Rational Muslims should speak against the obscurantist, medieval and irrational ideas of Zakir Naik, Letter to the Editor, NewAgeIslam.com

Letter to the Editor

Rational Muslims should speak against the obscurantist, medieval and irrational ideas of Zakir Naik

It is surprising that the process of development of rational thinking among Muslims is very slow. Most middle class Muslims also treat this issue as that of identity. This is high time that educated, rational and secular Muslims should come out and speak against the obscurantist, medieval and irrational ideas being propounded by the likes of Mr. Zakir Naik. Otherwise, the hands of those anti - Islamic forces will be strengthened who treat Islam as an intolerant, dangerous and barbaric ideology out to capture and enslave the world! It is specially important as more people are turning atheist or, non-religious and an impression has been created that people not believing in God will be killed/exterminated in Islamic societies.

This kind of Fascist and inhuman/barbaric interpretation is un-Islamic and incompatible with modern civilisation. Why should people be forced to believe in something which they do not want or, require? After all, people who do not believe in God also live happily and can be good citizens. Why should anybody force them to change their thinking and lifestyle if they are not harming others? Why should human robots be created in the name of religion who are not permitted to think or, analyse? Who gives these fanatics such authority? It is the silence of majority Muslims who do not want to confront them. Even if some fanatic interpretation provides them with such self-proclaimed authority, it has to be condemned and opposed by all rational Muslims.

http://newageislam.com/rational-muslims-should-speak-against-the-obscurantist,-medieval-and-irrational-ideas-of-zakir-naik/letter-to-the-editor/d/2176

Religion of the Jahiliya: Jihadism is Kufr, not Islam - Pakistani Jihadists revealed plans for Indian Muslims in 1999, Islam,Terrorism and Jihad

Islam,Terrorism and Jihad

Religion of the Jahiliya: Jihadism is Kufr, not Islam - Pakistani Jihadists revealed plans for Indian Muslims in 1999

By Sultan Shahin

By and large, the western-educated liberal Pakistani intelligentsia, as I found out during several visits, hates this religion and is frightened of it. But as one by one all institutions of governance are succumbing to its growing power and its capacity for evil, they are getting scared to death. Some of them are simply planning to migrate to some non-Muslim majority country. No one is really fighting this malignant force, though some journalists and human rights activists still have the courage at least to express their horror and outrage at grave personal risk. The new democratically-elected government’s commitment or that of President Asif Ali Zardari’s recent plea in a New York Times article rings as hollow as did that of President General Musharraf before that despite their seeming cooperation in the US-led war on terror. The reason is that Pakistan’s moderate secular class has never had the guts to stand up to obscurantist Mullahs right from the beginning of the establishment of the country. Pakistan was carved out of a united India in 1947 by the secular Muslims – almost all religious parties were against the idea of Partition and Two-Nation Theory – but in independent Pakistan the latter were soon able to force the former, the real architects of Pakistan, to pass an Objectives Resolution declaring the country as an Islamic republic to be run by a narrow, sectarian interpretation of Islamic Sharia.

http://newageislam.com/religion-of-the-jahiliya--jihadism-is-kufr,-not-islam---pakistani-jihadists-revealed-plans-for-indian-muslims-in-1999--/islam,terrorism-and-jihad/d/1048

Ulema blamed for presenting obscurantist view of Islam ‘Dispel misgivings about Islam’, Islamic Ideology, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic Ideology

Ulema blamed for presenting obscurantist view of Islam

‘Dispel misgivings about Islam’

Special Correspondent

The annual “yaum-al-Quran” function organised by the Quranic Education Society saw speakers stressing the need for disseminating the teachings of the Quran rightly and dispelling the misgivings about the religion.

Faizur Rahman, a student of comparative religion, held the ‘ulema’ responsible for presenting an obscurantist picture of Islam. There was no use simply blaming the Zionists or the RSS for the crisis facing the community. “The time has come to bypass the ulemas and deliver Quranic Islam directly to the people,” Mr. Rahman said.

When Muslims were being victimised on misunderstood concepts of Islam, there was an urgent need to popularise the egalitarian teachings of the Quran, Mr. Rahman said. He wanted the moderate version of Islam to be made available to people to counter the extremist and exclusive interpretations of the Quran.

Extensive quotes

Mr. Rahman quoted extensively from the scriptures to show how certain verses were grossly mistranslated and misinterpreted to project a narrow-minded view of Islam. In this connection, he pointed out how a recent article in an English daily referred to some verses allegedly quoted by the Indian Mujahideen in a terror email to prove that Quran promoted terrorism.

http://newageislam.com/ulema-blamed-for-presenting-obscurantist-view-of-islam/islamic-ideology/d/786