Answer

I’m sure this answer will cause some controversy, but Islam in India is potentially going to go into crisis.

And if Indian Muslim elites & scholars don’t figure out how to fix it, tensions are only going to get worse in polarized areas.

Traditionally, believe it or not, Indian Muslims have held a reputation in other areas of the Muslim world for being rather unorthodox. Travelers & explorers noted “Mohammedans” (followers of Mohammed) who couldn’t read a word of Arabic, who would partake in Hindu traditions, and many of whom were practically indistinguishable from their Hindu neighbors.

These practices still continue in large swaths of India today like these Muslims showering flower petals on Kanwariyas (Hindu devotees of Shiva) in Uttar Pradesh

Or Farmani Naaz, A Muslim girl from Muzaffarnagar who became famous for singing Hindu Bhajans

The challenge for Indian Muslims & Hindus is that many Muslims are now taking a turn towards a more Orthodox form of Sunni Islam that is deviating from the more liberal forms of Islam that secular Muslims and Hindus are historically familiar with. And people are more likely to react aggressively to things that they are unfamiliar with.

Just a few days ago, the Jama Masjid in Delhi issued a ban on “unaccompanied women” & “non-worshipping women” in the mosque. They later reversed the ban within a span of 2 days after massive controversy. But the very fact that one of India’s most known & visited mosques issued such an unexpected ban raises serious questions about what direction these local Ulemas (councils) are heading to.

Or in 2017 when Suhana Sayd, a Muslim teen from Banglore was trolled and given hundreds of death threats on Facebook for singing a Hindu Bhajan on a Kannada TV Show.

People will absolutely develop questionable opinions when they see things like this on the front headlines of the newspaper or daily media. It leads many to wonder just how many other people might share similar opinions.

Now I don’t say all of this to say that all Indian Muslims are terrorists or extremists or etc. Of course not! Most Indian Muslims I know are non-violent, hospitable & welcoming people. In fact, i’d argue most Indian Muslims are the same way.

But it’s important to note that being conservatively religious & devout in your faith is not a problem in itself. It only becomes a problem when your practices & ideals start to infringe upon others, then you’re undoubtedly going to create tensions & problems. India’s Muslim leaders need to take a seriously long & hard look at the future of the community & ensure that this increasingly popular strain of Orthodox fundamentalism doesn’t swing out of control.