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Chicago Muslims Protest Gujarat Killings
By
Ayub Khan, IOL Chicago correspondent
CHICAGO, March 11 (IslamOnline) - Demanding the imposition of
President's rule in India, and the dismissal of Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani,
Muslims and peace activists held a hastily organized demonstration
on busy Devon Street in Chicago over the weekend in protest against
the killings of thousands of Muslims in Gujarat, India.
Despite
chilly weather conditions, hundreds of protestors marched from
Warren Park to California Avenue chanting slogans like: "Indian
Hitler Advani," "Down, Down BJP," "Down Down
VHP," and "Stop Killing Innocent Muslims."
Before the march, Amjad Hashmi of the Consultative Committee of
Indian Muslims (CCIM) said massacres of innocent Muslims simply
cannot be tolerated. He called on the Indian government to
immediately dismiss Modi’s government in the state of Gujurat, as
it did nothing to stop the killings.
An individual named "Andy" from the Chicago Coalition
Against War and Racism denounced the tactics of the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) for inciting religious hatred in India, saying it was
ironic that India, a partner in the “war against terrorism”, is
itself promoting terrorism.
Community leader Rashid Ali Khan said that, according to credible
reports, the train burning incident in Godhra was provoked by Ram
Sevaks ("devotees of Ram") returning from Ayodhya, saying
that the band of extremists looted the shop of an elderly Muslim man
and attacked him.
When his young daughter intervened, she was kidnapped and taken into
the train. He said that as much as the act of the train burning was
condemnable, it could not be used to justify the massacre of
thousands of innocent Muslims.
Syed Shakeel Ahmed Kazmi, in an emotional speech stating that
Muslims would rebuild the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya at any cost,
warned extremist Hindu forces that there are limits to Muslim
patience and that no more killings of innocent Muslims and
destruction of Mosques would be tolerated.
Hindu extremists demolished the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992.
Currently, members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP - World Hindu
Council) are actively seeking to build a Hindu Temple on the site.
During the march, flyers were also distributed urging consumers to
boycott those stores, whose owners are supporters of the BJP, VHP,
Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) and other extremist Hindu
parties.
Protestors dispersed peacefully after a du’ah (prayer asking for
blessing) was made for Muslims, whose lives and properties had been
destroyed by Hindu fanatics.
Some
demonstration participants complained that had there been earlier
announcements, more people would have joined the protest. They gave
the example of the massive protest march in 1993 on Devon Avenue in
which more than 2,000 people participated to protest the destruction
of Babri Masjid by Hindu zealots.
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