Living with a name like Osama, Islamic Society, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic Society

Living with a name like Osama

'My name is Osama... And I am a Gujju trader'

By Robin David

Feb 27, 2010

Saddam Banjara, offering namaz at the Sarkhej Roza in Ahmadabad, says he is proud of his name and will live with it.

For Muslims across the world, life changed drastically, and in many ways, after 9/11. Finding rented accommodation became increasingly difficult, a beard and skull cap invited wary stares on buses and trains, and the police randomly picked up innocent Muslim youth on suspicion of being involved in terrorist activities. It's the unfairness of the entire situation that makes Shah Rukh Khan's character in My Name is Khan repeatedly clarify: "My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist."

But leave Khan aside. It's a movie, after all. What if your name is Osama, Saddam or Dawood in real life and you live in communally sensitive Gujarat? Do people immediately see the shadow of a terrorist lurking behind the name? These names had become popular at different points of time in the past. For instance, many children were named Saddam immediately after the first Gulf War in 1990, when the former Iraqi dictator was hailed as a hero in the Muslim world for taking on the might of the Western armies. These children have grown up today and what should have been just a name, suddenly isn't.

There's the baggage of ideology and an unhappy modern context to deal with. Muslims will tell you they don't face any problem with such names as long as they are confined to their ghettos. But step out of the ghetto and a name like Osama or Saddam raises eyebrows, leads to subtle ostracism and excessive questioning at high-security zones like airports. Life is a struggle for these people, and they don't have a film's poetic licence to fall back on for a happy ending.

http://newageislam.com/living-with-a-name-like-osama/islamic-society/d/2531

Mallika Sarabhai protests Amitabh Bachcchan’s decision to represent Narendra Modi’s Gujatat, Current affairs, NewAgeIslam.com

Current affairs

Mallika Sarabhai protests Amitabh Bachcchan’s decision to represent Narendra Modi’s Gujatat

A Gujarati’s piece of mind to the Big B

AMITABH Bachchan seems to have stepped on his own foot. The Bollywood legend’s decision to become the brand ambassador of Narendra Modi’s Gujarat has drawn flak from different quarters.

And now danseuse and social activist Mallika Sarabhai has sent a letter (full text on right) to Bachchan, asking him what prompted him to become the brand ambassador of a state which is reeling under poverty and has witnessed the killings of innocent Muslims.

In her letter, Sarabhai has reeled off statistics to show the state Gujarat is in today.

Sarabhai claimed that the state has a huge debt of close to Rs 1 lakh crore.

She also stated that over 75,000 small and medium businesses have shut shop while the state went into an overdrive to dole out subsidies to rich industrial houses.

Sarabhai’s words found an echo in social activist Teesta Setalvad.

“ Bachchan is not the brand ambassador of Gujarat. He is the brand ambassador for Modi who gave his film Paa tax concessions to the tune of Rs 8- 10 crore,” Setalvad said.

She claimed that Modi is trying to go in for an image makeover after the Supreme Court directed investigation agencies to question him for mass murder.

“That needs to be put on the forefront, not wiped under the carpet. It is good that Mallika has brought out these statistics about Gujarat. It is the ground reality,” she said.

http://newageislam.com/mallika-sarabhai-protests-amitabh-bachcchan%E2%80%99s-decision-to-represent-narendra-modi%E2%80%99s-gujatat/current-affairs/d/2485

Why Can't Muslim Women Also Lead the Whole Community?, Islam, Women and Feminism, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam, Women and Feminism

Why Can't Muslim Women Also Lead the Whole Community?

A: The BMMA was formally inaugurated in Delhi in January 2007, but before that we -- numerous Muslim women -- were working in our individual capacities on issues related to Muslims, particularly Muslim women, in different parts of India. I was working in Gujarat, my home state, before that, with Action Aid, in the wake of the state-sponsored genocidal attacks on Muslims in 2002. In a sense, it was the Gujarat genocide that brought us Muslim women, scattered across India, together. We met at numerous conventions, rallies and public hearings that were held in different parts of the country in the wake of the genocide. We were all Muslim women who were deeply concerned with the plight of the Muslims, including and especially Muslim women, and the enormous danger of Hindutva fascism, and who were trying, in our own ways, to intervene. That was when we decided to form a loose collective of our own. We felt that the issues of Muslim women were somehow being sidelined in a climate of heightened Muslim insecurity. We urgently felt the need for Muslim women to speak out, not just against patriarchy within the community and unjust personal laws, but also against growing anti-Muslim discrimination, against Muslims being treated as second-class citizens in this country and against neglect, indeed, discrimination by the state and other forces. We felt the desperate need for a Muslim women's voice at the national level.

http://newageislam.com/why-can-t-muslim-women-also-lead-the-whole-community?/islam,-women-and-feminism/d/2185

Somnath temple, Bollywood and Shiv Sena leaders on LeT hit list: FBI,

Islamic World News

Somnath temple, Bollywood and Shiv Sena leaders on LeT hit list: FBI

WASHINGTON: In a new disclosure, the FBI has said that the famous Somnath temple in Gujarat, Bollywood stars and Shiv Sena leaders in Mumbai were also the targets of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was planning to carry out strikes with the help of two Chicago-based residents of Pakistani origin.

These three possible LeT targets were revealed for the first time by the FBI in a footnote to the fresh evidence and chargesheet submitted by it against Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Rana, the terror suspect whose bail plea hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in a Chicago court.

Earlier, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had said that the National Defence College in New Delhi was on the hit list of LeT.

"In the September 7, 2009 conversation, Headley discussed four targets with Rana - Somnath (a temple in India) and Denmark, Bollywood (a reference to the Indian film industry) and Shiv Sena (a political party in India with roots in Hindu nationalism)," the FBI said in a foot note on page nine of the 10-page fresh affidavit.

"In his post-arrest statement, Rana falsely claimed that these were references to potential business ventures. It is difficult to imagine why a person who praises the work of a designated terrorist group that attacks India would look at an Indian temple or a Hindu nationalist party as a business venture," the FBI noted.

"It bears note that, as set out in the complaint, 'business' and 'investments' were code words used by Rana, David Coleman Headley (Pakistani-origin American terror suspect has been charged for plotting Mumbai terror attacks), "Pasha" (a retired Pakistani Army Brigadier) and others to describe terrorist plots," the FBI said.

The Somnath temple, located on the western coast of Gujarat, is the most sacred of the twelve Jyotirlings (lingas of light) of the God Shiva and is a revered pilgrimage center.

http://newageislam.com/somnath-temple,-bollywood-and-shiv-sena-leaders-on-let-hit-list--fbi/islamic-world-news/d/2226

India shows maturity in accepting a Pakistani as the UN’s rapporteur: When will Pakistan?, Islam and Human Rights, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and Human Rights

India shows maturity in accepting a Pakistani as the UN’s rapporteur: When will Pakistan?

Asma Jahangir’s report should nudge us to live as mature neighbours

By Jawed Naqvi

Monday, 09 Feb, 2009 | 09:04 AM PST |

PAKISTAN’S human rights star Asma Jahangir visited India to compile a fairly damning report on the state of religious freedoms and beliefs in the country. That she was invited by the Indian government to travel to the various hot spots and meet officials concerned and victims of bigotry across the country, including the sensitive state of Jammu and Kashmir, speaks for New Delhi’s maturity in giving her free access. It must have taken something for it to accept a Pakistani as the UN’s rapporteur on religious freedoms and beliefs in India. Moreover, it shows Ms Jahangir’s standing as a fighter for rights not just for Pakistanis but also for victims anywhere.

Ms Jahangir was given unhindered access to carry out her duties when she visited India in March last year for more than two weeks. She had a few problems in Gujarat though. Policemen and plainclothes sleuths tailed her, which violated the terms and conditions of the visit, and put her interlocutors at grave risk. She has said so in the report. On the other hand, she was slandered by others for meeting Gujarat’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi during her trip. Newspapers in Pakistan described it as a sell-out when Mr Modi cleverly used an official meeting with her to project his communal politics as sanctified by the UN envoy. Noting could be more bereft of truth.

During her mission she spoke with representatives of various religious or belief communities, including Baha’is, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Humanists, Jains, Muslims, Sikhs and Zoroastrians. I strongly feel that she should have met Qadiani representatives, since they are frequently subjected to physical attacks and calumny by India’s Muslim extremists, a situation not too different from Pakistan.

http://newageislam.com/india-shows-maturity-in-accepting-a-pakistani-as-the-un%E2%80%99s-rapporteur--when-will-pakistan?--/islam-and-human-rights/d/1188

Behind the Batla House shootout: charges that the Jamia Nagar encounter was fake belong in the Wonderland, Islam,Terrorism and Jihad, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam,Terrorism and Jihad

Behind the Batla House shootout: charges that the Jamia Nagar encounter was fake belong in the Wonderland

By Praveen Swami

When inspector Mohan Chand Sharma walked through the door of the flat where he was to die, all he knew was that he was looking for a man with two missing front teeth. Soon after the Gujarat bombings, a Bharuch resident contacted the police to report that the vehicles used as car bombs in Ahmedabad had been parked by his tenant. Gujarat Crime Branch Deputy Commissioner Abhay Chudasma had little to go on, bar one small clue: the mobile phone used by the tenant to communicate with the landlord. It turned out that the phone went silent after the Ahmedabad bombings.

Based on the interrogation of suspects, Gujarat police investigators determined that the cell phone was one of the five used by the perpetrators between July 7 and 26 — the day of the serial bombings. They learned that the perpetrators had observed rigorous communication security procedures, calling these numbers only from public telephones. Between July 16 and July 22, the investigators learned, another of the five Gujarat phones had been used in the Jamia Nagar area. This phone had received just five calls, all from public phones at Jamia Nagar. Then, on July 24, the phone became active again in Ahmedabad.

http://newageislam.com/behind-the-batla-house-shootout--charges-that-the-jamia-nagar-encounter-was-fake-belong-in-the-wonderland--/islam,terrorism-and-jihad/d/868

The so-called “Indian Mujahideen”: False Custodians, Islam,Terrorism and Jihad, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam,Terrorism and Jihad

The so-called “Indian Mujahideen”: False Custodians

By Arshad Alam

Unknown to Muslims, it claims to act on their behalf to avenge the pogrom in Gujarat directed against Muslims and the many discriminations which it alleges Muslims face in this country. That Gujarat and incidents like it are blot on the practice of Indian secularism is undeniable. But what is also undeniable is that it caused a lot of pain to Indians of all denominations, not just Muslims. Limited in its understanding of the secular legacy of Indian people, the self-appointed Indian Mujahideen wants to convert Gujarat into specifically a Muslim issue. What happened in 20002 in Godhra and the rest of Gujarat thereafter was a shame and still remains a cause of serious concern for the entire nation, not for Muslims alone. In fact Muslim groups and its so called leadership are not the ones who are at the forefront to demand justice for victims of Gujarat riots. They are too busy with their third class agendas such as protecting the outmoded Muslim Personal Law and unethically demanding reservation for all Muslims.

http://newageislam.com/the-so-called-%E2%80%9Cindian-mujahideen%E2%80%9D--false-custodians-/islam,terrorism-and-jihad/d/734

Terrorists breeding most in riot-hit areas, Islam,Terrorism and Jihad, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam,Terrorism and Jihad

Terrorists breeding most in riot-hit areas

Subodh Varma & Rema Nagarajan

21 Sep 2008

There are reports of cells in these states, which provide logistic support, training grounds and the personnel to carry out the actions. In many cases, the locations of these places are unexpected. How and why are youths from small towns in these states getting influenced by the ideology of violence?

Undoubtedly, there is a complex set of circumstances contributing to the evolution of terrorists. But a disturbing truth emerges if one looks at the recent history of communal relations in various states. Between 2001 and 2007, over 71% of all communal incidents in the country took place in the very same states where these terrorists hail — that is Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, MP and UP.

Of the people killed in these communal incidents, an overwhelming 85% per cent were in these states. This exceptionally high proportion is partly due to the Gujarat carnage, which saw nearly 3,000 people, mostly Muslims, killed after the Godhra train-burning incident. But even if one excludes Gujarat, more than two-thirds of all deaths in communal incidents in the rest of the country during this period were in Maharashtra, UP, MP or Karnataka.

http://newageislam.com/terrorists-breeding-most-in-riot-hit-areas/islam,terrorism-and-jihad/d/770

Indian Muslim bodies decry blasts in Gujarat, Islam,Terrorism and Jihad, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam,Terrorism and Jihad

Indian Muslim bodies decry blasts in Gujarat

Demanding a high-level impartial and time-bound investigation, secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami Nusrat Ali cautioned the government and the intelligence agencies against harassing innocent people. “Intelligence agencies should not float certain names without proper investigation. The government must look into the real motives of perpetrators of such crimes,” he said.

He appealed to the people to remain calm and united against forces trying to disrupt communal harmony.

All India Milli Council general secretary M. Manzoor Alam said the quick succession in which the blasts occurred in the two States was stunning. “For quite some time, we have had this haunting feeling that we are not able to stop such violence because we have somehow been avoiding thinking out of the box,” he said.

The timing of the blasts, in the run-up to the general election, posed the question “who stands to gain from such attacks.”

http://newageislam.com/indian-muslim-bodies-decry-blasts-in-gujarat/islam,terrorism-and-jihad/d/452

Violence runs through this 'stable' India, built on poverty and injustice, Islam,Terrorism and Jihad, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam,Terrorism and Jihad

Violence runs through this 'stable' India, built on poverty and injustice

To be fair to Bush, he was only repeating a cliche deployed by Indian politicians and American pundits such as Thomas Friedman to promote India as a squeaky-clean ally of the United States. However, Fareed Zakaria, the Indian-born Muslim editor of Newsweek International, ought to know better. In his new book, The Post-American World, he describes India as a "powerful package" and claims it has been "peaceful, stable, and prosperous" since 1997 - a decade in which India and Pakistan came close to nuclear war, tens of thousands of Indian farmers took their own lives, Maoist insurgencies erupted across large parts of the country, and Hindu nationalists in Gujarat murdered more than 2,000 Muslims.

Apparently, no inconvenient truths are allowed to mar what Foreign Affairs, the foreign policy journal of America's elite, has declared a "roaring capitalist success story". Add Bollywood's singing and dancing stars, beauty queens and Booker prize-winning writers to the Tatas, the Mittals and the IT tycoons, and the picture of Indian confidence, vigour and felicity is complete.

http://newageislam.com/violence-runs-through-this--stable--india,-built-on-poverty-and-injustice/islam,terrorism-and-jihad/d/471

Bitterness threatens Indian tolerance, Islam,Terrorism and Jihad, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam,Terrorism and Jihad

Bitterness threatens Indian tolerance

Indian Mujahideen, the group that says it bombed Ahmedabad, taps into a deep sense of grievance among India's Muslims

By Randeep Ramesh

guardian.co.uk,

Monday July 28 2008 16:30 BST

What Gujarat represented was a new menace - the mob in partnership with the state. The police were held back. Hindu rioters appeared to have computer printouts listing Muslim households. In the aftermath Muslims found that the courts could not always protect them against the popular frenzy.

In the four and a half years I have been based in India, I haven't met a single Muslim who doesn't deeply resent the Indian state for its failure to act in Gujarat. I have also met some who said they would retaliate in kind. This is the hate that hate made.

Gujarat's chief minister, Narendra Modi, has been accused at best of sitting on his hands while innocents were murdered and at worst of being behind the violence. A Hindu nationalist, Modi has been re-elected three times since the mayhem.

http://newageislam.com/bitterness-threatens-indian-tolerance/islam,terrorism-and-jihad/d/473