India clears Muslim cleric in COVID case long used to scapegoat Muslims

Delhi police find no evidence against Nizamuddin Markaz chief, years after pandemic gathering was used to vilify Muslims nationwide

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — More than five years after India’s government and media blamed a Muslim religious gathering for spreading COVID-19, a Delhi Police investigation has found “nothing objectionable” in the speeches of Tablighi Jamaat leader Mohammad Saad Kandhalvi, whose group is a Muslim missionary movement headquartered at the Nizamuddin Markaz mosque in Delhi.

According to reporting by the Indian Express, the crime branch officer now handling the case told superiors that sermons retrieved from Kandhalvi’s laptop showed no incitement to defy lockdowns or social distancing. This directly contradicts the 2020 police complaint that accused him of urging followers to ignore restrictions and attend the congregation.

The revelation follows a July ruling by the Delhi High Court, which quashed 16 cases against 70 Indian nationals accused of sheltering foreign attendees. Nearly 952 foreign nationals from 36 countries faced criminal charges, with dozens of additional indictments filed. 

While most accepted fines, several trials later collapsed for lack of evidence. Judges stressed that simply staying in a religious center could not be considered a criminal act during the pandemic’s early days.

Despite this, the March 2020 congregation was vilified in Indian media as a “super-spreader” event. Then–health ministry official Lav Agarwal even claimed the gathering accelerated the country’s infection rate. 

Television anchors amplified the narrative, branding it “corona jihad” and fueling a wave of Islamophobia, from vigilante assaults to calls for boycotts of Muslim businesses. Rights advocates say the hysteria turned Muslims into scapegoats and entrenched suspicion against the community.

Observers note the selective outrage: while the Markaz was demonized, political rallies and Hindu religious festivals drew little scrutiny. Just days before the Delhi gathering, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a massive rally in Ahmedabad to welcome then–US president Donald Trump, an event that packed stadiums with over 100,000 people. 

Later that year, millions attended Hindu festivals with minimal restrictions. Yet only Muslim congregations were criminalized.

International observers also pointed to bias. A 2020 Pew Research Center study ranked India at the top of global COVID-related hostilities against religious groups, citing both state action and societal targeting of Muslims. 

Analysts argue the Markaz case epitomizes how the pandemic was weaponized — not simply as a health crisis, but as a political tool to stigmatize Muslims and reinforce Hindu nationalist dominance.