By M Ghazali Khan
London, (The Muslim News): Prominent and widely respected Islamic preachers, Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, Maulana Umar Gautam, and 14 others, have been sentenced to life imprisonment on multiple charges, including forcibly converting people to Islam.
Four associates of Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui have been sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, Maulana Umar Gautam, and their other aides received life sentences.
Advocate Usama Idris Nadwi, who is defending the accused, said that the decision of the sessions court will be challenged in the High Court, where he hopes to secure justice.
The Lucknow Sessions court, under the joint courts of India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), sentenced the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. These include as ridiculous charges as “cheating,” “criminal conspiracy,” “promoting enmity between different groups,” “prejudicial imputations,” “deliberate acts to outrage religious feelings,” “conspiracy against the state,” and “concealing offenses.”
Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, Maulana Umar Gautam—a former Hindu who converted to Islam years ago—his son, and 16 others were charged with illegal religious conversion and detained under the draconian Anti-Terrorism Act (UAPA) in September 2021.
On April 5, 2023, they were granted bail by the Allahabad High Court and released on May 3, 2023.
State governments led by the Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have criminalized religious conversion. Under the pretext of this law, Muslims who assist individuals in converting to Islam by choice are often prosecuted and imprisoned.
In a message that has since gone viral on social media, Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui urged his family members and young Muslims to remain patient and steadfast. “We firmly believe that nothing happens without Allah’s will. He is the Most Kind and Merciful. We may not fully understand His judgment, but surely there is wisdom and blessing behind it. Remain calm and content. Turn to Him and pray, and He will remove this difficulty. My family members and dear youth, focus on your obligations,” he said.
M Ghazali Khan is a freelance journalist.
[Photo: Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui. (Photo courtesy of family of Maulana Siddiqui]
