The holy month of Ramzan for Muslims was horrific for the whole world due to the sustained terror attacks in Dhaka, Karrad, Baghdad, and Medina. The overwhelming view was against this form of odiferous warfare, where innocent lives are lost for a so-called jihad.
In India too, such extremism has been cropping up with regularity from the late 80’s onwards. I need not go into details of the Kashmir Hindu exodus, the 93 blasts, the 2004 parliament attacks, the massive 2008 Bombay terror strikes and the situation spiraling out of control in J and K.The common thread in all these are the obvious misplaced, misguided fundamentalist Muslim ideology pushed by a small strident minority, which exhorts people to kill senselessly in the name of furthering. their particular version of Islamic principles In large parts of India, Muslims and their brethren from other religions generally live in peace but then, why the outburst with regularity. Is it the ideology to be blamed or, the Muslim clerics who interpret it wrongly for their selfish ends? People in India are generally peace-loving but when such incidents happen repeatedly, you start asking yourself, why? Someone has to answer for all the unnecessary bloodshed as this cannot go on.
Are the preaching’s of Islam wrong or, most importantly, are the interpretations wrong? Many scholars are of the opinion that Islam is just like any other religion but then, why does all extremism happen only in the name of Islam? It could be that the main culprit is the small group of clerics and mullahs, who coveting power, hold the entire Muslim population in their stranglehold, interpreting the religion as per their convenience. How do we explain the overwhelming evidence that suggests current acts of terrorism are overwhelmingly committed by Muslims/in the name of Islam? A constant thought that rankles since there are a large number of educated Muslims, why do they tolerate it? By being passive in the face of such repugnant acts, are they, in fact, encouraging the small minority to hold sway over them? I’m certain that their indifference to the problems is exacerbating the problem. If this problem is not brought into control, there may be reactions among other communities trying the same tactics in reverse.
An important point in India which is brought to the fore is that many Islamic clerics propagate the message of Islam even over that over the country, taking refuge under the freedom of Individual rights. No doubt the constitution guarantees individual rights but, can it compromise country’s rights? This vexing problem is before the honorable Supreme Court and rightfully being cautious, they have asked the law commission to look into aspects of the Uniform civil code. To add to the confusion and commotion, we have cacophonic TV debates that serve only to heighten tensions and propose more problems than solutions. In this context, India has an additional problem through the activities of Pakistan who, sensing India’s tolerance for all religions, seek to drive a wedge between the Muslims and the rest of India. If the Muslims in India are not so radicalized, this problem would not have persisted or , again the ordinary Muslim is not raising his voice.
Somali-born author, Ayaan Hirsi Ali a former devout Muslim now an outspoken critic, has interesting thoughts on this problem of anti-Muslim phobia. She has traveled extensively and has accepted that Muslim women have been humiliated, with many other atrocities like genital mutilation, being forced to wear a veil and forced marriages being common. She has urgently asked for reformation of Islam.
Emma Sky, an author and teacher of Middle East politics at the Jackson Institute, said it was not her role to criticize Muslims or condemn Islam and that the appropriate people to address extremism within Islam were Muslims. Most of the world’s Muslims did not view members of Islamic State as Muslim, she added.
Shireen Qudosi an eminent voice on Islamism has chronicled post 9/11, articles on the Muslim pro/against the argument in the Qudosi chronicles. She says “Muslims are too busy crying Islamaphobia rather than tackling Jihad or other issues including domestic violence, mental health and women’s rights. It sickens me to see Muslims complaining about Islamaphobia when they are safe in countries that secure their civil liberties.
Closer to home, I was gladdened to see some TV programs wherein, Muslim scholarly women were fighting for their rights in India, against a panel of adamant so-called Muslim leaders. I wonder whether the TV channels are interested in a problem-solving debate or merely some rabble-rousing debate to increase their TRP’s.
I read an interesting newspaper article wherein the views of author and academician Tabhish Khair, aired his views.
He has admitted to intolerance to women’s rights. In another sentence he says ‘The west allowed so little space for Muslim cultures’ but he has forgotten that when the massive immigrations happened last year, Europe absorbed lakhs of Muslims on humanitarian grounds. Many of these European countries have been criticized for welcoming Muslim refugees blindly but, since it was done on humanitarian grounds, it should be seen in the proper perspective.
I liked an article written by Tanveer Alam in the TOI dated 4rth July 2016 where he makes an impassioned appeal to his Muslim brethren. To paraphrase him, he argues for a right based entitlement to the country’s resources and equal protection of the law for Muslims. He admits that, within his community, they are caught in a time-warp. He argues very logically that any discourse among Muslims is not about development but only their religious identity and sectarian differences. He rightly points out that, Muslims are beneficiaries of schemes like MNREGA, food security measures which are not minority –specific. According to him the Muslim social and religious leadership have failed the community. In fact, leaders like Dr. Mukthar Ansari, Abu Kalam Azad and Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan fought for independence and opposed partition.
Taslima Nasreen the celebrated Bangladeshi author when questioned on national TV, categorically said that Islam needs to change /evolve with the times. She was outspoken about her beliefs and she encouraged the ordinary Muslims to understand, what she expounds. It is a known fact that she is an Islamic outcast because; she did not follow the age-old dogmatic Islamic principles. The very fact that she got sanctuary in India showcases our secular beliefs. India is also the land which gave sanctuary to the Dalai Lama, for expressing his religious beliefs and in fact, the whole world knows that in spite of minor issues, India is the country which allows full religious freedom. Let’s hope that, this freedom is not misused by Islamic fundamentalists.
Chetan Bhagat writes, “For ordinary Muslims, especially those who live in democratic setups such as India, it is a tough situation. They face discrimination due to the human instinct of fear. The best they can do is to carve out a different identity and lobby to free other Muslims in oppressive regimes. One cannot support any violent organization, person or government that doesn’t believe in democracy or violates human rights; even if they do it in the name of the God you love.
India has the largest Muslim population among many Muslim countries and it is up to them to set an example of living in harmony in their adopted country, wherever they are. Politicians to a large extent are responsible for keeping them in that position, as their fragmented votes play into their hands.I know it is not easy but, ordinary Muslims have to shun their fear of theology to practice a pragmatic religion and who can live in harmony with their neighbors No doubt the strident-voiced politician will never believe that such change can come about or wish it but, nothing works without trying out something innovative and very necessary for the times.
India is the land which gave the world some of the earliest religions like Hinduism Buddhism, Jainism .India has the largest multi-ethnical population in the world.Many of the world luminaries have adopted Mahatma Gandhi as their guru, who showed the way with non-violence. So , why not ordinary Muslims take it up as a challenge to institute changes and reforms as necessary as a first step ? It is time to show the world that, India with the largest Muslim population can show the way for reform both, at the grassroots level as well as implementation and can live in harmony with their countrymen.