QUESTIONS TO MUSLIM ORGANISATIONS AND CLERICS

QUESTIONS TO MUSLIM ORGANISATIONS AND CLERICS Rejoinder: Please, will you answer too?

Intro: As a rejoinder to the questions raised by Muslim organisations and Ulemas from RSS, Dr Pramod Pathak, a reader from Goa who has been attending Islamic sermons have posed a few questions to the Muslim clerics.

A delegation of clerics from Muslim organisation Sunni Ulema Council reportedly posed questions to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh over the outfit’s views on Muslims and on their campaign to make India a ‘Hindu rashtra’ among others. It is for the first time Muslim organisations have asked questions to ascertain the stand of the outfit. However, a non-Muslim common man in India too has a few questions to be asked for from these organisations and to the Muslim ulemas, clerics, who are vocal and sort of opinion makers in the Muslim community. It is necessary at this juncture to tell them that they too are held responsible for leading or misleading the common Muslim citizens of India on the path confronting the majority community. The Muslim clerics and many leaders like Owaisi brothers, senior SP leader Azam Khan, and many others often engage in Hindu bashing and incite their audience against the Hindus and other religious communities. Will they too answer a few questions, this time?

Questions to Muslim organisations and clerics : 1. Do you consider Hindus or any other faith people as Kafirs? Because in course of time Kafirs are to be eliminated.

2. As you consider Islam as a path to God-Allah, do you consider all others, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs and other faiths to be equally valid spiritual pursuits?

3. Do you consider Rama, Krishna, Mahavir, Buddha, the Sikh Gurus and many other great personalities in our country to be Gods or messengers of God i.e. nabis as they are to be called. The denigrating remarks the present author heard from Amin do not testify the place of honour for these great people in the crowd.

4. Female folk in the Muslim society are treated as second, even third class members of the society. Starting with the birth ceremonies, to their share in parental property, they face discrimination. Do these Muslim organisations differ from the above mindset?

5. The triple talaq in the Muslim society is inhuman. Numerous Muslim ladies have personally experienced the way years of marriages are ruined by simply uttering talaq three times in a feat of rage. The

progressive Mulsim women’s organisations are struggling to do away with the custom. Are the Muslim organisations ready to consider triple talaq as invalid and accept changes in the Muslim law?

6. India’s constitution does not allow for seat reservations against religion. It is a secular constitution. The backward communities in Muslim society can avail the reservations. In that case pressing for seat reservations on religious lines is acting against the constitution and a clear indication of renegade behaviour and anti-national demand. Will the Muslim organisation comes out clean on the demands for reservations on religious lines? Will the Muslim organisations openly denounce the leaders like Azam Khan, Owaisi brothers who have been making these demands and vitiating the social fabric of the multireligious country?

7. Not only in Pakistan and Bangladesh, even in Kashmir, the Hindus were treated badly and driven out. Will the Muslim organisations denounce treatment mated out to Hindus? Will they denounce the anti-India groups in Kashmir?

8. Will the Muslim organisations urge the fellow Muslim masses to follow family planning and restrict the family? Many other Muslim countries have undertaken family planning programs. HasanSuroor in his book “India’s Muslim Spring” quotes his friend urging him to come back from UK, ‘India is the safest and best place for Muslims to live. Do come back.’ Do they believe the same or they wish to end up like Pakistan with sectarian strife?

9. In this age of most people carrying their own mobiles which have time alarm, is it necessary to give call to the faithful on loudspeakers and create noise pollution. In spite of ban from the court it continues unabated. Are the Muslim organisations ready to reconsider Azans calling without loudspeakers?

10. Will the Muslim organisations clearly point out the steps they will enforce at the community level to prevent the vitiating speeches and hatred filled propaganda which is leading to radicalisation of Muslim youths on large scale?

Personal encounter Madrasas and many Muslim congregations are addressed by ulemas or maulanas by preaching anti-Hindu sentiments. The present author has encountered this type of lecture in his own locality in Goa which is supposed to be a peaceful state. He said, he was present at two lectures delivered by Mau. Ruhool Amin on 22nd November 2014, and 3rd Jan 2015 in dargah’s, in Porvorim suburb, Goa. During Amin’s discourse on 22nd November, he made derogatory references to the Hindu deities and practices. When I contacted him for sending him a letter countering his

statements, neither he nor the local organisers came forward to give his address or email. Again on 3rd January when he was in our locality, I was sitting in the front row to make my presence felt. On that day, he did not directly make any reference to Hindu deities but made snide remarks about Kafirs and narrated the so called scientific facts that could reinforce superstitions among the listeners. I met him after his lecture and invited him to my residence to discuss a few points. He did not come, yet again, and neither has he contacted me till date. He has not even replied to the queries I raised in my letter which he acknowledged to have received. Hatred for other faiths was the agenda of the day on both the occasions when he addressed at the dargahs with no consideration for humanitarian approach. I think, if they have the right to question us; their perspectives need to be questioned too.

Nurturing separatism and hatred It was evident how separatism is nurtured in Muslim masses. Indian Muslim youth sneaking out of country and joining ISIS regime is a case in point. The other example is of a Muslim cleric in Kalyan near Mumbai, threatening a Muslim youth for not joining ISIS. Important to mention here is that even the forward looking and secular Muslims too feel the heat of the turmoil.

Hasan Suroor in his article “Radicalization of Indian Muslims real and growing” in The Times of India, dated 21st December 2014 writes, “How significant is all this?

Certainly, at one level, it marks a critical phase in Muslim extremism. The nature of India Muslims radicalisation stand dramatically transformed.”

Suroor quotes former BBC correspondent Tufail Ahmed who now works for an international counter-terror think tank, “Notwithstanding the Muslim denial and secular political correctness associated with the issue of terror in India…..The global jihad has been seeping into Indian society for several years, but its symptoms are beginning to emerge now only.” He also mentioned the global dimension where the foreign jihadi groups are looking upon India as a fertile new ground for recruitment after al-Qaeda announced its decision to set up a separate Indian branch.

This did not happen in a day. The Muslim organisations and clerics need to be questioned for nurturing the anti-majority, anti-humanity feelings among the Muslim youth and radicalising them. My appeal is, before questioning any other organisation, society or a group of people, let the Muslim organisations, the clerics and outspoken people from the Muslim community do some introspection. The Muslim community has to keep in pace with the modern and changing times. As the popular proverb goes, apane gireban me jhank ke dekhane ki jururat hai janaab!–It is time for soul searching my dear fellowmen.

--Dr Pramod Pathak (The writer is Vedic Scholar based in Goa and a freelancer) http://tinyurl.com/myg4dp5