is using the current tensions between India and Pakistan in raising its own profile and promoting itself among Indian Muslims.

History of exploitation

This is not the first time al-Qaeda tries to use tensions within India to serve its own agenda.

In July 2019, the al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri asked Muslims to join his organization to fight against Indian presence in Kashmir.

This was one of many occasions during which al-Qaeda tried to raise its profile, using specific political tensions or problems.

Researcher Ahmed Kamel al-Beheiri said al-Qaeda’s popularity has reached an all-time low.

“This is why the organization wants to return to the limelight,” Beheiri told The Reference. “The new statement just aims to put the organization at the center of light yet again.”