Assam: Muslims allege harassment in the name of drive against jihadis

A newly formed Muslim organisation on Tuesday protested against jihadi militants and alleged harassment of the community in the name of drive against jihadi extremist groups.

More than 10,000 protesters, under the banner of 'Sanjukta Muslim Mancha', held a rally here and raised slogans like "All Muslims are not jihadis", "Jihadis are not Muslims", and "Stop harassment of Muslims in the name of jihadi extremist groups."

Addressing a meeting of the Mancha later, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind President Aasif Hussain said, "We loathe militants like the jihadi extremists and never give any place to such groups which give rise to militancy. All fundamentalist groups and others should not take any political mileage".

Accusing a section of political groups of trying to malign the minority community in the name of so-called jihadi militants, Hussain said, "We urge them not to compare the Muslim community with the jihadi militants. We have very good relations with all communities in Assam which is the land of the great unifiers Sri Sri Sankar Deb and Ajan Fakir", Hussain said.

The All Assam Minorities Students Union (AAMSU) district President Imtiaz Hussain said, "We vehemently protest a section of political parties' attempt to malign the community in the name of so–called jihadi militants." "We need to have good relations among every community which no one can destroy in the name of jihadi militant groups," he said.

The Mancha later submitted a memorandum to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi with a copy to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and President through Sonitpur district Deputy Commissioner Lalit Gogoi.