Udaipur Beheading: Educated Muslims Say Not In My Name

By Saquib Salim, New Age Islam 31 June 2022 On June 28, in one of the most barbaric acts, a man in Udaipur was killed by two fanatics in the name of Islam. They killed the man accusing him of blasphemy and later in a video message, hailed themselves as defenders of Islam. Followers of Islam, in India and elsewhere, immediately denounced the act. On behalf of Awaz-the Voice, I have contacted many educated Muslims from different walks of life and asked for their reactions. Everyone seems to be disturbed at this very wrong interpretation of Islam and Prophet Muhammad’s teachings. Eminent Scientist Padma Shri Prof. Syed Ehtesham Hasnain said, “this act is completely against Islam. It should be condemned in no uncertain terms.” Sahitya Akademi Award winner author, Rahman Abbas feels that...

Humans Are Violent Because Of Their Beliefs

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 30 June 2022 What Makes Humans So Violent And Sanguinary? The Answer Is: Because Of Their Beliefs, Esp. Religious Beliefs In All Irrational Things And Phenomena Main Points: 1. What happened in Udaipur (Rajasthan) has shocked the whole 'civilised' world. 2. Because of this collective belief in god and religion, humans have been killing each other since time immemorial. 3. Man can never be completely emancipated from all his beliefs. ------- " So long as our meaningless beliefs remain All efforts to get rid of them will go in vain " -William Butler Yeats, Irish poet and Nobel laureate What happened in Udaipur (Rajasthan) has shocked the whole 'civilised' world. Now people with a modicum of sanity are asking: What makes humans so violent and...

Flood That Unites Assam And Bangladesh

By Nava Thakuria, New Age Islam 30 June 2022 As The Devastating Flood Embraces Vast Areas Of Assam (In Northeast India) And Bangladesh, The Mighty Brahmaputra Comes To The Focus Again As The Lone Male River After Originating In Tibet (Now Under China) Flows Through Both The Countries Before Culminating In The Bay Of Bengal Main Points: 1. Monsoon rains in the entire region usually start by the end of May, but this time heavy downpours affected the vast cultivable land by June itself. 2. According to Assam State disaster management authority, over 3,000 revenue villages got submerged by the flood water. 3. Identified as one of the world’s climate-vulnerable countries, Bangladesh receives rain-fed river water from India where Brahmaputra and Barak contribute a large volume...

Indian Muslims For Secular Democracy Condemns In Strongest Terms The Brutal Murder Of Kanhaiya Lal In Udaipur By 2 Muslim Fanatics, Who Have Openly Declared That They Did So For The Love Of The Prophet And Thus Is A Case Of Death For Blasphemy!

Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy 30 June 2022 A Hindu shopkeeper (L) was killed in Udaipur by two men (R) over a social media post in support of Nupur Sharma. ----- A tailor by profession, Kanhaiya’s only ‘crime’ was that he put up an online post in support of Nupur Sharma. India is a country governed by its constitution which means that its citizens are obligated to follow the rule of law. We cannot have any sympathy for those extremist Muslims who espouse the ideals of the Taliban or ISIS, or those extremist Hindus who want to turn this country into a fascist Hindu Rashtra. Some years back, we had a similar attack on a migrant Muslim worker, who was hacked to death on camera by Shambhulal Raigar. While there were online petitions supporting Raigar, it is heartening to note that...

Despite The Winds of Atheism, Materialism and Social Darwinism Religion Stood Its Ground

By Mushtaq ul Haq Ahmad Sikandar, New Age Islam 29 June 2022 Islam and Muslims Too Went Through Various Phases of Revivalism, but Islam Couldn’t Be Secluded To the Individual Domain Main Points: 1. Ali Shariati is an important scholar of contemporary times who tried to reinterpret Islam. 2. Shariati's views on religion and Shia theology constitute a refreshing engagement with texts. 3. Shariati has offered new explanations about the concept of Imamate. ---- Sociology of Religions: Perspectives of Ali Shariati Author: Mir Mohammad Ibrahim Publisher: Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi, India Pages: 277 Price: Rs 395 ---- Religion is an undeniable fact of any civilization, even the Western Civilization which has its roots in Atheism, couldn’t...

No City in the Islamic World Features Among the Top Ten Most Liveable Cities

Asian and African Cities Are the Worst to Live In Main Points: 1. Vienna is the most liveable city in the world. 2. Three cities of Canda feature in the top ten cities. 3. Two cities of Switzerland feature in the list. 4. Damascus is the worst city in the world to live in. 5. Karachi is also one of the worst cities to live in. ------ By New Age Islam Staff Writer 29 June 2022 The Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister concern of the Economist has released 2022's Global Liveability Index. It has presented the result of a survey of 173 countries of the world and ranked them according to their liability during the year. It judged the cities under 30 quantitative and qualitative parameters clustered into five groups such as stability, health care, culture & environment,...

Buddhist Mystic Poetry Greatly Influenced Islamic Sufi Poetry

By S. Arshad, New Age Islam 29 June 2022 Persian and Urdu Poetry Have Borrowed Style and Diction from Buddhist Mystic Songs Main Points: 1. Charyapada and Doha are the oldest poetic genres developed by Buddhist mysticism. 2. Many Buddhist Siddhacharyas were mystic poets. 3. Buddhist mystic songs are the oldest specimens of poetry in India. 4. Persian and Urdu Sufi poets of Iran, Afghanistan and India emulated Buddhist mystic poets. ------ It is an established fact that Islamic Sufism has derived its features, ideas and philosophy from spiritual philosophy of different religions and spiritual groups. It has borrowed ideas and practices from Upanishads and Buddhist and Christian mysticism. The great Arab Sufi poet Ibn Arabi wrote his Sufi treatise Fusus al Hikam after getting...

Two Radicalised Muslim Terrorists Slaughter A Hindu Tailor In Udaipur Rajasthan Over Alleged Blasphemy: Sensible Response From Ulema Awaited On This Incidence Of Islamist Terrorism, Now In India Too

--------------------------------------------------------------------- We expect the Ulema to condemn this ghastly murder and incidence of Islamist terrorism in the country in the strongest terms, without any circumlocution. But will they also rethink their response to so called acts of blasphemy which keep happening around the world and offending Muslims to the point of them losing their heads. How long will the Ulema remain silent on this spiralling issue? Will they also own some responsibility for creating this madness among Muslims over cases of so-called blasphemy in the first place? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Two Radicalised Muslim Youth Try To Slit The Accused's Throat With A Cleaver In The Name Of The Honour Of The Prophet Main Points: 1....

Tunisia: Deleting Islam from the Constitution; Having No State Religion Can Be the Start of a New Era for This Muslim Country with a Long Secular Tradition

By Arshad Alam, New Age Islam 28 June 2022 Separating Religion from State Is One Thing That Muslim Countries around the World Need to Work On Main Points: 1. Tunisia, a Muslim majority country is all set to have a religion neutral state, to be decided by a referendum next month 2. If successful, it will take away the most important source of legitimacy of Islamist politics 3. The president is being accused of being dictatorial, but many also feel that he is the last hope of secularism in the country ----- Tunisian President Kais Saied (L), President receiving the new constitution (R), images via Tunisian Presidency on Twitter ----- Tunisia is all set to drop Islam from its constitution. The new constitution has been drafted by law professor, Sadeq Beleid, and a copy...

Muslim Family Law in the Modern World

By Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam 28 June 2022 Major Countries In The Arab World That Adhere To Such Classical Family Law Are Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, And The Seven Trucial States Main Points: 1. Countries that still follow the old family law of Islam without any change. These laws are still not codified here. 2. Countries where the law, which was passed by the legislature instead of abandoning all Islamic family law, is in force. These laws apply to all citizens, regardless of religion. 3. Countries that have amended the existing Islamic Family Law in their respective areas with the new legislation. These reforms have been made by adopting certain provisions in other branches of Islamic law or by imposing some restrictions on some of its existing provisions. ----- Here...

What Does The Quran Teach Us About Meditation, Thinking, And Reasoning? – Concluding Part

By Dr. Muhammad Waseh Zafar Translated from Urdu by Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam 28 June 2022 Ways to Meditation, Thinking and Reasoning in the Holy Quran Main Points 1. Allah commands people to consider the wisdom of His commands so that they may comprehend them fully. 2. The Quran promotes learning about jurisprudence (Fiqh) and purification (Tazkiyyah). 3. The Quran calls for thinking over the Past Nations ----- Thinking over the Commandments The fifth way of contemplation is prescribed by the verses in which Allah commands people to consider the wisdom of His laws so that they may comprehend them fully and put them into practical use in their daily lives. See for example: “They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, "In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit...

How Rumi's Introspective Silence Can Teach Us A Lot in These Artificial Times

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 28 June 2022 Whether It's A News Channel, Portal, Newspaper Or Any Medium, It's Often A Gush Of Thoughtless Words Main Points: 1. Too many words have eclipsed, nay engulfed, thoughts and thoughts sprout from the seeds of silence 2. Words give you a temporary euphoria but silence gives you eternal bliss. 3. Your intelligent silence can save many lives. ------ This is how it always is when I finish a poem. A great silence overcomes me and I wonder why I ever thought to use language. Rumi There is a way between voice and presence, where information flows. In disciplined silence it opens; with wandering talk it closes. Rumi Rumi's aforementioned quotes on silence have always moved me beyond words. These are not mere quotes but didactic lessons...

Was Shah Waliullah Dehlvi Pioneer Of Socialism?

By Saquib Salim, New Age Islam 27-06-2022 Shah Waliullah Dehlvi An Indian Scholar Of The Quran, Hadith, Logic, And Philosophy Had Proposed Socio-Economic System Much Before The Industrial Revolution Or The Birth Of Marx ----- The book of Shah Walliullah Dehlvi ----- The political and economic discourse of the last two centuries has been dominated by two diametrically opposite schools of thought, viz. Capitalism and Socialism. All other forms of polity and economies can be explained as by-products of one or the other. Socialism is an idea of the distribution of wealth justifiably among the citizens by the state while capitalism advocates a free market economy. It is not the place to divulge into nuances of these two theories. Often it is believed that Karl Marx was the first one...

Human Nature and the Quran and Hadith Are Sufficient To Frame the Set of ‘Natural Law’, Applicable Universally

By Mushtaq ul Haq Ahmad Sikandar, New Age Islam 27 June 2022 “Any Religious Concept Would Be Acceptable If It Is Logical, Rational And Scientifically Verifiable Both To Common Sense Of The Illiterate Common Human Being As Well As To The Intellectual Of Highest Calibre” Main Points 1. Philosophy has now few takers in Muslim world 2. Is philosophy essential to understand Islam and does Islam espouse a philosophy that is different? 3. The book argues many things but leaves many debates unaddressed, although its arguments need to be engaged with. ----- Natural World Order and the Islamic Thought Author: Mohammad Shafi Khan Publisher: Not Mentioned Price: Rs 120 Pages: 219 ----- Since the inception of Islam which culminated and reached its zenith...