In Modi Mode

Media is rife with Modi stories. A day does not pass by wherein the Gujarat Chief Minister does not attract attention to himself. I am stupefied by the responses that the article on Mr. Narendra Modi in The Hindu has generated especially the ones that laud the Gujarat Chief Minister’s self-acclaimed developmental agenda. Is this a window to India’s general opinion on Mr. Modi? Has the Congress with its innumerable scams so disillusioned the minds of the average middle class Indian that he is now not averse to an alternative like Mr. Modi? Do people actually believe that “Gujarat riots” is only a stick to beat Mr. Modi with? Can we so easily deny the fact that at the very least a doubt has been cast on Mr. Modi’s ability to protect the minorities? Have we become so numbed by the oft-repeated accusations that we are now prepared to condone them?

Religion and Terrorism

No religion should be maligned for the errors of its followers. The term follower itself is misleading. Ordinarily religion is inherited and not chosen after careful deliberation. In the hustle and bustle of daily life, few people strive to unearth the truth in their scriptures. They only view religion as an identity. Knowing only the outer shell of religion, they are drawn to charismatic extremist leaders and willingly become pawns in their hands. Any ideology is capable of producing fanatics under these conditions. Have not we heard of environmental terrorists?

Common sense of the Common Man

All ideologies are vulnerable to extreme interpretations. It is man’s innate tendency to always believe that his values are the best. From this pride arises all conflicts and violence towards others. All major religions including Hinduism and Islam advocate moderation and respect for divergent views. However, human nature as weak as it is sometimes succumbs to chauvinism. When we cease to merely tolerate others but start to love them, we will see differences as bright colours to be admired in the great palette of life. Paradoxically, religion practised in its purity serves to inculcate this love for others. Parents must instill in children a sense of respect for variety. The common man in India has always understood this rationale and hence the majority of the people have lived harmoniously over the years. It is up to the government and our political leaders to take up this common sense of the masses and show unity in protecting us against terrorism without maligning the reputation of any ideology.

Understanding the other side

When dealing with terrorism allegedly wearing the garb of Islam, what we must bear in mind is that the vast majority of Muslims are peaceful and law-abiding citizens. In fact, I have personally not come across anyone who is not. Despite this, the persistent terror attempts in Gujarat certainly leads to the sad conclusion that there are a handful of gullible youth disillusioned by Islamophobia and anti-Muslim pogroms who are enticed by the thought of taking the law into their hands. Witnessing mass murders of Muslims is certainly a traumatic event that could lead to an unbalanced psyche and thirst for revenge in some immature individuals. The presence of opportunist elements ready to fan such fires is definitely a dangerous trend. Let us not forget that these tendencies are not isolated to any particular religion or ideology (just remember environmental terrorist groups whenever you feel like bashing religion).

What is the solution? Apparently prompt apprehension and punishment of miscreants by the government could have averted many disasters. Sadly the wheels of justice turn in an excruciatingly slow manner. Meanwhile the sane majority (of all religions) can make a difference by reassuring those affected and providing physical, financial, and most important of all, psychological help to the victims. Respective religious leaders should invite them to walk the tougher path of forgiveness and forbearance and illuminate the portions of the sacred texts that enjoin such a response.

For beginners here are verses from the Quran (Chapter 5 Verse 8) - “Let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice.” (Chapter 5 Verse 2) “Let not the hatred of some people lead you to transgression (and hostility on your part). Help ye one another in righteousness and piety, but help ye not one another in sin and rancour.”

A stumbling block to such efforts would be half a century of religious apartheid and ghettoization of Muslims in Gujarat that has bred a virulent climate of mistrust. There should be encouragement of intercommunity interactions and transactions until it becomes the norm and the question of the “other” becomes nonexistent and all are known and understood to be simply human, blood to blood, brother to brother.

Tough times

The suffering of ordinary people from the abominable bomb blasts is heartrending. I am so utterly saddened by this cruel act that I cannot even bring myself to respond to the speculations on the identity of the perpetrators. The need of the hour is to help the victims and render them support in rebuilding their lives. It is also equally important to prevent further atrocities. If reiterating that Muslims do not support this violence helps in doing that, I readily do so.

Responsibility

Thought, speech, action—the three pillars of life—are responsibilities to be undertaken with great deliberation. People in positions of authority need to exercise these tools in a noble manner that encourages unity and peace. This seldom is the case and often, powerful men leave a blazing trail of violence behind them owing to their incendiary remarks, foolish demeanour, and muddled thoughts. The politicians in Jammu and Kashmir have played their vitriolic games vitiating an already virulent atmosphere.

Human beings are a crude mixture of good and bad qualities. It is always best to concentrate on decent behaviour and hope for positive reinforcement though murkier details are often more exciting and hence easily publicized. Thus the mass media holds great potential for promoting welfare or mischief depending on the nature of their priorities.

Violence breeds more violence. Mahatma Gandhi realized that perfectly when he fought British colonialism with Ahimsa. Truth, justice, patience, forgiveness and all virtues alone can overcome the endless spiral of hatred and war. When we fight with what is best, even our enemy will incline towards peace. These are not just lofty ideals to remain enshrined in the Quran or any other such religious books. It is pragmatic to adopt it sincerely in our daily lives if we are to succeed as a nation. Only peace can bring prosperity and progress to the beleaguered territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Silence of the lambs-the ground reality

Muslims have always shied away from establishing a single powerful body of leaders that can truly represent their hopes and aspirations. This has at once been our boon and bane. We believe that the Koranic teachings alone can serve as an adequate guide and have eschewed the showering of power on fallible mortals. Busy eking out daily lives, Muslims have largely shunned the stray small-time leaders who have tried to make their presence felt. While the lack of leadership prevents gross misuse of authority and large scale mischief, it has left a huge void.
This glaring difference from other organized religions is little understood. When there are riots involving Buddhist monks, a single declaration by the Dalai Lama that he stands for peace makes a world of difference. So the larger community is immediately absolved of any complicity and blame falls on a few miscreants. Similarly catholic interests are protected by the Pope. But in the case of Islam, anybody who makes noise immediately grabs media spotlight and is unwittingly portrayed as speaking for the whole community.

In truth, Islam wants to prevent such a scenario of power being held in the hands of a few because of the degree of corruption and exploitation that this can lead to. In spite of this, unwanted media attention on self-proclaimed leaders has marred this legacy. Anybody who reads the Koran fully with an open heart will understand that Islam does not stand for terror. Not only that, it is highly inclusive and exhorts moderation in all things and supports healthy competition with other religions. It is pro-science, pro-life, and pro-democracy. It also promotes tremendous respect and tolerance for other religions. This is the ground reality. In India no matter what the international media might say, our Hindu friends know this because they see it all around them firsthand. Compare this with the media view of Muslims being cloistered, fatwa-declaring maniacs with little tolerance for any other religion. By selectively illuminating the bad apples and keeping out the successful silent majority, a negative halo has been cast around Islam and a question mark on the loyalties of Muslims.

It is common knowledge that media focuses its attention on where the dirt is but in this case unwittingly, it has played right into the hands of both the terrorists and the Islamophobics. So endless rhetoric between these two groups hog the limelight and we poor daily-bread earning, 5-time-praying Muslims are colorless mute spectators. Over the years, what has this led to?

Number one: In countries where Muslim populations are less, perceptions about Muslims are shaped by media content and not by how the majority lives as there is hardly any personal contact. So, predictably, many Americans and Europeans are actually buying into the media view. Muslims really were hoping that common sense would prevail and we would be judged fairly but now we are beginning to fear that this might not be.

Number two: Now this is a scary one. What if some gullible Muslim youth fueled by the media portrayal and false arrests and constant monitoring and anti-Muslim riots and genocide start thinking about terrorist groups as being their allies (either u are with me or against psychology)?
Number three: What I know firsthand is that ordinary Muslims are really scared and sad now, that the whole world has a wrong image about us, that no Muslim will be given a visa to US, that people might look at us weirdly because of our attire, that good opportunities might pass us by because of our Muslim names, etc. etc. Muslims everywhere are just getting out of their homes and telling the world that we stand for peace (even the first Islamic TV Channel is called Peace TV). We are shouting from the rooftops that Islam teaches peace and not terror. We are willing to wear our ‘peace’ on our lapels. Is anyone listening?

Religion of Peace

I condemn the violence perpetrated in the name of Islam. It is the duty of a Muslim living in any country to follow the law of the land. This is a solemn covenant which entitles all non-Muslims to the right to peace. It also means refraining from belittling whatever faith others follow. Unless there is great injustice and persecution and breaking of the covenant leading to complete subjugation of Muslims and inability to practice Islam, there can never be a call for a war. This completely overrides the flimsy logic of terrorists and exposes their un-Islamic justifications of violence.

My prayers and sympathies lie with the victims--ordinary people, both non-Muslims and Muslims--who die innocently in vain. I have great love for my country and I value the freedom and privileges that it offers and my endeavor like that of all Muslims would always be to make it a better place through education, Ahimsa (nonviolence), and other benign means.

A Cry in the Dark

It is unfortunate that a falsely-invented link between Islam and terrorism has seeped into the collective mind. No day would go by without any Muslim feeling the repercussions of that. All acts of terrorism are actually regional in nature and owe their origin to the political and cultural landscapes in particular countries. Owing to various factors, the truth has become distorted. Muslims are increasingly looking at a world where beautiful words like jihad (which means to strive especially for self-purity) and Islam (means peaceful surrender to God) are readily accepted as being embodiments of violence and hatred.

An innocent man when wrongfully accused is always the last to protest his innocence while a guilty one plans his escape from the beginning. Indeed Muslims have been late to mount an adequate response. Nevertheless, there have been several attempts to bring out the truth like the recent Deoband Declaration and the newly launched Peace TV.

A plea to denounce the term 'Islamism' and such divisive language

The Holy Koran does not endorse violence in any form. It speaks of the use of force in the name of justice but it never condones violence. Did not Krishna himself urge Arjuna to fight a war (Bhagavad-Gita)? That need not inspire anyone to commit atrocities. It is not fair that ordinary Muslims (a great majority) who live decent lives have to feel guilty due to the deeds of some miscreants.

I am not advocating complacency. Far from it, we need to isolate and erode away the credibility of the terrorists. The way to do that is not by giving them legibility by bestowing upon their beliefs the peaceful name of Islam. We must call a spade a spade and condemn their beliefs as evil. Why grieve millions of people who practice Islam, the only way it is supposed to be, by associating these people with them? Whatever the rationale for arguing otherwise, it is not going to solve the problem but only contribute to it. Refraining from the terms Islamists, Muslim terrorist, etc. at least will not isolate a community and add to their woes.

The ‘we’ that Muslims want to be associated with is that of all the good and sane people of the world. Instead to club us forcibly with the scum of the earth is not just a cause for great anguish but also, I feel, will push a few who are at the periphery into the other side. Instead we must isolate ‘them’ and join forces.

When there is a fire ravaging a house, if those on either side of the street keep accusing each other, will that save either of their homes?

Any suggestions?

Clearly, just reiterating that Islam is a religion of peace is not going to stop either those who commit violence in its name or those who demonize Muslims due to the actions of a few. Much to the exasperation of ordinary Muslims, we have to shoulder responsibility for more atrocities and follies like fatwas declared in our name. Muslims are vehemently opposed to fatwas and suicide bombs but what exactly can we do to stop this?