Background
Tahaffuz e Deen Media Services (TDMS) is an Islamic media channel that boasts a significant audience on YouTube and various social media platforms. The channel was established by Qari Ziya Ur Rahman Farooqui, who is the son of the esteemed Islamic scholar Maulana Mahfooz Farooqui, frequently featured in TDMS’s content.
TDMS receives substantial support from notable Islamic organizations, including Darul Uloom Deoband and Jamiatul Ulama-e-Hind, among others. The channel’s stated mission is to promote and reinforce Islamic values within the Ummah. Since its inception in 2016, TDMS’s official website has served as a repository for writings, sermons, and speeches from various Islamic scholars and preachers. According to the website, TDMS has established branches in Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
Ban on TDMS’ YouTube channel
In April 2022, the Government of India implemented measures to restrict access to the YouTube channel of Tahaffuz-e-Deen Media Services (TDMS) because of its spread of misinformation related to national security and its contribution to fostering hostility within a particular community.
The channel persists in effectively uploading new content by employing a VPN. Despite the Government’s explicit ban on TDMS’ YouTube channel, the videos remain available due to a technical oversight; as the links to Tahaffuz-e-deen’s channel and its videos are separate from each other. TDMS also, at present, continues to operate an active website.
Links to the latest videos uploaded on TDMS’ YouTube channel are also regularly updated on it’s official website; both platforms stand updated on a continuous basis.; https://tahaffuzedeen.com/
A thorough analysis of the key individuals and organizations associated with TDMS reveals a number of controversial connections linked to it.
TDMS’ Links with Popular Front of India (PFI)
In 2022, the Government of India declared the Popular Front of India (PFI) an “unlawful association” and imposed a five-year ban under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), citing threats to national integrity and security, as well as alleged connections to terrorist groups like the Students Islamic Movement of India, Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, and the Islamic State.
In November of 2018, TDMS Aurangabad hosted Popular Front’s Chairman E. Aboobacker alongside Maulana Umrain Mahfooz Rahmani of AIMPLB.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs6KNCVc-4w
TDMS also covered PFI’s Aurangabad conference of 2017 and posted the same on its YouTube channel.
Incidentally, Maulana Mahfooz Ur Rahman Farooqui Rahmani also spoke at the All-India Imams Council (AIIC) 2017 conference on the need to protect Islamic Madrasas. The video link and thumbnail can be found featuring on TDMS’ official website and the archived version of its YouTube channel. But the video itself stands deleted.
All India Imams Council is an associate organization of PFI, and also stands banned.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190729123447/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqPOSwp5qEyiobGkvbW71Yw
Controversial Speeches or Stances Taken by Tahaffuz-E-Deen and Its Associated Persons
TDMS’ online platforms are rich in Islamic content, featuring lectures and discussions by prominent Muslim scholars. However, a closer examination of these posts indicates a consistent conservative Islamist agenda. TDMS and its affiliates often express strong opinions and provide significant coverage of events that criticize the Indian government, particularly its policies like the Anti-Waqf Bill and the Citizenship Amendment Bill. Thus, the Tahaffuz-e-Deen channel can be seen as a platform that amplifies the voices of Muslim bodies resisting the Indian government’s progressive national policies.
TDMS’ recent video coverage of an anti-waqf (amendment) bill protest event attended by prominent Indian Islamic scholars & clerics (March 2025);https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SynFYZ3VLc8&ab_channel=Tahaffuz-E-DeenIndia : Mahfooz Farooqui took active part in Protest Against CAA/NRC; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fusVmZvRKs
(left) Ziya Ur Rahman calls out on Muslim girls eloping with or getting involved with non-Muslim boys; https://www.youtube.com/shorts/x7qZ9KTRrjk(right) TDMS’ YouTube short video portraying Gujarat ATS’ arrest of notorious Mufti Salamn Azhari as a conspiracy to frame him under false allegations; https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NRhxBWdNJZU
Reading materials on TDMS’ official website
The books/reading material section at TDMS’ official website features controversial titles, like those on Jihad. It even hosts books by the radical Islamist preacher Zakir Naik, who is currently on the run from Indian agencies.
https://tahaffuzedeen.com/jihaad-o-qitaal/ https://tahaffuzedeen.com/zakir-naik-books/
Mahfooz Rahman Farooqui’s association with Zakir Naik’s Late Spiritual Mentor
Maulana Farooqui has claimed to have interacted with and treated Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, South African and Indian self-taught Muslim thinker, author, and orator on Comparative Religion. Deedat was the spiritual mentor-guide of the notoriously controversial Zakir Naik.
(Left) Timestamp 5:00-5:20 Mahfooz Farooqui states that he has treated several prominent spiritual leaders, including Zakir Naik’s mentor Sheikh Ahmed Deedat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFSbVgM5q2w ) (Right)Mahfooz Rahman with Sheikh Deedat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A35eJThWTI
TDMS’ association with controversial scholar- Mufti Yasir Nadim Al-Wajidi
Mufti Yasir Al-Wajidi is a USA-based Islamic scholar who is a regular feature at conferences organized or videos published by TDMS. Al Wajidi is an open supporter of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and is known to have made anti-Government of India remarks in his speeches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVVYowJGKTY&t=77s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH3ia5Vi5Ts
https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/62562/western-islamists-welcome-taliban-takeover
In the video attached below, (Time Stamp 2:30-3:00) Al-Wajidi propagates the idea that in the face of a future scenario that a common Civil code is approved by the Supreme Court, the Muslim community in India should ideally keep following the Islamic Personal Law. He further thus insists the people of his religion to join and support AIMPLB in large numbers to stand in solidarity against the idea of UCC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-DZpsDZXBk
Mahfooz Rahman Farooqui’s Kashmir Visit
(Left) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BsqBeAnFrY ) (Right) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4MBwIS-XV0
TDMS and Mahfooz Rahman Farooqui’s association with All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)
Mahfooz Farooqui’s AIMIM Link
Time Stamp 4.45-5.15: Mahfooz Farooqui announces the opening of MRF Al-Falah International Islamic School in Aurangabad, in the capacity of being a member-convenor of AIMIM. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf2nJj6byz0 )
TDMS’ Links with Jamaat e Islami Hind (JIH)
In October of 2022, TDMS’ Founder Ziya Ur Rahman took to a news channel and supported an initiative by Jamaat e Islami Hind (JIH) to cement Islamic values among the people of their community. In the past, Ziya’s father Maulana Mahfooz Farooqui has also addressed the audience at JIH’s Aurangabad chapter.
All India Baitul Imdaad Charitable Trust (AIBICT)- Charity partner of Tahaffuz e Deen
The official website of TDMS states, “Welfare services are also carried out by Tahafuz Deen Media in the name of Bait al-Immad (Baitul Imdaad), the poor, deserving widows, orphans, and needy people”.
TDMS has time and again partnered with and solicited donations for All India Baitul Imdaad Charitable Trust (AIBICT), a Hyderabad-based NGO.
A closer study of Baitul Imdaad’s activities reveals that its donors are spread the world over, primarily UK. Within India, AIBICT has worked for Rohingya refugees’ settlements in Hyderabad and adjoining areas. Besides, their base is spread across several States/UTs, like Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Further, the NGO has also carried out donation drives for Turkey’s Earthquake Relief.
Conclusion
Tahaffuz-e-deen Media Services (TDMS) positions itself primarily as a media outlet dedicated to promoting Islamic values among the broader Muslim community in India. It has received substantial backing from nearly all significant Islamic institutions in the country, including well-known scholars and clerics. However, a closer examination of the content shared on TDMS’s official platforms indicates that it advocates for conservative Islamic principles and opposes progressive government initiatives. Its previous connections with the now-banned organization Popular Front of India (PFI) raise additional concerns. Given the current role of media organizations in generating and disseminating divisive propaganda, a thorough investigation into entities like TDMS is essential for the overarching objectives of national peace and security.
