Editorial

Kashmir — The Stricken Paradise

Mughal Emperor Jehangir (d.1627) described his visit to Kashmir by saying, “Gar firdaus bar-rue zamin ast, hami asto, hamin asto, hamin ast” (“If there’s a heaven on Earth/ this is it! this is it! this is it!”).

But as we all know, things change.

Kashmir’s current era of pain and suffering started on March 16, 1846, when its British occupiers sold its 85,800 square miles and nearly 3 million overwhelmingly Muslim inhabitants for a pittance to the Dogra warlord Gulab Singh, a despot whom they later entitled “Maharaja.”

For instance, he ordered the flaying — skinning alive! — of 14 notables of Poonch (now a district in Azad [Free] Kashmir), thereby igniting that generation’s freedom struggle. Over time, as their imposed rulers kept treating them worse than cattle, their resentment grew.

The mutually agreed upon terms for India’s 1947 partition, which stated that the Muslim-majority areas would form the new country of Pakistan, made Kashmir a natural for membership. However, India invaded on Oct. 27, 1947, citing an alleged “article of succession” in its favor from Hari Singh, the despot’s great-grandson.

In a blatant display of treachery, India soon rewarded Hari Singh’s own treachery by abolishing his rule. Consequently, bands of volunteers rushed from Pakistan to help the Kashmiris resist. They managed to wrest 5,134 sq. miles from the invaders to form Azad [Free] Kashmir, which remains under Pakistani assurance.

In response to India’s request for its intervention, on April 21, 1948, the UN engineered a ceasefire and passed UN Security Council Resolution 47, which stated that the Kashmiris will determine their national affiliation through a UN-administered plebiscite. Since then, India has refused to honor its pledge and has turned the erstwhile paradise into a living hell for its Muslims.

India’s colonial occupation is effectively a heinous extension of Dogra inhumanity. And yet the Kashmiris continue to resist, led by committed stalwarts such as Syed Ali Shah Geelani, now 92.

Ignoring its own constitution, on Aug. 5, 2019, India unilaterally terminated Kashmir’s special status by declaring it just another state.

The world, ruled by greed and the lust for power, has closed its eyes to India’s terror and human rights violations. But the Kashmiris, still undeterred, stand firm in their resolve for justice. Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reign of Hindutva-inspired terror, former President Trump and several Muslim-majority countries have unashamedly bestowed their highest civil awards upon him.

On Dec. 20, 2020, The New York Times cautioned its readers that President Biden, citing China as the driving force, would expand U.S.-India relations.

Muslim Americans and all people of conscience must impress upon the new administration the centrality of human rights in all U.S. foreign relations.

It’s long past time to reject the inhumane mindset that refuses to accept the “other,” like President Emmanuel Macron’s Jan. 20 declaration that France refuses to repent for its colonial-era abuses in Algeria. France’s 1830 invasion and subsequent killing of 825,000 Algerians over the next 45 years reduced the indigenous population by one-third.

Irshad Abdal-Haqq recalls the momentous Ramadan of 1975, when Imam W.D. Mohammed (d.2008) guided his community to observe the real Ramadan instead of the December observance introduced by his father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (d.1975).

The ISNA West Coast Education Forum was held Jan. 16-17. but virtually. as necessitated by Covid-19 restrictions.

The ISNA Green Initiative Team reminds us to commit ourselves to enact environmentally friendly practices in our institutions and daily life to reduce our carbon footprint, become responsible stewards of Earth and earn rewards in the afterlife. ih

PUBLISHER The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)

PRESIDENT Safaa Zarzour

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Basharat Saleem

EDITOR Omer Bin Abdullah

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Iqbal Unus, Chair: M. Ahmadullah Siddiqi, Milia Islam-Majeed

ISLAMIC HORIZONS is a bimonthly publication of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) P.O. Box 38 Plainfield, IN 46168-0038 Copyright @2020 All rights reserved Reproduction, in whole or in part, of this material in mechanical or electronic form without written permission is strictly prohibited. Islamic Horizons magazine is available electronically on ProQuest’s Ethnic NewsWatch, Questia.com LexisNexis, and EBSCO Discovery Service, and is indexed by Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature. Please see your librarian for access. The name “Islamic Horizons” is protected through trademark registration ISSN 8756-2367

POSTMASTER Send address changes to Islamic Horizons, P.O. Box 38 Plainfield, IN 46168-0038

SUBSCRIPTIONS Annual, domestic – $24 Canada – US$30 Overseas airmail – US$60

TO SUBSCRIBE Contact Islamic Horizons at (317) 839-8157 / (317) 204-0187 Fax (317) 839-1840 E-mail: membership@isna.net

ADVERTISING For rates contact Islamic Horizons at (703) 742-8108, E-mail horizons@isna.net, www.isna.net To subscribe, please e-mail: membership@isna.net

CORRESPONDENCE Send all correspondence and/or Letters to the Editor at: Islamic Horizons P.O. Box 38 • Plainfield, IN 46168-0038 Email: horizons@isna.net