Muslim man willingly converts to Hinduism, faces death threats and stone pelting by local Muslims

Case ID : c0894a5 | Location : Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 26 April, 2024

Case ID : c0894a5

Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India

26 April, 2024

Muslim man willingly converts to Hinduism, faces death threats and stone pelting by local Muslims

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Haider Sheikh, who converted to Hinduism and adopted the name Hari Narayan, is facing threats to his life from his Muslim neighbours. Following his conversion in the Khajrana temple on April 27, 2024, Hari Narayan said that he has been threatened with death by members of the Muslim community, and his house was attacked with stones. In his complaint to the police, Hari Narayan stated that he is facing difficulty moving around due to fear for his safety. He informed the Indore Collector about the incident on April 29, but unknown individuals continued to target his house, breaking several glasses.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. In this instance, the victim voluntarily converted from Islam to Hinduism. No coercion, intimidation, or indoctrination of any kind was used. However, radical Muslims attacked him and threatened him with death. Such attacks often happen due to religious supremacist ideology and the punishment embedded in their religious doctrine for those who leave Islam and adopt another religion which is considered 'shirk'. In the religious doctrine, there are two elements that drive such attacks. The first is the punishment for apostasy, which is anyone leaving Islam. The second is the inherent animosity towards non-Muslim religions, especially Hinduism, since "idol-worship" is considered one of the greatest sins in Islam. This instance has been added to the tracker under the following category since disrespect for the Hindu religion is the primary purpose behind this incident.