In the last 48 hours, he has decided to take the ISIS head on, describing them as ``dogs of hell''. Owaisi is seen as a political spokesperson for the Indian Muslims, and realises that if the numbers joining the ISIS from India they swell, could spell havoc for the minority community.
In the last one week, the narrative has shifted from the alleged Islamic State terror cell that was busted in the Old city area of Hyderabad to city MP Asaduddin Owaisi. The BJP in particular, has taken upon itself to target Owaisi for offering legal aid to the five arrested youth, arguing that this amounts to treason and that action should be taken against him and the MP's party, the AIMIM should be derecognised.
Given that the BJP has a legal luminary like Arun Jaitley sitting in a powerful position, he should tell his party colleagues that if the MIM's legal unit does not extend help, the court will, under the law of the land. So Owaisi is not breaking the law as mere arrest does not make a person a terrorist. After all, 100 Muslim youth were arrested after the Mecca Masjid blast in 2007, only to be acquitted by court.
But Owaisi is no friend of the Islamic State (ISIS). He has been the recipient of several threats on social media, one of them a video that was posted on the ISIS website, calling him a non-Muslim.
There are two different strands emerging here. First is Owaisi deciding to up the ante against the ISIS. This is perhaps because he realises that the constant sniping at him could prove damaging in the long run. The fact that he is expected to prove his patriotism time and again, is not lost on him. Which is why in the last 48 hours, he has decided to take the ISIS head on, describing them as ``dogs of hell''. To tell his critics that Owaisi is not ISIS.
With reports coming of Muslims from Kerala, going missing and perhaps surfacing in the battle for the Islamic State in Syria, Owaisi who is seen as a political spokesperson for the Indian Muslims, also realises that the numbers if they swell, could spell havoc for the minority community. The risk of every Muslim being labelled as an agent of a terror outfit will be very real. Which is why the urgency in dehyphenating the Indian Muslim from the ISIS. If linkage with ISI was bad enough, IS could be worse.
Which is Owaisi's emphasis on the ‘India is our country’ line. “This is our country, so stay united. If you really want to do jihad, don't take up arms. Feed the poor, work for their development, fund marriages of their daughter, this is real jihad,” said Owaisi.
There is another game being played out as well. The BJP targeting Owaisi will boost his profile and given that he is planning to be a serious player in the Uttar Pradesh election in 2017, means he could play the spoiler for the ruling Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress by mopping up part of the Muslim-Dalit vote.
UP will be a very difficult battle, easily the toughest electoral battle that will be fought since the 2014 general elections. Amit Shah has learnt many lessons from the Bihar debacle. Among them is the need to crack the caste matrix, constituency by constituency. With the state home to 19% Muslim population, the community can well play an important role in Kaun banega mukhyamantri in Lucknow. Which is why a divided Muslim vote or taking away part of the Muslim vote away from the SP or BSP, could work wonders for the BJP.
However, the danger in BJP mounting an attack on Owaisi through every galli and mohalla leader is that it will make people suspect a behind-the-scenes deal between the party and MIM. The same was alleged when Owaisi made a rather belated entry into Bihar but came a cropper.
As far as India's political akhara is concerned, ISIS is an opportunity. Wait for the game to get more dirty.
