Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC)

IAMC is a longstanding critic of Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi, having campaigned to have him barred from the United States for violating religious freedom for failing to stop anti-Muslim rioting during his tenure as Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat in the early 2000s, a bar that was not lifted until Modi was elected Prime Minister. ^{5 6 7} IAMC has characterized Modi as a “mass murderer” ⁸ and “a criminal on diplomatic immunity.” ⁹

In 2021, IAMC and the left-of-center Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the U.S. Department of State’s decision to exclude India from its “countries of particular concern” regarding religious freedom. ¹⁰

History and Leadership

Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) was originally founded in 2002 ² as the Indian Muslim Council – USA. In 2010, the organization changed its name to the Indian American Muslim Council. ¹¹

Rasheed Ahmed is a co-founder and the executive director of IAMC. ^{12 13}

Ahsan Khan is the president of IAMC. ¹⁴

Activities and Funding

Indian American Muslim Council is the largest advocacy organization consisting of Indian Muslims in the United States. ¹

IAMC works to support inter-faith and inter-community understanding within the Indian diaspora in the United States and aims to advance the critical race theory-influenced concept of social justice, peace, and pluralism in the Indian diaspora living in the United States. ¹⁵ IAMC also operates a grant program for Indian and American Journalists, ¹⁶ while also claiming that India is one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists. ¹⁷

IAMC hosts events and briefings on issues it defines as important for Indian-American Muslims. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) has spoken at IAMC events ¹⁸ and IAMC-event topics have included examinations of Hindu nationalism ^{19 20} and  “India’s Crackdown on Free Speech.” ²¹

IAMC also works with the U.S. federal government, state governments, Congress, state legislatures, news media, think tanks, and others to raise awareness on civil rights issues in India. ⁴ This includes recruiting volunteers to support activities including campaigning, Congressional outreach, coalition outreach, and marketing. ²²

In 2022 IAMC, alongside the American Muslims for Democracy, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) New Jersey, the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA), Hindus for Human Rights, and World Without Genocide, condemned various Hindu-aligned Indian-American organizations and claimed that they promote division within the diaspora. The coalition called the Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh USA, a member of the Sangh Parivar network of Hindu nationalist organizations associated with the controversial Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the American wing of a “Nazi-inspired paramilitary group.” ²³

In 2021, left-of-center Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) joined IAMC to condemn the U.S. Department of State’s decision to exclude India from the department’s list of “countries of particular concern” regarding religious freedom. ¹⁰

Controversy

IAMC has called Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi a “mass murderer” ⁸ and a “criminal on diplomatic immunity.” ⁹

IAMC also hosts the “India Genocide News” YouTube video series. ²⁴ The channel’s topics include claims that India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is “extremist” and that the Modi government is pursuing “anti-Muslim citizenship” policies. ²⁵

Funding

Indian American Muslim Council receives funding from grants and individual donations. ^{26 27} In 2021, IAMC reported revenue of $727,282 and expenses of $671,703. ²⁸ IAMC reported revenue of $1,203,024 and expenses of $610,307 in 2020. ²⁹

In 2020, IAMC received grants of $113,345 from American Online Giving Foundation; $49,500 from Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund; and $10,000 from the left-of-center National Philanthropic Trust. ³⁰ In 2019, IAMC received $17,700 from the Muslim Community Center of Chicago. ³¹

IAMC received $8,200 from the left-of-center Silicon Valley Community Foundation ³² and $5,005 from the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation in 2015. ³³