Why Chants Of ¡®Allahu Akbar¡¯ In Anti-CAA Protests Are Neither Non-Secular Nor Problematic

Under the backdrop of ongoing protest against the discriminatory and unconstitutional Citizenship Amendment Act that spurred from Jamia and AMU, there are debates that faith-based chants like ¡®Allahu Akbar¡¯ and ¡®La illaha illallah¡¯ are anti-hindu and non-Muslims face religious discrimination in such institutions.

A section of people, even in media, are claiming that in minority-run institutions such as Jamia and AMU, religion is a binding force among many students of the community and that those who do not belong to the faith have to remain silent is both laughable and specious.

Such claims not only grossly misrepresents the harmonious solidarity shared among students transcending religion, region, and political divide; it also flouts the principle of ethical journalism that one must heed to when asking for viewpoints on a particular issue.

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Any such coverage in media tries to paint a wrong picture that every minority in Jamia and AMU feels the same way as those who were interviewed by the journalists. Lacking the diversity of opinion in reports and making sweeping statements is clearly reflected in the coverage of the current issue.

It's true that the faith-based slogans such as ¡®la illaha illallah¡¯ and ¡®Allahu Akbar¡¯ were chanted at anti-CAA protest. Some commentators have raised fears about radical organisations using this slogan.

By linking radical organisation and students/protestors, shouting the same slogans, such reports brush off the contextual reading of the events. It must be kept in mind that no one has the monopoly over slogans, and therefore if some slogans have been used by fundamentalist for their causes, it doesn¡¯t mean that well-meaning citizens could not use them.

The victims of lynching were made to chant ¡®Jai Shree Ram¡¯ by their perpetrators, but that does not mean that the radical Hindutva outfits have the monopoly on that slogan.

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The faith-based chants, especially by the Muslims, have been negatively-normalised to such an extent that even those who claim to be liberals find them problematic. However, these faith-based chants are not problematic but are a course correction to normalise them just as Hinduism based slogans are. The very purpose of these chants is to remove the negative connotation associated with it which has been normalised by mass media and to make it as welcoming as the usage other religious symbols in public spaces.

These chants taking place in anti-CAA protest makes them more powerful and empowering because it is the assertion of their faith for whose allegiance they are oppressed and affirmation of their multiple identities in the Indian Republic.

A recently published article claims to have interviewed students, who remain anonymous, saying that they felt ¡®excluded¡¯, ¡®alienated¡¯ and ¡®scared¡¯ by faith-based sloganeering. Such claims might be true for a few students but the majority of non-Muslim students in the university do not feel so. It¡¯s the students, who felt excluded and alienated by the faith-based slogans, needs to reflect on their idea of India. It is for them to change their perception of plural Indian society, where slogans such as ¡®Allahu Akbar¡¯ is as much welcomed as ¡®Jai Shree Ram¡¯ in the public sphere.

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The article also claimed that the interviewee students said that ¡®student leaders use faith tool to suppress dissent¡¯, ¡®non-Muslims do not have much voice¡¯. Though at present Jamia does not have students union, but the scan at previous records of students union would tell the author that there had been ¡®Hindu¡¯ presidents too. Similarly, students might have their differences with other students based on political beliefs, but in no away any student faces religious discrimination or is forced to be silent. As Student Union does not exist at the present moment, every department has elections for the subject association for the position of Vice President, General Secretary and Class Representative. The department which I belong to, Academy of International Studies has a Hindu-born atheist boy, a Buddhist girl and a Muslim girl respectively on these positions.

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There are many stereotypes about the Muslim community in general and minority universities in particular, normalised by mass media and popular culture. However, the present juncture demands us to break those negative connotation associated with the display of Muslim symbols in public spaces. The very hypocrisy of Indian Republic is that, till we are talking about caste it is termed as identity politics, however as soon as we talk of Muslim identity, it is seen through the lens of communal politics.

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Those who see slogans such as ¡®Allahu Akbar¡¯ as something divisive or pandering to religious extremism need to shift their gaze away from the lenses of orientalism to that of a pluralistic society.

Just as the references and use of religious metaphors from the texts of Ramayana and Mahabharata are continuously used in public spaces and political rallies and its contextual understanding allows us to see them as problematic or normal. Similarly, the assertion of Muslim identity in public space either through chants of ¡®Allahu Akbar¡¯ or through invoking other religious symbols needs to be seen as normal.

The fight against CAA and NRC is surely a fight to save the constitutional values and secular fabric of the country. But we should not forget that the combination of CAA and NRC is essentially anti-Muslim, and therefore our fellow co-religionists are fighting dual battles, one to save the constitution and another, to have the freedom to assert their religious identity.

The systematic crackdowns on Jamia, AMU and in localities of Uttar Pradesh points out how people and institutions linked to a certain religious identity, in this case, Muslims are being targeted by the state¡¯s coercive apparatus.

Therefore, even under these circumstances when their life is at risk because of their religious identity, slogans such as ¡®Allahu Akbar¡¯ and ¡®la illah illallah¡¯ are being chanted shows the grit determination of the protestors, who are unwilling to compromise on their multiple identities, both as Indians and Muslims.

Rishabh Yadav is currently pursuing M.A Politics (International and Area Studies), from Jamia Millia Islamia. He can be reached out on twitter - @therealrishabh. The views expressed are author's own.