A wise man once opined, “Fist time is chance, the second time is a coincidence, third is a pattern.” In recent times, a pattern has certainly emerged in the series of hate crimes committed against Hindus.

It would serve the interests of the secular establishment if we bury our heads in the sand. However, turning our eyes away from reality doesn’t alter facts in any manner. Therefore, It is of paramount importance that we recognize the pattern that is staring at our eyes and take effective measures to counter it.

Swati Goel Sharma, a journalist with Swarajya Mag, alluded to it in a recent tweet.

One detail I cudnt help notice as a pattern in crimes involving the community is participation of women. Girl says cleric’s aunt and cousin were present in madrassa and knew she was being raped. Girl’s mother says the aunt called her to take money and stay silent — Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) June 21, 2019

In an earlier article, we had alluded to a pattern in hate crimes and called it ‘community crimes‘. Such crimes usually involve the participation of the larger society. A disturbing pattern that has emerged in such crimes is the participation of women and minors of the Muslim community.

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There were signs of it when Ankit Saxena was murdered by his Muslim girlfriend’s family in February 2018. Her mother had rammed her scooter into Ankit’s vehicle at a traffic intersection forcing him to step out of it. Eventually, others of the family arrived and the girl’s father slit his throat with a butchering knife.

In May, this year, a Muslim mob had attacked the owners of a Hindu Lassi shop in Mathura, near the iconic Krishna Janambhoomi Temple. It, too, involved a woman. A Burqa-clad woman, following a minor tiff, brought along with her a bloodthirsty mob who attacked the shop-owners. According to a report by Swati Goel Sharma, the Muslim mob attacked the brothers on the instructions from the burqa-clad woman who addressed the shop-owners as ‘Kaafirs’ while goading on the mob to attack them. One person died in the violence.

In the case mentioned in the above-linked tweet by Swati Goel Sharma, a Maulvi in Kanpur, Javed, allegedly raped a 15-year old girl in a Madrassa. His maternal aunt and daughter taught children at the very same Madrassa, they reportedly knew that the minor girl was being raped by the Maulvi and yet, did not come to her aid. The girl’s aunt apparently called the mother to take the money and remain silent. The girl’s family was facing hostility from people in the community as well.

Not too long ago, businessman Dhruv Tyagi was murdered by a Muslim father-son duo after he went to their home to complain about their son who had molested his daughter. The weapon with which Tyagi was murdered, a butcher’s knife, was provided by Jehangir Khan’s wife and daughter. Not only was he murdered, his body was mutilated, fingernails were ripped out and teeth were broken.

In the Aligarh child murder case, one Muslim woman was also arrested as the child’s body was found wrapped in her dupatta. Her husband Zahid is the prime accused in the case that shook the soul of the nation.

Recently, in Rajasthan, a Muslim mob that consisted of many women attacked an RSS shakha at Boondi and thrashed the children present as well. The children were chased mercilessly by the mob and beaten brutally.

Numerous juveniles have been involved in such hate crimes as well. Even in the Ankit Saxena murder case, the Police had arrested a minor for the murder. In the Hauz Qazi Temple Desecration incident, at least 7 juveniles have been arrested thus far. They were urged by others to participate in the crime after which they indulged in hooliganism totally.

Perhaps the most heinous incident surfaced in December, last year when three juveniles claimed that they were instigated by a Maulvi to rape a minor child. They had manipulated a 5-year old to accompany them to a secluded area along with her brothers who were younger than her. The little girl was later found naked by relatives.

In another shocking incident, a 10-year was raped by a Maulvi in tandem with a juvenile in April 2018. It was the juvenile who took the little girl to the Maulvi. They would assault the girl sexually and lock her up in a room. If people were under the impression that this incident could not get any more shocking, they were in for a rude shock. Certain people from the Muslim community took to Twitter demanding that the minor be married off to her rapist and deemed the entire matter a ‘love affair’.

Thus, a pattern emerges where sections of the population which are perceived to be at less risk of committing crimes often participate enthusiastically in crimes. Of course, a wider range of data is necessary to conclusively establish the pattern as normal. However, the cases here mentioned is evidence enough of the fact that the perceptions we have of the Muslim community are not entirely accurate.

In at least two case listed above, a religious preacher of the community either instigated minors to commit rape or participated in rape along with a minor. In another instance, a minor was involved in a murder along with his family which was motivated by religious bigotry. In the Hauz Qazi Temple desecration incident, numerous minors have been arrested. It also appears extremely likely that in the numerous instances of mob violence across cities, minors from the Muslim community were involved.

Muslim women, too, appear to be perfectly willing to indulge in hate crimes against Hindus. They often are active participants in the crimes. Their consent can be also gauged from the fact that not a single woman from the community has made any effort to report people from their own community when they have indulged in mob violence. Thus, it’s of critical importance that we do not consider Muslim women as victims of an ‘Islamic Patriarchy’ because quite clearly, they do not perceive themselves as such.

The juveniles are the only section, perhaps, that could be considered ‘victims’ by any stretch of the imagination. They grow up in circumstances where religious bigotry is extremely normalized and thus, emulate the behaviours of the elders of the community.

The Indian State’s policies are based on the assumption that the Muslim community could be reformed by educating its women. However, there doesn’t appear to be any evidence that suggests the possibility of success. Quite clearly, large sections of Muslim women are as invested in religious bigotry as significant sections of the men are. Thus, such a strategy by the Indian State is akin to chasing fool’s gold.

To believe that terrorists in Kashmir have been able to wage war against the Indian State without the active support of Muslim women would take an inordinate amount of incredulity. Asiya Andrabi, one of the faces of Kashmiri terror, is a woman. So is Mehbooba Mufti who actively encourages separatists and speaks the language of Pakistan.

It again highlights the necessity to understand the power structures that bind Muslim society. Although men are at the top of the hierarchy, women are very much motivated to ensure that the hierarchy isn’t threatened. Human history is a story of cooperation between the two sexes, not antagonism. Therefore, the Muslim community ought to be viewed in the same manner.

The greatest factor that makes the reformation of the Muslim community so difficult is the overwhelming power that Maulvis and the Maulanas enjoy. And unfortunately, most people from the clerical structure are entirely corrupted. In this article, we saw two articles that highlight this fact. In a separate article, we will document all the heinous crimes that have been committed by Islamic clerics.

A Muslim woman is as likely as Muslim man to follow the diktats of the clerics. Juveniles, obviously, are more likely to do so. Therefore, until and unless the power structures within the community are broken, a reformation is essentially impossible.