ALT ALT ALT

Thanking the Hindus and Sikhs of Delhi who protected the Muslims during communal riots

Thanking the Hindus and Sikhs of Delhi who protected the Muslims during communal riots

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my Hindu and Sikh brothers who defended the persecuted Muslims in Delhi during communal riots, even when their own lives were at stake.

There have been over a hundred accounts of Hindu men and women in Hindu-majority areas risking their lives to save Muslims. Some of them even died while protecting their Muslim neighbours from mobs of angry men. They will be remembered as men of kindness and courage, men who could not bear to look upon tyranny without fighting it. Our nation will remain indebted to them for their sacrifice. And even though their deaths ache us, they’ve given us reason to smile.

Meanwhile, as the violence escalated, Muslims also granted refuge to their Hindu neighbours in Muslim-majority areas. As the people caught hold of the rioters who were burning down Muslim homes, some Muslims displayed remarkable benevolence by protecting the Hindu rioters from harm and escorting them to safety.

These are the _real _citizens of India—and they make us proud to call ourselves Indians. These are the real Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims—those who have remained true to their faiths and to their scriptures. Because no religion advocates the killing of innocent people of other faiths. The Qur’an says, “If anyone kills a person, unless it be for murder or for spreading corruption in the land, it is as though he has killed mankind entirely. And if anyone saves a person, it is as if he has saved mankind entirely…”
Al Qur’an 5:32

So if the BJP government’s objective was to destroy the bond between the Muslims and Hindus of India, they’ve failed spectacularly. While the government did succeed in instigating a large number of otherwise innocent people to commit terrible acts of violence (most of whom came in from outside Delhi), it also united fair-minded people of all religions under one banner of peace. It is truly heartwarming to witness the kindness, compassion and selflessness that have flooded our nation in the wake of the unrest—when our country needed these traits the most.

Dr Zakir Naik is a prominent Islamic preacher

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of The Leaders Online.


Tags assigned to this article:
communal riotsHindusmuslimszakir naik