Clash of beliefs.

Byline: Dr Niaz Murtaza

BJP-LED Hindutva has turned secular India into a state openly pushing a Hindu identity and abusing its Muslim minority. Till recently in most cases of egregious interfaith abuse, Muslim states like Sudan or extremist groups like IS were the aggressors against animist, Christian and Yazidi groups. Unfortunately, as a result, not only they but even all Muslims and Islam were painted wrongly by Islamophobic brushes as intolerant of people of other faiths.

Today, the situation is reversed. Egregious abuse by such Muslims entities has largely died out. South Sudan is free while violence by IS and extremist Pakistani groups has reduced. Now, in almost all recent cases of egregious interfaith abuse, it is Muslims who have been victims of huge abuse at the hands of some people from almost every major belief system: in atheist China, Buddhist Myanmar, Hindu India, Jewish Israel and Christian Central African Republic - and earlier Serbia. Yet popular global opinion still views Muslims as mainly aggressors and ignores their new status as arguably the most abused religious group in the world today.

But there is also a misplaced sense of victimhood vis-a-vis a global Western conspiracy against their faith among many Muslims. Abuse against Muslims is widespread globally now, but not due to a grand Western conspiracy. It is almost all driven by local politics. Some aggressor states are even anti-West, eg China and Myanmar. Also, the actions of Muslim extremist groups may have fed fury against Muslims in general among other faiths. Obviously, this is just an explanation of and not a justification for the latter's actions.

Also, while egregious abuse has died down, less intense abuse continues in Pakistan and other Muslim states which over the years still adds up to high levels. The ingredients for reignition of egregious interfaith abuse also still exist in many Muslim states: odious ideology; armed groups; vulnerable minorities; and apathetic, weak and even conniving states. Such ingredients are emerging in many non-Muslim states too.

Neither Islamophobia nor a sense of victimhood is justified.

While Muslims or their religion can't be blamed for this, only Muslim extremists captured huge territory. Such groups, despite recent defeats, still exist to some extent in certain Muslim states and retain the ambition and even some power to strike globally. They are also unique in desiring to establish theocratic states and in wrongly...