There has been a sharp increase in discrimination of Muslims in India due to conspiracy theories claiming they are spreading coronavirus in the country. This is after the ruling party leaders amplified the unfounded allegations, claiming Muslims were carrying out Jihad by spreading the virus.
India coronavirus conversations have been hijacked and conspiracy theorists are now blaming the Muslim minority for the spread of coronavirus in the country. The country, which has recorded over 10,000 cases and 358 fatalities as a result of coronavirus, is using unfounded theories such as Muslims are responsible for spreading the virus to discriminate in the Muslim community.
Discrimination of Muslims in India
On 5th April, Mehboob Ali, a Muslim was going through his day as he normally does in his residence in the village of Harewali, on the fringes of north-west Delhi. However, his day would turn tragic when he was attacked by a group of Hindus who believed he was part of a Muslim conspiracy that was spreading the virus in the country. Ali had returned from a Muslim event outside the village, but rather than that, the charges that were being leveled against him by his attackers were ridiculous.
His attackers were not having any of it, kicking him and attacking him with sticks until he started bleeding from his mouth and ears. His attackers were convinced that Ali was part of a larger plan by the Muslims to carry out the ‘corona jihad’ across the country. His pleas for help were met with deafening silence as blows continued landing on his helpless body.
The attackers would then deny him going to the hospital, transporting him to a temple where they demanded that he should renounce his Muslim faith and convert to Hinduism. During the time of the attack, the discrimination of Muslims was occurring across the country and the ruling party had taken the mantle as the default spreaders of the conspiracy theories.
Unfounded allegations
The problem started when Islamic missionary organization, Tablighi Jamaat, held in mid-March in the south Delhi neighborhood of Nizamuddin. The event was attended by over 8,000 Muslims from India and other countries. After the event, it was noted that some event attendees had contracted the virus and the government swang into action asking for those who had attended to identify themselves to be quarantined.
The government, which is run by the ruling party, Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), offered rewards for those who information leading to arrests of those who had attended the event. The search for the attendees quickly escalated to Muslims are spreading the virus in the country conspiracy theories. Those theories were amplified by the BJP party which echoed the voices of these conspiracy theorists.
BJP conspiracy theories
Senior BJP leaders called for the discrimination of Muslims in the country. They compared the Muslims in the as walking timebombs in form of coronavirus which they were willing to detonate at Hindu majority areas. He continued by calling for the shooting and hanging of the Muslims who he believed were spreading the virus.
The allegations about Muslims spreading the virus were, however, refuted by scientists who said there was no proof that Muslims were the majority carriers of the virus in the country. They also described the high number of positive from the Muslim community as a result of targeting testing which had ignored everyone else. The disproportional testing in Muslim villages and Muslims was giving the impression that they were affected at a higher rate, which might not be the case according to scientists.
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