Chanting slogans against the anti-Islam remarks by India’s governing party officials, the United Muslim Front of the Greater Chicagoland area staged a demonstration in front of the Indian Consulate General, in Chicago.
The demonstration was held in the second-largest city in the US, and over 700 people showed up. Activists and organisers of different ages and backgrounds came together to pay tribute to the prophet Muhammed.
“It is this dignity we gather here to defend, his honor, and in protest against the indiscriminate, unlawful violence taking place against Indian Muslims, Christians, Dalits, and Sikhs in India. We have One Creator and we are one humanity”, said Dr. Mohammed Qutubuddin a physician and professor of Islamic studies from Chicago.
The protest was held on 12 June.
“We pledge to show up in front of the consulate consistently and anywhere to let the world know what is happening to our community in India,” added the professor.
Dr. Badar Zaheer, another physician from Chicago, said: “The Indian government may think it’s only hurting Indian Muslims but what they’re doing is destroying the very foundation of India, based on equality for all before the law.”
The gathering chanted in support of the need to stand with Afreen Fatima, whose home had been destroyed a week earlier, praised the prophet, and demanded justice for Indian Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Dalits.
The protesters urged an end to the slaughter of Muslims and the tearing down of their homes.
Nupur Sharma, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on May 26 made televised remarks about the youngest wife of the Prophet of Islam that triggered demonstrations across the Muslim world.
