Dismantling IAMC’s Fabricated Smear Campaign Against VHPA (Part 7 of 8) – Manufacturing a National Security Threat

Ahmed’s next allegation abandons insinuation altogether and moves into outright alarmism, branding VHPA as a national security threat. He writes:  “The VHPA is, in fact, a national security risk for the United States. Its Indian counterpart, the VHP, was listed as a “militant religious organization” in the CIA World Factbook in 2018. It is the American appendage of an Indian fascist paramilitary, the RSS, one that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan Congressionally mandated panel, has recommended this year for the U.S. sanctions.”

Labeling a transparent, law-abiding American Hindu nonprofit a “national security risk” is not merely inaccurate—it is a malicious fabrication that weaponizes national security language to stigmatize an entire community.

First, the CIA World Factbook claim is ancient history. In mid-2018, an older archived version briefly listed India’s Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal as “militant religious organizations.” That entry was removed within weeks, has never reappeared, and is absent from every current edition. The CIA never designated VHP or VHPA as a terrorist group or national security threat.[1]

Second, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended sanctions on the Indian RSS in its 2026 Annual Report. USCIRF is an advisory body only. Its recommendations are non-binding and carry no legal force. The U.S. State Department has taken no action against VHPA.

Here’s the real scandal: While VHPA is portrayed as a “national security risk” over an eight-year-old deleted footnote, U.S.-based Islamic organizations with documented links to designated terrorist networks often escape comparable scrutiny, even as Islamist actors within the United States have repeatedly displayed exclusionary and supremacist behavior.

• It was not VHPA that carried out or inspired the major terrorist attacks that killed thousands of Americans — it was Islamist extremists behind 9/11 (2,977 dead), Fort Hood (13 dead), Boston Marathon, San Bernardino (14 dead), Orlando Pulse (49 dead), New York City truck attack (8 dead), and the 2025 New Orleans Bourbon Street massacre (15 dead).
• It was not VHPA that told a white Christian pastor in Dearborn, Michigan, to “get out” of his own city in September 2025 — it was Muslim Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.[2]
• It was not VHPA that renamed a major street in Paterson, New Jersey, “Palestine Way” and celebrated the area as “New Palestine” — it was the Muslim-majority city council.[3]
• It was not VHPA that proposed a 402-acre Sharia-compliant “EPIC City” enclave in Texas — it was the East Plano Islamic Center.[4]
• It was not VHPA that banned Pride flags on all public property in Hamtramck, Michigan — it was the first all-Muslim city council in America.[5]

The real national security threat is not VHPA. The real threat comes from exclusionary ideologies, sectarian enclaves, and openly supremacist behavior that seek to reshape civic norms, silence dissent, or impose religious identity as a condition of belonging.

Read Part 6: Using Academic Cover for Advocacy

Read Part 8: Hindutva vs. Islamophobia

Citations

[1] Factly.in, “Older version of CIA’s World Factbook listed Bajrang Dal and VHP as militant religious organisation,” February 24, 2021, https://factly.in/older-version-of-cias-world-factbook-listed-bajrang-dal-and-vhp-as-militant-religious-organisation/

[2] “Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud Refuses to Apologize for Telling Christian Minister He Was ‘Not Welcome Here.’” New York Post, September 25, 2025. https://nypost.com/2025/09/25/us-news/dearborn-mayor-abdullah-hammoud-refuses-to-apologize-for-telling-christian-minister-he-was-not-welcome-here/

[3] “‘Palestine Way’: Paterson to Recognize Palestinian Community with Street Renaming.” NorthJersey.com, April 1, 2022. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/passaic/paterson/2022/04/01/paterson-nj-palestine-way-main-street-renaming/7240149001/

[4] “What Is EPIC City, the Controversial Planned Muslim Residential Community in Texas?” The Jerusalem Post, May 3, 2026. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-894994

[5] “A Muslim-Majority City Banned Pride Flags. A Judge Just Ruled on Its Legality.” LGBTQ Nation, September 11, 2025. https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/09/a-muslim-majority-city-banned-pride-flags-a-judge-just-ruled-on-its-legality/