Introspection! No, No, No, That’s Not For Us; We Are Muslims!!! Intelligence agencies should get their heads examined, the whole country should introspect!

Current affairs

06 Oct 2008, NewAgeIslam.Com

Introspection! No, No, No, That's Not For Us; We Are Muslims!!! Intelligence agencies should get their heads examined, the whole country should introspect!

NewAgeIslam.com has been talking of a dangerous disconnect between the Muslim press and National media. We present below the translation of an article by an enlightened, secular Muslim, known for his belief in multiculturalism and keeping the Muslims in national mainstream. This is the least provocative of articles in the Muslim Press, but it would appear that even Zafar Agha, a PhD from JNU, feels the need for reminding the Muslims that they have ruled the county before and can rule it again, mercifully using the constitutional methods of vote-bank politics. Introspection, of course, he is clear, is not for Muslims. We Muslims can do no wrong. There is no possibility of a Muslim going berserk, losing his mental balance. We wonder if Zafar Agha is even aware of the murderous nature of our so-called ulema (scholars and divines) under whose tutelage a large number of young Muslims are ruining their lives. If our ulema can prescribe killing a Muslim for the slightest deviation from the Islamic path that they have fixed for him, under their sectarian interpretation of Islam, what is stopping Muslims from killing other Muslims? They are doing that all over the Muslim world, in any case. What is such a big deal, if some young Muslims in India, influenced by the vicious interpretations of Islam prevalent here too, decide to do that? We are not saying the police or intelligence agencies can do no wrong. Of course, they can and they do. They have quite a track record actually. The courts alone can pronounce judgment. But how can someone as sensible, as we expect Zafar Agha to be, someone who keeps asking Muslims repeatedly, in the true Islamic tradition, to act rationally, can even deny the possibility of there being some crazy hotheads within our community too. He rejects even the need for introspection for the community! Agha assures Muslins of the possibility of their ruling over India again. What sort of rule, Agha Saheb? Will it be a return of Mughal rule or the establishment of Khilafat, of the kind the SIMI is dreaming of? You say, we Muslims have ruled India in the past and can do so again in the near future. This seems to mean that your dream is not limited to the possibility of a constitutionally-mandated Muslim Prime Minister, in which, of course, there is nothing wrong. Is this your personal dream or the dream of the Muslim community that you are articulating?   Zafar Agha's article summarised and translated from Urdu by Syed Raihan Ahmad Nizami    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------     Introspection! No, No, No, That's Not For Us; We Are Muslims!!! Intelligence agencies should get their heads examined, the whole country should introspect!   By Zafar Agha 4 0ct 2008 Daily Sahafat, Delhi   Now Muslims are killing Muslims themselves. We can reach this conclusion after the recent bomb blasts in the Modassa district of Gujarat and Malegaon district of Maharashtra. As a bitter fact, in the eyes of the intelligence and the communal political parties, the Muslims and only the Muslims are to he blamed for every bombs blast. The one who perpetrates these atrocities is, sometimes, an ISI agent, sometimes a terrorist of Lashkar- e-Taiyyabah, or a member of SIMI or an Indian Mujahideen group.   The police view   Our police force is so biased that they consider the Muslims a terrorist since birth or even before that. That's why young Muslims are being arrested from every nook and corner for terrorist acts they have not committed and put behind bars by the biased police force simply to please their political masters.   The role of media          The media applauds the blind acts of police. Sometimes, they don't leave any stone unturned in denouncing the Muslims. They even call the whole Azamgarh and Saraimeer "the nursery of the terrorism". Then, it becomes a matter of hot and live discussion on the media, "so many young Muslims are attracted to terrorism, is it not time for introspection for the Muslims!"              It is not the Indian Muslim who requires introspection. In fact it is for the whole country to introspect. Muslims have been unfortunate since independence as they are regarded as a Pakistani "traitor" in their own motherland.   A time to recall   1. There is no one who can remind the country that lakhs of young Muslims sacrificed their precious lives for the well-being and the independence of the country from 1857 to 1947. 2. That the same madrasas which are being called the breeding place of terrorism, had produced great scholars and intellectual preachers who, not only raised a strong voice against the atrocities of the British rulers but also underwent the hardship of prisons under the British Raj, fighting for India's freedom.   The sad plight of Muslims Only one blunder of Mr. Jinnah has plunged the whole Muslim community of India into the deep-sea of darkness and helplessness. Mr. Jinnah changed his side very cleverly but the remaining Muslims, who considered India as their home and didn't migrate to Pakistan in spite of all hardships and difficulty, were left in misery by all preceding governments.   This fact was exposed one year ago when the Sachar Committee exposed and highlighted the tragic financial, political, social and educational plight of the Muslim community. Every aware citizen of the country was astonished to know about the new "Dalit",  the Indian Muslims. The reason was quite obvious. There is extreme dearth of educational institutions in towns and villages. There ate neither hospitals nor any banks in the Muslim dominated areas. If any thing is available that is poverty, dirt and narrow and unhygienic streets. For their plight only and only the previous Indian governments are responsible which have been neglecting the Muslims since 1947.   A wise suggestion    The Indian Muslim should not, however, worry over the present situation.  Your ancestors have ruled over this country for centuries. The large number of mosques and tombs erected all over the country from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari, from Assam to Andhra Pradesh, are a testimony to the Muslim heritage.    The government may not have given you the due share but you have the merit and ability to stand up on your own feet. There is no room for frustration and depression in your heart as you are the biggest political force in the country. The Hindu vote bank has been scattered after the Mandal Commission recommendations but the Muslim vote bank is still intact. You can utilise this power not only to build a good fortune but also to show the anti-Muslim forces their rightful place.   The fear of communal forces   The communal parties are greatly perturbed at the present scenario. They know they suffered defeat in the Lok Sabha election in 2004 because of a united Muslims vote bank.  In the coming assembly and general elections there is no one who can save the BJP and Sangh Parivar and there will be very slim chance of its revival in the future. The supporters of Hindutva ate trying violently and in a planned way to reunite the Hindu vote. That's what explains the rising violence in the name of so-called Muslim organisations like SIMI and Indian Mujahedeen.   The rise of regional parties   Since 1991, after the Mandal revolution, the regional parties have played the politics of caste so exquisitely that it has uprooted the very basis of high-caste domination. Regional leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Laloo yadav, Mayavati, Karunanidhi and Cahndra Babu Naidu have mastered the art of winning state elections and running state governments for years.   But you don't need to be terrified in the present situation. Of course it is a great testing time for Muslims. But you can show the world and your enemies the power of your constitutional right in this way; you are not inclined towards terrorism. The only solution is that you should vote united against the Sangh Parivar and communal forces. If you defeat them in the coming state and general elections, then they will not be able to rise again for quite some time. You have to defeat the communal minded leaders like Patil. With this aim in mind you should vote for the backward and Dalit parties.   So, there in no need to panic as India is not only yours, but it is the motherland of your ancestors as well who ruled over it for centuries. If you use your political power with wisdom and in a peaceful manner, you can not only defeat your political enemies but become rulers of this county once again in the near future.     In the end, I would repeat what I keep saying always. In this period of crisis you should act rationally and not senselessly; you do that and success is yours.   Zafar Agha, an expert on Middle Eastern affairs, is a syndicated columnist for several Urdu newspapers. Summarised and translated from Urdu by Syed Raihan Ahmad Nizami