Sangh Parivar: Imaginary Past, Medieval Barbarity, Short-Sighted and Dangerous Idea of a Hindu Nation, Current affairs, NewAgeIslam.com

Current affairs

Sangh Parivar: Imaginary Past, Medieval Barbarity, Short-Sighted and Dangerous Idea of a Hindu Nation

Sinners In Disguise

By Jyotirmaya Sharma

There are hidden facets to the sorry episode of the Babri Masjid that also implicate others

THE LIBERHAN Report can be excused for its longwinded vacuity as also the time it took to see the light of day. But the more hilarious aspect of the aftermath of the tabling of the report is the manner in which politicians of various persuasions have reacted to it. All of them have come up with their own version of the truth. In Indian politics, truth never prevails, but all that prevails is true.

In a mature democracy, it would have been the norm for the BJP to accept that they participated in a criminal act that vitiated public life and divided people.

Equally so, the Congress ought to have apologised to the country for P. V. Narasimha Rao’s inept handling of the entire situation.

Mulayam Singh ought to have kept silent in Parliament, if only because he was, until recently, extolling the virtues of a certain Kalyan Singh. The Left too ought to have toned down its self- righteous bluster, especially after their cosy understanding with the BJP recently in trying to bring down the UPA government over the issue of the nuclear deal. “ In the congregation of the righteous”, said a poet, “ the sinners are well- disguised: do not seek to count them”.

http://newageislam.com/sangh-parivar--imaginary-past,-medieval-barbarity,-short-sighted-and-dangerous-idea-of-a-hindu-nation/current-affairs/d/2209

Babri demolition: “Non-event” to orchestrated movement, Current affairs, NewAgeIslam.com

Current affairs

Babri demolition: “Non-event” to orchestrated movement

“Non-event” to orchestrated movement

By Vidya Subrahmaniam

November 25, 2009

Buried in the 1,000-odd pages of the humongous volume is the fascinating story of the Ayodhya dispute’s transformation from an unsung “non-event” to an orchestrated movement that finally, and inevitably, led to the destruction of the dilapidated 16th century mosque

Does the Liberhan Commission report on the December 6, 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid add substantially to our understanding of the event Justice M.S. Liberhan describes as “one of the worst abhorrent acts of religious intolerance in the history of this nation and the Hindu religion?”

A superficial reading of the report would suggest that he has merely regurgitated many of the details already known to us -- the role of the sangh parivar and its affiliates; Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh’s systematic connivance in the demolition and his unapologetic defiance of court orders; the exploitation of the issue by hardline elements in the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Lal Krishna Advani and so forth.

And yet, thanks to the painstaking documentation the judge provides -- recording the many internal meetings of the sangh parivar, the threats, warnings and speeches emanating from the saffron fold, the forewarning available in the form of previous gatherings and agitations at the Babri Masjid site, the gradual collapse of the administration, not to mention the flurry of messages from the Centre conveying its apprehensions to Kalyan Singh -- we have with us today a wealth of information that enables construction of the exact sequence of events leading up to the demolition.

http://newageislam.com/babri-demolition--%E2%80%9Cnon-event%E2%80%9D-to-orchestrated-movement/current-affairs/d/2151

Swiss minaret ban 'extreme Islamophobia', Muslims and Islamophobia, NewAgeIslam.com

Muslims and Islamophobia

Swiss minaret ban 'extreme Islamophobia'

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani religious groups on Monday condemned a referendum in Switzerland that saw voters approve a ban on the construction of mosque minarets, calling it 'extreme Islamophobia.'

Switzerland on Sunday voted in favour of a ban on new mosque minarets - the towers or turrets attached to mosques from which Muslims are traditionally called to prayer - prompting dismay and anger in the Muslim world.

'This development reflects extreme Islamophobia among people in the West,' said Khurshid Ahmad, vice president of Jamaat-e-Islami, a Islamic political party that is represented in Pakistan's parliament.

'This also represents very serious discrimination against Muslims.' Pakistan is the world's second most populous Muslim nation.

The far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) had forced a referendum after collecting a mandatory 100,000 signatures from eligible voters.

Conservative Swiss politicians argued that the minarets were not architectural features with religious characteristics, but symbolised a 'political-religious claim to power, which challenges fundamental rights.'

Ahmad described the Swiss decision as a serious violation of human rights and international law, telling AFP: 'This is an effort to provoke Muslims and prompt a clash between Islam and the West.'

Yahya Mujahid, a spokesman for Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa - accused of being a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba radical insurgent group - also decried the referendum as a blow for inter-faith harmony.

'This new decision violates the principles of mutual understanding and religious tolerance,' Mujahid said.

'The West never takes respite in claiming to be champions of religious tolerance and inter-faith harmony, but this latest decision shows their bias against Muslims,' he added.

http://newageislam.com/swiss-minaret-ban--extreme-islamophobia-/muslims-and-islamophobia/d/2168

The Quranic Islam versus the ‘Religion’ of ‘Islam’: Yoginder Sikand on Syed Akbar Ali’s vision of Islam, Ijtihad, Rethinking Islam, NewAgeIslam.com

Ijtihad, Rethinking Islam

The Quranic Islam versus the ‘Religion’ of ‘Islam’: Yoginder Sikand on Syed Akbar Ali’s vision of Islam

By Yogi Sikand

A second major aspect of Ali’s understanding of Islam is his insistence that Islam is not a religion, in the sense of a cult and a set of beliefs about the supernatural. Rather, it is a complete way of life, ad-din in Arabic, which has been taught by all the many prophets that God has sent to the world, the last of whom was the Prophet Muhammad. ‘Islam’, he points out, simply means ‘to surrender’ to God, and this has been the way of life that all the prophets. As he puts it, ‘Islam is not a religion or agama. There is no such thing as a religion of Islam […] Islam is a deen or way of life, a good way of doing things. Deen can also imply an Order—an ordered way of life.’[1] In these two senses, then, he argues, Islam represents true universalism. In contrast, he claims that Muslims have reduced Islam from a way of life to a mere religion, a narrow set of laws and beliefs. In his view, they wrongly understand Islam as a cult that is in fierce completion with other cults for supremacy. In this way, he claims, they are not ‘true’ Muslims, in the literal sense of the term (which means to ‘submit’ to God’s Will). Instead, he generally refers to them as ‘deviationist religionists’ [2] and ‘cultists’.

http://newageislam.com/the-quranic-islam-versus-the-%E2%80%98religion%E2%80%99-of-%E2%80%98islam%E2%80%99--yoginder-sikand-on-syed-akbar-ali%E2%80%99s-vision-of-islam/ijtihad,-rethinking-islam/d/1845

A Values-Based Islamic Approach to Inter-Community Dialogue, Radical Islamism and Jihad, NewAgeIslam.com

Radical Islamism and Jihad

A Values-Based Islamic Approach to Inter-Community Dialogue

By Yoginder Sikand

Chandra Muzaffar is one of Malaysia’s best-known human rights activists and public intellectuals. Born in a Hindu family with origins in Kerala, South India, he converted to Islam as a young man. Having worked at several Malaysian universities, he now heads the Kuala Lumpur-based Just World Trust, an NGO dedicated to promoting inter-community dialogue and justice.

Author of numerous books, Chandra is a prolific writer, having published widely in Malaysia and abroad. One of his principal concerns, in his writings and activist involvement, is to promote an Islamic ethic of inter-religious dialogue. Such dialogue, he believes, is an Islamic imperative, besides being indispensable in today’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious Malaysia. It is also crucial, he stresses, at the global level, particularly since many conflicts across the globe, while rooted in economic and political factors, are sought to be projected and legitimised as religious conflicts between Islam and other faiths and ideologies.

‘Muslim, Dialogue and Terror’ is Chandra’s principal work on Islam and inter-faith dialogue, in which he seeks to articulate an inter-faith ethic rooted in an expansive understanding of Islam (available online on www.muslimsdialogueandterror.blogspot.com) This article examines the methodology and the arguments that he employs in the book to articulate this project.

http://newageislam.com/a-values-based-islamic-approach-to-inter-community-dialogue-/radical-islamism-and-jihad/d/1818

The Criminals of Islam by Dr. Shabbir Ahmed, Books and Documents, NewAgeIslam.com

Books and Documents

The Criminals of Islam by Dr. Shabbir Ahmed

By Shabbir Ahmed M.D.

Introduction

Dear Reader,

This book is being written exclusively with the Muslim reader in mind. Although no intellectual endeavour should be confined to a certain group of people, Muslims will be in a better position to understand the contents presented here.

The reader can choose one of two reactions. The easy but futile one is anger and denial. The difficult but productive reaction would be that of sincere contemplation about how to stop this dubious conspiracy. The author will welcome suggestions from any quarter.

Being a student of history, philosophy and religion, I have encountered some bizarre, outrageous and awful statements in many so-called “authentic” and “respected” books of Islam.

I believe that enlightened Muslims could have never said, or written what we see in these works. I would have cared the least about personalities.

However, these crude stories bring a bad name to the glorious religion of Islam, the Qur'an, the Holy Messenger Mohammad, and his companions. People reading these "insults to human intelligence" find them highly distasteful and get a very negative picture of Islam, which in my opinion is the only hope for the future of humanity.

It is amazing to see that most Muslims are not even remotely aware of the problem. I would have failed in my duty as a Muslim and as a truth-seeking individual if I had kept this painful discovery to myself. Concealment of the truth in scholarship is a crime according to the Qur'an (2:42).

As a rule, a true Muslim will under no circumstances propagate shirk (polytheism), immodesty, and absolute nonsense. He or she would not indulge in making a mockery of faith in Allah and His messengers. Therefore, my understanding is that enemies of Islam (from within and without) are tampering with our sacred books. How long has it been going on? It is difficult for us to determine at this stage.

http://newageislam.com/the-criminals-of-islam-by-dr.-shabbir-ahmed/books-and-documents/d/946

Muslims must shed victim mentality: Tariq Ramadan, Ijtihad, Rethinking Islam, NewAgeIslam.com

Ijtihad, Rethinking Islam

Muslims must shed victim mentality: Tariq Ramadan

It means being faithful to our holy texts, but also evolving our understanding of religion to face the challenges of today. So there are certain aspects of Islam that are not going to change, such as our creed and our basic pillars. What must however change is how we implement the religion socially and politically. Muslim societies need more democratisation, more freedom and a better understanding of how to deal with other cultures. We have principles, but what we need is transformational reform.

No. These are both steps of a larger process. The first step is of course to adapt to the reality we face, as it is only with better understanding that we will be able to transform that reality. In order to contribute to the evolution in Western thought that they desire, Muslims in the West should know the culture, history and collective psychology that has created the current context in the first place. Only by gaining this knowledge can they become a contributing force for more justice, values and ethics.

http://newageislam.com/muslims-must-shed-victim-mentality--tariq-ramadan-/ijtihad,-rethinking-islam/d/711

Democracy’s Close Call in Turkey, Current affairs, NewAgeIslam.com

Current affairs

Democracy’s Close Call in Turkey

An editorial in The New York Times

Had it gone the other way, Turkey’s chances of joining the European Union would have been demolished and the clearly expressed will of Turkish voters outrageously thwarted. Worst of all, an alarming message would have been sent to religious-minded voters throughout the Muslim world that scrupulous adherence to the ground rules of democratic politics was no guarantee of equal political rights and representation.

The margin by which these multiple catastrophes were averted could scarcely have been narrower. A majority of six of the 11 justices voted to ban the party. Fortunately, a super-majority of seven was required. Still, the party had half of its public financing cut for the next election and was warned to steer away from policies the court considered too Islamic, like allowing women in head scarves to attend universities.

Those aspects of the ruling provided some consolation to Turkey’s powerful military-secular establishment. But they are hardly consistent with democracy as it is practiced in the United States and the European Union. Nonetheless, Turkey’s ruling party would be wise to move slowly and carefully in its efforts to expand the civil rights of the religiously observant, and make greater efforts to cultivate understanding and support from its wary secular opponents.

http://newageislam.com/democracy%E2%80%99s-close-call-in-turkey-/current-affairs/d/417