Fall Of The Babri Masjid Was Not Like The Fall Of Bastille

Muslims Have Move Forward Leaving Babri Mosque Behind Main Points: 1. Fall of Babri Mosque catapulted BJP to power. 2. Muslim related issues have retrieved BJP's career. 3. Muslims have remained the axis of BJP politics. 4. Baba Budan Dargah and Gyanvapi mosque are the next issues. ---- By New Age Islam Staff Writer 7 December 2022 In many ways it appears that the demolition of the Babri Masjid provided courage to unveil the hatred cloistered in hearts of a significant number of Hindus for Muslims and Christians, the two main non-Indic religions ------ Thirty years have passed since Babri mosque in Ayodhya was demolished by the Hindutva brigade. Since then the dsy is commemorated as Shaurya Diwas by the RSS affiliates. The demolition catapulted the BJP to power. But the demolition was not the end of the communal politics of the BJP and its affiliates. It proved to be a useful tool to gain political power. In 1998, the VHP started celebrating Dutta Jayanti within the premises of Baba Budan Dargah in Chikkamagaluru in Karnataka. In 2002, Gujarat riots gave another blow to the Muslims of the country. However, the Babri mosque remained a contentious issue till the supreme court adjudicated in favour of the Hindus. Muslims forgot Babri mosque and moved forward paying more attention to their educational and economic development. They decided to build hospital and other welfare projects on the land given to them in lieu of Babri mosque. The fall of the Babri mosque was like the fall of Bastille for some BJP leaders like Govindacharya. One may not agree with him but given the narrative of Muslim domination over Hindus and persecution of Hindus under the rule of Muslim rulers, it might have brought a sense of vengeance among the Hindutva brigade as their politics depended on this narrative. Thirty years have passed since the tragedy happened and Muslims have learnt to adapt to the new socio- political changes. The sense of victimhood has made them more religious and this has given way to another causes of cultural conflict like the beard and the hijab. Now school students have started sporting a beard and college girls insist on wearing hijab. This means the demolition of a mosque causes a religious reaction among the Muslims. Juloos -e- Mohammadi was not heard of 15 years ago. Now it is a major religious event in Islamic society. Now more young people visit mosques for five-time prayers. ----- Impact Of Babri Masjid Demolition: Unveiling The Hatred 30 Years Later By Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay 6 December, 2022 “The face of Indian polity has undergone a dramatic change in the last decade, and a new political and social order appears to be around the corner. The model evolved in India after Inde­pendence, during Jawaharlal Nehru’s tenure, is under threat and close to being dismantled.” I began writing my first book, The Demolition: India At the Crossroads, in January 1993 with these lines. Several friends initially accused me of being “obsessed” with Ayodhya and argued that “I was wrong in believing that the RSS clan would come to the centre-stage in India. And, when the Babri Masjid was demolished, it was a sad hour of personal vindication for me.” At the book’s launch, a year later, KN Govindacharya, then an important Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, asserted that the Babri Masjid’s demolition was comparable to the fall of the Bastille, in terms of what it represented, as well as the impact its erasure would have. Other panellists, including the deceased journalist and then Congress leader Nikhil Chakravarty and P Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, respectively, along with historian KN Panikkar and political scientist Kamal M Chenoy, disagreed equally passionately. Govindacharya’s two contentions appeared untenable – certainly, the Babri Masjid did not symbolise absolute power of any medieval emperor, much less Babur at whose command the mosque was purportedly built. The structure in Ayodhya also did not represent ceaseless tyranny. The impact that Govindacharya claimed it would have, appeared exaggerated for the BJP was defeated barely weeks after in the first set of post-demolition polls in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh and barely cobbled together a majority in Rajasthan – these states were ruled by the BJP but the governments were dismissed after the events of December 6 1992. Some years after the demolition, I too veered around to the view that my response in 1992-93 was an instance of overreaction; Atal Bihari Vajpayee had become Prime Minister a few months after the fifth anniversary of the demolition at the head of an ideologically awkward coalition, where partners had not joined the political jumble for fulfilling stated programmatic objectives, but to acquire and remain in power. What many secularists asserted paradoxically in the immediate aftermath of the demolition, that the tragedy would in the long run “prove to be good for India,” appeared to have been an accurate reading. This lot had argued that the sixteenth century mosque was a ‘small’ price to pay for ensuring that the BJP and its Sangh Parivar affiliates “lost their hate symbol” forever. Arousing communal passions, hatred for Muslims and spreading incessant otherisation on every issue would prove to be difficult, it was believed, because there no object would remain that could exemplify humiliation of Hindus in the past, for which vengeance had to be secured. The Misleading Continuity This assessment appeared correct for the BJP eschewed not just the Ram temple imbroglio, but also chose silence on two other contentious issues that marked its ‘difference’ from other parties: abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution and enacting a Uniform Civil Code. Vajpayee also pursued peace with Pakistan and travelled to Lahore on a bus that kick- started another form of public transport between the two countries. Incidents like the killing of the Australian missionary Graham Staines, the 1998 attacks on Christian tribals in south-eastern Gujarat and finally the horror of the riots in the state in 2002, caused concern, consternation and condemnation from even several alliance partners. As a result, it appeared violent incidents like these were aberrations and not the result of deeply nurtured prejudice against the religious minorities, especially Muslims and Christians. Communal riots and orchestrated attacks for electoral and political purposes were part of India’s post-colonial history. Despite episodic violent attacks like those aforementioned, the moral compass of Indian polity remained more or less in the pre-Babri demolition position. The BJP surprisingly lost the 2004 elections and a ‘non-politico’ in the traditional sense, became prime minister. Vajpayee candidly confessed that his government was voted out because of the Gujarat riots. When the original polariser, Lal Krishna Advani discovered virtues in Mohammed Ali Jinnah, that too in Pakistan, it appeared that India had exorcised the ghost of Babri Masjid and it appeared that the makeshift temple shall remain in perpetuity; no grand temple would ever be constructed. Anniversaries of the demolition became routine – celebrated as a day of ‘valour’ (Shaurya Divas) by Hindutva groups and as a day of sorrow and betrayal by secular groups and Muslim organisations. Yet, the temple per se did not evoke enthusiasm and it looked certain that none of the affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh would succeed in mustering the kind of crowd that assembled in Ayodhya for confrontational programmes in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992. Watershed anniversaries too – fifth, tenth, etc., – failed to become major flashpoints and merely served as markers of time for commentators to take stock and for civil society to debate and hold discussions. The 10th anniversary in 2002 added to the din of the epochal Gujarat Assembly polls but by the time of the 15th anniversary in 2007, the Ram temple issue had become inconsequential. In another five years, the BJP’s period in wilderness seemed to be coming to an end with the UPA government crippled for a variety of reasons but aptly explained by a two word phrase: policy paralysis. But more importantly, 2012 was ushered out with Narendra Modi leading his party to victory in Gujarat for the third time since his assumption to office in 2001 and immediately launching a dash to become the prime minister. Modi’s ‘Victimhood’ Construct Although the 2014 Lok Sabha election was contested with ‘development’ as a keyword, there was little doubt that retribution was the foundational sentiment on which Modi constructed his campaign. A decade of victimhood, in the course of which he constructed a troika of adversaries – enemies across the border, Indian Muslims and their supporters, (which included dynastic parties) besides the combination of intelligentsia, civil society (NGOs) and the Delhi-based English media with all of them backed by the so-called Lutyens elite, was beginning to resonate with people. People liked to lay blame on the doorstep of someone identifiable for their woes and Modi gave them courage to do so. It was clear that Modi had not left his Hindutva mornings behind. But, middle-India required the fig leaf of ‘Vikas’ – majoritarianism had not yet become politically correct. The 25th anniversary of the demolition was observed when the Modi bandwagon, for the first time, appeared to be facing difficulties in maintaining its political dominance in Gujarat. Eventually, the BJP salvaged victory after Mani Shankar Aiyer handed Modi a plateful of slander that could be heaped on the Congress party by hosting a dinner attended by dignitaries, including former Pakistani diplomat Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh besides former Vice-President Hamid Ansari. It was the ‘perfect’ cast – a Pakistani, someone high up in the Congress and a Muslim not a favourite by yards. This was followed by Aiyar calling Modi a “lowly” person. The result was for all to see. More than a decade of Modi’s responses to accusations against him were resurrected in people’s minds after he recast the old formula of inimical forces working to derail his efforts to revive India’s past glory. The BJP eventually snatched victory with a slender majority that could have further thinned, even may have been denied, had not Aiyer asked friends and colleagues to come and dine with him. Subsequent events demonstrated that in the decade since the defeat of the Vajpayee-led BJP, the Ayodhya issue by itself may have paled into relative insignificance, but issues flagged in the course of the agitation, especially ones pertaining to cultural nationalism that people once had no understanding off, had gained traction with people. The 30th anniversary of the demolition is being observed days prior to yet another verdict from Gujarat. But regardless of the outcome, the socio-political drift shall remain the same, as demonstrated during the campaign when no party raked issues that might offend the Hindu voters. Merging Of Myth And History Today in India, mythology and history are spoken in one breath, not just by the establishment but also by large sections of people. The Ram temple in Ayodhya will not act as a full stop that even the Supreme Court believed it would when the five judges awarded the disputed land to a Trust handpicked by the Centre. A long list is in existence and it is just a matter of time before full-blown agitations are mounted for the demolition of Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi and Shahi Idgah in Mathura and for these sites to be handed over to Hindu parties. Expressing Islamophobia in public is no longer considered ‘improper’ in New India. Several Muslims think twice before revealing their identity. Already, many have been officially notified in several cities, towns and villages that they must go ‘invisible’ – not offer namaz in public, not wear hijab in educational institutions, eat no home-cooked non-vegetarian food while travelling on public transport, and so on. In India today, there is greater sense that this is “our country” and “they” must live on “our terms”. None of this has any co-relation with the Babri Masjid or the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation. But the mosque-temple dispute is at the root of each issue that makes religion the main basis of social identity and vengeance a justified sentiment. In many ways it appears that the demolition of the Babri Masjid provided courage to unveil the hatred cloistered in hearts of a significant number of Hindus for Muslims and Christians, the two main non-Indic religions. The list of what is now possible is much longer. The catalogue of what is likely to happen can fill reams. For the moment, my last confession today should suffice: Govindacharya was prophetic three decades ago when he said the Babri Masjid’s demolition shall have unfathomable impact on the country’s governance and polity like the way the fall of the Bastille did. I, however, continue disagreeing with the formulation that the Babri Masjid mirrored the fortress, stormed in July 1789. ---- Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay is a NCR-based author and journalist. His latest book is The Demolition and the Verdict: Ayodhya and the Project to Reconfigure India. He has also written The RSS: Icons of the Indian Right and Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times. (The Federal seeks to present views and opinions from all sides of the spectrum. The information, ideas or opinions in the articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Federal) Source: Impact Of Babri Masjid Demolition: Unveiling The Hatred 30 Years Later URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/babri-masjid-mosque-bastille/d/128577 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Erosion Of Sympathy, Empathy And Fellow Feelings Has Relegated Humans Down To Living Zombies

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 7 December 2022 " Nez'st Enmon Eb Qafit Shin Ma'az Fe' Azst Min Kifa'ar Un Bazil Ama'az " Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi in old Turkish, written towards the fag-end of his life (Looking askance when in distress is a human being/Shows mankind's absence of fellow feeling) " Bacha Ke Rakh Lena 'Gar Paas Tere Baaqi Hai Daulat-E-Ahsaas Iss Daur Mein Kise Mayassar Hai " -Anon (Save it if you've even a vestige of it / Who's endowed with sensitivity in this age?) Saaneha Dekha, Thithka Aur Chal Diya Dil Iss Daur Ke Insaan Ka Mar Gaya -Tufail Abbas Mirpuri (Saw a mishap, stopped and went away / The heart of today's man is dead) " Not the poetry but my sensitivity Makes me feel for humanity " Lord Byron to P B Shelly " Humans in the last hundred years, collectively lost their sensitivity and fellow-feeling." A report in The Daily Mail, England, September 4, 2021 Recently, a young woman in Delhi was run over by a bus. The passer-by looked at her body but no one helped her. This is extreme apathy, far worse than indifference. How can people be so sickly apathetic? We all talk of spirituality, godliness, universal love and all those bombastic words and ideas, but choose to ignore when it comes to helping someone in distress. This reminds me of an Urdu couplet, 'Saahil Ke Tamashai Har Doobne Wale Pe/Afsos Toh Karte Hain Imdaad Nahin Karte' (The bystanders on the shore, feel sorry for the drowning man/ But they don't extend their helping hand). In MP, a young MBA student was caught and made to wash the plates when he gate-crashed into a wedding reception. His innocuous act didn't amuse the people at the wedding party. They humiliated him in public and made fun of him. Is gate-crashing such a big crime? When so much food is wasted on such glittering and lavish occasions, a young man's partaking of sumptuous fare became a felony! This is so sad and upsetting. The erosion of sympathy, empathy and fellow feelings has relegated humans down to living zombies. Heart that doesn't melt or move at the predicament of a fellow human is no less than a stone slab, nay a mere structure of granite. We're no longer moved by the plight of our fellow humans. A kind of utter insouciance has overwhelmed our hearts and minds. It's like poet Sacchidanand Heeranand Vatsyayan Agyey's " Ab Kisi Baat Par Vichlit Nahin Hote Hum/Ab Kisi Baat Par Nahin Rote Hum " (No longer are we perturbed by anything/ No longer do we cry over anything) from 'Ek Boond Sahsaa Uchhli.' This is an alarming trend because humans are intrinsically emotional beings with an embedded attribute of fellow-feeling. The million-dollar question is: Where has that disappeared? Humanity sans sensitivity is unthinkable. We ought to have at least a smidgen of it. Even animals have a fellow feeling and they exercise that. Dogs cry for their masters. Why can't humans exercise their intrinsic humanity? Have we slipped below animals on the scale of emotional evolution? Instead of going to Satsang (religious gathering) and listening to spiritual inanities, what matters is implementing those 'teachings' into practical actions and helping those who're in need of your help. That'll be true Tasawwuf ( spirituality). When I play violin at old homes for the unhappy inmates, they often thank me for my gesture (which I consider to be embarrassingly trivial) and tell me that much more than useless debates and discourses on god and spirituality, most of them have lost faith in god and religion, a session of musical empathy from a rather young person makes them feel wanted and useful. What's of paramount importance is: Just extending our helping hands to those who're less privileged and down in the dumps. At the same time, humanity at large shall have to realize that a streak of sensitivity provided by nature to all of us must never be stymied and strangled. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/sympathy-empathy-feelings-humans-zombies/d/128580 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Nationalist Historiography Has Kept Pirs, Sufis, Islamic Scholars At Its Margins When Sufi Pirs Of Sindh Were Bedrock Of Gandhi’s Movements

By Saquib Salim, New Age Islam 7 December 2022 ------------------------------------------ Pir Was Reported To Have Said In A Public Meeting, “My Life Is Ready (For Sacrifice). I Am Prepared To Make War And Give My Head Willingly ------------------------------------------ "Gandhi has telegraphed congratulating Pir on being the first man to be arrested in consequence of a non-cooperation movement applauding his decision not to make any defence.” The secretary to the Government of Bombay wrote to the Secretary of the Government of India on 6 August 1920. Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi ------ A Slice Of History The nationalist historiography has kept Pirs, Sufis, Islamic Scholars, Pujaris, Hindu Scholars, and other religious leaders at its margins. While Mahatma Gandhi remained a central figure, several people who played pivotal roles in organizing masses into a non-violent movement had been left out of the historical narratives, let alone the people who violently fought the British. The Pir mentioned was Pir Mahbub Shah of Sindh. His elder brother Pir Jhandewala Rashidullah was one of the main plotters of the Silk Letter Conspiracy which tried to overthrow British rule with the help of foreign armies during the First World War. When the non-cooperation movement was launched in 1920 in the aftermath of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Pir Mahbub was the first important person to be arrested. Pir was arrested on 1 August 1920, for delivering an anti-British speech in Hyderabad (Sindh). Pir was reported to have said in a public meeting, “My life is ready (for sacrifice). I am prepared to make war and give my head willingly....... we will not let our enemies rule in peace. Don’t think that no Hindu is united with us. They also are with us.” Luwari Sindh Dargah ----- While arresting him the provincial government wrote to the Secretary in Delhi that “the man is practically worshipped by thousands”. A government report noted that he “exhorted villagers to subscribe money to carry on war against the British” and was “more hostile to Government and more bigoted than Pir Jhandewala himself”. District Magistrate of Hyderabad (Sindh) reported, “Pir Mahbub Shah was the most dangerous and fanatic man in the district”. Pir was sentenced to two years of imprisonment on 5 August and he started a hunger strike against it. A religious leader with lakhs of followers was on a hunger strike. The government didn’t know how to handle this. One report mentions, “he knows he has the sympathy of the people with him; there was nearly a riot when he was arrested”. The Viceroy told the government to force-feed him with caution that it might not kill the Pir. Viceroy said, “I regard the release of this man as dangerous and could not agree to any such course”. One course given was that of sending him to exile to Yemen. Rather, most officials believed that exiling him to Yemen is the best possible way to deal with him. On 15 August, after much deliberations, Pir was released. The British claimed that he had apologized and hence pardoned him. Pir and his followers did not accept this narrative and interestingly, these same people kept on violently fighting the British till 1947. It is even more interesting that this was not the first time the Pirs of Sindh colluded with Gandhi. Pirs of Sindh were the first leaders in India to support Gandhi. In March 1916, Gandhi went to Sindh to meet Pir of Luwari because “he had heard of the Pir through certain Memon murids, who were clients of his in South Africa, and recently followers of the Pir at Porebunder had given him to understand that the Pir invited him to his place”. CID reported, “in the evening the interview (of Gandhi) with the Pir took place in an inner chamber. The only other person allowed to be present was an aged body servant of the Pir— possibly Khalifa Haji Mehmud. The interview lasted for about 20 minutes.” After the meeting, Pir instructed his followers “not to have any dealings with the English, nor to buy English goods”. After this Gandhi met Khwaja Mohammad Ashraf, another Pir, and Pir Bhawanshah, where he was asked to start a movement like South Africa in India. One year later, in March 1917, the Pir of Luwari again gave a scare to the British. CID reported to higher officials, “It is an extraordinary fact that when Mr. Gandhi, who is a Brahmin, was in Sind about a year ago he paid a visit to one of the big Muhammadan Pirs in the Hyderabad (Sindh) District. It is a still more extraordinary fact that this Pir, whose ancestral tradition is never to leave his mud fort except to go on pilgrimage to the Hedjaz, arrived in Karachi last evening by the same train as Mr. Gandhi, accompanied by a large number of followers.” The British believed that Gandhi and Pir traveling by the same train was more than a coincidence and “it appears to be a legitimate inference to draw from the association of Mr. Gandhi and the Pir, that an effort is being made by agitator class to join up the Hindu and Muhammadan forces of unrest in this Province.” ----- Source: Sufi Pirs Of Sindh Were Bedrock Of Gandhi’s Movements URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/historiography-pirs-sufis-islamic-scholars-gandhi/d/128578 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Can There Be An Indian Future Without Muslims?

By Arshad Alam, New Age Islam 6 December 2022 Those In India Wishing To Obliterate Muslims Need To Learn From History And Give Up This Pointless Fetish Main Points: 1. Every week, there is some video singling a Muslim who is praying in a mall, hospital or a train 2. Sections of Hindus circulate the video with a malicious motive, expressing horror, as if this is a new thing in India 3. Hindu religious functions too are celebrated in public; in a sense all Indian religions resist privatization 4. Why then, this attempt to single out Muslim ritual practice? Is it an orchestrated attempt to push Muslims and their religion to invisibility? 5. But even if this happens, will the Muslim presence be truly gone from the artistic, cultural, linguistic and sartorial common sense that defines India? ------ Namaz By Patient's Attendant At Hospital Goes Viral, Police Say Probe On/ Photo: NDTV ---- It is as if being a Muslim has become a crime in India. Not a week passes when we don’t hear the news of some Muslim being hounded simply because he or she was praying in a corner of a hospital, mall or within a train compartment. This is not to say that I am fine with Muslims blocking highways and disturbing traffic for Friday prayers, or at other occasions. In fact, I have written against it and will continue to do so in the future. If the issue is of limiting public presence of religious rituals, then I am all for it. The Gigantic Puja Pandal In Baramunda, Bhubaneshwar ----- But in India, Muslims are not the only community who want to display their religiosity. Hindus and other religious communities are probably better at orchestrating this feat. The various pujas which hold any city to ransom being just one example. If we include the night-long high-decibel Jagrata (night vigil) that gets organized routinely in all neighborhoods, then it will not be an exaggeration to say that Hindu display of religiosity is a round-the-year affair. Such displays and the occupation of public space hardly gets any negative attention, while a lone Muslim praying at the corner of a pavement does have to put up with disdain. Chances are that someone will make a video of this Muslim and post it on the internet so that he gets condemned by a very organized cabal of right-wing Hindus. How does a Muslim man praying in some corner of a train or road, or a hospital, disturb the public at large? If anyone catches a train from Delhi to Aligarh, they will find daily commuters singing loud Bhajans but I am yet to see any such video being circulated. The lesson is very clear and it is not about lessening the public presence of religions. Rather it is simply about being discomfited by the public presence of Muslims. It is clear that a section of Hindus increasingly has a problem with the public presence of Islam and Muslims. This explains the alacrity with which the police swing into action at any such reported instance of Muslim religious display. And we certainly know that the police don’t act so swiftly without the approval of the government of the day. Many of these state governments have in fact advised Muslims to pray inside their homes and mosques (not on roads) but have been silent on similar transgressions from Hindus. These things were unthinkable some decades ago; but it appears that as we continue to move in this direction, perhaps Hindus will start to have problems with routine Muslim religious practices, like Eid prayers, which have always been held in public. This is nothing but a desire to domesticate Islam, a religion which due to its very character has always been public since its inception. It refuses to be domesticated, even within Muslim countries like Turkey and Algeria, despite top-down attempts to do so. But today in India, we seem to have reached a stage where calls to its domestication are not enough; there are sections within the country who would be very pleased to have dispensed with the religion altogether. How else do we understand the alacrity with which such videos are being shared. The sole reason perhaps is to make Muslims uncomfortable performing their rituals in public. In other words, the very public presence of Muslim rituals is making a section of Hindus go ballistic. Let us imagine a possibility where this section succeeds in making Muslims invisible from the public square. Imagine that there are no sartorial markers or beards or burqa on the Indian street. Imagine that every Muslim only prays either inside his house or inside a mosque. Imagine even Eid and Muharram festivities have been confined to designated spaces. Would this section of Hindus be happy then? Perhaps not. Then they might have a problem with the very presence of Muslims in the country. What if they start demanding that all physical structures of the Islamic faith be demolished? That all mosques and Dargahs should be demolished? What if they start demanding that Muslims have no place in this country; that they should simply leave India and migrate. Now imagine that they have succeeded in achieving this feat. There are no physical markers of Muslim presence in India; there are no Muslims to be seen around. Would that make this country Muslim-free? Certainly not. What are these Hindus going to do about hundreds of years of Muslim history: a history which has been instrumental in weaving the fabric of this country in many ways. What are they going to do about language, which has words that can be traced to Urdu or Persian or Arabic or Turkish. Would these Hindus stop uttering the word sabun (soap), which is Persian in origin and hence associated with Muslim? Would those who grace the Indian Parliament stop wearing the traditional Kurta-Sherwani and revert back to being bare bodied, as practiced by Gandhi? Would they stop using spices, many of which were sourced from Muslim lands? Arguably the only good vegetable authentically Indian is brinjal; are they willing to base their feasts on that? More importantly, what will they do about time? Will the Hindu civilization revert back to its cyclical notion of time and devise a unique calendar to carry on the business of the state? One country in the world tried that. Spain tried to get rid of its Muslim past. It failed. Despite its best efforts, they could not expel the Muslim presence from within their midst. Their language is heavily indebted to Arabic, their cuisine more so. Ferdinand and Isabella might be heroes to the evangelicals, but Spain today is not just about the marriage of these two but much more; it is about the confluence of European and Muslim cultures that can be witnessed in their art, culture, cuisine and language. Those in India wishing to obliterate Muslims need to learn from history and give up this pointless fetish. Centuries of acculturation do not get washed away; they become part of the habitus of a culture, a civilization. The Muslim is inside every Hindu, as is a Hindu inside every Muslim. Hatred against Muslims is nothing but hating one’s own self. Sections of Hindus need to stop and think about the source of this self-hate and find ways to heal itself. The Muslim presence in India will continue even without the physical presence of even a single Muslim. ----- A regular contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Arshad Alam is a New Delhi based independent researcher and writer on Islam and Muslims in South Asia. URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/indian-muslims-namaz-pandal-jagrata/d/128568 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Mohan Bhagwat Does Not Endorse New Claims On Mosques And Dargahs #Islam #Muslims https://bit.ly/3ixgJN1 New Age Islam

VHP's Plan To Hold Dutta Jayanti Celebrations Close To The Shrine Is Not In Line With RSS Policy Main Points: 1. Mohan Baghawat had recently said RSS did not back new disputes. 2. VHP has made this claim in view of Assembly elections. 3. Muslims and Hindus have held Urs and Jayanti celebrations in the premises. ----- By New Age Islam Staff Writer 6 December 2022 On Toes: Security personnel stand guard near Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi and the Shahi Mosque Idgah in Mathura a day before the 30th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. File picture ------ The VHP Chikkamagaluru district has sparked communal tension in the district by seeking permission to hold the Dutta Jayanti Celebrations close to the shrine of Sufi Baba Budan. Till now, it has been holding the celebrations within the premises but this year they have sought permission to hold it close to the Sufi shrine. The VHP and RSS started the celebrations in the Dargah compound in 1998 after being buoyed up by the demolition of Babri mosque in 1992. However, they held the celebrations in one corner of the Dargah. Political compulsions are said to be behind the recent move of the VHP. This move is not endorsed by the RSS as RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had recently said that after Babri mosque demolition, the organisation had decided that it will not cause any fresh claims on mosques and Dargahs and will seek resolution of disputes through dialogue. The move by VHP will only heighten communal tension in the district and in the country. ------ 30 Years After Babri Masjid Demolition, The Hunger Has Only Been Whetted By K.M. Rakesh Bangalore |06.12.22 The 30th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid falls on Tuesday but the darkest chapter in independent India is being marked not by contrition but by signs of unsatiated appetite. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has demanded that it be allowed to conduct Hindu rituals in the 16th-century Baba Budangiri Sufi shrine in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, as part of the three-day Datta Jayanti celebrations starting Tuesday. Until now, the rituals associated with the event used to take place in a structure a short distance from the shrine but within the compound. The VHP wants to move the rituals closer to the Sufi shrine. In the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition, the cave shrine came to be known as “Ayodhya of the South” because of the disputes and litigation swirling around it. The shrine is eponymous with Baba Budan, a Sufi saint who is believed to have started the coffee culture in India by bringing seeds from Yemen. Chikkamagaluru is one of the richest coffee-growing areas in the country. But the Sufi shrine got pitchforked into a controversy in the 1990s when the Sangh parivar launched a campaign on the lines of Ayodhya, staking exclusive claim to the shrine. Some Muslims treat the shrine as that of Baba Budan and Hindus as the Datta Peeta of Sree Guru Dattatreya, whom believers consider an incarnation of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. The latest demand comes close on the heels of Karnataka High Court last week allowing the three-day Datta Jayanti celebrations to continue on the premises of the cave shrine, located more than 300km from Bangalore. Yogeshraj Urs, Chikkamagaluru district VHP secretary, sought permission to conduct rituals such as homa at the shrine in an application filed before the management committee of Sri Guru Dattatreya Bababudan Swamy Dargah/ Peetha during the upcoming Jayanti celebrations. “We have been doing these rituals at a shed outside the disputed area. But now we would like to conduct them on the shrine premises,” he told reporters, adding that the Hindu priests appointed recently by the state government would lead the rituals. The state BJP government had on Sunday cleared the appointment of two Hindu priests solely for the Datta Jayanti celebrations. The government had limited the role of the priests to the three-day celebrations, citing a writ appeal pending before the high court against the quashing of the order by the Congress government headed by P.C. Siddaramaiah appointing a muzawar (Muslim cleric) for the shrine. A single-judge bench of the high court had in 2021 set aside the government order that had been challenged by the Dattatreya Devastana Samvardhana Samithi. Syed Ghouse Mohiyuddin Shah Khadri, the hereditary administrator of the Sufi shrine, subsequently filed a writ appeal before a division bench of the high court. The case, which came up for hearing on November 30, has been adjourned till January 12. Khadri is now in the process of filing a contempt case against the VHP, alleging that the demand to conduct rituals inside the shrine was in violation of the high court order to maintain status quo during the pendency of his writ appeal. “We are filing a contempt of court case since this demand (by VHP) is against the court order seeking status quo,” Khadri told The Telegraph on Monday. “They are raising this new demand just to keep the issue alive ahead of the Assembly elections,” he said. The dispute dates back to the post-Babri Masjid demolition years when Sangh Parivar organisations launched a massive movement in Karnataka seeking rights to conduct rituals at the cave shrine. The VHP and allied organisations then started the Datta Jayanti celebrations in 1998 while the Muslims continued to hold the Uroos in March in commemoration of the death anniversary of Baba Budan. Source: 30 Years After Babri Masjid Demolition, The Hunger Has Only Been Whetted URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/mohan-bhagwat-mosques-dargahs/d/128574 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Ulama Must Heed Allama Iqbal’s Idea Of Reconstruction Of Religious Thought In Islam: New Age Columnist Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi Addresses “National Sahiyotsav 2022” Organised By Sunni Students' Federation Of India

In his conclusive remarks, Mr. Dehlvi said: At a time when a new narrative of Islam is emerging in the Arab world with radical Islamists and extremists losing their appeal, it would be pertinent for Indian Muslims to look into the major theological overhauls that they need to introduce in full synergy with their multicultural society. They must chalk out a progressive, modernist path for the new generation of Muslims in India and thus contribute towards strengthening the cultural, religious and social fabric of the country, he said. --------------------- 1. Main Points: 1. A 3-day national cultural and educational festival “Sahiyotsav 2022” was organised by Sunni Students' Federation (SSF India) at the Garden College of Integrate Islamic Studies (Hadiqat-ul-Taiba) in Dakshin Dinajpur, West Bengal. 2. Mr. Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, Indo-Islamic Scholar and New Age Columnist was invited as one of the Juries/Judges to evaluate the cultural, educational and Sufi musical performance of the Madrasa students who participated in this festival from across the country. 3. In his reflections, Mr. Dehlvi highlighted the importance of Allama Iqbal’s idea of Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam for the madrasa graduates and Ulama (classical Islamic scholars). 4. He delved deeper into the profound religious thoughts of Allama Iqbal through the lens of his thought-provoking Urdu poetry and explained what he meant in his famous Urdu couplets revolving around the various precepts and postulates of Islam. ------ By New Age Islam Staff Writer 6 December 2022 Allama Iqbal—widely known as the Sage of Ummah or Hakimul Ummat—who called for the ‘reconstruction of religious thought in Islam’ in one of his famous Khutbaat or lectures which he delivered on re-examination of the intellectual foundations of Islamic theology in 1930: “If the aim of religion is the spiritualisation of the heart, then it must penetrate the soul of man, and it can best penetrate the inner man.…..” He went on to say: “We find that when Muhammad Ibn Tumart—the Mahdi of Muslim Spain—who was Berber by nationality, came to power and established the pontifical rule of the Muwahhidun, he ordered for the sake of the illiterate Berbers that the Quran should be translated and read in the Berber language and that the call to prayer should be given in Berber.” Thus, the Allama laid out a strong case for the reconstruction of religious thought in Islam which has been stagnant for centuries. And this, he viewed, was a great disservice to the essential message of Islam and universal and dynamic wisdom embedded in the Qur’an. New Age Columnist Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi ----- This was articulated in the reflections delivered by Mr. Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, Indo-Islamic Scholar and New Age Columnist in the closing ceremony of the 3-day national cultural and educational festival known as “National Sahiyotsav 2022” which was organised by the Sunni Students' Federation (SSF India) as part of the annual students’ function at the Garden College of Integrate Islamic Studies (Hadiqat-ul-Taiba) located in Dakshin Dinajpur, West Bengal. Mr. Dehlvi was invited as one of the Juries/Judges to evaluate the cultural, educational and musical performance of the Madrasa students who participated in this festival from across the country. They took part in an all-India level competition in various academic and extra-curricular activities around the Islamic and contemporary themes. In the closing ceremony of this festival which was inaugurated by Mr. Biplab Mitra (Minister of Consumer Affairs, Govt. of Bengal), Mr. Dehlvi shared the stage along with Shoukath Naeemi Al-Bukhari (Director of YES India Foundation), Dr. Farooq Naeemi Al-Bukhari (General Secretary, SSF India) and Mr. Zuhairuddin Nurani (Finance Secretary, SSF India). Referring to Allama Iqbal’s seminal work, “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam”, Mr Dehlvi said in his remarks: “Madrasa students need to understand what Allama Iqbal meant by his “reconstruction” or reformation. It actually connotes the restoration of essential and universal values of the Qur’an. That is to say, when the Islamic postulates, precepts and practices became obliterated, he advocated restoring the true and original version of Islam. However, by ‘reconstruction’, Iqbal did not aim to change or alter Islam, but rather to change the religious attitude of the Muslims. For instance, he viewed that the Muslim religious thought in India was deeply entrenched in Riwayat (tradition) in place of the Haqiqat (truth). By the reconstruction of religious thought, he advocated the replacement of the Riwayat with the Haqiqat. This is the true spirit of Islamic reformation well-embedded in Iqbal’s religious thought. Mr. Dehlvi then delved deeper into the profound religious thoughts of Allama Iqbal through the lens of his thought-provoking Urdu poetry and explained what he meant in his famous Urdu couplets such as the ones in his poem titled as “Mard-e-Musalman” which goes like this: Har Lehza Hai Momin Ki Nai Shaan, Nai Aan. Kirdar Men, Guftar Men Allah Ki Burhan. This can be loosely translated as follows: A Muslim true gets grandeur new with moment’s change and every hour By words and deeds he gives a proof Of Mighty God, His reach and power. Mr. Dehlvi explained what Iqbal intended to convey through his conception of Mard-e-Momin. He said: Just as this universe is dynamic, so is God as the Creator who is constantly busy with His creation and their affairs. Similarly, God has given man complete freedom of choice and man is not restricted by his destiny. Therefore, man must constantly strive to achieve the best possible pursuits. He went on to say that Muslims today have committed a grave blunder with their continued state of stagnation when it comes to the evolution and restructuring of Islamic theology. More deplorably, they have rather confined their religious seminaries and madrasas to a narrow interpretation of their Fiqhi Mazahib (schools of Islamic jurisprudence), and various Masalik (Islamic sects) as well as Masharib (Sufi orders). Mr. Dehlvi then referred to another stimulating Urdu couplet of Iqbal as follows: Gala To Ghoont Diya Ahl-e-Madrasa Ne Tera Kahan Se Aye Sada ‘LA ILAHA ILLALLAH’ (The Madrasa-men have strangled your nascent soul, and stifled the voice of passionate faith in you). Commenting on the above, Mr. Dehlvi averred that even the mystical experience and practice of Islam is an incomplete way to find the Ultimate Truth if it is not viable with the influx of time. In an effort to reclaim the true mystical narrative of Islam, there is rather greater need for the reformation of Sufism in the modern age in the light of his book, The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, he said. In his conclusive remarks, Mr. Dehlvi said: The new year—2023—is around the corner. One of the resolutions with which Muslims in general and Madrasas must take in the New Year is: Rethink and reconstruct the Islamic thoughts in the light of the 21st century’s changing dynamics. He also pointed to the current development in the Arab world which he called the ‘Theological Arab Spring’, particularly in West Asia and North Africa. As a result, the West Asian Muslim population in general is turning less extremist and more multi-cultural and tolerant, he said. At a time when a new narrative is emerging in the Muslim world with radical Islamists and extremists losing their appeal, it would be pertinent for us Indian Muslims to look into the major theological overhauls that we need to make in synergy with our most multicultural society with an aim to chalk out a progressive, modernist path for the new generation of Muslims in India and thus contribute towards strengthening the cultural, religious and social fabric of the country. URL: https://newageislam.com/ijtihad-rethinking-islam/ulama-iqbal-reconstruction-religious-sahiyotsav/d/128572 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

New Mosque At Ayodhya Speaks Less Of The Rights Of Muslims Under The Constitution And More Of Their Duties Towards The Nation

By Fahad Zuberi December 6, 2022 Dhannipur village in Ayodhya. (Source: Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation Trust) ------ I was five months old when the domes fell. Following instances of violence in our neighbourhood, my parents — with me in their arms — left our home and traversed a curfewed town to a safer place. I am 30 years old now and after three decades of being termed as “Vivaadit Dhancha” (disputed structure), the design for what can now be called a mosque were revealed in December 2020. The brick-and-mortar domes that fell 30 years ago have been compensated with a glass one. Since it has not been named yet, let us call it the New Mosque. Designed by the Delhi-based architect S M Akhtar, the New Mosque, in its architectural programme — the spatial constituents of the design — provides prayer spaces for nearly 2,000 people, a 300-bed super specialty hospital, an archival centre or museum, a community kitchen, and a library. The mosque is a modern building with a pallet of glass, white cladding, and technologically complex façade systems. Hailed for its “futuristic design” and climate change sensitivity, the architecture of the mosque shows more than what meets the eye. First, the mosque goes beyond its liturgical and congregational objectives in providing a hospital and other civic amenities across six times the area of its prayer space. Why? Mosques have always been centres of mixed urban activity. The raised platforms in medieval mosques provided space for economic activity after prayers and generated revenue for the mosque’s maintenance. Markets around medieval mosques are still a feature in most cities. The main structure of the mosque, however, remained a space for worship, religious learning, and acted as a centre of interaction (and therefore, politics) within the Muslim community. Things changed after the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001. As stories of Islamic terrorism dominated the media and attacks on Muslims followed, the community felt the need to reach out to the society and present itself as upholding values of civic life. Mosques started getting converted into Islamic centres that included “community outreach” in their objectives. The New Mosque in Ayodhya is a significant addition to this change. According to the architect, the civic spaces have been included in the mosque “to serve the society”. The architectural programme of the mosque seems to reiterate what was offered as a “solution” at many instances in the history of the conflict — “why don’t we build a hospital or a school?” This proposal ignored the religious rights of a community that was defending attacks on one of its religious buildings. Thirty years later, those attacks have not stopped but increased. The programme is also devoid of any memorial to the trauma that is indispensable to the history of Ayodhya. While there is a museum planned, it has been clarified by the architect and the curator that the complex will not have any reference to the Babri Masjid or its past. The civic spaces that dominate the New Mosque speak of a community that feels under pressure to present itself as socially conscious and patriotic, rather than one that can comfortably create religious spaces for itself and is secure in conducting its religious practices without being validated by civic virtues. It deliberately suppresses its religiosity and tries too hard to render itself to civic and nationalistic responsibilities. The mosque speaks less of the rights of a community under the Constitution and more of their duties towards the nation. Second, the mosque’s form and material pallet shy away from explicitly expressing its identity. There are no traditional minarets or any other explicit reference to Islamic architecture. The mosque, according to Akhtar, imbibes modernity and breaks away from the past. Why? In conflicted societies, modernity promises a solution to the anxieties of identity. In 1947, as India was dismembered in order to be liberated, the founding members of the republic inherited a ruptured society. For them also, modernity was the only viable way forward. Architecture followed this approach as well. Jawaharlal Nehru invited the likes of Le Corbusier to design Chandigarh and Otto Konigsberger to design modernist buildings for the new nation. Modernism was seen as aspirational and gained prominence in the works of A P Kanvinde, Habib Rahman and Joseph Allen Stein. Modernism became central to nation building and allowed for overt references to identity to be ignored. In the formal aesthetics of the New Mosque, we see a similar effort towards overlooking identity in the caution of stoking a conflict. In a socio-political environment, where a particular religious identity is expressed vigorously, the New Mosque at Ayodhya suppresses its own. It hesitates to be Islamic and traditional and seeks recognition by being modern and futuristic. The mosque articulates a sad reality of contemporary India — farther a Muslim is from his visible religiosity, the more acceptable he is in “Indian” life. The acceptable Muslim is the one who is not too Muslim. The constructed binary of Muslim-ness and Indian-ness is the rhetorical foundation of violent othering of the community. The aesthetics of the New Mosque, albeit with good intentions, play into this binary. The truth of history, however, is that it cannot be overlooked, hidden, reversed, or deleted. Layers of the past can only be added to. The New Mosque in Ayodhya, however much it tries to seek a break from the past and overlook the traumatic history of its own conception, carries the legacy of domicide — the politically motivated destruction of architecture. Architecture survives to tell the story of a civilisation. Just like Jodha Bai’s temple in Agra’s Red Fort speaks of Akbar’s pluralistic ethos, the ruins of the Babri Masjid have told the story of India where genocide followed domicide and at least half a century of political propulsion was generated. The New Mosque, despite its efforts to do otherwise, will tell the story of a community that — in the face of social conditions that threatened its survival — tried to shun its own rightful religiosity, trauma, past, and identity in the hope for harmonious existence; and failed at it. ----- Fahad Zuberi is an independent scholar and researcher of Architecture and City Studies Source: The Message Of The New Mosque In Ayodhya: Farther A Muslim Is From His Visible Religiosity, The More Acceptable He Is URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/dhamipur-mosque-ayodhya-rights-muslims-nation-/d/128573 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Literalists Have Turned The Quran Into A Jail Manual

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 6 December 2022 The Quran -Maniac, Nay, Quran -Brandishing, Muslims Condescend And Judge Other Muslims And Call Them Heretics And Kafir If They Don't Believe In The Quran's Divinity, Authenticity And Veracity. ------ A few days ago, I was reading Yunus Emre (1238 CE-1328 CE), a great Turkish folk poet and Islamic Sufi mystic who wrote in old Anatolian Turkish. In one of his mystic poems, Emre wrote, " Should I remain stuck in Quranic Heaven and Hell, Hellfire, Olhaf'is (Turkish for Hereafter), Day of Judgement, among others or love my Lord without these unnecessary conditions and finally merge into Him? '' In other words, Emre was least bothered about Quranic diktats and impositions on those who love Allah. He says, " Let me love Allah every moment. Don't narrate to me the scriptural strictness." Elsewhere, he writes, " I'm not a Rila'az (Hafiz-e-Quran in old Turkish). I don't need to remember Quranic verses and even follow them. They're for the beginners. All I need is the purity of heart, sincerity of faith and piety of worship." So apt! Even after nearly a millennium, Emre's words carry the Truth. In fact, his words are all the more relevant in these times when literalists have turned their Quran into a jail manual. These literalists have given themselves the exclusive right to be the sole custodians and chosen knowers of Quran and Islam. The Quran -maniac, nay, Quran -brandishing, Muslims condescend and judge other Muslims and call them heretics and Kafir if they don't believe in the Quran's divinity, authenticity and veracity. Mansur-Al-Hallaj, famous for his ecstatic proclamation of An-al-Haq (I'm the Truth), never believed in esoteric and eschatological beliefs. He believed in Fana (Merging) and nothing else. Was he a less Muslim than today's literalists, who're no better than village mullahs and medieval thugs? The extraordinarily repetitive Koran often admonishes its followers and threatens them with eternal damnation or hellfire. Will any sage and sagacious mind take these roguish threats as god's words and edicts? The way the Quran has been compiled and culled, its Allah appears to be no better than the megalomaniac god of the Old Testament. Richard Dawkins writes in his book, ' The god Delusion ' that, " The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” The way, you literalist Muslims follow your Quran in toto, no wonder, you too have relegated your Allah to the level of the god of the Old Testament. After all, what's your Quran? There's nothing new in it. It's a hotchpotch and disorderly gleaning from the earlier scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. There's no cherry-picking. Be at least a good Muslim if you cannot become a good human and refrain from getting into hair-splitting details of your holy book/s. Live peacefully and let others also live properly. You guys have already turned the world into hell. What more hellfire do you expect? ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-society/literalists-quran-jail-manual-/d/128567 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

All Religions Have Condemned Sex

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 5 December 2022 " Religion is a veritable spoilsport when it comes to sex." -Gina Lollobrigida, Hollywood actress of yore ------ I fully agree with Mr Ghulam Mohiyuddin that sex outside marriage is none of government's business (refer to, 'Indonesia Set To Penalise Sex Outside Marriage'). Let me also add religion to make it all the more complete and comprehensive: Sex outside marriage is none of government and religion's business. All religions and their custodians have always cast opprobrium on the most pleasurable and ecstatic human experience. Recently, Pope Francis advised nuns and priests to refrain from watching pornography. Why this draconian restriction? Aren't they also humans? Why is religion so anti-pleasure? Havelock Ellis, the high-priest of sex, and his coeval Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, wrote a combined paper on the religion's debilitating role in condemning sex. Both considered this attitude as something sadistic and argued that human sexuality was seen as an act of defiance to the early gods. The Pagan and Polytheists believed that sex was the prerogative of Pagan deities who could INDULGE in it as their divine right. They (Pagan deities) bestowed sex upon humans only for procreation and not for recreation. This early erroneous belief percolated down to the evolving dynamics of somewhat 'modern' thinking and got strengthened as sexual abstinence. Psychologically as well as sociologically, humans are the products of their prehistoric thinking. Our sexual evolution was stunted by religious behaviour. Alternative ways were created and concocted as poor substitutes for sex. Focusing on god, prayers, scriptures, moral code and meditation came into being to thwart sex. Marriage was made sacrosanct and a means to controlling sex. Thus, the taboo of pre-marital sex and sex outside marriage became humankind's so-called guiding force to discipline 'erratic' humans. Today, very many countries have done away with the foolish term pre-marital sex. Doesn't it suggest that those who never marry should also refrain from having sex? Are they celibates or impotent? Utter nonsense! Yours truly decided never to marry but he didn't turn a celibate. Where does the idea of pre-marital sex, as a sin, figure in this scheme of things? I'm not a reprobate or libertine either. With pre-marital restriction came celibacy as a means to achieving enlightenment. Semen was called the White Ambrosia and its conservation was scripturally advocated. Two most deranged Hindus, Vivekananda, Aurobindo and the whole religious order of Catholic Christianity eulogised celibacy and advised people to conserve semen or use it sparingly, only for procreation. This is rank idiocy and arrant ignorance. Educated people have begun to realize this blunder. In fact, the latest exhortation in the west is: Save water, not semen (refer to Playboy, North American Edition, December 2021). Eastern religions like Buddhism and Jainism also declared sex to be a sin for their monks. It's, therefore, time to consider sex as a normal behaviour and no religion and government should try to stop or regulate it. We must also strive to scrub off the eternal taboo factor that has sullied the sanctity of sex and relegated it to the level of being the most reprehensible sin mankind is saddled with for ages. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/religions-condemn-sex/d/128564 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Khudiram Bose And Sheikh Gulab: Indigo Movement Comrades

By Saquib Salim, New Age Islam 03-12-2022 Khudiram Bose was a teenager when he threw a bomb at a British judge in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, and assassinated him. Hailing from Midnapore, Bengal, Bose became the first Indian revolutionary to kill an Englishman using a modern bomb and facing the gallows as punishment. Khudiram Bose and Sheikh Gulab ----- It was in 1908, that Khudiram,18, and Prafulla Chaki bombed a horse-driven carriage with two English women. It was a case of mistaken identity. Their target, Justice Kingsford, was in another carriage. Prafulla Chaki shot himself dead before police could arrest him. Several members of nationalist militant organizations like Barindra Ghosh, Aurobindo Ghosh, and Hem Chandra were also arrested. Barindra Ghosh, who led the movement, was transported to the Andamans. But, the British found them hard to crack as they did not reveal any names behind the conspiracy. A Slice Of History The British press tried to paint the revolutionaries as ‘extremist Hindus’, a narrative later borrowed by Indian historians as well. The myth needs to be countered. The movement led by Barindra Ghosh and his brother Aurobindo, of which Khudiram was a member, was not communal. It was nationalist in outlook with the complete support of Muslims. One testimony to this fact can be found in the autobiography of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, where he writes that Aurobindo Ghosh initiated him in the national movement. CID reports also accuse Maulana of running training schools on the model provided by Aurobindo. Khudiram received martial arts and sword training from a Muslim teacher who taught revolutionaries at the training camps run by Barindra Ghosh. In 1908, the political temperature at Champaran (at that time part of Muzaffarpur) was high with anti-Indigo planters agitation led by Sheikh Gulab. Indigo planters had already told the government that anti-Indigo agitators like Sheikh Gulab and Sital Ray were working in a coalition with Bengal revolutionary groups led by Barindra Ghosh. In 1907, Gulab was arrested by the British for opposing the Indigo plantations in Champaran. After a few months, in March 1908, he was released and Indigo planters believed stricter judges and officers should be appointed in Muzaffarpur to control people like Gulab. Kingsford was sent from Kolkata. He was infamous for his ruthlessness with the Indian revolutionaries including the Jugantar group led by Barindra. As soon as he reached Muzaffarpur, intelligence reported that revolutionaries were planning to assassinate him. According to the Chief Secretary to the Bengal Government, “Kingsford himself attached no importance to the story”. P. C. Roy Chaudhury wrote in Champaran District Gazetteer, “on the refusal of Sheikh Gulab and others to work as special constables they were convicted under the Police Act but the Calcutta High Court set aside the conviction in March 1908. Throughout 1908 Champaran was the butt-end of the agitation…… The movement was further aggravated by the Muzaffarpur Bomb Case of 1908 and the phases of the Swadeshi Movement of Bengal. The three leaders of this movement, Sheikh Gulab, Sital Ray, and Radhemal were singled out by the administration.” Members of the Legislative Assembly also asked if the peasants of Champaran and the revolutionaries of Bengal were working in unison. Though the allegation was refuted by the Indian press and police could never find evidence against associates of Khudiram, Indigo planters kept believing in the nexus. Khudiram was hanged on 11 August 1908 and a month later, Sheikh Gulab organized peasants at Vijayadashami Mela in Champaran. Tribute to Khudiram was paid and agitations were intensified. It is also well known that before and after throwing a bomb, Khudiram was given shelter by a Muslim woman who was the sister of Maulvi Abdul Waheed, another nationalist. Today we don’t know Sheikh Gulab, Barindra Ghosh has been forgotten and Khudiram lives as a passing remark but this bomb case stirred the nation. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was jailed for writing in support of Khudiram, several newspapers were closed down, photographs of Khudiram were sold at shops across the country, and Khudiram style dhoti with his name at its border became a fashion among youth. Source: Were Khudiram Bose And Sheikh Gulab Associates? URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/khudiram-sheikh-gulab-indigo-movement/d/128563 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

The Enigma Of Existence: 'From The Very Dawn Of Human Civilization, A Caravan Of Certainties And Doubts Have Come And Fizzled Out'

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 3 December 2022 The Crux Of All Religions Is Humanity. Adhere To It For A Fulfilling And Wholesome Existence. What You Perceive As Truth Could Be A Lie Even To Your Wife! ----- " Raaz-E-Vajood Kuchh Na Poochh, Subhe-Azal Se Aaj Tak / Kitne Yaqeen Guzar Gaye, Kitne Guzar Gaye Gumaan " ( Don't ask the enigma of existence, right from the very first dawn of human civilization/ A caravan of certainties and doubts have come and fizzled out). Raghupati Sahay 'Firaq' Gorakhpuri's famous couplet underscores a profound insight that an eternal conundrum remains a conundrum and none of us can crack that. Mind you, it's not just life that is forever an enigma. Death, god, afterlife etc. are also riddles to almost all humans and it's well-nigh impossible to be hundred percent certain of any one phenomenon out of a host of vague esoteric phenomena. So, when I see some holier-than-thou and foolishly literalist people fuss over stupid religious beliefs in their hoary-old scriptures and think that they've the key to all wisdom past, present and future, I feel terribly sorry for them. Afghani mystic Mir Haqaiz said a millennium ago in Pashto, " Zu'phil Ez Qaaf Bazm'ein Im Yaqeenam" (Fools are always full of certitude). They indeed are. Certainty is a sure sign of stupidity, whereas doubting is a mark of intelligence, nay, wisdom. Vidur says in Mahabharata, 'Sanshyeshu Dharmasyam' (Doubt is religion). It's worthwhile to state that Vidur, the most intelligent and level-headed man in the Pandava and Kaurava clans, didn't believe in divinity despite seeing and meeting Krishna. So, how can anyone be sure of the validity of whatever has been written in Gita, Ramayana, Quran, Bible, among others? Take the stories in these books with a pinch of salt and don't waste your time in determining their authenticity. All these stories and episodes in the scriptures are allegories and parables. Laugh them off or draw your own inferences but don't impose them on others and assert that what you've perceived is the one and only truth. Truth is also relative, subjective and highly solipsistic. Remember a famous statement, " In religion as well as in life, what you perceive as truth is your private truth which could be a lie even to your wife. " The crux of all religions is humanity. Adhere to it for a fulfilling and wholesome existence. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/existence-dawn-human-civilization-caravan-/d/128552 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Thirthahalli, Known For Its Natural Beauty And Mild-Mannered Residents, In The News For An ‘Islamic Terror Module’

By G T Sathish,K.V. Aditya Bhardwaj December 03, 2022 Additional Director General of Police Alok Kumar inspects the autorickshaw in which a blast occurred in Mangaluru on November 19. | Photo Credit: MANJUNATH H.S. ----- “Welcome to prosperous Malnad known for people of Sadbhava (good thoughts) and Sajjanike (good conduct),” reads a board at an auto-rickshaw stand in Thirthahalli, a picturesque town in Shivamogga district in Karnataka. Nestled in the foothills of the Western Ghats and located on the banks of the river Tunga, Thirthahalli is known for its contributions to literature and the socialist movement. Residents of the town say Hindus and Muslims have always enjoyed an interdependent social life. But over the last few weeks, Thirthahalli has been in the news for the wrong reason — specifically, for being the place from where the majority of a group accused of devising an “Islamic terror module” hail. The Suspects On November 19, more than 130 km away from Thirthahalli in the coastal city of Mangaluru, a moving auto-rickshaw caught fire, causing serious injuries to both the driver and the passenger. The fire began in a pressure cooker, rigged with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that the passenger, Mohammed Shariq, was carrying, said the police. Shariq, 24, the suspect in the case, is a wanted terror-accused from Thirthahalli. While the intended target of the IED is not known, the blast was accidentally triggered, perhaps because the explosive material heated up. Earlier this week, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the case. Shariq is being treated for burn injuries and is not in a position to speak. Shariq was earlier arrested in November 2020, along with his friend and classmate Maaz Muneer Ahmed, for scribbling pro-terror graffiti in Mangaluru. While Maaz, 24, who is also from Thirthahalli, got bail in two months, Shariq was released after eight months. This year, the Shivamogga Police again arrested Maaz and his classmate Syed Yasin, who is from Shivamogga. They alleged that the two men had carried out a trial blast of an IED on the banks of the Tunga and burnt the tricolour in September 2022. Shariq, by then, had fled Thirthahalli. According to the police, Shariq’s “immediate handler”, Arafat Ali, is in Dubai. Ali is also a native of Thirthahalli. Besides Shariq, Maaz and Ali, two others from Thirthahalli — Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taha and Muzabbir Hussain — accused in the ‘Al Hind Islamic State Bengaluru terror module case’, have been on the run for the past three years. The NIA has declared a reward of ?3 lakh for information on Taha, who is suspected to be the kingpin of this alleged module. “All the six men seem to be influenced by the ideology of the Islamic State. They were radicalised via the Internet. We have evidence to show that at least two young men were members of an Islamic State group on Telegram. We have recovered several DIY (do it yourself) videos on making IEDs, videos of a test blast they carried out, and a photo that Shariq took of himself with the IED rigged cooker before leaving for Mangaluru,” said a senior police official overseeing the probe. The Karnataka Police and the NIA have been conducting intensive searches in Thirthahalli, which is Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra’s Assembly constituency. The police and sections of the media now refer to the accused in the case as “Thirthahalli Boys”, similar to how the “Bhatkal Brothers” once dominated the narrative of Islamist terror. Families Bear The Brunt Those who knew Shariq’s family well in Thirthahalli spoke of his humble background. Shariq lost his mother early. He dropped out of II Pre-University (Class 12) and began helping his father in the cloth shop he had in town. Shariq often visited Mangaluru, where Maaz was studying engineering. “When he was arrested for pro-terror wall writing, his father was devastated. He tried hard to get him out,” said a person known to the family for years. Shariq’s father died of cancer in July 2022. The last time he left home, in August, Shariq claimed to the family that he was going to Delhi to replenish stocks for the shop. “There was a property dispute. Shariq went missing around the time a deal to sell his father’s house was to be completed. Everyone assumed that he had fled to avert the deal,” said a resident of the neighbourhood. But the next time the neighbourhood heard of him was when the police arrested Maaz and Yasin. The police named Shariq as the brain behind the trial blast on the banks of the Tunga. The NIA and the Karnataka Police said Shariq was hiding in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. He later returned to Karnataka and rented a room on the outskirts of Mysuru with a false identity for nearly two months before turning up with the IED on November 19, they said. His stepmother and sister, who identified him in the hospital, reportedly told the police that they had advised him to desist from criminal activities, but he paid no heed. Like them, family members of the other accused spoke of the brunt they have had to bear. Maaz’s father, Muneer Ahmed, a fish merchant, died of a heart attack on September 23, four days after his son was arrested. He had moved his family to Mangaluru from Thirthahalli to be with his son. Maaz’s mother and sister said they still hope that he will be released with no charges against him one day. Arafat Ali’s father, Ahmed Bava, did not find enough driving assignments during the pandemic. That is when his son, who had completed a diploma in electronics at the Sahyadri Polytechnic College in Thirthahalli, left for Dubai looking for a job. The allegation against Ali is that he funded Shariq to carry out acts of terror. However, his father has a different story to tell. “I had borrowed a loan from a bank. I avoided receiving money directly in my account, as the bank could credit the amount towards the pending loan. My son had not opened an account in Dubai. With the help of a friend there, he sent money to Shariq’s account. And Shariq handed me the money a couple of times,” he said. According to the police, the roots of this alleged module in Thirthahalli lie in the Al Hind terror module that was busted in January 2020. Charge sheets filed by the NIA allege that Mehboob Pasha, who ran the Al Hind Trust in Bengaluru, joined hands with Khaja Moideen, who is from Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu and who served a jail term for the murder of Hindutva leaders, to form a module that aimed to “establish an IS (Islamic State) province in the jungles of South India.” The charge sheet alleges that the module was “in the advanced stages” of attempts to establish camps in the forests of Karnataka near Shivanasamudra. While the NIA arrested 12 suspects in the case, Taha, wanted in the case, has been untraceable since January 2020. A senior official from the Karnataka Police, who probed the Al Hind module, claimed that Taha was radicalised, was high up in the hierarchy of the module, and was a catalyst in bringing together Pasha and Moideen. The NIA said he was “also associated with his online foreign handler.” Taha studied up to II Pre-University in Thirthahalli before moving to Bengaluru for a BE course in a private college in 2014. He skipped the course after two years and joined a course on networking, besides taking up work in a private telecom company, according to his family members. His father, Manzoor Ahmed, 58, served in the Army for 26 years, including at the Siachen glacier. “I am aghast when the media refers to me as the father of a terror suspect. Throughout my life I have fought against terrorists and served this country,” said the former serviceman. Ahmed suffered a heart attack when he got to know that his son Taha was accused of terror acts in 2020. The last time Taha spoke to his parents was in January that year. His phone was switched off and his mother had contacted him on his friend’s phone. “He told us to take care of our health, assuring us that he will come back. Those were the last words we heard,” Ahmed said. Speaking to the media, Alok Kumar, Additional Director General of Police, Karnataka, described Arafat Ali as Mohammed Shariq’s “immediate handler” and Ahmed Taha as “one level above him.” Police suspect that after the Al Hind module was busted, Taha tapped into a network of radicalised youth from Thirthahalli in an attempt to put together a module of his own. Claim Of Responsibility Days after the autorickshaw blast, security agencies spotted a purported claim of responsibility for the blast by a hitherto unknown group, the Islamic Resistance Council, on a Telegram group. The group claimed that Shariq’s attempt was to attack a temple in Kadri, “a bastion of the Saffron terrorists in Mangalore.” The outfit offered a justification for the move, which read: “We are only retaliating because mob lynching has become a norm, because oppressive laws and legislations are passed to suppress us and interfere in our religion, because our innocents are languishing in prisons, because public spaces today reverberate with calls of our genocide and because as Muslims we have been commanded to wage Jihad when faced with mischief and oppression.” A senior intelligence officer said the credibility of this claim is yet to be established. “But the rhetoric in the claim is consistent with the pro-terror graffiti that Shariq and his two associates were accused of writing in Mangaluru. The interrogation of members of the Al Hind module also revealed the same rhetoric,” he said. The Mangaluru graffiti read, “Don’t force us to invite Lashkar-e-Taiba and Taliban to deal with Sanghis and Manuvadis. #LashkarZindabad.” The officer said that even if it is true that Taha is attempting to float a new outfit, the wherewithal of the module is “seriously limited,” as was evident from the rudimentary IED in the auto-rickshaw. “It is possible that the intended target was the Kadri temple, but there is no confirmation yet. During the recent campaign by Hindutva groups against the minority community in the State, there were calls to ban Muslim traders from temple fairs and the premises around temples,” said the officer. Karnataka has seen several communal flash points and targeting of the Muslim community after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power. Beginning with two persons being killed in police firing at the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in Mangaluru, this targeting intensified with efforts to ban the hijab in educational institutions, an unofficial ban on Muslim traders at annual temple fairs, and calls for a ban on Azaan, halal meat and even a complete economic boycott of the community. Two Hindutva activists were killed in Shivamogga and Dakshina Kannada, allegedly in at least one case by members of Popular Front of India, which eventually got proscribed. At least two Muslims were also killed in this cycle of violence. A senior intelligence official said the nature of the security threat has changed, making monitoring a big challenge. “There are many closed groups on Telegram and several other encrypted messaging platforms where those associated with the Islamic State, or even those across the border with an Islamic State front, push propaganda material and DIY videos of bombs and explosives. The handlers of the groups do not give explosives, logistics or funds. Radicalised youth end up carrying out amateur acts like the one in Mangaluru. Even the Al Hind module, though it had a larger aim and was a bigger network with better resources, was essentially operating with a similar modus operandi,” said the officer. A Challenge For The Community That is a challenge even the community seems to be facing in Thirthahalli. “Never before had our boys in Thirthahalli been involved in any terror activities,” said Abdul Wahhab Nadvi, a Maulana in the town. “All these boys were good and well-behaved when they were in the town. We don’t know where they were misled.” Religious leaders in the town masjids repeatedly promoted brotherhood and education, he said. “The recent developments have prompted religious leaders to work out plans to keep track of students when they go out of town.” Hindu and Muslim community leaders are “sensible and respect each other,” a local police officer said. “The town has witnessed no incident of communal violence in the recent past. The death of a minor girl in suspicious circumstances in 2014 had led to tension for a few days. But it did not lead to clashes. When other parts of Shivamogga saw protests over the ban on the PFI or other issues, Thirthahalli stayed calm,” he said. The way the recent incidents are being portrayed in sections of the media has upset the community. “A boy from Thirthahalli studying in a top college in a big city called up his parents to express his grief over the way his friends started treating him after the recent incident. When Shariq was absconding, we prayed for his arrest, so that at least to that extent, blame on the community is reduced,” a community leader said. Taha’s father said in anguish, “Relatives and other members in the town try to avoid us. I feel I have lost the respect I earned being an ex-serviceman. If my son is left with any love for his parents, younger brother and sister, he should surrender before the police and face the court. That is my only wish.” Source: Thirthahalli Feels Reverberations Of Blast In Mangaluru URL: https://newageislam.com/radical-islamism-jihad/thirthahalli-islamic-terror-module/d/128551 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Maulana Zafar Ali Khan's Poem That Incites The Patriotism Of the Muslim Community

By Saquib Salim, New Age Islam 3 December 2022 When Bhagat Singh and his companions were in jail, the example of the love shown for them by Indians outside the jail is rarely seen anywhere in history for anyone. Maulana Zafar Ali Khan used to be the editor of an Urdu newspaper, 'Zamindar', published in Lahore. The love shown by his newspaper for Bhagat Singh was extraordinary. Zafar Ali Khan's poems terrorized the British government so much that the government of the day took action on many of his poems and the newspaper. One such poem, written while Bhagat Singh was in jail, is here. In this Ghazal, Zafar Ali Khan asks the Muslim community what is their part in the war for the freedom of the country, what are their leaders doing and does their religion teach them slavery instead of sacrifice. Following is the Ghazal - In The Memory Of Martyrs Of The Country: शहीदाने वतन के ख़ून ए नाहक़ का जो सत निकले तो उसके ज़र्रे ज़र्रे से भगत सिंह और दत्त निकले चढ़ा ईरान में मंसूर अन’ल हक़ कहके सूली पर मज़ा जब है के तार-ए-हिंद से ऐसी ही गत निकले मुसलमानों ने अबतक कितने नौजवाँ किये पैदा? जो आज़ादी के गहवारे में पाकर तरबियत निकले ख़ुदा हाफ़िज़ मुसलमानों के इक़बाल और दौलत का ख़ुदा के शेर भी निकले तो शीर-ए-आग़ा सिफ़त निकले हक़ूक़-ए-मुस्लिमीं के कुछ मुहाफ़िज़ चल दिए लंदन मगर वो भी पिरस्ताराने केश-ए-आफ़ियत निकले निसार इस रिंद-ए-आलम-ए-सोज़ पर सौ जां से है महफ़िल के जिस कूचे में जा निकले हरीफ़-ए-मस्लेहत निकले URL: https://newageislam.com/multimedia/maulana-zafar-patriotism-muslim-community/d/128549 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

What to Learn From A Cultural Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Jain

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 2 December 2022 It's Your Personal Equation With A Divine Power ( If At All It Does Exist) That Matters And Not How You Let Your Life Get Regulated By Religious Edicts And Antediluvian Rules And Regulations ----- Once I was dining with a Turkish ' Muslim ' professor ' at a restaurant in Bologna, Italy. Being erudite and sensitive, he asked me whether I had certain dietary idiosyncrasies. I said, " no, please order whatever you want." " May I order pork frankfurters, " he asked me politely. Shocked for a millisecond, I said, " why not. " Being a hardcore vegetarian, I ordered some continental veg cuisine. But I kept thinking that this man called himself a Muslim but he was relishing seasoned pork sausages. I was quite young at that time. So, it was rather anomalous ( dietary) behaviour to me, though having travelled across the world, pork has never been abhorrent to me. In fact, we've no right to call or judge any food or anyone's food as abhorrent. That's cultural as well as religious relativism. He could read my mind. He himself broached the subject that he was a cultural Muslim (not a religious one) who still didn't leave Islam. " But, I'm NOT a Quranic Muslim," he said. That statement stayed with me. I realized that one can be a cultural Hindu or Muslim without following the obscure diktats of any damn religion. That professor told me that all scriptures were joke books and one could remain a Muslim or Christian without believing in the preposterous contents of Quran or Bible. Here's the key to being religious in the correct sense of the word. If a Muslim or Christian doesn't believe in the fundamental beliefs like resurrection, Adam and Eve, circumcision, hell and heaven, Last Day of Judgement etc, yet he remains in the fold of Islam and Christianity and until he calls himself an atheist, ex-Muslim or ex-Christian, others have no right to excommunicate or brand him. Just think over it: Religious behaviour and following certain 'divine' orders are part of conditioning. Christians love gorging on pork but till the 8th century, pork was religiously prohibited in Christianity just like it's prohibited in Islam as both the religions, sorry tributaries, branched out of Judaism which abhors pork. In short, all these habits, particularly, dietary ones, belong to this world and have nothing to do with a follower's commune with his higher self, which you naively call god or Allah. I've a Jain friend who loves garlic and onion and occasionally eats chicken, mutton, even beef (!). But he calls himself a Jain who's into all sorts of philanthropic activities and sponsors the education of underprivileged children of all faiths. He does it all without any fanfare and fuss. In short, he's not a hypocrite. I consider him to be a far greater Jain than those who make a song and dance of their bizarre culinary habits of not eating garlic, onion and all roots, but are into all shady and shrouded activities. It's your personal equation with a divine power ( if at all it does exist) that matters and not how you let your life get regulated by religious edicts and antediluvian rules and regulations. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/cultural-muslim-christian-hindu-jain/d/128543 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Role Of Ulema In Fostering A Culture Of Interfaith Peace And Social Harmony

Ulema Should Form A Global Consensus On Burning Topics Main Points: 1. Terrorism needs to be defined universally. 2. Extremist religious views should be shunned. 3. Global initiative by ulema should be taken against terrorism. 4. A global Islamic curriculum for madrasas and Islamic institutes should be formulated. 5. Science studies should be prioritised. ----- By New Age Islam Staff Writer 1 December 2022 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Muslims Of The Modern World Live In An Age Of Science And Technology And In Order To Keep Pace With The Scientific Development, They Need To Development Among Them A Scientific Way Of Thought And Approach To The World And To Other Religions. And Ulema Should Act As A Catalyst In This Process. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- An Indonesian delegation accompanying Mohammad Mahfud is holding a day-long discussion with their Indian counterparts on various topics. ----- The conference on the "Role of Ulema in fostering a culture of Interfaith Peace and Social Harmony in India and Indonesia" held in New Delhi on 29th of November 2022 was a positive step towards fighting against radicalisation, religious extremism and terrorism that has affected the most part of the world including Indonesia and India. The dialogue between religious heads and representatives of different religions from both the countries will hopefully help curb and counter growing culture of violence in the name of spreading a particular religious ideology. The ulema of both countries carry on their shoulders the responsibility to form a consensus to curb and fight religious extremism and sectarianism among the Muslims of the world. Coincidentally, the Muslims of both the countries follow a moderate version of Islam because of their common cultural history. The Muslims of India and Indonesia have over the centuries learnt to live in a multicultural society and respect the religions of others. However, exclusivist and supremacist interpretations of Islamic texts by the Arab and Egyptian exegetes and scholars in the modern age influenced the Muslim mind and they accepted these interpretations as the true version of Islam. This religious philosophy believed in the use of force and violence for every problem facing the Muslim world, from local social and political problems to social, moral evils and sectarian differences. Prominent ulema and exegetes with vast fan following wrote books and articles and delivered lectures propagating and spreading extremist ideology. Such books and lectures gave birth to extremist and terrorist organisations in the Middle East and South Asia. These organisations wreaked havoc in the eastern as well as the western world causing bloodshed and damage to Islam's image as a religion of peace and equality. Vast literature justifying violence and bloodshed in the name of fighting evil and spreading religion exists in the Islamic world. In many cases, this literature encourages violence even against the Muslims of other sectarian denominations. The ulema trained and educated in Turkey and Egypt and working as imams and religious teachers in the Europe present the Ahl-e-Kitab ( the People of the Book) as the enemies of Islam collectively and the countries of Europe as Dar- al - Harb ( enemy country) though Muslims have been living there for generations and are entitled to all human rights including religious rights. Therefore, if the ulema are really serious in stemming the rot, they would have to do something more than engaging in dialogue with other ulema and religious heads of other religions. A global definition of terrorism needs to be formed and a collective denouncement of terrorist and extremist organisations should be made and a list of the designated terrorist organisations signed and declared by the global alliance of ulema should be circulated among Muslims of the world declaring their activities and ideology un- Islamic and asking the Muslims not to be associated with them. In African countries, Al Shabab, Boko Haram and other fringe organisations continually cause violence against sufi Muslims and Christians. They kidnap students and torture them for ransom. In Nigeria, these organisations enjoy the overt and covert support of local ulema and politicians. The entire Muslim intelligentsia remains silent on the incidents of violence, murder and bloodshed. This support comes from a lack of understanding of Islamic teachings and philosophy and from a lack of a universal definition of terrorism and extremism. Unless and until a universal definition of terrorism is reached at and a consensus among the ulema is reached on the terrorist organsiations, this violence will continue. After Al Qaida, the ISIS has emerged as a big threat not only to the world peace but also for the Muslim world. It caught the imagination of the Muslims with its slogan of caliphate. Many prominent ulema of Egypt and India hailed and glorified them as the true flag bearers of Islamic caliphate while they killed Muslims and non- Muslims alike, destroyed churches and graves of prophets and sufis. Muslim, Kurd and Christian women were kept captive as sex slaves by the so - called warriors. The ulema need to form a consensus on the issue of Khilafat because the ISIS succeeded to gain the acceptance of a section of ulema and scholars by selling them the dream of caliphate. The Quran does not prescribe a particular form of government. It insists only on good governance. The ISIS is still a threat and tries to attract the Muslim youth by espousing local issues of Muslims. The ulema need to create awareness among the Muslim youth about the dangers of falling into their trap. Such groups have also existed in the initial period of Islam and Hadhrat Ali fought a decisive battle against them. They are called Kharijites. Al Qaida, ISIS, Al Shabab, Boko Haram, Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba etc. are the Kharijites of the modern age. Why don 't ulema declare them kharijites? The Muslims of the Modern world live in an age of science and technology and in order to keep pace with the scientific developments, they need to develop among them a scientific way of thought and approach to the world and to other religions. And ulema should act as a catalyst in this process. URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/ulema-culture-interfaith-peace-harmony/d/128539 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Envisage Your Supreme Being As Boundless Compassion; Don't Personify Him

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 1 December 2022 This I read years ago but the impact is still verdant and intact: My religious life has been taken over by professionals. To learn to pray, I need a Spiritual Director; to find god's will for me, I consult an Expert in Discernment; to understand the Bible, I consult a Scripture Scholar; to know if I've sinned or not, I need the Moral Theologian; and to have my sins forgiven, I kneel before the Priest. A native king in the South Sea Islands was hosting a banquet for a distinguished Western guest. When the time came to praise the guest, His Majesty remained seated on the floor while a professional orator, engaged for the occasion, eulogized the visitor. After the panegyric, the guest stood up to speak. His Majesty gently held him back. " No, no," he said, " I've hired an orator for you too. In our island, we don't leave public speaking to amateurs." I wonder, would god appreciate it if I became more amateur in my relationship with him? Namazein Padheen, Roze Rakhe, Darta Raha Khuda Se Main Kaash Ke Ibadat Mein Meri Zara Betakallufi Hoti (I offered Namaz, observed Rozas and remained fearful of Khuda / Wish I were a tad less formal with him). Urdu poet Nooh Narvi's lamentation is indeed very honest and almost everyone's rueful acceptance towards the fag-end of life. Our rapport with the god is usually that of a slave and his master. A slave is forever flattened before his draconian master. But your god/Allah or Bhagwan is not a martinet. "Khuda Se Bhi Chuhal Karna Seekh" (Learn to banter with god). A famous Misra (line) penned by Urdu poet Naubatrai 'Nazar' comes to mind. Intimacy dwindles and finally disappears when a relation becomes too professional. In Bhakti Marg of Hinduism and Mysticism of Islam, the bond with the Supreme Being is not just friendly, it's brotherly (Sakhya Bhaav). There's not much place for unnecessary scruples and qualms. Rumi's Allah says, " Your one rose of pure love for the beloved is more than the whole garden you try to offer without being able to afford. " Let your prayers be untimely, even unstructured. Let your worship be erratic, even flippant. Don't worry, because god knows your intent. If there's any god and if at all there's this imaginary, Last Day of Judgement, rest assured, your god or Allah will not ask how many times did you offer Namaz on earth? He'll ask you, " Did you do things according to your conscience? " Because, to quote Allama Iqbal, " Apne Man Mein Doob Kar Paa Ja Suraagh-e-Zindagi / Tu Agar Mera Nahin Banta, Na Ban, Apna Toh Ban " (Dive into the depths of your heart and find the key to existence / I've no problem If you cannot be mine, at least, be true to yourself). Envisage your Supreme Being as boundless compassion and don't personify him / it as Daavar-e-Hashra (The judge on the Last Day). ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/envisage-supreme-being-compassion-/d/128537 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism

Tributes to Freedom Fighter, Maulana Mahmud Hasan, Whom the British Feared

By Saqib Salim, New Age Islam 1 December 2022 Maulana Mahmud Hasan Was Compared To Lokmanya Tilak By The British Officials & Considered A Threat To The Empire. He Led A Movement Which Had Revolutionary Hindus & Muslims Working Together. ------ “If Maulana Mahmud Hasan is punished in India, it will increase his reputation the way Lokmanya Tilak's reputation had increased after his punishment. He will be given the status of a martyr." In 1917, while investigating the case of Maulana Mahmood Hasan, British officer R. Burn wrote: Maulana Mahmood was accused of conspiring to overthrow British rule from India during the First World War, along with his disciples like Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani and Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi. During the investigation, it was found that Maulana Mahmood, who taught at Darul Uloom Deoband, with the help of Germany and Turkey, had prepared a plan to attack India from the border area of ​​Afghanistan and expel the British. Raja Mahendra Pratap, Ras Bihari Bose and other revolutionaries were also part of this plan of Maulana Mahmood. According to a report by English Intelligence, “this plan was not only a plan of Muslims. Raja Mahendra Pratap was given the status of President of the rest of the Indian revolutionaries who were Hindus ." This plan became famous as the Silk Handkerchief Movement and in 1916, the British government arrested Maulana Mahmood along with Maulana Hussain and other disciples from Hejaz, Saudi Arabia. As was the law, he had already been put on a ship to be sent to India when the Viceroy's letter reached, in which it was written that "looking at Maulana Mahmud Hasan's reputation, it would not be right to send him to India" and this would create a danger of rebellion. The Intelligence Department had already written to India that “Maulana Mahmood Hasan is an enemy of the British completely painted in the colour of rebellion and it is impossible for the government not to take strict action against him. But any action against a Maulana of such credibility will further incite rebellion among Indians. In such a situation, it would be better if Maulana is not sent back to India. In this letter, where on one hand it was said that Maulana and his companions should not be sent to India, on the other hand, it was also advised that Maulana should not be imprisoned in Hijaz. The British government believed that if Maulana was imprisoned in Hijaz there would be anger among the Muslims coming from all over the world against the British during the Haj, due to which there could be a rebellion in India and Afghanistan. After this Maulana Mahmud Hasan, Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani, Anzar Gul, Waheed Ahmad, and Hakim Nasrat Hussain were imprisoned in Malta as prisoners of war. After staying there for a year, the government formed a committee to see whether Maulana could now be sent back to India. This committee wrote in the report that “Giving pardon to this man and bringing him to India would prove to be very dangerous. He will enter India with the status of a martyr and his reputation will increase much more. As far as the crime is concerned, there is no doubt that he is a rebel against the British government. Being imprisoned as a prisoner of war has strengthened this old man's courage instead of breaking it. At the end of the war in 1920, when the camp for war prisoners was closed, Maulana was sent to India. He was welcomed at the port by many national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi. He had become very weak while in jail, but even then he continued to teach the lesson of nationalism to Indians against the British by roaming around the country. His Health kept deteriorating but he did not stop and within six months, on 30 November 1920, said goodbye to the mortal world. शहीद तेरी मौत ही तेरे वतन की ज़िंदगी तेरे लहू से जाग उठेगी इस चमन की ज़िंदगी URL: https://newageislam.com/multimedia/tributes-freedom-fighter-maulana-mahmud-british/d/128533 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism