Imprudent Use of Social Media by Muslims Ruinous for the Community

Incidents highlight the need for caution among Muslim youth on social media platforms.

Mohammad Alamullah | Clarion India
 
NEW DELHI — 
Reckless posts by Muslims on social media platforms across the world, including in India, have had dire consequences. Due to these posts, the lives of many Muslim youths have been ruined. Not only this, a controversial post made by a Muslim sometimes affects the entire community. In such a situation, it is important to know how Muslims use social media.

In June 2024, a mob ransacked and looted a garment shop owned by a Muslim in Nahan town of Sirmor district in Himachal Pradesh. A viral video of the incident shows a mob vandalising his shop and chanting “Jai Shri Ram” slogans. Shopkeeper Javed was accused of sacrificing a cattle on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha in his village in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur and posting its picture on his WhatsApp status. A person named Rajkumar created an atmosphere against Javed by describing it on Facebook. Following this, Javed’s thriving business was destroyed with the help of pro-Hindu organisations.
While decorating his WhatsApp status with a picture of a sacrifice, Javed must not have thought that he had enemies ready to destroy his life. He didn’t know that people waiting for his one mistake could do him so much harm.
Not only in India, but Muslims all over the world are paying a painful price for mistakes made on social media. It is true that human life is shaped by thoughts, feelings, ideals, and emotions. A society is formed by combining all these characteristics. Man has always needed mass media to publicise these important aspects of his life. However, social media is one medium that Muslims need to be particularly careful about before making use of it.
From Javed in Himachal Pradesh to countless other Muslim youths across the country, many are living as prisoners in the country’s jails because of their controversial and emotional posts on social media. They have been suspended from colleges and schools. Those who manage to get out of prison are always under intelligence radar.

Some Avoidable Cases:
1. On 24 October 2021, Pakistan defeated India in the T20 World Cup. Three Kashmiri students studying in Agra were arrested for celebrating Pakistan’s victory. These students shared posts like “Love You Babar” and “India is not my country, my country is Kashmir” on WhatsApp. When the screenshots of their posts went viral, the college administration suspended the three on October 25. A case was registered against them under Sections 153A, 505AB of the IPC and Section 66F of the IT Act, 2008 after the students were arrested following protests by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. The FIR stated that these Kashmiri students raised anti-national slogans and tried to create chaos.

2. In August 2021, the police arrested at least 14 people from Assam. They were accused of celebrating the Taliban’s recapture of Afghanistan on social media. Cases were registered against them under various provisions of the UAPA, IT Act, and CrPC.

3. In June 2023, after a few Muslim youths uploaded their status in praise of Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan, a riot-like situation erupted in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. A bandh was called by pro-Hindu organisations in Kolhapur, which turned violent, sparking communal tension.

4. In June 2023, the Maharashtra Police registered an FIR against a 14-year-old boy from Ber district for allegedly posting a status message on social media praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. However, the student later deleted his post and apologised by posting a video message. Against the student’s post, some Hindutva organisations called for a bandh in a village in the district, which led to violence.

5. In September 2023, an incident of stone pelting and arson took place in Pusesavali village of Satara district, Maharashtra, due to a viral post on social media. A Muslim youth was killed by miscreants based on an alleged post. Local Muslim organisations accused Hindutva groups of hacking the social media accounts of some Muslim youths in the city.

6. On January 22, 2024, the Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested two persons for allegedly commenting on the demolished Babri Masjid and the construction of a Ram temple on the site. Cases were registered in Reasi, Ramban, Rajouri, and Kathua districts of Jammu division, and six persons were booked. Among those arrested was a student.

There are many examples of the bad consequences of Muslims not controlling their feelings and emotions on social media. But we should also admit that there was no need to share the posts from which incidents of violence took place or legal action was taken against them. Of course, there is freedom of expression, but when you have an open enemy waiting for an opportunity to react quickly to your post, you know how careful you need to be. It has become a habit of many Muslims on social media platforms to present themselves as spokespersons for Islam and Muslims. Muslims have to get out of this misconception.

The Uncontainable Internet
It is a fact that the media today has become a human necessity. Looking back, society was not so connected to the media. One of the reasons for this was that there was no social media in the past. Today is the age of social media. It has become the greatest need of a large segment of the world, as it is the fastest growing mass media of today. The main reason for this is that it is not easy to define the limits of the Internet anymore. Once any news of any kind goes viral on social media, it becomes impossible to control it.

Terrible Addiction
According to a Harvard University study, when a person is active on social networking, a certain part of his/her brain called the nucleus accumbens is activated. Experts suggest that social media is a terrible addiction based on this research Misuse of social media can ruin your entire life. We need to be careful when posting a video, photo, or message or sharing another user’s post. Many users, especially the youth, do not even realise how many agencies are keeping an eye on their posts shared on social media. That’s why just one controversial post is enough to ruin your life.

Social Media and Muslims
A responsible citizen should use social media with caution. Muslim youth, in particular, need to be very careful while sharing posts on social media. Because in the present era, cyber cells have been formally established to make a post made by a Muslim on a controversial issue go viral worldwide. Unaware of this, Muslim youth do not control their emotions and feelings on social media and share things that ruin their social and academic lives. In the last few years, there have been many incidents where it can be clearly seen that the controversial posts made by Muslim youths have become life-threatening for them and their families.
To protect youth and children from the misuse of social media and the harm caused by it, household heads have to keep their eyes open. They have to ensure that the new generation under their care does not get spoiled. In this case, the first responsibility of parents should be to monitor at what age, to what extent, and on which platforms children should have access, and ensure proper supervision of children during the access process. Training is also a must. Apart from parents, schools and colleges need to organise programs wherein positive and negative aspects of social media can be presented to students. Parents should know that children should be exposed to social media platforms according to the age rating.
Muslims should know that a controversial post of theirs does not only harm them but the entire nation. They should know that one wrong post can cause massive damage to someone’s life, career, and social life. Therefore, there is an urgent need today to discuss the useful and harmful aspects of social media platforms in detail and to avoid its harm and implement its positive use. 

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