ILIA Youth Join Hundreds for Rally Against CAA, NRC

WASHINGTON - Dec. 23, 2019 - PRLog -- Islamic Leadership Institute of America (ILIA) youth joined hundreds of others outside of the Embassy of India in protest of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) proposed in India. An estimated 500 people gathered across from the embassy, underneath a statue of Mahatma Gandhi- a paragon for peaceful protest.

CAA, passed in the Indian Parliament on December 11th, expedites Indian citizenship for religious minorities from India's neighboring countries- with the exception Muslims. The Indian government, ruled by the Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), says the bill is intended to protect religious minorities fleeing from persecution. Many oppose the bill, saying it is unconstitutional to have a religious basis for citizenship.

Hundreds of thousands have flooded the streets in India in protest of these new citizenship laws. The Indian government has continued to shut down the internet in light of protests, making it the longest internet shutdown in any democracy. The community sought to rally in support of those demonstrators and urge U.S. action, and assembled in front of the Embassy on Sunday.

For hours, people rallied, gave speeches, and circled the area with signs and megaphones chanting "Azadi!" (freedom). "I am here for a single purpose, and that is civil rights and religious freedom, and nothing more than that," said Mike Ghouse, President of the Center for Pluralism. "We should be free to practice our faith, live our lives."

The group also condemned the attacks on students in India peacefully protesting the citizenship law. According to Al-Jazeera, students at Jamia Milla Islamic (JMI) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) were protesting on campus when police fired tear gas at them. Over 100 students were injured in the clash.

One theme emerged from the group: unity. The crowd sang the Indian national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana." Community member and activist Imran Siddiqui described that the Indian national anthem, which was written by a Muslim poet, centralizes around unity. "No religion divides us from this nation," he explained. "They brought this law just to divide us."

The show of unity continued when ILIA student Mohamed Benalla stood beneath the statue of Gandhi and sang the U.S. national anthem- a reminder that the fight for human rights is a duty upon all of us.

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To learn more about the issue and the work of the ILIA's Advocacy and Public Policy Leadership (APPL) track, visit https://www.islamicleadership.org/appl/.