Nepal
shares its borders with India and China, and under the influence of
these countries has for years been applying a repressive policy toward
Muslims. More than a million Muslims live in the country, 80% of whose
population are Hindu and 10% Buddhist.
Nepal
used to be officially Hindu and was a monarchy until 2008. In that year
the monarchy came to an end and the Federal Democratic Republic of
Nepal was founded. Until 2008, Nepalese Muslims had no rights at all,
and their religious identities were denied by the Nepalese monarchy. But
as soon as the new administration came to power it announced it would
treat Muslims with understanding and even fulfill certain of their
demands. Yet fanatical Hindus were uneasy at this democratic approach of
the new government and the official adoption of laicism, and stepped up
their acts of violence against Muslims and carried out a string of
fascist attacks. These racist fascists opened their attacks with the
mosques; in March 2008 they hurled four bombs at a mosque in
Biratnagar in which more than 50 Muslims were praying, thus causing the
martyrdom of three Muslims and dozens more to be injured. In
the time that followed, many mosques in the towns of Biratnagar and
Bukraha, which have substantial Muslim populations, were attacked by
radical, racist Hindu organizations. In 2004, these racist groups set
fire to houses, workplaces, associations and mosques belonging to
Muslims.
The
oppression of Nepalese Muslims by these fascist organizations is still
going on. Nepalese Muslims are constantly being harassed by racist
Hindus and are engaged in a major struggle to preserve their religion
and are trying to survive as Muslims despite all the pressure on them.
In particular, Nepalese people who have converted to Islam from Hinduism
are subjected to intense pressure from both their families and society
as a whole.
Three
out of more than 50 Nepalese Muslims who were praying in the Choti
mosque in Biratnagar when it was attacked in 2008 by racist Hindus
during the time of the evening prayer were martyred, and dozens more
injured.
Muslims in Nepal must unite without delay and call on the whole Muslim world to be unified.
Muslims
in Nepal are still living as different communities and have no
representative on religious matters. There is no doubt that what
Nepalese Muslims, who believe they are not fairly represented in
Parliament and who wish to enjoy rights under the new Constitution and
enjoy its protection, need to do is to establish a powerful unity among
themselves without further delay. Allah has made this an obligation for
all Muslims:
Hold
fast to the rope of Allah all together, and do not separate. Remember
Allah’s blessing to you when you were enemies and He joined your hearts
together so that you became brothers by His blessing. You were on the
very brink of a pit of the Fire and He rescued you from it. In this way
Allah makes His Signs clear to you, so that hopefully you will be
guided. (Surah Al ’Imran, 103)
On
the other hand, our Nepalese Muslim brothers must fervently pray for
all Muslims in the world to be united as soon as possible and must
encourage this unification of the Muslim world as a matter of the
greatest urgency.
Muslims’ most urgent duty is to establish the Turkish-Islamic Union in order for the sufferings in the world to end
The
Nepalese have recently been living in disorder brought about by
fanatical Hindus who want the return of the monarchy and Nepal to be a
Hindu country once again, and who are inciting people along those lines.
This is of course a matter of close concern for Nepalese Muslims who
want the country to attain democracy right away and thus to see their
legitimate rights restored to them. We hope that the country will make
steady progress toward democracy and that our Muslim brothers will
attain a climate of well-being in which they can freely live by their
faith.
However,
it must not be forgotten that it is a clear and urgent fact that the
only solution for the liberation of all Muslims who are oppressed is for
the Islamic world to come together under a single roof. Muslim
unification is the only answer to terror, disorder and restlessness.
Such unity will certainly bring peace, brotherhood, friendship and
solidarity to both the Islamic world and to all the countries of the
world. In order for the climate of brutality, violence and fear to which
Muslims are subjected in dozens of countries to come to an end, it is
essential that Muslims be united and establish the Turkish-Islamic
Union. Muslims everywhere in the world must see this and do all they can
to bring it about. Otherwise, the Muslims of the world will assume a
heavy spiritual responsibility with every passing day, and will assume a
heavy burden in the Sight of Allah.
Nepalese
Muslims who want to be free to live by their faith and achieve a
climate in which they can raise future generations in peace and
security...
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