The arrest of three members of Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath {TNTJ}, who threatened the Karnataka High Court judges over the recent hijab case, has brought the Islamic group back in a not-so-favourable limelight
The Karnataka High Court said in its order that wearing hijab is not an essential religious practice of Islam. PTI
The arrest of three members of Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath {TNTJ}, who threatened the Karnataka High Court judges over the revent hijab case, has brought the Islamic group back in a not-so-favourable limelight.
Following the threat to judges, the Karnataka government had decided to provide ‘Y category’ security to all three judges.
“The person who issued death threats to sitting judges of Karnataka High Court, who delivered verdict in the hijab case, has been brought to the state from Tamil Nadu by Karnataka police today (Tuesday) after producing a body warrant. His name is Rahamathulla and he has been brought from Madurai,” Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said.
The arrests of Covai Rahamathulla from Tirunelveli and S Jamal Mohammad Usmani from Thanjavur has once again raised questions on the role played by TNTJ behind such provocative behaviour of its members.
Let’s take a look at the Islamic group and why it makes news for all the wrong reasons:
What is TNTJ
The group, Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath {TNTJ}, was founded in 2004 in Tamil Nadu.
The organisation’s name first made headlines after suicide bombings in Sri Lanka in 2019. TNTJ’s name was confused with the National Towheed Jamaat, a Sri Lankan jihadist group that was blamed for the terror attack that killed 290 civilians.
TNTJ clarified at the time that it had no connection with the NTJ and staged demonstrations at Chepauk in Chennai to express its disapproval of the terror group.
According to a report by News18, over 1,000 protesters, including children, belonging to TNTJ had participated in the agitation.
However, intelligence agencies did find an Indian connection to the Sri Lanka bombing.
Zahran Hashim, the alleged mastermind behind the attack, was a follower of TNTJ founder P Jainulabdeen.
Incidentally, Jainulabdeen was expelled from the party for alleged sexual misconduct and misappropriation of funds in 2018.
The TNTJ office bearers claim to be apolitical and focus on socio-religious activities, education and democratic discourse. They generate funds from their 10-lakh strong membership and are often seen participating in social activities like helping those affected by Covid-19, floods, etc, according to a report by News18.
What is the current issue
An FIR was registered by Vidhana Soudha Police on 19 March against an unknown individual over a video clip circulating on social media platforms.
The video clip showed a man speaking in Tamil and issuing death threats to the three judges.
TNTJ leader Rahmatullah announced in the video that if judges get killed over the hijab case verdict, then they themselves will be responsible for their death. In his speech, the accused mentions about a district judge in Jharkhand being mowed down last year while the latter was out on a morning walk.
He even stated that people know where the Chief Justice of Karnataka goes to walk in the morning.
The Tamil Nadu police had on 20 March, arrested Rahamathulla, who is said to be an office-bearer of TNTJ, in connection with the case.
Talking to News18, Al Ameen, secretary of TNTJ, said that the functionaries should have spoken in a controlled and cautious manner.
“But let me tell you, we have sought an internal investigation into the matter and we have been told that the three officials said they have been quoted out of context. They should have been understood in a bigger context, ” Ameen told News18 over the phone from Chennai.
Ameen added that TNTJ is a peaceful organisation and the Sangh parivar has been “making a mountain of a molehill”.
“We are a peaceful organisation and this is the agenda of the Sangh Parivar to create an issue to make headlines. They are making a mountain of a molehill and they are committed to propagating issues against the TNTJ and create a wrong image of us,” Ameen said.
Earlier encounters with law
In 2019, another office bearer of TNTJ, N Faisal, was arrested for his hate speech against union home minister Amit Shah and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
In 2015, the Chennai police filed an FIR against TNTJ members after an American national accused the group of assaulting him for attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity.
The same year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided three locations of the group along with offices of the Popular Front of India (PFI) for their alleged links with terror groups.
With inputs from agencies
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