Six years ago, women in Muslim-majority southeast Delhi occupied a stretch of road in Shaheen Bagh, turning it into a worldwide symbol of protest. In the run-up to Saturday’s event, a totally different message was circulating via WhatsApp groups, mosque announcements, Instagram clips and X posts in areas of the Muslim community: stay away.
Muslim youth that protests could last a few hours, but “the consequences can linger for them for years” were widely shared messages. Others said, “Don’t participate. ‘Don’t even go near the protest site’- saying that if violence or disruption broke out, Muslims would be among the first to be scrutinised.
Ahead of the date announced by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who flew in from the US for the protest, clerics, community figures and ordinary Muslim users circulated warnings asking members not to attend — a sentiment that has gained currency since the anti-CAA protests and the investigations into the Delhi riots.
College student Ashraf Masood stated his father dissuaded him from attending. “He told me that it is better to build yourself and your career first, then you can help people. This way we don’t encourage trouble,” he said. TOI A post on X called for Muslims to stay away from the area near the site. “Muslims will be made the scapegoat again as always,” it warned of arrests, media scrutiny and anti-national claims if trouble breaks out.
But Sarita Vihar college student Ashraf Masood said his father has told him not to. “He advised me it’s better to create yourself and your profession first and then help people. “That way we don’t court trouble,” he told TOI.
One X post, seen about 200,000 times before the protest, asked Muslims to stay away from not only the demonstration but the region around it as well. “As always Muslims will be made scapegoat,” it claimed, threatening of arrests, extended incarceration, media scrutiny and anti-national claims if trouble erupted.
This warning isn’t limited to social media. In an address after namaz on Friday, an imam from a mosque in Shaheen Bagh advised young Muslims to think twice before joining demonstrations. “Muslim youth need to remember that activism is not only in the streets,” he remarked. “Real change comes through education, community work. Feelings matter – but decisions should be based on intelligence and responsibility.
“Islam teaches us to stand for justice but also to protect ourselves from unnecessary harm and chaos,” Imam Ahmad of Masjid Shahab in Batla House told TOI. Not all protests are the same… young Muslims should consider themselves before participating, ‘What is the point of the protest?’ Who is running it? Will it be likely to be quiet or disorderly? Will it be good to attend, or will it put people at risk…?” A competing argument has been gaining ground in some quarters of the Muslim leadership that communal energies are better spent on education and institution-building.
Not everyone was convinced. “Peaceful protest is a democratic right of every citizen,” one person commented.
