Is Banning PFI the only solution?

‘Banning PFI not a solution, we will have to fight their ideology’, says IUML (Indian Union Muslim League) leader amid NIA crackdown…

Well, it’s not quite as easy as it seems. First of all, I applaud IUML for saying out loud that if an ideology is bad, it should be opposed. They should take a strong stance against any group that encourages any Muslim to engage in terrorism. By doing so, they can improve public perception of India’s Muslim minority.

The community’s ability to gain the trust of other communities decreases each time a Muslim (male or female) is accused of committing a crime. At the same time, if a Muslim is credited by the media for charitable or socially beneficial work, the community’s trustworthiness increases. Every step that builds trust between all communities should be embraced.

Fighting the ideology is a multi-step process and is long-term work:

• Identify the schools where such inciteful activities are being held
• Identify the teachers who are involved in radicalizing innocent students
• Keep the community, especially the youth, away from the teachers and schools that promote radicalization
• Tracking such “cast-away” teachers and schools to make sure they do not cause damage to society in other ways
• Educate youth to seek better things in life than killing someone for ideological or religious purposes or otherwise
• Encourage businesses to employ youth who have given up violence
• Promote the positive work done by the community. Even small instances will go a long way in creating a positive image.

Regarding the PFI issue in particular, the Indian Government banned an organization called SIMI in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks in the USA. Even now, that prohibition is still in effect. Many of the PFI’s original members were once SIMI members, which is something that many people are unaware of.

So, what is the guarantee that more such organizations will not be spawned in the future by the former members of PFI (or even SIMI)? I do not know if NIA has the list of PFI’s members and consultants who may start other organizations to take up PFI’s activity, now that it is banned.

The rot seems to run deep in the system. NIA has also come out and said that more than 800 police personnel from the Kerala Police Force have contacts with the PFI network and have been leaking information to them. This is explosive and obviously, Kerala Police has denied the news.

However, even if only 100 Police officers (rather than 800+) were connected with PFI, it is still bad news for national security because a group that is prohibited for encouraging terrorism could infiltrate that much into law enforcement. We have to wait and see how this comes out finally.

In the meantime, every citizen irrespective of their community should be on their toes to weed out terrorists and support their governments in identifying such radical elements of society.