Spectre Of Blasphemy: Don't Wear Anything with Arabic Inscriptions and Calligraphy!

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 28 February 2024 Kabhi Poochha Tha Khuda Se, Bata Tera Mazhab Kya Hai Aaj Tak Uss Ka Koi Jawab Hi Nahin Aaya Dr Navroze Kotwal (I once asked god, what's your religion? / I've not received any reply thus far) Kabhi Quran, Kabhi Gita, Toh Kabhi Bible Mein Dikhta Hai Mazhabi Insaan Ko Khuda Sirf Kitabon Mein Nazar Aata Hai Unknown (God is found in the Quran, Gita or Bible / A zealot finds God only in the scriptures) A woman in Pakistan recently found herself at the centre of a dangerous situation due to a misunderstanding surrounding her clothing. While wearing a dress with the Arabic word "Halwa," which translates to "beautiful," she was confronted by an angry mob in Lahore. The crowd, mistaking the Arabic calligraphy for verses from the Quran, accused the woman of blasphemy, a serious offence in Pakistan. The situation quickly escalated, with hundreds of people gathering outside a restaurant, yelling and some even demanding her execution. This is not fanaticism. This is something else. This is stone-age primitivism. Arabic, a language that's tailor-made for calligraphy (Khattati / Fun-e-Tahreer / Qalam-Kaari in Arabic) because of the cursive loops of Arabic alphabet, is not limited to writing Quranic verses in an exquisite calligraphic form. General Arabic can also be written cursively. In Arabic, non-religious and non-scriptural words are also calligraphed. But these fools think that the Quranic verses can only be calligraphed. See the level of ignorance. None from the marauding mob could read a word of Arabic and they read the Quran, which's written in Arabic! What do these yokels and bosthoons read? The spectre of blasphemy has already taken a heavy toll in Pakistan. Giving inordinate importance to the Quran, Muhammad and Deen (faith) has blocked the progress of Islam and birthed blockheads like the Muslims of Pakistan and Talibanised Afghanistan. Hindus are at least a trifle better on this count. You can still wear clothes with the names of deities inscribed on them. You won't be lynched. However, they've also lynched many Muslims in the name of cow vigilantism, carrying beef etc. A few years ago, I saw a man in Cork (Ireland) wearing a T-shirt with Psalms (book of the Old Testament composed of sacred songs, or of sacred poems meant to be sung) written on it. He wasn't lynched and booed by anyone. I'm happy, the young woman in Pakistan was saved in the nick of time by a couple of alert cops. That such things are still happening in a 'civilized' world is all the more shocking. Humans are still slaves to antediluvian religions and their countless shibboleths. When will we come out of this morass to live and behave like sane humans? ------ 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/spiritual-meditations/spectre-blasphemy-arabic-inscriptions-calligraphy/d/131813 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