Question:
Is there an organized effort where Muslim men deceive Hindu women through love and then convert them to Islam.
Answer:
To understand this properly, consider what actually happens in such relationships.
When a Muslim man falls in love with a Hindu woman, two possibilities arise. Either the man leaves Islam and adopts the woman’s religion, or the woman decides to accept Islam in order to marry him. One of these two outcomes occurs. When a woman chooses Islam after falling in love, some people immediately call it “Love Jihad,” claiming that Muslim men are recruiting people through romance. But we must look at the reality.
Similar situations occur within every religion. Sometimes a Muslim woman falls in love with a non-Muslim man and leaves her family to marry him. What do we call that? These situations often arise because of emotional and biological factors, especially during youth. Psychologists and medical experts say that during the teenage years and early adulthood, strong hormonal influences affect emotions and decisions.
During that period some people feel an intense desire for companionship and security, and they may fall in love with someone regardless of religion. This happens in every community — among Muslims, Hindus, and Christians. In many cases it has nothing to do with religion at all.
In Islam, the normal rule is that a Muslim should marry another Muslim. If a Muslim man wants to marry a non-Muslim woman in the mosque community, the religious authorities will not usually approve the marriage unless she accepts Islam. Otherwise, they may say, “If you want to marry outside Islam, do it on your own, but we cannot conduct the marriage here.”
They will simply refuse to officiate the marriage within the religious system. They will not create violence, attack the couple, or commit so-called “honor killings.” Muslims do not engage in such killings.
A well-known example often discussed is the case of Hadiya. She was a young woman studying medicine who accepted Islam. In reality she did not convert because of a romantic relationship. She studied different religions through the internet, examined their teachings, and became convinced by Islamic monotheism. She wondered why people should worship idols that humans themselves create, and she felt it made more sense to worship the Creator who made everything. After accepting Islam on her own, she later searched for a Muslim partner through a matrimonial service and married him. It was not a love affair that forced her conversion; she converted first and then married later. Yet people still called it “Love Jihad.” The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. When she appeared before the court, she told the media clearly: “No one forced me. I accepted Islam by my own choice. Let me live with my husband.” That shows the reality.
Such relationships occur in every community. Most people follow their parents’ wishes in marriage, but a small number in every religion choose partners from other communities. Instead of blaming an entire religion, we should understand it as a personal matter involving individual emotions and circumstances.
Even critics sometimes ignore similar cases within their own communities. For example, some political leaders whose families criticize “Love Jihad” have relatives who married Muslims. Journalists have pointed out examples in media reports where daughters or sons of prominent leaders married Muslims. Yet those cases are not labeled “Love Jihad.” Why is the label used only when ordinary people marry across religions?
Therefore, the idea of an organized “Love Jihad” conspiracy has no basis in Islamic teachings. Islam does not instruct Muslims to deceive others in romance for religious conversion. In fact, many of the young men involved in such relationships are not even practicing Muslims. They may not pray, fast, or follow Islamic practices at all.
Therefore, there is no such thing as “Love Jihad.” There is nothing like that in the religion either.
Now people keep saying such things, but you should watch a video that was released even by Nakkeeran. What did they show in that video? They asked a question about Advani. They said: “Why is Advani’s son-in-law a Muslim? His daughter has married a Muslim. Why don’t you question that?”
Similarly, there is Subramanian Swamy. His daughter has married a Muslim. Why is that not called Love Jihad?
Here, however, they come and provoke the public by shouting about “Love Jihad.” The daughter of Subramanian Swamy herself has married a Muslim and is living as a Muslim. Advani’s daughter-in-law is also in the same situation.
Likewise, they have listed many such examples. If you watch that video, you will see it. Nakkeeran has published it in their video.
They go through leader after leader and ask this question: “Is it acceptable when their daughters marry Muslims, but when others marry Muslims, it suddenly becomes Love Jihad?”
How can someone who does not follow Islam himself be described as carrying out a religious mission? Such accusations only create conflict between communities. In reality, small numbers of interfaith relationships occur in every society due to personal emotions, not religious conspiracies. Instead of turning these individual matters into communal conflict, people should focus on maintaining harmony among communities who live together like brothers and sisters.