Hindus forced to convert to Islam by Islamic cleric and his son in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh
Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India 
6 July, 2026
Case Summary
In Phulat village of the Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, Hindu villagers were targeted, lured and intimidated for religious conversion by Maulana Hafizur Rehman Ansari, director of Madrasa Darul Uloom Rahimiya and his son, Zubair Ansari. The case was registered following a complaint submitted by Yunus, a resident of Phulat village, who stated that the two men had lured and intimidated several members of the Hindu community into converting to Islam. Acting on the complaint, the police booked both accused under Sections 352 and 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (reported as IPC in some media reports) and Sections 3 and 5(2) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. SSP Sanjay Kumar Verma constituted two special police teams to trace and arrest the accused, while raids were carried out at multiple locations. The police stated that further evidence was being collected as part of the ongoing investigation and that additional legal action would be taken based on the findings.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The incident was classified as a hate crime because the Hindu villagers were lured and intimidated for religious conversion by the Muslim perpetrators because of their religious identity. When members of a particular religious community are singled out for inducement, coercion, or intimidation with the objective of making them abandon their faith, the act transcends an ordinary criminal offence and constitutes an attack on the community's freedom of religion and collective identity. Such conduct is inherently discriminatory because it seeks to alter the religious composition of a specific group by exploiting pressure or vulnerability rather than respecting an individual's free and informed choice. Pressuring a Hindu individual to discard his religious faith and embrace another is a direct attack on his religious identity and dignity. It is not a matter of personal choice; it is coercion rooted in hostility towards the victim's Hindu identity. Such an attempt reflects religious animosity because the act is not simply about personal differences but about erasing the victim’s Hindu faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. The use of luring and intimidation as means to secure religious conversion is particularly significant in assessing the hate crime dimension of the incident. Religious conversion is recognised as a legitimate exercise of personal liberty only when it is undertaken voluntarily and without coercion. By contrast, where individuals are induced through material incentives, deception, or fear, the conversion process ceases to reflect genuine religious choice and instead becomes a mechanism for undermining the religious autonomy of the targeted community. Efforts to compel or pressure individuals to renounce their faith interfere with their constitutionally protected right to freely profess and practise their religion. When such efforts are directed at members of the Hindu community because of their religious identity, it demonstrates religious animosity towards Hinduism and their continued existence and beliefs. Such actions stem from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert. Such acts were not merely personal crimes; they were rooted in a desire to dominate and erase the religious identity of the victim. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case has specified the exact date when the accused began intimidating and luring the victims for conversion. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media, 6 July 2026.
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
