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Friday, January 31, 2014
Meet the man who stood up, spoke out before Prime Minister - By Mumtaz Alam, India Tomorrow + You Tube
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Forcible eviction of protesting youth during Waqf Corp launch condemned
http://www.ummid.com/news/
Forcible eviction of protesting youth during Waqf Corp launch condemned
Wednesday January 29, 2014 11:23 PM, ummid.com Staff Reporter
New Delhi: An angry Syed
Zafar Mahmood, president of Zakat Foundation who was Officer on Special
Duty (OSD) at the PMO for the Sachar Committee, Wednesday condemned the
forcible eviction by the police of a Muslim youth who was protesting
during the launch of the National Waqf Development Corporation terming
it as an 'insult' to the entire Muslim community.
"Today after the PM had spoken in the inauguration function of waqf development corporation one aggrieved person Dr Fahim Beg protested against forming new schemes while existing ones have not been implemented, the Govt's muscle wielding policemen gagged his mouth and forcibly took him out of the auditorium. We strongly condemn this anti-Muslim aggression of the Govt and we consider this as an insult of the Muslim community of India', he said in a statement sent to ummid.com.
He also criticised the delay in establishing the Waqf development corporation.
"The establishment of National Waqf Development Corporation is a good step for enhancing the waqf revenue. K Rahman Khan deserves praise. But it is not understood why the central govt took seven long years in implementing this simple recommendation of Sachar Committee", he said.
"Apart from this and the recent amendment of Waqf law, the Govt has not implemented any other important recommendation of Sachar Committee which is likely to have far reaching positive impact for amelioration of the low status of Muslims in every field", he said.
He listed the schemes as de-reservation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies which have high Muslim percentages but low SC visibility.
"Instead", he said, "As per Sachar report, those constituencies should be reserved which have high SC percentage and low Muslim presence. No action has been taken by the Govt on this recommendation in seven years.
"Likewise", he added, "Sachar recommendation to institute an Alternative Admission Criterion in colleges & universities has also been in the Govt's cold storage for seven years.
"According to this, every admission seeker should be graded on twin basis of academic merit (60%) and backwardness (40%). But in the Govt there has not been any headway on this vital suggestion too."
- See more at: http://www.ummid.com/news/"Today after the PM had spoken in the inauguration function of waqf development corporation one aggrieved person Dr Fahim Beg protested against forming new schemes while existing ones have not been implemented, the Govt's muscle wielding policemen gagged his mouth and forcibly took him out of the auditorium. We strongly condemn this anti-Muslim aggression of the Govt and we consider this as an insult of the Muslim community of India', he said in a statement sent to ummid.com.
He also criticised the delay in establishing the Waqf development corporation.
"The establishment of National Waqf Development Corporation is a good step for enhancing the waqf revenue. K Rahman Khan deserves praise. But it is not understood why the central govt took seven long years in implementing this simple recommendation of Sachar Committee", he said.
"Apart from this and the recent amendment of Waqf law, the Govt has not implemented any other important recommendation of Sachar Committee which is likely to have far reaching positive impact for amelioration of the low status of Muslims in every field", he said.
He listed the schemes as de-reservation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies which have high Muslim percentages but low SC visibility.
"Instead", he said, "As per Sachar report, those constituencies should be reserved which have high SC percentage and low Muslim presence. No action has been taken by the Govt on this recommendation in seven years.
"Likewise", he added, "Sachar recommendation to institute an Alternative Admission Criterion in colleges & universities has also been in the Govt's cold storage for seven years.
"According to this, every admission seeker should be graded on twin basis of academic merit (60%) and backwardness (40%). But in the Govt there has not been any headway on this vital suggestion too."
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Arvind Kejriwal has tapped into India`s love of anarchy - By Jug Suraiya - The Times of India, Mumbai, INDIA
http://blogs.timesofindia.
28 January 2014, 10:49 PM IST
Arvind Kejriwal has tapped into India`s love of anarchy
Mahatma Gandhi told the British: "Leave India to God or to anarchy." Sixty-six years after Independence, India seems to be fulfilling this prophecy, in terms of anarchy. In what has widely been seen as a veiled reference to Arvind Kejriwal`s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), President Pranab Mukherjee in his address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day said that "popu-list anarchy cannot be a substitute for good governance".
Was the president referring to the constitutional propriety — or impropriety — of a duly elected chief minister sitting in dharna in effect against his own administration? Whether or not the reference was indeed to AAP, Kejriwal has picked up the gauntlet and said that he would welcome a national debate on the subject, which hinges around AAP's style of functioning which an increasing number of commentators — including former supporters — are describing as being 'anarchic'.
'Anarchy' means 'an absence of law or government'. Can any government — which is supposed to be the embodiment of the rule of law in society — be 'anarchic', represent an absence of government, an absence of itself? Is such a political paradox possible?
In India, it is not just possible but in fact has been in practice for many years. For all the increasing clamour of the urgent need of 'good governance', India has always been what is often described as a 'functioning anarchy', a society in which rules exist only in order to be broken, or openly flouted.
India has an innate genius for anarchy, for operating without any rules at all. We call this lack of rules by various names, our famed knack of 'jugaad' being one of them. Whether it is negotiating everyday traffic on the road, trying out a recipe for a new dish, or playing a piece of classical music, India improvises: it improvises through jugaad, andaz, extemporisation, ad hocism, call it what you will.
There is only one cardinal rule in India, and that is that there are no hard and fast rules for doing anything, from driving a car or a two-wheeler, to conducting business, or achieving one's goals by whatever means at hand.
This open flouting of rules is often demanded as a 'right'. Students sitting for an exam will smash up the premises where the test is being held if they are denied their 'right' to resort to mass 'copying'. Members of a particular caste or community will claim as their 'right' to go on a mob rampage and vandalise public property if their demands for quotas, or reservations or a separate state, or whatever else it is that they want, aren't met.
Self-appointed 'moral police' — a euphemism for goons and thugs — assert their 'right' to beat up anyone whose dress or behaviour offends against 'Indian culture', whatever that convenient catchphrase means. Netas convicted under law for multi-crore scams will proclaim their 'right' to be tried only by the 'court of the people'.
So, is Arvind Kejriwal an anarchist? If he isn't, he'd better become one if he's to get anywhere in the anarchy of India's public life.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
http://www.livemint.com/
New Delhi: The young anti-corruption party that stormed to power in Delhi last month plans to field at least 73 candidates in Lok Sabha elections due by May to stand against politicians accused of crimes, said its leader Arvind Kejriwal on Monday.
Following its strong performance in Delhi, interest in the year-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has surged. Since an announcement earlier this month that it would
contest the general election, its membership has passed 10 million.
Until now AAP had not said how many of the 540 lower house parliamentary seats it might contest in an election pitting the centre-left governing coalition against front runner opposition candidate Narendra Modi.
While polls suggest the debutante party is unlikely to win more than a dozen or so seats, its success in Delhi has shaken up the national race, with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party both aping AAP’s anti-elite, anti-corruption language.
Even a small clutch of seats for the AAP could be enough to deny Modi a chance at forming a government, and give Arvind Kejriwal a say in national policy.
The AAP will put up candidates in constituencies of 73 members of parliament who face serious criminal charges. Candidates will also stand for the seats of central government ministers which the party believes are corrupt, Kejriwal said in
an interview with Reuters.
“The most important thing is there are a large number of cabinet ministers who have indulged in corruption, they need to be defeated,” Kejriwal said.
“There are nearly 162 people in Lok Sabha who have criminal charges against them and there are 73 out of them who have serious charges against them. They need to be defeated, we will put up strong candidates against them,” said Kejriwal, who was sworn in as the head of Delhi’s city government on 28 December
Voters are notorious for rewarding candidates with criminal accusations against them. Politicians accused of crimes had a higher success rate than others in the last parliamentary election in 2009.
“It is for the people to decide if they want to support clean politics or not. Earlier the people used to say they didn’t have an option, now we will provide them with a clean option,” Kejriwal said.
The AAP is expected to also field national election candidates in constituencies in New Delhi and in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab. REUTERS
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
JUGGLE-BANDHI
Anarchy Inc
Jug Suraiya28 January 2014, 10:49 PM IST
Mahatma Gandhi told the British: "Leave India to God or to anarchy." Sixty-six years after Independence, India seems to be fulfilling this prophecy, in terms of anarchy. In what has widely been seen as a veiled reference to Arvind Kejriwal`s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), President Pranab Mukherjee in his address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day said that "popu-list anarchy cannot be a substitute for good governance".
Was the president referring to the constitutional propriety — or impropriety — of a duly elected chief minister sitting in dharna in effect against his own administration? Whether or not the reference was indeed to AAP, Kejriwal has picked up the gauntlet and said that he would welcome a national debate on the subject, which hinges around AAP's style of functioning which an increasing number of commentators — including former supporters — are describing as being 'anarchic'.
'Anarchy' means 'an absence of law or government'. Can any government — which is supposed to be the embodiment of the rule of law in society — be 'anarchic', represent an absence of government, an absence of itself? Is such a political paradox possible?
In India, it is not just possible but in fact has been in practice for many years. For all the increasing clamour of the urgent need of 'good governance', India has always been what is often described as a 'functioning anarchy', a society in which rules exist only in order to be broken, or openly flouted.
India has an innate genius for anarchy, for operating without any rules at all. We call this lack of rules by various names, our famed knack of 'jugaad' being one of them. Whether it is negotiating everyday traffic on the road, trying out a recipe for a new dish, or playing a piece of classical music, India improvises: it improvises through jugaad, andaz, extemporisation, ad hocism, call it what you will.
There is only one cardinal rule in India, and that is that there are no hard and fast rules for doing anything, from driving a car or a two-wheeler, to conducting business, or achieving one's goals by whatever means at hand.
This open flouting of rules is often demanded as a 'right'. Students sitting for an exam will smash up the premises where the test is being held if they are denied their 'right' to resort to mass 'copying'. Members of a particular caste or community will claim as their 'right' to go on a mob rampage and vandalise public property if their demands for quotas, or reservations or a separate state, or whatever else it is that they want, aren't met.
Self-appointed 'moral police' — a euphemism for goons and thugs — assert their 'right' to beat up anyone whose dress or behaviour offends against 'Indian culture', whatever that convenient catchphrase means. Netas convicted under law for multi-crore scams will proclaim their 'right' to be tried only by the 'court of the people'.
So, is Arvind Kejriwal an anarchist? If he isn't, he'd better become one if he's to get anywhere in the anarchy of India's public life.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
AAP to take on tainted politicians in LS polls: Kejriwal
Candidates will also stand for the seats of central govt ministers which the party believes are corrupt, says Kejriwal
Kejriwal
says there are nearly 162 people in Lok Sabha who have criminal charges
against them and there are 73 out of them who have serious charges
against them. They need to be defeated, we will put up strong candidates
against them. Photo: Hindustan Times
New Delhi: The young anti-corruption party that stormed to power in Delhi last month plans to field at least 73 candidates in Lok Sabha elections due by May to stand against politicians accused of crimes, said its leader Arvind Kejriwal on Monday.
Following its strong performance in Delhi, interest in the year-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has surged. Since an announcement earlier this month that it would
contest the general election, its membership has passed 10 million.
Until now AAP had not said how many of the 540 lower house parliamentary seats it might contest in an election pitting the centre-left governing coalition against front runner opposition candidate Narendra Modi.
While polls suggest the debutante party is unlikely to win more than a dozen or so seats, its success in Delhi has shaken up the national race, with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party both aping AAP’s anti-elite, anti-corruption language.
Even a small clutch of seats for the AAP could be enough to deny Modi a chance at forming a government, and give Arvind Kejriwal a say in national policy.
The AAP will put up candidates in constituencies of 73 members of parliament who face serious criminal charges. Candidates will also stand for the seats of central government ministers which the party believes are corrupt, Kejriwal said in
an interview with Reuters.
“The most important thing is there are a large number of cabinet ministers who have indulged in corruption, they need to be defeated,” Kejriwal said.
“There are nearly 162 people in Lok Sabha who have criminal charges against them and there are 73 out of them who have serious charges against them. They need to be defeated, we will put up strong candidates against them,” said Kejriwal, who was sworn in as the head of Delhi’s city government on 28 December
He did not say how many, or which, government ministers would be a target.
Voters are notorious for rewarding candidates with criminal accusations against them. Politicians accused of crimes had a higher success rate than others in the last parliamentary election in 2009.
“It is for the people to decide if they want to support clean politics or not. Earlier the people used to say they didn’t have an option, now we will provide them with a clean option,” Kejriwal said.
The AAP is expected to also field national election candidates in constituencies in New Delhi and in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab. REUTERS
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Monday, January 27, 2014
Arnab Goswami's father Manoranjan Goswami belongs to BJP - By Sohail Siddiqui
Arnab Goswami on home ground
The sudden change in Media coverage of AAP has taken people with surprise and it is of some note to find Times of India in front page column had to explain to its readers that TOI is not for paid media coverage. That should hardly convince its reader of the sudden change in its policy, when each and every news story it splashed on Kejriwal, was more like a TOI editorial rather than plain reporting. TIMES NOW's Arnab Goswamy did not have to miss any step when it started dancing for BJP. In a panel discussion on Communalism, it got representatives from 3 political parties, but did not hesitate to bring in an RSS representative which claims not to be a political party and still was allowed to participate in an election debate by Arnab Goswami. In face, TIMES NOW's choice of Communalism as the first of the series of topics on Election issues, is helping both BJP and Congress to project 'communalism' as THE issue that will/should characterize the coming Lok Sabha election. Both corruption drenched political parties are loath to fight election on the issues of good governance and development and have supposedly enlist the services of TOI to bring 'COMMUNALISM' on front burner.
The following story by a very
aggressive Muslim web news site, has finally exposed Arnab Goswami,
whose secular credentials are now very suspect due to his upbringing in a
household head by a strong BJP politician. Ahmed Siddiqui should be
lauded for bringing this fact to public domain.
Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai----- ----- -----
Arnab Goswami’s father Manoranjan Goswami belongs to BJP
Arnab Goswami's father Manoranjan Goswami belongs to BJP
Col(Retd) Manoranjan Goswami father of Arnab Goswami of Times Now Tv
Channel , resembles LK Advani and Robert Vadra's LATE Father Eric Vadra
Rahul Interview part of BJP and Congress alliance post 2014 Lok Sabha election results
[Bismillahnews.in - 27-01-14-New Delhi-Sohail Siddiqui]
Arnab Goswami’s father Manoranjan Goswami https://www.facebook.
Rahul Gandhi Interview to Modi Financed Times Now TV Channel today at 9 p.m.
Arnab Goswami embedded with Anti-Muslim forces has pulled a coup
for Modi he has through known Anti-Muslim Congressmen like Digvijay
Singh and Rajiv Shukla got Rahul Gandhi to give interview o this
Anti-Muslim channel "one to one" on Times Now TV channel. After Rahul's
interview to a Hindi Daily last fortnight the first ever to any
newspaper this is Rahuls first to any TV Channel.May be the next in line
would be an Interview to a group of Urdu Editors employees of Saffron
corporate owners of Urdu Channels and Urdu Newspapers.
Welcoming
the Times Now Tv Interview of Rahul Gandhi by Arnab Goswami the sala -
bahnoi from BJP and Congress Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rajiv Shukla were
shown welcoming the Interview on Times Now TV Channel confirming the
joint strategy of BJP and Congress behind this Interview on Modi
financed Times Now TV Channel.
NDA and UPA are one in their economic policies,Ram Mandir issue and
their treatment of Muslims in India. Since Narsimha Rao government they
are jointly running India with sharing power alternately.Now the country
has reached a situation that neither the UPA nor the NDA enjoys any
credibility among the people to be able to form government in next 2014
elections. Hence silently Congress under Rahul is supporting Modi as
prime Minister and he himself has been assured of the PM post in
2019.This shadow boxing between BJP and Congress is out in open.But the
emergence of AAP as an alternative to the saffron alliance of UPA and
NDA has threatened the apple cart of the fascist forces.Hence they have
opened another channel to help them come to power in 2014 elections by
working together on issue common in their manifestos.The first step
towards this is the Digvijay Singh push to form a alliance with BJP post
2014 results to form a joint government in New Delhi.
Modi financing Media outburst against AAP.
Though
our small website has been writing this with evidence in our possession
that 900 crores has been paid to Times Now Tv Channel under Arnab Goswami for promotion of Modi. These
are clearly felt in the coverage by Arnab Goswami run Times Now Tv
Channel when it promotes BJP and Modi everyday.As part of promotion it
run downs the real challenger to emerging alternative to NDA and UPA.
Even that poor chap Rahul Gandhi who thinks he is extremely intelligent
in fooling people in the shadow-boxing with Modi is appearing on Arnab
Goswami Show on Monday 27th Jan'2014 at 9pm which proves every word which we have been writing about these people true. Modi financed channel interviews Rahul Gandhi.
Sonia Gandhi like any other mother protected her child [Rahul Gandhi] from being sacrificed - Modi http:// www.bismillahnews.in/?page_id=
************
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Salman Khan betrays Gujarat Muslims By Abdul hafiz lakhani Ahmedabad
http://www.
By Abdul hafiz lakhani Ahmedabad
In Gujarat this year Eid-a-milad was a bit bitter for most of the muslims as Bollywood hearthrob and actor Salmankhan met CM Narendra Modi on this auspicious day and he also enjoyed Kite flying with Hinduu nationalist leader and BJP Prime Minister candidate who is so called accused in 2002 Gujarat riots.
After meeting Modi, it is being discussed in power corridors of Gujarat that salimkhan–father of salman may get ticket for Bharuch Loksabha seat in coming general election.
Salman Khan meeting Modi is being seen in political circles as an attempt to appease the minority community on the day of Eid to garner votes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Salman Khan may have had a great time at the Kite Flying Festival in Gujarat with Modi but this has not gone down well with a section of Muslim fans.
Modi has been under fire for the communal riots in his state during his governance where hundreds of Muslims were killed. They see Salman’s hobnobbing with Modi as a gross betrayal of their community.
This reporter talked to a few of Salman’s Muslim fans and here’s what they said. “Would SalmanKhan still meet Modi to promote his movie if one of his relatives had been killed in the Gujarat riots?”
asked,Sadik mansuri who runs a small tea shop at Juhapura. “He should have considered the sentiments of his Muslim fans before accepting Modi’s invitation,” said,sajid memon a student from Kalupur. Looks like Salman just can’t help controversy tagging close to his heels.
Uzma a student said, “This is a cheap publicity stunt. Though I am a huge fan of his acting, he has tarnished his image
.”Zafar Sareshwala, a critic-turned-admirer of Modi, was also present on the occasion. They were seen flying kites with local BJP leaders like Kamlesh Patel and Rakesh Shah.
The International Kite Festival is being celebrated from January 12 to January 14 here.
Bollywood star Salman Khan on the occasion of Makar Sankranti in Ahmedabad last Tuesday, the BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi appeared obvious. He not only had lunch with Modi, but also flew kites. Sallu Modi and the cadences of the photos on the internet and social networking sites have been the subject of discussion, but these photos appeared on the face, which was not mentioned much. Her name Sreshwala Zafar, Salman’s first meeting with Modi as he was routed. Sreshwala Ahmedabad, renowned businessman and Salman’s father Salim Khan are known to be very close.
Not only that, Salman Khan or Shahid Siddiqui, Maulana Madani Casmi or Maulana. Narendra Modi bridge between minority and grafting these giants Sreshwala do it. You would be surprised to know that at one time he was one of Modi’s hardline opponents
(Google translation from Gujarati?)
Salman Khan betrays Gujarat Muslims
Added by ahlakhani on January 18, 2014.
Saved under Uncategorized
Saved under Uncategorized
By Abdul hafiz lakhani Ahmedabad
In Gujarat this year Eid-a-milad was a bit bitter for most of the muslims as Bollywood hearthrob and actor Salmankhan met CM Narendra Modi on this auspicious day and he also enjoyed Kite flying with Hinduu nationalist leader and BJP Prime Minister candidate who is so called accused in 2002 Gujarat riots.
After meeting Modi, it is being discussed in power corridors of Gujarat that salimkhan–father of salman may get ticket for Bharuch Loksabha seat in coming general election.
Salman Khan meeting Modi is being seen in political circles as an attempt to appease the minority community on the day of Eid to garner votes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Salman Khan may have had a great time at the Kite Flying Festival in Gujarat with Modi but this has not gone down well with a section of Muslim fans.
Modi has been under fire for the communal riots in his state during his governance where hundreds of Muslims were killed. They see Salman’s hobnobbing with Modi as a gross betrayal of their community.
This reporter talked to a few of Salman’s Muslim fans and here’s what they said. “Would SalmanKhan still meet Modi to promote his movie if one of his relatives had been killed in the Gujarat riots?”
asked,Sadik mansuri who runs a small tea shop at Juhapura. “He should have considered the sentiments of his Muslim fans before accepting Modi’s invitation,” said,sajid memon a student from Kalupur. Looks like Salman just can’t help controversy tagging close to his heels.
Uzma a student said, “This is a cheap publicity stunt. Though I am a huge fan of his acting, he has tarnished his image
.”Zafar Sareshwala, a critic-turned-admirer of Modi, was also present on the occasion. They were seen flying kites with local BJP leaders like Kamlesh Patel and Rakesh Shah.
The International Kite Festival is being celebrated from January 12 to January 14 here.
Bollywood star Salman Khan on the occasion of Makar Sankranti in Ahmedabad last Tuesday, the BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi appeared obvious. He not only had lunch with Modi, but also flew kites. Sallu Modi and the cadences of the photos on the internet and social networking sites have been the subject of discussion, but these photos appeared on the face, which was not mentioned much. Her name Sreshwala Zafar, Salman’s first meeting with Modi as he was routed. Sreshwala Ahmedabad, renowned businessman and Salman’s father Salim Khan are known to be very close.
Not only that, Salman Khan or Shahid Siddiqui, Maulana Madani Casmi or Maulana. Narendra Modi bridge between minority and grafting these giants Sreshwala do it. You would be surprised to know that at one time he was one of Modi’s hardline opponents
(Google translation from Gujarati?)
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Hindu-Muslim Communal Riots in India I (1947-1986) By Violette Graff
| Jan 22 (1 day ago) | |||
| ||||
Please see the attached pdf files
Communal Riots in India
A Chronology (1947-2003)
B Rajeshwari
Communal riots have become a distinct feature of communalism in India. Whenever conflicting
groups from two different religions, which are self –conscious communities, clash, it results in a
communal riot. An event is identified as a communal riot if (a) there is violence, and (b) two or
more communally identified groups confront each other or members of the other group at some
point during the violence.1 The reason for such a clash could be superficial and trivial, though
underlying them are deeper considerations of political representation, control of and access to
resources and power. There have been many incidents of riots recorded during the course of
British rule and even before that. For example: In Ahmedabad there were riots in 1714, 1715,
1716 and 1750. But according to Bipan Chandra, in his book “Communalism in Modern India”,
communal tension and riots began to occur only in the last quarter of the 19th century, but they
did not occur in India on any significant scale till 1946-472. Before that, the maximum
communal rioting took place during 1923-26. A clear relationship between communal riots and
politics was established for the first time in 1946, when the Muslim League gave its direct action
call on August 16, 1946. 3
This chronology reveals that communal riots are not caused spontaneously and also that they are
rarely caused by religious animosity. They arise due to conflicting political interests, which are
often linked to economic interests. There is a significant change in the pattern of communal riots
since the 1990s, which could be noticed in the later part of this chronology. This brings forth the
shifts that have occurred in the nature of communal riots in India. Moreover, the aim is to
underline that religion in most of the cases is not the reason why communal riots occur. The
reason for the occurrence of communal violence has been different in the two different phases.
During the time of partition, it was the clash of political interests of the elite of two different
communities which resulted in communal riots.4 But, from the 1960s till the late 1980s, the local
political and economic factors played a very important role in instigating riots. The emergence of
Hindutva politics in the last two decades has been a cause of communal riots in this phase where
the local factors have also helped in instigating riots.
Communal riots that took place from the 1960s to the 1980s follow a particular pattern. They
have mostly occurred in urban towns which are either industrial belts or trading centers with the
economy largely based on a particular occupation. Most of these places had a considerable
percentage of Muslim population whose political or economic interests clashed with those of the
- 2 -
Hindus. Moreover, the major riots occurred when the Congress was in power in these states or
during the short and uncertain phase of the Janata Party coalition rule at the Centre. Riots in this
phase might have occurred in the villages or rural areas like the Biharsharif riots, but they have
often remained unreported. Therefore it is important to distinguish this phase from the 1990s
during which the BJP and its sister organizations have been active in instigating communal riots.
Communal violence since 1990s needs to be seen in the light of the changing political equations
in the country. The decline of the Congress and the emergence of the BJP as a strong political
force resulted in shifting patterns of communal riots. Communal violence in the last two decades
is a result of the manipulation of the religious sentiments of people by the Hindu right-wing
organizations for political gains. The politicization of the Mandir-Masjid issue and the
subsequent demolition of the Mosque gave the BJP the opportunity to consolidate its vote bank.
But in the process the controversy created a communal divide, and frequency of riots also
increased during this time. Since partition, never before has one particular incident resulted in the
emergence of violence in almost all the states. From the 1960s till 1980 local factors played a
very important role in the emergence of riots, but since the late 1980s this trend seems to be
changing. Communal violence has always occurred when the BJP has wanted to expand its base.
In the recent years the South Indian states, particularly Kerala and Tamilnadu, have also
witnessed communal violence and are slowly growing into communally sensitive areas. This is
primarily because of the recent entrance of BJP in the political arena of these states.
Apart from Godhra, the other incidences of communal violence in the 90s have been minor, yet
they cannot be dismissed. These eruptions of communal violence have not been spontaneous, but
are organized, and often have the support of the local administrations. The state support to riots
is a long established feature in India, yet the state has never been such an active participant in the
violence before the Gujarat riots.
Communal violence has entered a new phase with the Christians and members of other minority
religions being made the victims of planned attacks. Communal riots in this decade have been
both urban and rural features, but the extent of damage is always greater in the thriving centers of
trade and commerce. Tribal population in the rural areas is being forced to get involved in the
attacks on Christians and Muslims by bringing them within the Hindutva framework. Apart from
economic reasons, the call for Hindu unity which is primarily a means to achieve political
advantage is the main source for communal violence in this decade.
Godhra was indeed the first major communal riot that got such a wide media coverage
particularly from the satellite channels. Therefore the media now needs to be more responsible,
considering the influence that it can have over the masses. It is time that the media stopped any
kind of biased reporting as it can further encourage the communal elements to instigate the
masses.
Political parties have always had a hand in instigating and exploiting communal violence so as
to meet their electoral interests. Though communal riots are condemned in various quarters, there
is still complete inaction both from the administration and the ruling governments in many states.
Though religious festivals and processions are generally the starting points of communal riots,
still sufficient security is not provided during these times. There is also not much response
- 3 -
against incidents of communal violence from the civil society. Till the time the political parties
which instigate communal riots are voted to power, the incentives to combat communalism will
not be able to develop fully.
1 Ashtosh Varshney, Ethnic Violence and Civic Life, (New Haven : Yale University Press,
2002), p.309
2 Bipan Chandra, Communalism in Modern India, (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing Home, 1984),
Pp 4
3 Ibid, 6
4 Asghar Ali Engineer, “Gujarat Riots in the Light of the History of Communal Violence,”
Economic and Political Weekly, December 14, 2002, pp. 5047-5054
Hindu-Muslim Communal
Riots in India I (1947-1986)
By Violette Graff, Research Fellow (rtd.), CERI, Sciences Po. Written in collaboration with Juliette
Galonnier, PhD Student, Sciences Po and Northwestern University (Chicago).
INTRODUCTION
[Short biographical notices and background information are provided through hyperlinks for the most important
personalities and organizations mentioned in the text that follows. The reader might refer to them for further understanding.]
All along the years when the fight for an independent India was at its peak, a number of Congress
personalities, led by an already well-known leader"a brilliant man who hailed from the historically famous
United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh, UP)"Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, carried a dream : once India was freed
from the British rule, a modern state would be built, a state that would see that its caste and communal
ancestral traditions were forgotten. A secular state that would bring people together. A new Socialist order
would be built. New Temples i.e. heavy industries would appear which would bring the new India into
modernity (Parry and Struempell 2008). Some of these dreams would take shape indeed. However, the
tragedies of the Partition and the violence which swept Northern India from 1946 to 1948 came as a shock
and destroyed many illusions (for a historical background, see "India from 1900 to 1947" by Claude
Markovits [2007] and for further details on the Partition violence, see "Thematic Chronology of Mass
Violence in Pakistan, 1947 2007" by Lionel Baixas [2008]). The assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in
January 1948 was a watershed moment for India. It put an end to the murdering frenzy and to mass
violence. Law and order could be restored. A strong leadership saw to that. Among those leaders was the
"Iron Man of India" that was the Union Home Minister, Sardar Patel. He was the one who had gathered in
time the 560 Indian princely states which had a special status (Menon 1961). In the larger country, he had
made it very clear that no nonsense would be tolerated. What he had in mind were of course the various
agitations of those days, mainly the Communist-led guerillas (Graff 1974), but also the linguistic or ethnic
claims and, very clearly, the grievances of the religious minorities"whose behavior could threaten "Mother
India." These last categories, however, were more than willing to demonstrate their loyalty. They were in a
state of shock. After the dramatic exchanges of populations which had taken place during Partition, Hindu
refugees had finally adjusted rather well. Muslims, however, had not. They were the guilty. They were
those who had divided the Motherland (Robinson 1993). Those who had not left for Pakistan (which meant
the majority of Muslims and most definitely the poorest among them) were left high and dry, even more so
because their patrons, upon whom they depended, were no longer present (Azad 1959 ; Khaliquzzaman
1964). The only thing they could do was to concentrate on their day-to-day survival. Nearly four years
proved necessary to reach a certain degree of peaceful coexistence between the communities concerned
(Spear 1967 ; Philips and Wainwright 1970 ; M. Hasan 2004). Who were these communities ? And why
this gulf between them ? What is feeding the so-called "communalist cancer" in India, the word referring to
the sense of insecurity, even hostility, which many communities feel at heart towards the "Other" (Pandey
1990), and which can lead them to take violent action in order to protect themselves, and further their own
interests ?
India is a giant country, a subcontinent which is extremely diverse, and where one finds people who, for
millenniums, have cohabited in a narrow proximity but have never merged. They belong either to local
indigenous tribes (adivasis) or descend from various waves of invaders who have settled, over the
centuries, along the country s rivers, in the large valleys of the Indus and of the Ganges, or in the hills,
cultivating, plundering, settling or building but remaining organized along different strata and statuses. It is
around 1500 B. C. that these various populations met and interacted. On the one hand, there were the
Dravidians, people earlier associated with the Harappa civilization in the Indus valley, who had seemingly
pushed aside the adivasis. On the other hand, there were the Aryans, who had come though successive
waves from the Caucasia regions (from 1500 B. C. to approximately 1000 B. C.). These Aryans were very
different from the populations they met when they came, with specific practices and religious traditions,
articulated around the Vedic poems. They brought along the premises of an organization, centered on the
notion of sacrifice, monopolized by a sacerdotal caste, the Brahmin varna. These Vedic times are still
remembered throughout India with utmost reverence. They are at the roots, together with the Upanishads
and the great popular epics (Ramayana, Mahabharata), of what is being called Hinduism today, an
accomplished civilization which is both open and tolerant as far as faith is concerned, but extremely rigid
regarding the rules of society (see infra the four-varna model). It is altogether a system, a sophisticated
philosophy, and a faith translated into a myriad of local popular creeds and devotion to thousands of deities.
With time of course, transformations and reforms have occurred : the major ones, Buddhism and Jainism,
were born in the 5th century B. C., in present Bihar. They have tried to get rid of the caste system, and they
have put the accent on meditation and non-violence. Sikhism on the other hand, was born much later in
Punjab (in the 15th century), with a first sant, Guru Nanak, who tried to elaborate a kind of syncretism
between Hinduism and Islam, centered on a unique God. Guru Nanak had several successors, and it is the
fifth guru who built the much revered Golden Temple in Amristar in 1604. The next gurus faced serious
problems with the Mughal Empire, and organized the community around martial and fiery traditions (the
Khalsa order). The lineage stopped at the tenth guru, and Sikhs now rely on a holy book, the Guru Granth.
All of these religious traditions, born on the sacred Indian soil, are considered as a part of the Hindu world.
They represent now 85 percent of the total Indian population.
But who are the other 15 percent ? On the margins of this Hindu world, at times completely imbricated,
there are important minorities, born out of foreign religions, which have survived, in glory or in submission
(see table 2 and 3).
The Parsis (Zoroastrians) have their origin in Persia, and migrated when the Sassanid Empire fell under
Arab conquests (8th to 10th century). They are a tiny elite group which is today on the way to a possible
extinction (too many outside marriages). At the moment, they are the main industrialists in India and its
most educated benefactors. Their community is mainly centered in Bombay.
Christians (2.4 percent of the whole population) have a long history, going back to the 1st century : Saint
Thomas is said to have landed in South India, to eventually reach Madras, where he is supposedly buried.
Historical evidence underlines the venue of merchants from the Middle-East and with them the first real
efforts of evangelization, during the 4th century, thanks to the activities of the Oriental Churches and their
missions. Contrary to later converts, these Syrian Christians benefited from a high status in society ; today
most of them are wealthy planters or businessmen, and they have a dominant role in Kerala politics.
Quarrels are frequent as they are divided along many rival Oriental Churches. A second wave of
conversions to Christianity occurred in the 15th and 16th century with the arrival of Portuguese
conquistadors (Vasco de Gama in 1498). The Roman Catholic clergy was well-organized, extremely active
(notwithstanding the Inquisition attempts), and they were able to reach the lowest castes (Untouchables and
tribal people). As for today, for instance, most Christian fishermen in South India are Latin Catholics. The
last wave of conversions started with Protestant missionaries from the 18th century onwards. Contrary to a
general feeling in the West, the churches involved in missionary work were not British. Both the East India
Company and the Church of England were very clear : nobody from their side should intervene in the
Hindu private life and religious traditions. It explains why the job was done by non-British missions
(Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Scotland), and why the various denominations look
quite disconcerting to outsiders. All in all, Christians today are not very numerous, and they are mainly
concentrated in the South. Most of them are highly educated, running hospitals and educational
establishments. It is to be noticed that Christian staff includes many literate and well-trained nuns........
Also read about Nellie Massacre
A dot of a town in Assam’s Nagaon district, Nellie, hit the national headlines in 1983 for all the wrong reasons. In just six hours on the morning of February 18, over 2000 Muslim villagers of East Bengal origin were massacred there.
With the then ongoing anti-foreigner movement in the State as the
backdrop, the incident attracted great attention. Hundreds of cases were
filed against the attackers composed of indigenous tribal Tiwa
and Koch communities; a commission was set up too to probe the massacre. But nothing came of it. The attackers and the attacked began living side by side yet again.
Three decades later, Japanese academic Makiko Kimura
attempts to search for clues from the narratives of the attackers and
the survivors through “The Nellie Massacre of
1983”. The recently published Sage book is the result of Makiko’s post
doctoral research at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
In an email interview from Japan, Makiko, associate professor at
the Tsuda College, Tokyo, says she zeroed in on the subject while
looking at doing some work on ethnic issues in the Northeast. “I chose
the anti-foreigner movement led by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU)
as my Ph.D theme. I wanted to know how indigenous tribal groups were
involved in the movement, and was suggested to go to Nellie,” she states.
Makiko Kimura, author of the recently published “The Nellie Massacre”, tells us that the killings would not have happened if the elections had not been imposed on a tense and divided society
FROM THE MODERATOR:
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2 Attachments
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
MUSLIMS, AAP AND CONGRESS
MUSLIMS, AAP AND CONGRESS
Muslims
vote for Congress to save them from Hindutva, BJP and now Modi.
However, Congress is so cracked due to virtual loot of public money and
national resources, that it has not chance by all accounts to counter
Modi. If Muslim still hold that Modi should be stopped, they should
know, that in current situation, only Kejriwal's Aam Admi Party could
stop Modi. It is as simple as that. Those who want to wait under the
pretext of judging AAP, are in fact taking big risk with Congress and
for that they will have to repent.
Those who want to rise against the corrupt and communal political parties and give their nation a new era of freedom from the debased anti-national and anti-people politics, MUST consider joining AAP. Muslim votes for AAP will be a historical game-changer for India.
Those who want to rise against the corrupt and communal political parties and give their nation a new era of freedom from the debased anti-national and anti-people politics, MUST consider joining AAP. Muslim votes for AAP will be a historical game-changer for India.
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Saturday, January 11, 2014
Govt. move to launch Shariah Mutual Fund welcomed by Mumtaz Alam
My comments posted on indiatomorrow.net website article:
Govt. move to launch Shariah Mutual Fund welcomed by Mumtaz Alam
" My protest is in principle to all government moves to bypass legislation
allowing 200 Million Muslims to fully enjoy the constitutional freedom of
religion, and force them to accept its own version of Islamic Finance and
Banking, with its own bureaucratic superstructure imposing what is Islamic for
the Indian Muslims. Compared to Malaysia, Indian Government has nothing to do
with Islam and its special needs for Muslims, India being a secular state.
Besides, Government's own record of managing any financial institutions is that
Nationalized Banks, insurance companies, pension funds, are all fraught with
graft. How can Muslims trust the government not to mismanage and divert funds
from Muslim corpus and deposits to other than Muslim channels? A mutual fund by
definition is risk prone. Who will put the Government and its agencies into
dock, if they declare losses arbitrarily and siphon our assets by any number of
clever manipulations, all appearing to be legal, as Mutual Funds are entirely
based on clear mandate from investors, to allow the managers to do what they
feel is good investment and these managers have full authority given by small
print in agreements, to take the investors on a wild ride. All such risks
should be kept in mind, before Muslims should give full support to the
well-meaning Congress Minority Minister, who has been so roundly harassed by
his own colleagues, to water down his demands on Muslim preferred financial
legislation, allowing them to manage their financial affairs freely, in
conformity with Quranic injunctions as well as their own accountability over
their community affairs."
Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai
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Govt. move to launch Shariah Mutual Fund welcomed
11 Jan 2014 02:01 PM, IST
H Abdur Raqeeb
By Mumtaz Alam, India Tomorrow,
New Delhi, 11 Jan 2014: The Indian Centre for Islamic Finance (ICIF) has welcomed the move of the Government of India to float a Shariah compliant mutual fund to attract investments from the Muslim community and financing Haj pilgrimage.
It is “a welcome step towards introducing an alternate interest free finance in the banking sector of the country,” said H Abdur Raqeeb, General Secretary, ICIF.
K Rahman Khan, Minister of Minority Affairs, has reportedly come up with the idea to tap Muslim investments said to be lying idle as interest is prohibited in Islam. “There is a great need for investment. The capital raised would be used to fund minority welfare,” Rahman Khan was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times on 09 Jan.
According to the English daily, Shariah Mutual Fund is aimed to finance minority welfare schemes by also reinvesting earnings from Wakf, or Islamic endowments of charity, usually in the form of prime real estate. The fund will be floated by State Bank of India.
The minority affairs ministry has reportedly asked the SBI to prepare a feasibility report. The bank has already sent a team to Malaysia, which runs a similar successful model.
According to Mr. Raqeeb of ICIF, the government proposal is based on the Tabung Haji, Malaysian Pilgrimage Management Fund model which is an unique Islamic financial institution, designed as per international best corporate governance framework with the aim of mobilising savings of individuals and successfully managing investment in an Islamic way in order to fulfil the life-long desire of the individuals for performing the Haj.
“The success of Tabung Haji is due to mainly the full support of the Malaysian government as well as the people in that country,” said Mr. Raqeeb.
Mr. Raqeeb, who is also Convenor, National Committee on Islamic Banking, has been striving for long for interest-free Islamic banking in India. The new development has renewed his hope that “GOI and RBI will soon introduce Interest free finance in the banking sector as recommended by the present RBI Governor, Dr Raghuram Rajan, Sukuk, Islamic asset based bonds for infrastructure development as well as Takaful- co-operative insurance in the insurance sector.”
New Delhi, 11 Jan 2014: The Indian Centre for Islamic Finance (ICIF) has welcomed the move of the Government of India to float a Shariah compliant mutual fund to attract investments from the Muslim community and financing Haj pilgrimage.
It is “a welcome step towards introducing an alternate interest free finance in the banking sector of the country,” said H Abdur Raqeeb, General Secretary, ICIF.
K Rahman Khan, Minister of Minority Affairs, has reportedly come up with the idea to tap Muslim investments said to be lying idle as interest is prohibited in Islam. “There is a great need for investment. The capital raised would be used to fund minority welfare,” Rahman Khan was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times on 09 Jan.
According to the English daily, Shariah Mutual Fund is aimed to finance minority welfare schemes by also reinvesting earnings from Wakf, or Islamic endowments of charity, usually in the form of prime real estate. The fund will be floated by State Bank of India.
The minority affairs ministry has reportedly asked the SBI to prepare a feasibility report. The bank has already sent a team to Malaysia, which runs a similar successful model.
According to Mr. Raqeeb of ICIF, the government proposal is based on the Tabung Haji, Malaysian Pilgrimage Management Fund model which is an unique Islamic financial institution, designed as per international best corporate governance framework with the aim of mobilising savings of individuals and successfully managing investment in an Islamic way in order to fulfil the life-long desire of the individuals for performing the Haj.
“The success of Tabung Haji is due to mainly the full support of the Malaysian government as well as the people in that country,” said Mr. Raqeeb.
Mr. Raqeeb, who is also Convenor, National Committee on Islamic Banking, has been striving for long for interest-free Islamic banking in India. The new development has renewed his hope that “GOI and RBI will soon introduce Interest free finance in the banking sector as recommended by the present RBI Governor, Dr Raghuram Rajan, Sukuk, Islamic asset based bonds for infrastructure development as well as Takaful- co-operative insurance in the insurance sector.”
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
A battle for the soul of Islam By Hasan Suroor - THE HINDU, Chennai, India | Comments
My comments posted on THE HINDU website article: A battle for the soul of Islam by Hasan Suroor:
If it was a false dawn for Leftist liberals, it was a false dawn for
the Islamists too. Both in Tunisia and Egypt, while a temporary flash
of democracy, did bring Islamists at the helm of the affair, forces
against them were ranged to pull them down, from the very first moment.
It is unthinkable that Left liberals who had joined the demonstration
against Mubarak regime, would have sat idle and seen the Arab countries
one after the other getting Islamisized through overwhelming public
support. Together with their supporters, the Neo-Cons of US and Israel,
they went into conspiracies and saw to it that the so-called democratic
process that brought the Islamists to power, should be reversed and
again the anti-people brute military is imposed on Egypt and in any
part of the Arab World that dare to raise its head in support of
political Islam. What alternative Muslims have in such hopeless
situation? Sit back and enjoy?
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http://www.thehindu.com/
Hasan Suroor
Comment (40) ·
One does not have to be a revolutionary poet like Faiz
Ahmad Faiz to look at events in the Muslim world and lament at being
deceived by the promise of a false dawn — as he memorably did at the
time of Indian independence, “Yeh woh sehar to nahin jiski arzoo le kar, chale the yaar ke mil jayegee kabhi na kabhi.”
Barely two years ago around this time, the Arab Street appeared to be on the cusp of a historic democratic revolution that was supposed to define Islam in the 21st century. An Islam compatible and at ease with the democratic values of free speech and tolerance.
With Osama bin Laden dead and al-Qaeda in disarray, moderate Muslims were set to reclaim the much maligned political Islam from extremists. The sight of articulate young Muslims with their Blackberrys and iPhones yearning for change and pushing for a radical break with the past mesmerised the world. Even card-carrying Islamophobes were forced into rethinking their pet theories about Islam.
It was hailed as Islam’s belated Enlightenment moment — a heady time when even a minor street protest came to be celebrated as a sign of Muslim awakening. William Wordsworth’s paean to the French Revolution could well apply to the “Arab Spring,” “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very heaven!”
Its own makingYet, all that seems so long ago now. The old terrifying face of Islam projected by extremists is back with a vengeance. The so-called jihadis have seized back the crucial edge in the battle for the soul of Islam. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that, unwittingly, moderate Muslims have thrown away the gains briefly achieved in those heady days in 2011.
Few revolutions in modern history have turned out quite so badly, and been so greedily devoured by its own children. Today, much of the Muslim world is in worse shape than before — a seething cauldron of hate and bigotry, and torn by sectarian violence. Crucially, for once, the “Great Satan” has nothing to do with what is going on there. There is no George W. Bush, no Tony Blair. Indeed, America has gone to some lengths to keep out of it even at the risk of alienating some of its European allies.
Revival of hostilityThe mess is entirely of Muslims’ own making. It is the “Great Satan” within who is wreaking the damage. Islam is at war with itself, which is raging, simultaneously, at several levels — between moderates and extremists; between Shias and Sunnis; and between pro-West (Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies) and anti-West (Iran, Lebanon, Syria) Muslim powers.
Perhaps, for the first time since the emergence of political Islam in its present ugly form in the last century the target of hate is not the West. It is very much an intra-Muslim affair. The warriors as well as their targets are all indigenous. Mostly, it is Muslims fighting other Muslims with Christians often caught up in the crossfire.
One of the most disturbing aspects is the bloody resurgence of Shia-Sunni hostility. Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria all have been sucked into a cycle of Muslim-on-Muslim violence that makes the Catholic-Protestant troubles in Northern Ireland look like kids’ stuff.
In Iraq alone, more than 6,000 people were killed in Shia-Sunni violence in 2013 — “a death toll not seen since 2008,” according to the BBC. Across West Asia, a form of ethnic cleansing is going on with Shias being forced to flee Sunni-majority areas, and vice versa. The region is awash with refugees from both sects raising the spectre of a Palestinian-style crisis of the stateless/homeless Muslims.
It is reckoned that more than a third of Syria’s population has been displaced, with a knock-on effect being felt throughout West Asia. In Lebanon, the presence of Sunni Muslim refugees has put pressure on its already fragile sectarian balance. Tensions are being fuelled by the Shia militant group Hezbollah which is actively backing the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a fellow Shia from the Alawite sect. And all this is happening with the blessings of Shia/Sunni regimes aligned to rival sectarian interests.
It’s a proxy war with Shia Iran, Iraq and Syria in one camp, and the Saudis and their Sunni allies such as Qatar in the other. The ouster of the Mohammad Morsi government and the persecution of the Muslim Brotherhood have nothing to do with protecting Egypt from Islamist extremism or upholding secularism and democracy. It is Saudi Arabia flexing its Sunni muscles as it did when it helped crush a nascent uprising in Bahrain. (To avoid any perceptions of bias, let me declare that I am a Sunni.)
The leaderless Tahrir Square “revolutionaries” have been a casualty of a wider quasi-religious struggle among major Muslim powers for supremacy. Rather than setting the agenda for a “new” Egypt, they have ended up serving others’ agendas. First the army used them to get rid of Hosni Mubarak by portraying itself as the defender of the revolution, and then to suppress the Muslim Brotherhood which, as the only organised political force in the country, posed a threat to its influence.
The failed Arab Spring is an object lesson in how not to organise a revolution. Contrary to the romantic notion of a spontaneous revolution, it is actually a cold beast which needs credible leadership, a high level of organisation, a coherent ideology and a clearly thought-out plan for afterwards. Instead, what we saw on the Arab street was only idealism and anger. No leadership, no organisation and no alternative script.
This allowed all sorts of elements with their own agendas — the army, dodgy dissidents at home and abroad, and extremists — to step in and hijack the show. The only exception is Tunisia where after initial chaos, Ennahda, a well-organised moderate Islamist party, has been able to provide a semblance of stable democratic alternative.
Insecurity of ChristiansAnd what about Islam’s fabled respect towards other faiths?
There has been an alarming increase in anti-Christian violence with attacks on churches, Christian homes and businesses without any apparent provocation. In Egypt, the minority Coptic Christian community is living in fear after a series of attacks allegedly by Muslim Brotherhood supporters. Hundreds of churches and other properties belonging to Christians have been destroyed or looted apparently because the Coptic Pope Tawadros II spoke in support of military rulers. In Syria, Christians have been attacked by anti-Assad forces who accuse them of supporting his regime.
Christians all over West Asia feel insecure and there is a climate of fear. There are reports of large-scale “Christian flight” from the region with almost one-third of Christians having fled Syria alone, it is claimed. The Christians being targeted are not western expats; they do not represent western interests. Not that it would have made attacks on them any more legitimate. They are historically settled communities — as Arab as any Muslim Arab in terms of their historical roots in the region. Understandably, there is deep concern about the future of Christianity in the land of its birth.
Prince Charles, one of the few high-profile friends of Muslims in the West and who has done a lot of work to promote Muslim-Christian dialogue, has voiced his dismay. He told an interfaith audience in London recently that he had spent 20 years trying “to build bridges between Islam and Christianity to dispel ignorance and misunderstanding.” But these bridges were now “rapidly being deliberately destroyed by those with a vested interest in doing so.”
He urged Muslims, Jews and Christians to unite in “outrage” against the turn of events in the region.
Beyond the disappointments of the false Arab dawn, however, is the broader question of the existential crisis facing Islam in the land of its birth. Given its regressive trajectory, liberal Muslims, especially, will be right to worry about the shape in which Islam emerges from this crisis. It doesn’t look good.
hasan.suroor@gmail.com
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Comments (40):
The greatest threat to peace is the increasing radicalization of
Ordinary shia and sunni people may carry on life with each other, but
I feel the main problem lies in the interpretation of religion whether
I agree fully with the views expressed by Vida. As they say, what goes
unlike other religions which have lost their basic teachings,Islam
A completely rubbish article. It smacks of a deliberate hypocrisy
A myopic vision has been shown in this article. The mass killing and
@Arun nair - was a comment adding perspective.
god has no religion and religion has no god. religion is the all evil in
An excellent analysis. The first thing to note is that islam is not a
nationhood, otherwise there would not be so many different arab
countries. Second, islam is simply another medieval man made ideology
that has no solutions to the problems of a complex modern world. Third,
the islamic extremists,completely devoid of morality, are suffering from
the delusion of a world islamic empire nurtured by the primitive
bedouins of arabia and has no relevance to reality.
Religion is the root cause of all evil. It has only sought to divide
A very well written article and i am glad that the 'Hindu' has
published it. Muslims, especially conservative and fundamentalist ones,
need to look within themselves and question the ideology they are
following. Osama and other Jihadis are prepared to commit mass murder to
further their perceived goals of spreading militant Islam.
If it was a false dawn for Leftist liberals, it was a false dawn for
the Islamists too. Both in Tunisia and Egypt, while a temporary flash
of democracy, did bring Islamists at the helm of the affair, forces
against them were ranged to pull them down, from the very first moment.
It is unthinkable that Left liberals who had joined the demonstration
against Mubarak regime, would have sat idle and seen the Arab countries
one after the other getting Islamisized through overwhelming public
support. Together with their supporters, the Neo-Cons of US and Israel,
they went into conspiracies and saw to it that the so-called democratic
process that brought the Islamists to power, should be reversed and
against the anti-people brute military is imposed on Egypt and in any
part of the Arab World that dare to raise its head in support of
political Islam. What alternative Muslims have in such hopeless
situation? Sit back and enjoy?
UNIVERSALITY OF TRUTH
Tushar Sinha, if there is violence and destruction in the name of
On one hand there is a description of "Moderate Muslims" aka the
movie stars old and new, we have the various political personalities and
intellectuals who fall into this category or historical ones like Akbar
on the other hand there is the "Fundamentalist" aka Osama and his like.
I completely agree with article content and intent behind writing it.
A battle for the soul of Islam. Good story. It is true but
ironically the military and anti-Islam forces are claiming to fighting
over it, as we are witnessing particularly in Egypt and Syria.
Moderate and enlightened Muslims is an oxymoron. There is no such beast. Everywhere I
Mr. Hasan Suroor. This is probably the most biased article I have seen
They say pride is the last infirmity of the noble mind. Vivekananda
Very deliberate attempt to paint a negative picture. There is an
Thank you! Mr. Hasan. It was a very refreshing article. Perhaps that beacon of
Mr Hasan Suroor you have indeed stated the sorry state of affairs within the
Well said. Some of my best friends are Muslims and I must say that I
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
If it was a false dawn for Leftist liberals, it was a false dawn for
the Islamists too. Both in Tunisia and Egypt, while a temporary flash
of democracy, did bring Islamists at the helm of the affair, forces
against them were ranged to pull them down, from the very first moment.
It is unthinkable that Left liberals who had joined the demonstration
against Mubarak regime, would have sat idle and seen the Arab countries
one after the other getting Islamisized through overwhelming public
support. Together with their supporters, the Neo-Cons of US and Israel,
they went into conspiracies and saw to it that the so-called democratic
process that brought the Islamists to power, should be reversed and
again the anti-people brute military is imposed on Egypt and in any
part of the Arab World that dare to raise its head in support of
political Islam. What alternative Muslims have in such hopeless
situation? Sit back and enjoy?
from:
Ghulam Muhammed
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 14:19 ISTIt will be naive to think that US had nothing to do with downfall of Morsi government. It manipulated each and every move against Morsi, through its proxies in Army,police, judiciary and in the wider political field. It cannot stomach that Muslim Brotherhood could come to power with such spectacular mandate, winning three elections/referendums. It had the last resort in its arsenal: the same public demonstrations that pull down Mubarak, was staged managed through Left liberals and Coptic Christian agitators, with Army this time shooting Muslim Brotherhood counter-demonstrators. The entire scenario was stage managed by US and Israel. Only those who do want to see the facts behind the clever propaganda of US remaining on the sideline, would delude themselves with untruth. Can Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar give even a dime to Egyptian Army, without US behind the entire plot to destabilize Egypt and throw Muslim Brother out, this time possibly for good, as they would have it.
from:
Ghulam Muhammed
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 14:39 IST----- ----- -----
http://www.thehindu.com/
Updated: January 8, 2014 01:04 IST
A battle for the soul of Islam
Hasan Suroor
Comment (40) ·
With Osama bin Laden dead and al-Qaeda in disarray, moderate Muslims were set to reclaim political Islam from extremists. But 2 years later, the Islam projected by extremists is back with a vengeance
Barely two years ago around this time, the Arab Street appeared to be on the cusp of a historic democratic revolution that was supposed to define Islam in the 21st century. An Islam compatible and at ease with the democratic values of free speech and tolerance.
With Osama bin Laden dead and al-Qaeda in disarray, moderate Muslims were set to reclaim the much maligned political Islam from extremists. The sight of articulate young Muslims with their Blackberrys and iPhones yearning for change and pushing for a radical break with the past mesmerised the world. Even card-carrying Islamophobes were forced into rethinking their pet theories about Islam.
It was hailed as Islam’s belated Enlightenment moment — a heady time when even a minor street protest came to be celebrated as a sign of Muslim awakening. William Wordsworth’s paean to the French Revolution could well apply to the “Arab Spring,” “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very heaven!”
Its own makingYet, all that seems so long ago now. The old terrifying face of Islam projected by extremists is back with a vengeance. The so-called jihadis have seized back the crucial edge in the battle for the soul of Islam. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that, unwittingly, moderate Muslims have thrown away the gains briefly achieved in those heady days in 2011.
Few revolutions in modern history have turned out quite so badly, and been so greedily devoured by its own children. Today, much of the Muslim world is in worse shape than before — a seething cauldron of hate and bigotry, and torn by sectarian violence. Crucially, for once, the “Great Satan” has nothing to do with what is going on there. There is no George W. Bush, no Tony Blair. Indeed, America has gone to some lengths to keep out of it even at the risk of alienating some of its European allies.
Revival of hostilityThe mess is entirely of Muslims’ own making. It is the “Great Satan” within who is wreaking the damage. Islam is at war with itself, which is raging, simultaneously, at several levels — between moderates and extremists; between Shias and Sunnis; and between pro-West (Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies) and anti-West (Iran, Lebanon, Syria) Muslim powers.
Perhaps, for the first time since the emergence of political Islam in its present ugly form in the last century the target of hate is not the West. It is very much an intra-Muslim affair. The warriors as well as their targets are all indigenous. Mostly, it is Muslims fighting other Muslims with Christians often caught up in the crossfire.
One of the most disturbing aspects is the bloody resurgence of Shia-Sunni hostility. Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria all have been sucked into a cycle of Muslim-on-Muslim violence that makes the Catholic-Protestant troubles in Northern Ireland look like kids’ stuff.
In Iraq alone, more than 6,000 people were killed in Shia-Sunni violence in 2013 — “a death toll not seen since 2008,” according to the BBC. Across West Asia, a form of ethnic cleansing is going on with Shias being forced to flee Sunni-majority areas, and vice versa. The region is awash with refugees from both sects raising the spectre of a Palestinian-style crisis of the stateless/homeless Muslims.
It is reckoned that more than a third of Syria’s population has been displaced, with a knock-on effect being felt throughout West Asia. In Lebanon, the presence of Sunni Muslim refugees has put pressure on its already fragile sectarian balance. Tensions are being fuelled by the Shia militant group Hezbollah which is actively backing the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a fellow Shia from the Alawite sect. And all this is happening with the blessings of Shia/Sunni regimes aligned to rival sectarian interests.
It’s a proxy war with Shia Iran, Iraq and Syria in one camp, and the Saudis and their Sunni allies such as Qatar in the other. The ouster of the Mohammad Morsi government and the persecution of the Muslim Brotherhood have nothing to do with protecting Egypt from Islamist extremism or upholding secularism and democracy. It is Saudi Arabia flexing its Sunni muscles as it did when it helped crush a nascent uprising in Bahrain. (To avoid any perceptions of bias, let me declare that I am a Sunni.)
The leaderless Tahrir Square “revolutionaries” have been a casualty of a wider quasi-religious struggle among major Muslim powers for supremacy. Rather than setting the agenda for a “new” Egypt, they have ended up serving others’ agendas. First the army used them to get rid of Hosni Mubarak by portraying itself as the defender of the revolution, and then to suppress the Muslim Brotherhood which, as the only organised political force in the country, posed a threat to its influence.
The failed Arab Spring is an object lesson in how not to organise a revolution. Contrary to the romantic notion of a spontaneous revolution, it is actually a cold beast which needs credible leadership, a high level of organisation, a coherent ideology and a clearly thought-out plan for afterwards. Instead, what we saw on the Arab street was only idealism and anger. No leadership, no organisation and no alternative script.
This allowed all sorts of elements with their own agendas — the army, dodgy dissidents at home and abroad, and extremists — to step in and hijack the show. The only exception is Tunisia where after initial chaos, Ennahda, a well-organised moderate Islamist party, has been able to provide a semblance of stable democratic alternative.
Insecurity of ChristiansAnd what about Islam’s fabled respect towards other faiths?
There has been an alarming increase in anti-Christian violence with attacks on churches, Christian homes and businesses without any apparent provocation. In Egypt, the minority Coptic Christian community is living in fear after a series of attacks allegedly by Muslim Brotherhood supporters. Hundreds of churches and other properties belonging to Christians have been destroyed or looted apparently because the Coptic Pope Tawadros II spoke in support of military rulers. In Syria, Christians have been attacked by anti-Assad forces who accuse them of supporting his regime.
Christians all over West Asia feel insecure and there is a climate of fear. There are reports of large-scale “Christian flight” from the region with almost one-third of Christians having fled Syria alone, it is claimed. The Christians being targeted are not western expats; they do not represent western interests. Not that it would have made attacks on them any more legitimate. They are historically settled communities — as Arab as any Muslim Arab in terms of their historical roots in the region. Understandably, there is deep concern about the future of Christianity in the land of its birth.
Prince Charles, one of the few high-profile friends of Muslims in the West and who has done a lot of work to promote Muslim-Christian dialogue, has voiced his dismay. He told an interfaith audience in London recently that he had spent 20 years trying “to build bridges between Islam and Christianity to dispel ignorance and misunderstanding.” But these bridges were now “rapidly being deliberately destroyed by those with a vested interest in doing so.”
He urged Muslims, Jews and Christians to unite in “outrage” against the turn of events in the region.
Beyond the disappointments of the false Arab dawn, however, is the broader question of the existential crisis facing Islam in the land of its birth. Given its regressive trajectory, liberal Muslims, especially, will be right to worry about the shape in which Islam emerges from this crisis. It doesn’t look good.
hasan.suroor@gmail.com
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Comments (40):
The greatest threat to peace is the increasing radicalization of
Muslim youth who have been so conditioned by weekly preaching by the
mullahs. Muslims have been subjected to constant teaching of hostility
towards other faiths and communities to such an extent that it is now
rare to find a Muslim who would think in objective terms. There are
still individuals, some in places of authority and power, who are
genuinely liberal, but they are mostly keeping quiet. Much of the time
they do not even comment on happenings that agitate other communities
and that constitute a threat to a secular society. It has even brought
a response from Hindu intellectuals who argue for a similar adhesion
to so-called Hindu values and mores. Hope lies with the minuscule
category of genuinely secular people who are swamped in a sea of
extremist exhortation and opposing fanatical discourse, known in India
as communalism – of Muslims and Hindus and others.
from:
V. C. Bhutani
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 18:09 IST
Ordinary shia and sunni people may carry on life with each other, but
it is the political powers beyond them that exploit the divide by
using hate as weapon. As it happens, it is not so much the pro- or
anti-West Muslim powers, but the West itself, led by Zionist Anglo-
American powers that is dividing the Muslims - if not committing
genocide in disguise - in order to protect and legitimise an entity
called Israel, which is the one and only core issue at stake in the
"neverending" MiddleEast conflict. To this end, war-leaders Tony Blair
and George W. Bush should be put on trial at the ICC, as already
suggested by Nobel laureate Bishop Tutu.
from:
Rajan Mahadevan
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 18:07 IST
I feel the main problem lies in the interpretation of religion whether
it be Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism or others. And
there is always a nexus between a particular religious interpretation
and the Power. It is an irony that religion today is used as a medium
to divide people, whereas its sole purpose was to unite the whole of
humanity. It is high time for all of us (moderates, extremists,
liberals, atheists, etc) as humans to think over where exactly humanity
is heading towards?
As far as the article is concerned, I appreciate and respect the
author's analysis, although I disagree with his view on non-
interference of foreign powers on the current events in the Middle
East.
from:
Shoaib Mohammed
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 17:57 IST
I agree fully with the views expressed by Vida. As they say, what goes
around comes around. Islamic history was violent to start with. It
was only the rise of the non-Islamic nations that put a stop to the
violent expansion of Islam by the Islamic zealots, under the misguided
belief that Islam was the best for the whole world.
There should be no compulsion in religion. A religion should be
catholic in its outlook and give perfect freedom to its adherents to
embrace every kind of personal response from atheism to mysticism ie
each according to his capacity. When a religion becomes regimented and
a one-size-fits-all formula is rammed down the throats of all and
sundry, it breeds frustration and that in turn breeds violence,
violence and more violence!
from:
DURAI
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 17:50 IST
unlike other religions which have lost their basic teachings,Islam
was never in existential crisis and will never be. Let me remind you
of your own article "Seeking Allah in the Midlands" and of Tatars
who butchered millions of Muslims and it was finally religion of
Islam which conquered them. Sects like Alawites and Druzes who see
Ali r.a as god fall nowhere near the definition of Muslims.These so
called Muslims who are fighting these unholy wars are not fighting
it for Islam rather for their personal , political gains
from:
imran
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 17:40 IST
A completely rubbish article. It smacks of a deliberate hypocrisy
batting for the West. And those who are over delighted and went on to
say that Islam is a Medieval and Archaic religion having no solutions
to the problems of today’s complex world should note that Islam has
the finest solutions to all the problems, given it is implemented in
it’s true spirit. Please don’t form an opinion in the light of the
contemporary regimes across the Muslim world as none of these are
being completely run through the Islamic Sharia. Please note that this
is not a man-made religion else it is divine and was revealed on our
Prophet (PBUH) . I am shocked on the comment made by Mr Sohail Zahid
“Islam is simply another medieval man-made ideology†. Mr Sohail if you
really believe so I feel no inhibitions in declaring that you are no
longer a Muslim.
from:
Azizur Rahman
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 16:53 IST
There is no education , no modernity among muslims . They are not ready to accept others view point and beliefs . Something written in book is more important and true for them than exercising own brain .So this is bound to happen. Tons of articles , Op-Eds like this won't be fruitful.
from:
vipul shah
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 16:53 IST
A myopic vision has been shown in this article. The mass killing and
migration in West Asia are not directed to a particular community.
Muslims are more harmed and destroyed because of the policies taken
by the politicians and world diplomacy.
This is the way of West and rich hypocrites to engage the people of
this area in their own troubles, so that their illegal business of
oil can flourish and no one has the courage, stamina and time to
question them.
In the present generation no nation is following a true Islamic
system and just because the population of a country is muslim you can
not say it is Islamic Country.
And when you are not following ideals of Islam how childish it is to
blame Islam as the root cause.
from:
D Mansoor
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 16:35 IST
@Arun nair - was a comment adding perspective.
Islam is a misunderstood religion - probably the most.
And cliches and easy characterizations dont help at all.
from:
Sundar
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 16:35 IST
Its the politicians who are dividing people based on their beliefs,for their own end. Islam, as a religion, is not at war with itself, rather the followers are ignorant about its teachings.
from:
Shams A
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 16:30 IST
Islam needs to be brought 'kicking and screaming' into the 21st century. The mindset within Islam is still very medieval and archaic. Islam needs to evolve and reflect the progress that Human civilisation has made since the 7th century. Other religions like Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity are at peace with themelves and the world at large and want to progress into the future. Unfortunately Islam still harks back to the days of 7th century Arabia. The Mullahs and extremists want to return to the days of the brutal and cruel Caliphate which was established through wars and conquest.
from:
Vida
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 15:52 IST
god has no religion and religion has no god. religion is the all evil in
this world dividing humanity.
from:
naveen
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 15:49 IST
An excellent analysis. The first thing to note is that islam is not a
nationhood, otherwise there would not be so many different arab
countries. Second, islam is simply another medieval man made ideology
that has no solutions to the problems of a complex modern world. Third,
the islamic extremists,completely devoid of morality, are suffering from
the delusion of a world islamic empire nurtured by the primitive
bedouins of arabia and has no relevance to reality.
These islamic
terrorists are a product of the realization of islam's utter defeat at
the hands of western industrial civilization. The world has moved on too
far ahead.
from:
Sohail Zahid
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 15:47 IST
There seems to be a 'self-destruct' button within Islam. Not content with having over 1 billion followers after centuries of turmoil,wars conversions and acquisition of foreign lands, they are now attempting to re-establish the Caliphate by violent means. The Sunni Mullahs and extremists within Islam are hell-bent on radicalisng all Muslims against the followers of non-Wahabi Islam. So they range from Shias, Ahmadiyas, followed by non-Muslims like Xtians, Hindus, Buddhists etc. Time for introspection i think.
from:
Vipul
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 15:01 IST
Religion is the root cause of all evil. It has only sought to divide
people, incite hatred by highlighting difference in cultures and
bringing up this artificial wall between people.
It is one of the most despicable aspects of human kind.
If there is a God, God probably made mankind.
But mankind made religion to exercise control and divide.
from:
Nagarajan
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 14:50 IST
A very well written article and i am glad that the 'Hindu' has
published it. Muslims, especially conservative and fundamentalist ones,
need to look within themselves and question the ideology they are
following. Osama and other Jihadis are prepared to commit mass murder to
further their perceived goals of spreading militant Islam.
Also the author should have examined the turbulent history of the
birth and subsequent spread of Islam to other worlds. It was undeniably
achieved by conquering and forcible conversion, with complete disregard
and dislike for other cultures and religions. The Zoroastrian religion
of Iran was eradicated, Buddhist and Hindu culture of Afghanistan and
Pakistan were also eradicated. Turkey, Syria and other middle eastern
territories were Christian or Jewish. So Muslims need to take a 'deep
breath' and decide which direction they want to take their religion. The
Saudis, as the 'guardians of the Islam need to stop being silent
bystanders in all this mayhem.
from:
Vida
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 14:49 IST
It will be naive to think that US had nothing to do with downfall of Morsi government. It manipulated each and every move against Morsi, through its proxies in Army,police, judiciary and in the wider political field. It cannot stomach that Muslim Brotherhood could come to power with such spectacular mandate, winning three elections/referendums. It had the last resort in its arsenal: the same public demonstrations that pull down Mubarak, was staged managed through Left liberals and Coptic Christian agitators, with Army this time shooting Muslim Brotherhood counter-demonstrators. The entire scenario was stage managed by US and Israel. Only those who do want to see the facts behind the clever propaganda of US remaining on the sideline, would delude themselves with untruth. Can Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar give even a dime to Egyptian Army, without US behind the entire plot to destabilize Egypt and throw Muslim Brother out, this time possibly for good, as they would have it.
from:
Ghulam Muhammed
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 14:39 IST
Salahuddin, do you mean to say that Taliban took orders to butcher Shias, Ahmadiyas, Christians in Pakistan?? Yeah live in denial.
from:
Srihari
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 14:22 IST
If it was a false dawn for Leftist liberals, it was a false dawn for
the Islamists too. Both in Tunisia and Egypt, while a temporary flash
of democracy, did bring Islamists at the helm of the affair, forces
against them were ranged to pull them down, from the very first moment.
It is unthinkable that Left liberals who had joined the demonstration
against Mubarak regime, would have sat idle and seen the Arab countries
one after the other getting Islamisized through overwhelming public
support. Together with their supporters, the Neo-Cons of US and Israel,
they went into conspiracies and saw to it that the so-called democratic
process that brought the Islamists to power, should be reversed and
against the anti-people brute military is imposed on Egypt and in any
part of the Arab World that dare to raise its head in support of
political Islam. What alternative Muslims have in such hopeless
situation? Sit back and enjoy?
from:
Ghulam Muhammed
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 14:19 IST
UNIVERSALITY OF TRUTH
1. My religion is a religion without a nickname. It is a religion
of nature. I label none, brand none, possess none, but serve all alike
like light and sun. Sw. Rama Thirtha
2. Man will wrangle for religion; write for it; fight for it;
anything but live for it.
3. The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren and to do
good is my religion. Thomas Paine. US patriot and political
philosopher (1737-1809)
4. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Jesus
Christ
5. Any believe that makes one kind, compassionate and respectful
of others is good religion and any that makes you intolerant, unkind
and belligerent is bad religion, no matter how orthodox it is. Karen
Armstrong.
6. To die for a religion is easier than to live it absolutely.
Jorge Louis Borges. Argentine writer and poet. (1899-1986)
If everyone can live in the universal spirit of religion as
expressed above how much a better place the world would be to live in!!!
from:
DURAI
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 14:13 IST
Tushar Sinha, if there is violence and destruction in the name of
religion, it certainly is not the fault of religion. If a knife is
used to stab a person, is it the fault of the knife? Anything that can
be used can also be abused. Since religion has the potential for the
highest good, it logically follows it also has the capacity for the
greatest abuse! What is lacking in those who abuse religion for
whatever reason, is a proper understanding of religion! And that's the
cause of all the problems in the world.
Man will wrangle for religion, write for it and fight for it,anything
but live for it.
It is easier to fight for a religion than to live it absolutely!
from:
DURAI
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 13:50 IST
On one hand there is a description of "Moderate Muslims" aka the
movie stars old and new, we have the various political personalities and
intellectuals who fall into this category or historical ones like Akbar
on the other hand there is the "Fundamentalist" aka Osama and his like.
Both designations have nothing to do with Islam or muslims they are
the attempts at defining by those cannot understand even the basic
requirements of Islam.
While anyone who profess to be muslim has a right to be called
muslim there are some criteria to be a where one might be called to be a
"normal muslim" as viewed by muslims themselves. Among the criteria is
following on a regular basis the basic requirements of a follower of
Islam. ie belief in one god,messenger,day of judgement,Quran, regularly
offering prayers,fasting,hajj,charity and avoid major sins, ie
stealing,murder,adultery&
from:
Basheer
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 13:48 IST
I completely agree with article content and intent behind writing it.
I had close experience working with Hindu and Muslim community in
villages based in Rajasthan, India. The project was to bring Hindu and
Muslim together and to start a dialogue on those aspects, which
connected them well. Being Muslim, I was not initially accepted in
Muslim Community because I was non practicing. While Hindu community
was little shy share their concerns because my name similar to Muslim.
But, after working and staying along with them for few years, I
recognized that the absence of platform and dialogue created big gap
between them. Extremism within the Muslim group is harming the
community more that solving the community related problem. Liberal
Muslims are not having close interaction with their their religious
fellows. It a time for introspection within the Muslim community and
also important to differentiate religious understanding from politico
religious vested interests. I appreciate Mr. Suroor!
from:
Sharique
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 13:43 IST
The article is spot on!! Every religion has their own share of extremists and moderates,but the ratio is highly skewed in Islam in favour of hardcore extremists and the worst part is that the moderates are in denial mode.India has a history of communal violence especially hindu/Muslim riots and even if this can be attributed to the rise of hindu extremism,countries such as Mynamar and Srilanka with buddhist majority and even the north province of China (Largely atheist) are experiencing turbulence and it concerns muslims.The moderates in this religion have to retrospect
from:
RaviKiran
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 13:38 IST
A battle for the soul of Islam. Good story. It is true but
ironically the military and anti-Islam forces are claiming to fighting
over it, as we are witnessing particularly in Egypt and Syria.
from:
Jamil Akhter
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 13:18 IST
With majority of bloodshed in today's world attributed to religion (be it communal riots in our country, sectarian violence in Middle East etc) the very institution has been rendered dysfunctional. Would the earth not be a better place to inhabit without the concept of religion. NASA's Voyager II has recently navigated out of our solar system. This spacecraft carries with it the signature of human existence (with a hope that some day it would be intercepted by aliens). Let us assume that after getting to know about our existence some aliens plan to conquer the earth by the mode of invasion. Would us not, in that case, unite as global citizens forgetting about who is Christian, Muslim, Protestant, Catholic, Shia or Sunni. So are we expecting some alien invasion to melt down the religion based differences amongst humans?
from:
Tushar Sinha
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 12:53 IST
"Crucially, for once, the “Great Satan†has nothing to do with what is going on there. There is no George W. Bush, no Tony Blair. Indeed, America has gone to some lengths to keep out of it even at the risk of alienating some of its European allies." it make me laugh bother ur very lenient with western world and the Arab monarch. who provided the arms to the Syrian takfiri group. Saudis, Qatar, Bahrain etc. They doesn't represent the Majority of Sunni. May Allah guide us all
from:
Maseeh Raza
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 12:48 IST
Moderate and enlightened Muslims is an oxymoron. There is no such beast. Everywhere I
see Muslims stick very strongly to their religion with more and more women wearing either
burqa or hijab. When I visit Mumbai my home town I find burqa clad women where 50 years
ago there were hardly any and even in Australia where I now live even girls as young as 5 or
6 wear hijab. All this happens because the Mulla says so. Three years ago educated
Muslims refused to enter our local Hindu temple because Islam says Hindus are kafirs and
these we're visiting university teachers from Malaysia and Indonesia. Many Australian
Muslims are currently fighting in Syria. Young Muslim women here are still subjected to
genital mutilation here. In the earlier comments I read that somehow it is not the fault of
Muslims but of US. What is really sad is the death and destruction wrought upon helpless
population.
from:
Kolsat
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 12:38 IST
Mr. Hasan Suroor. This is probably the most biased article I have seen
from you. Can you also define the orders which come through the
Washington DC for the puppets of Muslim countries. You should have
given some balance to your analysis if you had really mentioned the
"Strategic interest" factors leading to this mess. And of course the
majority of the Muslim world wants to be ruled by Quran which they did
for almost 1400 years. Quran has the best system of life as you would
know ;. And there are no Moderate or extremist
Muslims. This is the narrative you have also copied from the West.
Too bad to copy. Make your own judgement please.
Remember the best protection to minorities came at the time of Islamic
rule and Jewish brothers got protection only under Caliphate.
from:
Salahuddin
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 12:29 IST
While the author is right that Muslim Lands in the M.E are facing unprecedented turmoil, he is wrong when he equates the actions of warring factions there as the actions of Islam. Yes there is a melee of trouble there in many countries, but the underlying causes are only ostensibly religious in nature. It is basically a geopolitical struggle for influence between Salafist Saudi Arabia+Qatar and Iran that has unfortunately taken a sectarian color(it was bound to). Its notable that even in the sectarian wars in Syria, Assad's army which purportedly fighting Sunnis,is itself largely composed of Syria's Sunni muslims. FSA,the main rebels are largely non-Islamist Sunnis who are atleast on the face of it non-sectarian and are currently engaged in fighting Al-Qaeda linked rebels. Even in Iraq,Shia Govt forces(Army) teamed up with Sunni tribes to flush out Al-Qaeda from Anbar. The point is,it can't be denied that the voilence has taken sectarian color,but there is more to it than meets the eye
from:
Shahid
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 10:57 IST
The moderates whether Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jew, American or anywhere else are too busy sipping their whisky/rum or running from pillar to post for their daily bread to spare time for "RECLAIMING THE SOUL" kind of projects. They arise only when circumstances force them (like repressive rule of Taliban like regime etc). Give them 10 minuets of peace & they will be back to their whisky or bread earning business. Whereas the extremists have all the time (24x7x4.35x12x.......) for their brainwashing business.
from:
Shaleen Mathur
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 10:55 IST
They say pride is the last infirmity of the noble mind. Vivekananda
has said: "Pride of wealth is bad; worse still is intellectual pride
but the worst of all is religious pride. Woe unto the person who
succumbs to this weakness" We can paraphrase him: Woe unto the
community or nation that has this pride of religiosity.
All religious communities has this weakness to a lesser or greater
extent. Vivekananda has again said: "The downfall of the Hindus
started the day they coined the word MILECHCHA for all foreigners" The
Christians use the terms PAGANS and HEATHENS and the Muslims KAFIRS to
refer to those of other faiths.
To say that there is no religion like ours, that ours is the latest
and the best, that our guru is the last, that we have nothing more
to learn, that it is others who have to learn from us, is religious
pride of the worst kind.
It is stated in the PROVERBS: "Pride goeth before destruction and a
haughty spirit before a fall."
Remember the Story of the Vrishnis? ......
from:
DURAI
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 09:36 IST
Hasan Suroor's analysis is brilliant as usual but he is too hasty in not seeing 'a foreign hand' behind the sectarian conflicts in the Middle East. It is well-known that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a client of the United States and that it is in American interests that Iranian influence should be curtailed if not extinguished as long as Iranian oil interests are not made subservient to America. It is also known that Qatar supported 'Libyan rebels' clearly under American instructions. Syria would have been raped like Libya but for Putin protecting Russian interests in the region. Starting with the first Gulf War and the so-called 'disinterested' support of Kosovo, America has almost closed a defensive ring round Middle-East energy resources, and the conflicts will continue till America ensures its geo-political interests in the region or she is thrown back, which seems unlikely in the context of blinkered sectarian fighting among Muslims.
from:
vithal rajan
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 09:27 IST
Very deliberate attempt to paint a negative picture. There is an
inherent Message in Islam and that is of tolerance, piety, charity and
patience that would prevail. These turmoils have happened in all faiths
and it has happened in Muslim Faith. I am shocked at the writer who
looks at glass quarter full, I see things differently. Muslim faith will
emerge stronger, more enlightened when this period ends.
from:
Naveed Khan
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 08:32 IST
A bold and fair article. In context of Kashmir its radicals who lead and controlled the division and to this day there has been no moderate voice or revolt against them. Case in point is when innocent Kashmiris are murdered not one protest takes place whereas if there is a suspicion of security forces involvements the whole valley burns.
from:
Aditya
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 08:19 IST
I am more concerned about muslim in Indian continent. The way radicalism of muslim is increasing triggering radicalism with other religions at some level is really matter of serious concerns. Although India has highly intellectual muslim individuals who are above caste,creed and religion but how they influence to masses will be seen in future.
from:
Shri
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 07:40 IST
A distinguished professor of religion at the University of Alberta, Canada once told me: "Muslims can live only as an oppressive majority or as a turbulent minority." The situation in the world, especially in West Asia and Egypt suggests they are doing both.
from:
N.S. Rajaram
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 06:54 IST
Thank you! Mr. Hasan. It was a very refreshing article. Perhaps that beacon of
moderate voice can come from a place like India where as a culture we are more
spiritual and philosophical than religious. I think the biggest obstacle in the Muslim
world has been a successful muslim (be it at any profession) who values his/her
religion coupled with hard work and an education system that instill confidence in
who they are. And this success story must come from a middle class background to
provide that confidence that others too can achieve that dream!
from:
Sunder R
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 04:28 IST
Mr Hasan Suroor you have indeed stated the sorry state of affairs within the
Muslims. What went wrong with the movement was that strong leadership of the
Jihadist and complete lack of uniform leadership of the morderates. The leaders of
Shia and Sunni were not at all interested in closing the gap but hell bent on creating
a deeper hole within. This could not have happened if the wealth generated due to
vast resources in the Muslim world, not being used for their betterment but used
exclusively to make a few of the "leaders" very rich. They are using their ill gotten
gain in spreading hatred all over the world. The development of the middle east and
parts of India were due to benevolent Muslim leaders who were intent on improving
the lives of all people they governed. Thus art, music, architecture flourished all
over those areas things that are appreciated till today. We need leaders like Akbar to
lead the current Muslim movement. Then and only then will there will be peace
within.
from:
San
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 03:44 IST
Well said. Some of my best friends are Muslims and I must say that I
have felt them squirm at the way things are shaping. The moderate, well
educated & well meaning Muslim is becoming a mute witness to their faith
being hijacked. I sympathise with them and hope that Islam will emerge
from this crisis.
from:
Arun Nair
Posted on: Jan 8, 2014 at 02:52 IST
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