Muslim doctor of Faridabad indoctrinates minor Hindu boy to read Kalma by promising 72 hoors in Jannat

Case ID : 2d5287f | Location : Faridabad, Haryana, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 30 March, 2024

Case ID : 2d5287f

Faridabad, Haryana, India

30 March, 2024

Muslim doctor of Faridabad indoctrinates minor Hindu boy to read Kalma by promising 72 hoors in Jannat

Predatory Proselytisation

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Conversion of minor

Case Summary

A case of religious conversion involving a minor Hindu boy surfaced in Greater Faridabad, Haryana on March 31, 2024. A Muslim doctor lured the boy into converting his religion to Islam by promising him 72 Hoors in Jannat (72 virgins in Heaven). The accused doctor, identified as Faizan Ahmed, and his Russian wife are accused of brainwashing the boy and coercing him to recite Islamic prayers (Kalma). Despite efforts by the boy's family to dissuade him, he remained adamant, leading to conflicts within the family. The conversion occurred in 2023 when the families of the victim and the accused resided in the same Omaxe Spa Society and the boy was 17 years old. The accused frequently used to meet the victim at the gym and stay connected through Facebook. The victim's family filed a police complaint, alleging religious conversion and coercion against the accused. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) functionary Pankaj Jain stated that the teenager has been so radicalised now that he can kill anyone. Authorities are investigating the matter. As per reports, the accused is currently in the United Kingdom.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under the core category of Predatory Proselytisation because there is a distinct component in this case, which essentially involves brainwashing a non-Muslim to abandon his faith and begin practising the alien faith, that demonstrates the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and their deliberate attempt to alienate the victims from their Hindu identity. In this case, the parents of the victim, who was a minor, testified that their son was brainwashed and indoctrinated to adopt Islam. The accused was successful in luring the minor boy into adopting Islam by promising him the services of 72 virgins in heaven. The minor was radicalised to the extent that he not only started practising Islamic principles but was also ready to harm anyone who was opposed to converting to Islam. Since the motivating factor of the crime was the religious identity of the victim and the intention of the accused to disenfranchise him from it, the case has been categorised as a hate crime.