There is extreme caste discrimination amongst Muslims in India: Pasmanda activist Faiyaz Ahmad

Do you recognize who Pasmanda Muslims are? Is there any casteism in Indian Muslims? Do Muslims really feel {that a} part amongst them belongs to the decrease caste? When we see a Muslim, these questions usually don’t strike us. However, there may be loads of discrimination among the many Muslim communities, which within the phrases of Pasmanda activist Faiyaz Ahmad Fyzie, is hidden from the outer world.
The story of Faiyaz Ahmad Fyzie, who left Tablighi Jamaat
Faiyaz Ahmad Fyzie was a younger, energetic Muslim who had a deep reference to Tablighi Jamaat because the time he remembers. When he was rising up, he used to see his paternal kinfolk going to Jamaat and dedicatedly following the rules supplied by their chief. Faiyaz, who mentioned why he left Tablighi Jamaat and why he’s preventing for the rights of Pasmanda Muslims, mentioned that his father was not pleased with him going to Jamaat.
“He was, what you may call, a liberal,” Faiyaz mentioned throughout a dialog with Abhinav Prakash on Urban Chatterati. His father didn’t need them to get ‘radicalized’. However, Faiyaz and his twin brother continued going to Jamaat and serving to different members of the neighborhood. When he began going to school in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), he felt extra linked to the Jamaat. He used to go to Jamaat not less than 2-3 occasions a day.

‘Everything was fine from outside, but not from the inside’ – Faiyaz
Slowly, Faiyaz grew to become extra linked to Tablighi Jammat. He used to convey extra members of his neighborhood to affix and comply with Jamaat. So a lot so, there was a time when he grew to become one of many standard faces in Jamaat. He used to offer lectures and unfold the phrase concerning the teachings of Jamaat. He mentioned Jamaat teaches concerning the world down underneath and up above, what lies in between is the same as the wings of a mosquito. However, what he noticed throughout his visits to Jamaat was totally different.
During his dialog, Faiyaz talked about Taril Jamil, a well-known Tablighi chief, who tells his followers to cease worrying about worldly issues and focus on growing a reference to ‘Allah’. “To tell his followers that they should not worry about the materialistic things, he leaves his posh house and come in an expensive vehicle,” mentioned Faiyaz sarcastically. He mentioned whereas the leaders of Jamaat inform others to comply with a easy life, they like luxurious facilities.
Khawas and Awam – The discrimination that you simply don’t discover
In Jamaat, there are two sections of individuals. The first part is Awam, which incorporates widespread folks. The second part is Khawas, which incorporates students, elites and the affluent part of the society. The leaders of Jamaat belong to the latter. Faiyaz mentioned when he had the prospect to enter the room of Khawas for the primary time, he was in shock to see that the leaders who inform them to eat collectively had been consuming on separate plates.
“They told us more hands in a plate, more will be prosperity, but they themselves preferred to eat in separate plates. I was shocked to see the real face of the leaders,” mentioned Faiyaz. Unfortunately, he mentioned, the issues with Jamaat didn’t finish there.
Nepotism is deep-rooted in Jamaat
Faiyaz mentioned that it’s unimaginable for anybody who shouldn’t be from Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi’s household to turn out to be the top of Jamaat. There had been some situations when somebody from decrease caste grew to become the top, however he was eliminated after an uproar among the many higher caste or Ashrafs in Jamaat.
He talked about a ebook by Masood Alam Falahi titled “Hindustan Mein Zaat-Paat Aur Musalman“, through which the writer detailed the issues inside the Muslim neighborhood. In the ninth chapter, in keeping with Faiyaz, the writer detailed the wrongdoings of leaders in Jamaat and the way they discriminated in opposition to the Indian Muslims.
 While explaining the deep-rooted nepotism in Jamaat, Faiyaz mentioned that when Maulana Saad, the present chief of Jamaat, received sufficiently old to be declared as the top of Jamaat, his cousin Maulana Zubair was additionally eligible. They took turns and labored as Ameer or head of the Jamaat. As quickly as Zubair died, Saad declared himself as the top of Jamaat, which was opposed by those that adopted Zubair. “It was a bloodbath in Nizamudin Markaz,” mentioned Faiyaz. Now, there are two Jamaats, one headed by Saad and the opposite by Zubair’s son Zuhair.
The Pasmandas – Lower caste Muslims who’re invisible
Faiyaz mentioned that round 90% of Muslims in India are thought of to be Pasmanda Muslims. When it involves discussing the rights of Muslims, nobody take into account their voices. They don’t get any place as a lawmaker. In an interview with Kushal Mehra for The Cārvāka Podcast, Faiyaz mentioned that everybody places Pasmanda Muslims in entrance and accumulate cash for his or her upliftment. However, the Ashrafs management the funds and the cash collected by no means reaches Pasmanda.

Pasmanda Muslims are the troopers, not leaders: Faiyaz
He mentioned that the leaders who belong to the higher caste, a.ok.a Sheikhs and many others., don’t bask in doing any work. They solely put together troopers amongst Pasmanda Muslims. The affect of such leaders is deep-rooted in Pasmanda that even the educated ones go away their professions and open madarsas. “These upper-caste leaders or Ashrafs are the cause of all disputes in the country. They want to create an Islamic state. They believe that it will be their victory if they take the world back to the medieval times,” mentioned Faiyaz.
He mentioned that Jamaat is banned in lots of Islamic international locations, however it’s unlucky for India that every little thing is allowed right here within the title of secularism. The discrimination amongst Muslims is deep-rooted, and a lot of the advantages of presidency schemes are taken away by the Ashrafs. Pasmanda Muslims principally by no means see these advantages. “Ashraf ke biryani se bhare hue pet ko shahi tukda dena, yehi Bharat ka secularism hai (Giving benefits to the already prosperous Ashraf community is what secularism means in India),” mentioned Faiyaz.
No illustration for Pasmanda Muslims
Faiyaz mentioned there isn’t a illustration of Pasmanda Muslims in parliament and even the Muslim Personal Law Board. Every official on the board belongs to the higher caste. If somebody tries to talk for the Pasmanda Muslims, the voice is silenced by the leaders. He mentioned it was due to the growing affect of Britishers that Muslim leaders of that point began constructing madarsas; in any other case, they had been comfortable to maintain lower-caste Muslims uneducated. “Britishers taught everyone English in 150 years, but they could not teach anyone Arabic,” mentioned Faiyaz.
He added that even the federal government is unable to see the discrimination among the many Muslim neighborhood. Before, it was Congress, and never it’s BJP who’s blind-sighted by the Ashraf leaders. No one talks about Pasmanda Muslims and the discrimination that they should face every day.
The breaking level
Faiyaz mentioned there was no single occasion that pressured him away from Jamaat. A sequence of occasions and the teachings of his father performed a significant function in his journey away from Jamaat. Every time he noticed discrimination amongst Muslims in Jamaat, he indifferent himself from the neighborhood somewhat extra.
Faiyaz now works as an activist to convey change within the lives of Pasmanda Muslims.