Barelvi Muslims call for a ban on Popular Front of India (PFI)

The Barelvi Ulema has demanded that the Popular Front of India (PFI) be banned for its alleged terror-related activities, which have resulted in nationwide raids by the NIA, ED, and state police on premises linked to its leaders. The president of the All India Muslim Jamaat, Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, issued a recorded statement in which he stated that the raids have demonstrated that the Islamist fundamentalist organisation has been “involved in communal riots in various states across the country.”

“That’s why, I urge all Sunni, Sufi, and Barelvi Muslims to not keep any relation with this organisation,” he said.

The Barelvi sect of Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly demanded that such organisations be banned immediately in order to protect the country’s unity and integrity. Maulana Barelvi also backed the government’s efforts to tighten the noose around terrorist activities in India.

“It is critical to prohibit such organisations,” he said, adding that the Indian government’s actions have his “complete support.”

Following simultaneous raids on the PFI-SDPI network in 15 states, the NIA arrested scores of PFI leaders. A total of 106 people were held in a massive exercise with coordination between the NIA, 86 platoons of paramilitary forces, intelligence agencies, and the state police.

The raids came after a meeting with concerned law enforcement and security officials, presided over by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, to review the evidence gathered and plan the next steps. As calls for a blanket ban grow, the government is likely to take a firm stance on the outfit’s status.

The PFI may call itself a socio-religious organisation, but the Islamist organization’s overarching goal is the same as that of the Islamic State: to establish an Islamic Caliphate in India. The PFI has meticulously spread all over India from Kerala with funds from West Asian countries where the Muslim Brotherhood is a dominant force, such as Qatar, Kuwait, and Turkey, with a cadre of banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) at its core.