Alas, Aaftab Happens To Be A Muslim

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 30 November 2022 News is that Aaftab's van was attacked by sword-wielding men belonging to a Hindu outfit. Reprehensible, to say the least! Will these Hindu goons attack a Hindu woman and her stepson for killing a man (woman's husband) and cut her body into pieces a la Aaftab-Shraddha episode? This gory incident also happened in Delhi, the country's crime capital. Why is someone's faith so important to us? I've been reiterating that crime has nothing to do with the perpetrator's religion and his/her esoteric beliefs. Image OpIndia: India Posts English ---- At the moment, Indian society is polarised on the basis of religion/s (read, Hinduism and Islam). Bad-blood had been brewing for quite some time but now it has come to a pretty pass. Now, we're living in a binary of Hindus and Muslims. Followers of other faiths are secondary. When all these religious identities are causing so much rancour and retribution, why can't we leave them and become humans sans all insignia? Alas, we're not so advanced to accept and follow this. I remember, census people visited my place during the 2011 census. When they asked my religion and caste, I said that I neither had a religion, nor any caste and added that I was a complete apatheist. Flabbergasted, they asked me, " Bhagwan Par Vishwas Nahin Hai ( no faith in god), Koi Dharm Bhi Nahin Hai, Caste Bhi Nahin ( no religion and caste), Aap Kaise Jeete Hain (how do you live)? As if these are unavoidable and inescapable conditions for survival! They were quite reluctant to write NA (not applicable) as replies to one's faith and caste. This made me think deeply as to why we became so ghettoised. Mind you, that happened a decade ago and today's world, esp. Hindu India, is all the more religiously stubborn. Today, a person's identity is his or her religion and at a deeper level, an individual's caste, that seals the fate. Are we evolved? Certainly not. Mark my words, until you've belief in a man-made religion, caste and god, you'll not be able to treat your fellow humans in an egalitarian manner. Sorry, no self-praise or claim of higher evolution, except for my mentor Dr Zaifa Ashraf, I've not yet come across anyone in my whole life who's as irreligious, emancipated and ideologically as free as I've been throughout my life. Why can't we all become like that? All differences and divisions will vanish in a jiffy. Alack, you're all frightened. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian…. URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/aaftab-muslim-hindu-society/d/128529 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism