Rethinking Islam with Sultan Shahin

Urdu Section

29 May 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

A recklessly irresponsible and vicious column in Urdu Daily ‘Sahafat’: C. M. Naim
	It [Urdu Daily Sahafat, Delhi] also regularly publishes analyses by someone named Ayaz Mahmud, who would be amusing if he were not so recklessly irresponsible and vicious. Following is what appeared in the Delhi edition of Sahafat on May 29, 2011. In this column Mr Mahmud informs the readers of Sahafat: 1. Western media daily invents new terrorists, complete with pictures and genealogies. 2. It is a part of the Western nations' "Qadiani MIssion," for which they falsely put blame upon Al-Qa'ida, Taliban, and Lashkar-i-Taiba. 3. Osama bin Laden was the secret commander-in-chief of the Qadianis and was recently killed in secret in a fake operation in Pakistan. 4. Their next target can be Nawaz Sharif, for he initiated a rapprochement with India. 5. In this conspiracy, people get their faces altered, then films are made showing them in fake actions. These films are first broadcast on Al-Jazeera channels, and then by the Western media. 6. The United States is dead set against any rapprochement between India and Pakistan, and will stop it at any cost. 7. The unnatural deaths of Z. A. Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Ziaul Haq and removal of Pervez Musharraf were all orchestrated by the United States and its supporters in Pakistan. His previous columns have also made egregious attacks on Ahmadi Muslims, though this is the first time for him to claim that OBL was a "Qadiani" army commander. Mr Mahmud should have the right to indulge in these fantasies but that he does so under the patronage of an otherwise rather sensible newspaper is disturbing. And his obscene attacks on the Ahmadis are criminal and should be looked into by responsible journalists and their professional organizations. -- C. M. Naim
	A recklessly irresponsible and vicious column in Urdu Daily ‘Sahafat’: C. M. Naim "Sahafat" is a relatively new Urdu journal, but it has plenty of funds behind it, for it has at least three separate editions—Delhi, Lucknow, and Mumbai. Its Chief Editor is someone named Aman Abbas, and the Delhi edition is edited by a Hasan Shuja'. I'm not familiar with their experience and reputation as journalists. The paper carries an almost daily column by Hasan Kamal, the respected journalist and progressive poet. Sahafat's coverage is extensive when it comes to religious news, particularly dealing with the Shi'ah community in India and with Iran. But its political coverage, both national and international is much better than most Urdu news papers. The Lucknow and Mumbai editions give good coverage to regional news and issues. As does the Delhi edition. The latter, however, seems to be more rabidly anti-American, anti-Ahmadi, much involved in the internecine politics of the so-called Shahi Imam and the family feuds in the Jami'at-al-Ulama, Hind, and viciously opposed to Muslim pragmatists like Maulavi Vastanavi of Deoband. It also regularly publishes analyses by someone named Ayaz Mahmud, who would be amusing if he were not so recklessly irresponsible and vicious. Following is what appeared in the Delhi edition of Sahafat on May 29, 2011. In this column Mr Mahmud informs the readers of Sahafat: 1. Western media daily invents new terrorists, complete with pictures and genealogies. 2. It is a part of the Western nations' "Qadiani Mission," for which they falsely put blame upon Al-Qaida, Taliban, and Lashkar-i-Taiba. 3. Osama bin Laden was the secret commander-in-chief of the Qadianis and was recently killed in secret in a fake operation in Pakistan. 4. Their next target can be Nawaz Sharif, for he initiated a rapprochement with India. 5. In this conspiracy, people get their faces altered, then films are made showing them in fake actions. These films are first broadcast on Al-Jazeera channels, and then by the Western media. 6. The United States is dead set against any rapprochement between India and Pakistan, and will stop it at any cost. 7. The unnatural deaths of Z. A. Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Ziaul Haq and removal of Pervez Musharraf were all orchestrated by the United States and its supporters in Pakistan. His previous columns have also made egregious attacks on Ahmadi Muslims, though this is the first time for him to claim that OBL was a "Qadiani" army commander. Mr Mahmud should have the right to indulge in these fantasies but that he does so under the patronage of an otherwise rather sensible newspaper is disturbing. And his obscene attacks on the Ahmadis are criminal and should be looked into by responsible journalists and their professional organizations. C. M. Naim, Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago May 28, 2011 URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamUrduSection_1.aspx?ArticleID=4730