16 Jun Celebrating India’s Independence Day: An awakening call
In the name of Allah, and may peace be upon His noble Messenger.
Brothers and sisters, the time has come for us to confront the reality of our ignorance. Each year, on the 15th of August, we see countless Muslims, those who claim to follow the Final Prophet and heirs to a thousand-year legacy of Muslim rule in the Indian subcontinent —celebrating a day that has been twisted into a mockery of our past. We celebrate while each year since 1947 has only deepened our enslavement.
It’s time to understand that this is not our day of independence; rather a day when the British colonialists handed over the reins of power to the Hindus after usurping it from the Moguls, it is the day we lost a legacy and the path to reclaim it begins by understanding our enslavement. We must awaken to the truth and recognize that celebrating this day is not just a contradiction but a betrayal of our faith, our history, and our identity.
In these words, I will address three crucial issues that demand your attention:
- The Incompatibility of This Celebration with Our Faith and Creed
- The Contradiction of Celebrating India’s Independence as Indian Muslims.
- The Reality of Our Oppression and the Loss of Our Religious and Personal Liberties.
🔘 The Incompatibility of This Celebration with Our Faith and Creed (Aqeeda)
- Celebration of Nationalism: Islam is the opposite of Nationalism, tribalism and every other form of man-made “ism”, Islam unites people on the basis of Faith while nationalism unites people on the basis of artificial man-made boundaries, our faith decrees Islam as the basis of loyalty and love to one another while nationalism decrees man-made borders as the basis of love and loyalty. The fact of the matter is that nationalism as a political doctrine, was unknown to Muslims until about a hundred years ago. For 1,300 years before that Muslims had established large empires and ruled over vast territories of the world without ever having to appeal to anything even vaguely resembling modern day nationalism. Nationalism is a force that has disintegrated the human society at all levels and to celebrate an occasion of Nationalism is against everything that Islam stands for.
- Imitation of the Kuffar: One of the things that is forbidden for Muslims is to imitate the kuffaar, especially with regard to their celebrations.
- The concept of Ummah transcends national borders: As Muslims, we belong to a global Ummah—a brotherhood that does not recognize artificial boundaries drawn by oppressors and imperialists. To celebrate an Independence Day is to celebrate our break-up from the Ummah. Moreover, these forbidden and innovated celebrations stir up tribalism and racism and imply approval of what the colonialists did by dividing the Muslims’ land and making it into scattered states and peoples. It is because of these artificially created national borders that the Muslims are unable to help their oppressed brothers and sisters and to celebrate it is to accept our current status quo.
- Reject the narrative of the oppressor: Nation States are not just physical entities but also include hymns, anthems, flags, ceremonies and special days such as “Independence days” and “Republic days”. These narratives are created so the ruling elites can feed the opium of Nationalism to the masses and make them to believe that they are part of something higher than themselves, this allows the ruling class to control the masses, by dictating who is “Our enemy”, and who is “Our friend”. And everyone who disagrees, or thinks for themselves, they are called ‘unpatriotic’, and ‘traitors. To participate in these celebrations is to support the narrative of the oppressive pharaohs of our era.
🔘 The Contradiction of Celebrating India’s Independence as Indian Muslims
- The Fatwa of Shah Abdul Aziz: Let us not forget the historic fatwa of Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlvi, who declared British occupied India as Dar-ul-Harb, for they usurped Muslim power and replacing Shariah with their laws. The struggle against the Britishers was not merely a political struggle, but a religious duty to protect our faith and way of life. The conditions that justified India to be declared Darul-Harb still exists, so what are the Muslims celebrating?
- A Hindu-majority state built on our downfall: The independence of India brought about a Hindu-majority state that has systematically marginalized and oppressed Muslims, stripping away the little religious and personal liberty we had under British rule. To celebrate this day is to celebrate the end of Muslim personal laws and limited religious liberty.
- Celebrating this day is a betrayal to our ancestors: To rejoice in the independence of those who have oppressed us is to dishonor the memory of our ancestors who fought and sacrificed to establish an Islamic state and law in India. To celebrate this day is to betray the martyrs of Balakot and the prisoners of Malta and Kala Pani.
- Celebrating the Independence of our Oppressors: How can we celebrate a day that marks our subjugation, our loss of sovereignty and the demise of our thousand-year legacy?
🔘 The Reality of Our Oppression and the Loss of Our Religious and Personal Liberties
- Worsened oppression post-1947: Ask yourselves: Did the British ever interfere in our personal affairs as we see the Indian government doing today? Were mosques demolished to build temples over them before 1947? Were any Muslims forced to shout “Jai Shri Ram” under the British rule? Was anyone lynched for their beard or appearance before this so-called independence? Was there a ban on reverting to Islam? These are the brutal realities we face today and to celebrate the so called Independence Day is to celebrate our oppression.
- The rise of religious intolerance: Did we have anti-conversion laws or the spread of lies such as “love jihad” to demonize Muslims before 1947? Were Muslims imprisoned for cattle slaughter? Were Muslims thrown in detention centers and camps under the garb of laws such as CAA? These are new forms of oppression that we now endure under this so-called independent state and yet we celebrate it?
- The myth of freedom: How can this day be a day of independence when it marks the beginning of our suffering and the erosion of our rights? How can we celebrate a day that brought us more chains, more hatred, and more violence?
🔘 Conclusion: A Call to True Liberation
Brothers and sisters, it’s time to wake up from ignorance. We must reject the lie that the 15th of August is our “Independence Day”. It is not a day of freedom but a dark day in the history of Indian Muslims, a day that symbolizes the loss of our sovereignty, our rights, and our dignity. True freedom will be achieved only when the flag of Islam flies over the Red Fort once again, when a Muslim can live in this land with security, dignity, and honor under the banner of Islam. Until then, we must continue to fight, to resist, and to reclaim our rights. Our true independence will come not from celebrating the victories of those who oppress us but from uniting under the banner of Islam and by struggling to achieve that which is rightfully ours. By any means necessary.
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