A war is underway between Iran and USA-Israel. In this war, besides destroying Iran's military bases and defence infrastructure, the USA and Israel have now also targeted Iranian oil refineries and oil storage tanks.
Hundreds of Iranian citizens have been killed so far, and Iran has also suffered major economic losses. Owing to this, the hearts of the Muslim community in India bleed for Iran, and they have begun sending money, gold ornaments, and other materials as aid to Iran.Over the past few years, the Hindu society in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh has faced numerous crises. During those times, do people recall Indian Muslims ever stepping forward to provide assistance ? After Khamenei was killed, the very first protests arose from Kashmir. From the perspective that their own religious brethren in Iran were helpless, local Muslims began sending aid. Muslims collected this aid in groups, while some sent assistance directly to the Iranian Government.
Money collected for terrorist activities
Aid amounting to Rs 17.91 crore has been sent to Iran from the Kashmir Valley, of which Rs 95 lakh has come from Budgam District alone. Fears are being expressed that the money collected in the name of humanitarian assistance could be used to fuel anti-India activities and separatism.
The local investigation agencies suspect that a large portion of the amount collected in the name of zakat (An obligatory form of charity in Islam usually 2.5% of the yearly savings and is one of the five pillars of Islam) and donations is going into the personal pockets of those collecting it. A few years ago, Maulvi Barkati had also collected donations from people and allegedly used approximately Rs 1.5 crore to fund terrorist activities and for money laundering. Investigation agencies are linking this matter with the present case. Therefore, this is certainly dangerous.
The Government of India providing aid to Iran may be a part of the Nation's broader policy; however, Muslims here taking the initiative for it and, in the name of assistance, diverting this fund once again towards terrorist acts, is a betrayal of Muslims as well as the Nation.
Earlier, money for terrorist activities in Kashmir used to come directly from Pakistan. Operations in Kashmir were being carried out by terrorist groups active in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Although the scale of such activities has reduced over the past 3-4 years, prior to that the Kashmir Valley had witnessed horrific terrorist violence. There were terrorist attacks every day, in which soldiers, Police personnel, ordinary citizens, and especially Hindus, were killed.
Kashmiri Hindus were driven out of their own homes; some were killed by Muslims known to them personally. Many Kashmiri girls and women were gang-raped and murdered by neighbours who were Muslims. The atrocities against Kashmiri Hindus were carried out by local fanatics and Jihadis themselves. Why did other Muslims not try to stop them at that time ? Naturally, the reason is - in the eyes of the fanatics, Hindus are kafirs (One who rejects or does not accept belief in Allah).
Aid exclusively to religious brethren
This is a question of mentality and, more importantly, ideology. Accordingly, aid is given only to the country that belongs to their religious brethren, to those who follow their religion. Similarly, even if an individual of their religion is a criminal, an oppressor, or one who commits atrocities against followers of other faiths, when such individual falls into crisis, he must be helped - this is their sense of religious brotherhood !
This is precisely the reason why, even after deploying more than 1.5 lakh soldiers in Kashmir and carrying out search operations, terrorists often do not fall into the hands of the army; they succeed in escaping or remain hidden with someone for many days. Hence, it has taken many years to bring terrorism in Kashmir under control.
In Kashmir, the Pakistani commanders who supported locals in carrying out terrorist activities are being eliminated, and the borders are being made stronger. Therefore, it has become difficult for Pakistan to supply money and Jihadis for terrorist activities. Since the financial lifeline of the terrorists has been tightened, they are searching for alternative routes to continue their operations. Hence, it is now coming to light that funds are being collected in this manner.
The Union Government must keep a close watch on those collecting funds for Jihad and destroy their entire network.
A double game of Iran ?
If we consider the issue of Iran, the missiles that Iran fired at Israel reportedly bore messages thanking India. India and Israel share good relations. Therefore, was this not an attempt by Iran to create friction between the two friendly Nations ?
Iran had also attempted to surround merchant vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, among which were Indian vessels. The USA had virtually withdrawn from providing security in this Strait, and not a single militarily strong and developed western Nation was prepared to send its warships there. This worked in Iran's favour, and it had begun extorting ransom from merchant ships wishing to pass through that route.
India tried to resolve this issue through diplomacy; however, Iran did not relent. Only when India's powerful warship was sent there to protect Indian vessels did Iran yield and clear the route for Indian ships. This means that until India demonstrated its strength, Iran was not willing to cooperate, despite being aided by India. Is this not also Iran's fanatical mindset ?
Even if the Government of India has provided assistance to Iran, many Indians question whether a country that supplies funds and weapons for terrorist activities and nurtures terrorist organisations in the Gulf to spread fear, truly deserves assistance. Assisting a country that bullies others in its region is no different from aiding terrorism itself.
Be that as it may, from India's perspective, aid for Iran must be collected not by local groups but strictly under Government control. Otherwise, it will not take long for the ghost of terrorism to awaken once again !