The Intersection of Faith and Country: Islam in India

By Rosemary Abraham, New Age Islam 31 May 2022 Islam in South Asia Has Had a Complicated, Colourful, and Oftentimes Tumultuous History Main Points: 1. Throughout the region’s history, the relationship between Islam and Hinduism has been fraught with strife. 2. Muslim merchants were permitted to settle down in South India, build mosques, and marry Indian women. 3. Indians that converted to Islam were largely peasants from ethnic and religious minorities, not Hindu elites. 4. Indians of all faiths coexist with a passion for religious diversity and pride in cultural and national identity. ------- 1.0. Introduction From the beginning, Islam in South Asia has had a complicated, colourful, and oftentimes tumultuous history. As of 2010, the subcontinent is home to 507.3...

Nupur Sharma Only Stated What is Written in Hadith; Why Are Muslims So Upset?

By Arshad Alam, New Age Islam 31 May 2022 If She Is Guilty Of Blasphemy, Then That Makes Bukhari the Original Blasphemer Main Points: 1. The BJP’s spokesperson statement on the Quran and Prophet Muhammad have riled a section of Muslims. 2. Muslims have filed multiple FIRs against her in different states. 3. Some have accused her of blasphemy and have raised provocative slogans. 4. This attitude does not help Muslims. They need to redefine parts of their theology to suit the present times. Otherwise, such questions will be repeatedly asked of them. ----- Nupur Sharma/ Pic Credit: ANI ----- A section of Muslims are incensed about the statement of BJP’s spokesperson Nupur Sharma over the course of a television debate. The video grab shows her derisively stating even...

Grow Up! There're Far Better Things To Do

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 31 May 2022 On my 14th birthday, my neuro-surgeon father and a devout Hindu, who wouldn't operate before praying to god, gifted me Dr B R Ambedkar's brilliant but proscribed book ' Riddles in Hinduism with the introduction by Kancha Ilaiah. ‘Imagine a Hindu religious father giving his son a book that's potentially disconcerting and explosive to the majority of Hindus. I dare say, the book is factually so unerring and logically so incontrovertible that by the time a sane and sensible Hindu reader reaches its last page, he or she will have left Hinduism. But will a Muslim father, however educated and erudite he may be, gift his son The Satanic Verses, written by Salman Rushdie? Please don't get me wrong. I've adduced my personal example to assert the religious...

Muslims Continue to Perform Poorly In Civil Services Exams

Only 21 Out Of 685 Candidates Cracked UPSC Exams In 2021 Main Points: 1. The performance of the Muslims this year is the worst in a decade. 2. The topper among the Muslim candidates ranked 109. 3. Only three women passed the exam among 21 Muslims. 4. The best performance by the Muslims was in 2016 and 2017 with 52 and 50 Muslim candidates respectively. 5. The poor performance is due to the economic and educational backwardness of Muslims in the country. ----- By New Age Islam Staff Writer 31 May 2022 The results of the Union Public Service Commission Exams 2021 have been published and with that the performance of the Muslims is also being analysed as usual. This year only 21 Muslim candidates out of 685 candidates have passed the exams. The percentage of successful...

Corrosive Muslim Communalism Contaminates Tender Minds in Kerala

By Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam 30 May 2022 The Equation of Majority Communalism Equals Minority Communalism Is Only a Discourse Formed In the Particular Political Context of Kerala Main Points: 1. A teenage boy, perched on the shoulders on his parents, was seen punching his hands in air while hauling unsavoury communal slogans. 2. Kerala has witnessed recent spike in communal politics. 3. Majority and minority communalisms, lying on backburner for many years, have recently picked up brisk space due to multiple social and political reasons. ------ A teenage boy, perched on the shoulders on his parents, was seen punching his hands in air while hauling unsavoury communal slogans. This happened in Alappuzha, Kerala, in a march conducted by Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI),...

200 Years Of Urdu Journalism: Is There A Reason To Celebrate?

From The Journalism for the Masses, It Has Been Reduced To the Journalism for a Section of Muslims Main Points: 1. Harihar Dutt and Lala Sadasukh had launched the first Urdu newspaper in 1822. 2. Kolkata is the birth place of Urdu journalism. 3. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad published Al Hilal and Al Balagh from Kolkata. 4. Urdu journalism played an important role in India's freedom movement. 5. After Independence, Urdu journalism in India lost its national identity. ----- By New Age Islam Staff Writer 30 May 2022 Urdu journalism has completed its 200 year journey. In March 1822, Harihar Dutt and Lala Sadasukh had launched the first Urdu newspaper Jam-e-Jahan Numa. It was a weekly newspaper that published news and poetry. After that Urdu journalism flourished and numerous...

Nikhat Zareen’s Neglect Showcases a Broken Indian Society

By Arshad Alam, New Age Islam 28 May 2022 The Government Has Not Announced Any Financial Reward For Her So Far Main Points: 1. Nikhat Zareen recently won gold in world boxing championship. 2. India has a culture of announcing financial rewards for such performers. 3. But there has no gesture so far either from the state or the central government. 4. Muslims have been quick to point out that this is so because of her religious identity; and yet Muslims themselves have not organized any function to felicitate her. ------ Nikhat Zareen is an Indian amateur boxer. She won gold medal at the 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships. She won gold medal at the 2011 AIBA Women's Youth & Junior World Boxing Championships held in Antalya. ----- It is customary for various...

Friday Sermons Can Play a Big Role in the Transformation of the Muslim Society

Mosques Should Be Made A Centre of Moral and Social Reform Main Points: 1. Mosques hold a special rather central place in the collective life of Muslims. 2. In modern times, however, mosques have been reduced only to the status of a place of worship where the Muslims go to offer the Friday prayers. 3. The imams today are not equipped with modern knowledge to provide with necessary information or advice to the Muslims. 4. Mosques can play a constructive role in the Muslim society and the Friday sermons can be an effective medium for propagating moral and social values. ------ By New Age Islam Staff Writer 28 May 2022 File Photo: Oldest Mosque of India, The Cheramaan Juma Mosque ----- Mosques hold a special rather central place in the collective life of Muslims. In the...

Why the World Needs Sheikh Saadi's Moral Wisdom All The More

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 28 May 2022 Once someone asked the great British philosopher Sir Bertrand Russell, what should he read that can encapsulate the wisdom of all ages, Russell said, ' All books written by the Persian great Sheikh Saadi and the plays of the Bard of Avon. That'll be enough to be enlightened, but don't read the scripture of any religion. That will surely nullify the impact of what you gained from Saadi and Shakespeare.' Very sage advice. It's worthwhile to mention that Sir Bertrand Russell was a lifelong sceptic who wrote a famous booklet, ' Why I'm not a Christian.' Well, that's irrelevant. What's relevant is Russell's lavish encomiums on Saadi and Shakespeare and their immortal works. While the anglicised world, esp, India, has heard a lot about the Bard of...

Why Do Muslims Face So Many Troubles And Calamities In The World?

By Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam 28 May 2022 Our Behaviours Lead Us to Suffer In This Life Main Points: 1. Rather than producing positive behaviours and outcomes, we are instead embracing undesirable habits and conventions. 2. Today we moan that we are plagued with sufferings and crises, blaming it all on others. 3. Muslims must first take stock of their deeds and seek forgiveness from Allah for their sins and evil deeds in order to avert suffering. ------ As Muslims, we have been accustomed to blaming others for our problems and difficulties. The majority of us are uninformed of the teachings of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Rather than achieving constructive actions and outcomes, we are engulfed in detrimental habits and customs. To put it another way, the vast majority...

Unending Plight of Rohingya Refugees In Bangladesh

Bangladesh Government Decides To Shift another One Lakh Refugees to Bhasanchar Island Main Points: 1. Bhasanchar Island is like an open air prison. 2. Sea storms often lash the island. 1. 3.20 thousand Rohingyas have already been shifted to Bhasanchar. 3. Rohingyas do not want to be shifted to the dangerous island. 4. Rohingyas do not want to go back to Myanmar. ----- By New Age Islam Staff Writer 28 May 2022 This file photo showing the aerial view of Bhasan Char shows a portion of the housing facilities that has been built on the island to relocate the Rohingyas from Cox’s Bazar. Photo: Star/File ----- The plight of nearly 9 lakh Rohingya refugees just does not seem to come to an end. As the world community does not have a solution and the Myanmar army Tatmadaw...

Hakeem Ajmal Khan's Contributions To The Renaissance Of Unani System Of Medicine

Hakeem Ajmal Khan Was For The Modernisation Of Unani System. Main Points: 1. He established the All India Unani Tibbi Conference in 1906. 2. He united al the Unani practitioners of the country. 3. He founded Tibbiya College. 4. He was one of the founders of Jamia Millia Islamia. 5. He was an educationist. ------ By New Age Islam Staff Writer 27 May 2022 Hakeem Ajmal Khan who was honoured with the title Masihul Mulk (Messiah of the nation) was not only a Unani physician but had many facets. He not only brought about the renaissance of the Unani system of medicine in the country but was also involved in the freedom movement of India and had played an important role in the educational and scientific upliftment of the Muslim community. Hakeem Ajmal Khan was born on...

Should Science And Religion Be Kept Separate?

By Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam 27 May 2022 “There is a verse in the Quran which says, We have created every living being out of water. There are the words about Heaven and Earth being united together before We split them apart. The man who believes in the Big Bang will perhaps believe in the Big Bang. I do not. I do not believe that the Big Bang theory will last forever in scientific thinking. It will be absolutely stupid to try to connect the science of today to what is essentially a religious, spiritual experience which is I think a totally different dimension” Dr Abdus Salam, Theoretical Physicist and A Nobel Prize Laureate ------ While the late Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam was a devout Muslim and has said on several occasions that the Quran was his inspiration, and listened to the...