World | India
Muslims launch neighbourhood watch drive
Counsellors in hyderabad aim to 'catch' aggrieved youths before they stray into unlawful activities.
- By Amrit Dhillon, Correspondent
- Published: 00:18 September 19, 2008
New Delhi: Some of the most zealous members of Islamist extremist groups in India are young men who have been wrongfully arrested by Indian police as suspects, allegedly tortured and then released without any charges being filed.
Altaf Hassan, 24, was arrested in Hyderabad, south India, while coming out of Friday prayers last September. A second year medical student, he was eventually released by the police but the local university threw him out because of the "terrorist" tag.
Not only was Hassan unemployed, he was seething with rage at how the police action had shattered his life. "My landlord is a Muslim but he was so frightened of getting into trouble that he evicted my family. It's been hell. We've been living with relatives ever since," said Hassan.
Youths thrown into similar situations in Hyderabad (a city famous for its rich Muslim culture) have become radicalised, seeking revenge by joining local terrorist groups.
But Hassan did not stray into unlawful activities, thanks to the intervention of Muslim counsellors who, along with Muslim religious groups in the city, have launched a kind of neighbourhood watch campaign to "catch" aggrieved youths before they turn radical.
"We explained to Khan that he mustn't lose confidence in Indian democracy or the judiciary. We filed a petition in the courts for compensation, supported him emotionally and arranged a loan so that he could start his own small business," said Latif Mohammad Khan, head of the Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee.
Creating awareness
Khan is working with the All India Mujlis Tameer-e-Millat (AIMTM) to make Muslim families aware of how to identify youths who are in danger of turning to extremism.
"We tell mothers, wives and sisters to watch out for changed behaviour, new attitudes, secretive behaviour, or sudden new friends. If they are worried about someone, they tell us and we arrange study groups to teach them that violence is un-Islamic," said Rahim Qureshi, president of AIMTM.
Qureshi and other leaders from a few mosques in the city have urged landlords to give them information about any "suspicious" new tenants moving in. Residents are urged to report any outsiders moving around. And shop-keepers are encouraged to report any suspicious behaviour.
"After every bomb attack, Muslims are prime suspects and the entire community is painted as terrorists. We have to do our bit to ensure our young men do not fall into the hands of fanatics," said Qureshi.
India has suffered a string of terrorist attacks in crowded cities in the past few months, all believed to be the work of Muslim extremists.
On last Saturday, 21 people died in the capital when five bombs went off in busy shopping areas. A group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the bombs. Another extremist group, the Students Islamic Movement of India, is believed by police to be behind other terrorist acts.
India's 140 million Muslims have been thrown on the defensive by these attacks. In June, clerics from the Darool-Uloom Deoband, an ancient Islamic seminary, issued a fatwa declaring that "Islam rejects all kinds of unjust violence, breach of peace, bloodshed, murder and plunder". But people like Khan believe that, while useful, the fatwa is too generalised and nebulous to function as a real deterrent for youths on the brink of being radicalised.
"You have to have study groups, seminars, and workshops where you talk to youths face to face to get your point across. Often, they think they are the only victims. We explain that other minorities also experience difficulties," said Khan.
For Asaduddin Owaisi, a Muslim MP from Hyderabad, it is insufficient to urge young Muslims to refrain from violence.
"You can only be effective if you also give them justice. Right now, after the Delhi bombings, the police are again rounding up hundreds of innocent youths here," he said.
The solution, Khan believes, is to tackle the problem on several fronts simultaneously by offering not only justice and democratic methods of protest but also help with employment so that Muslim youths remain in the mainstream.
Tools for extremists
"There are men - often breadwinners - who've lost jobs after being arrested. We help find them jobs again because if they're busy working and supporting their families, they can't be used as tools by extremists," said Khan.
Some of the counsellors used in the neighbourhood watch campaign are Hindus - a deliberate decision to foster harmony between the communities.
Nirmala Gopalakrishnan, a Hindu counsellor and social worker, works with alienated Muslim youths in Hyderabad. Currently in Mumbai for medical treatment, she is anxious to return to Hyderabad this week because she has heard that Hyderabad police, following the Delhi blasts, are rounding up Muslim suspects.
"We counsel them to channel their anger, to remain law-abiding. But these are just words. You have to give them practical help. Most of them are poor and need to support their families," said Gopalakrishnan, who coordinates with local banks to arrange loans for education and self-employment.
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