Why Indian Ulema are Silent on the wrong Practice of Love Jihad?

 

Why Indian Ulema are Silent on the wrong Practice of Love Jihad?

AI-Hasan al-Basree (d. 11 OH)- rahimahulah said: "indeed when this

Fitnah first approaches, every 'Aalim (Scholar) already knows about it

and when it passes by, then every Jaahil (Ignorant person) comes to

know of it." Translated by: Aboo 'Abdillah Bilal Hussain al-Kashmire

Reported by Ibn Sa'd (7/166)

One of the most highlighted and broadcast news is love jihad in the recent days in different casting platforms though the term has been invented in the recent past. The term has been defined here, "When a Muslim male/female marries a non-Muslim and converts them" (Urban Dictionary). The issue of love jihad has generated communal violence in India; so Indian Ulema should not keep themselves silence; due to their siience eruptions and devastations have advanced in different cities and towns; they should explain the term rationally and figuratively to stop Muslims youngsters who have been throwing themselves in the destruction. They should speak vividly that Love Jihad is not permitted by Islamic law. No Muslim can force any one to accept Islam in any case and condition. They should portray the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)'s ideal character who did not compel any person in his period to accept Islam and never ordered his follower to impose any thing on any person who belongs to different religion, caste and creed to accept Islam. If some ignorant people, try to practice it India; they must be informed and taught; its solely responsibility goes to Muslim Ulema.

"There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right

course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in

Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold

with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing." (Quran 2:256)

 

The Quranic Verse directs all Muslims whether they are young or old; they have no right to force any person to accept Islam. It also clarifies that right will be distinguished from wrong. Islam is not transient and moveable things that can be pasted and penetrated but it is followed by purified soul and heart. Who has given right to the transgressors to spread Islam by forcing? From where they got the idea for forcing a Non-Muslim girl to accept Islam? What kind of these people who tell lie in the name of Islam? So Indian Muslims should understand true spirit of Islam and study Quran and Hadis that will guide and lead them straight forward; protect them from destruction and shame in the world. Today, the world becomes one home by Internet, Media and computer; the Indian Ulema should stand up on all the social platform to spread true message of Islam for safety of Muslim community, especially Muslims youngsters who are being entrapped by dirty films and videos that stain their true faith. They should be awaked about Islamic doctrines.

"The duty of the messenger is only to convey (the message). Allah knoweth what ye proclaim and what ye hide." (Quran 5:99)

The Verse is the most explicit message for a rational person that the Almighty God has not commanded to force any person to accept Islam except to preach Islamic knowledge and information to others people while the Prophet (PBUH) was not allowed to do so how can common Muslim carry on such illegal and illogical willing. Sometimes, lack of knowledge leads person to the death and punishment. In fact, there are thousands people who claimed to be Muslims but their commitment and deeds must be checked whether they are Muslims only by their name. A Muslim is justified by Allah by his honest commitment and true deed. A perfect Muslims never cheat, lie and kill any one particularly in the name of Islam.

As far as love with a Muslim or non-Muslim girl in Islam is absolutely prohibited. A lot of Qur'anic Verses and Anadis moralize Muslims to keep down their eyes while girls and women are passing by for protecting their faith and from fitnah of love. While they are prohibited to observe and chase a girl and woman; how they can talk a strange girl; starts loving her and calling her at night? Indeed, today love is beyond social barrier that leads both of them to touch each other and have physical relationship sometimes. So touching, calling and irritating a girl whether Muslim or Non- Muslim is entirely Haram (Forbidden) in Islam. Obviously, those Muslims have been committing Haram deeds for years; the great questions arise, whether they can call them Muslims or Kafir. All the things must be elaborated by Indian Ulema to Muslim young generations to learn Islamic teaching otherwise they will be punished legally. These Muslims youngsters are influenced by dirty films and videos to do love and die for love that is really unethical and Haram in Islam. They have no knowledge of converting their beloved from their religion into Islam.

Indian Ulema Must step forward to expound the Love Jihad that has no space in Islamic concept. If some people or organization has been trying to do so, their commitments are unlawful and illegal according to Islamic and Indian Constitution. Those people will dare to violate the law and order, they will be lethally punished. So all Muslim youngsters are urged to purify themselves from wrong deeds and get married if they are really in proper age that is true Islamic perspective; it will protect them religiously and physically.

 

Reaction to Blasphemy: Who is Right?

 

Reaction to Blasphemy: Who is Right?

Thousands of people have been calling for a boycott of France in response to the remarks by Emmanuel Macron-French President due to recent Paris Attacks. The sheer magnitude of the protests asks for a case study in cognitive dissonance. Nobody can deny that the sentiments of millions of Muslims are hurt when the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is insulted, and this constitutes a valid ground for limiting freedom of speech.

If we accept this line of reasoning and take it to its logical conclusion; People's sentiments shouldn't be hurt, right? What about the following:

"And we've cast among [the Jews] animosity and hatred until the Day of Resurrection... they strive throughout the land causing corruption"

(Quran 5:64)

If you're a Jew, won't your sentiments be hurt by this? What if you demanded the Quran be banned because it insults Jews? What about the hadiths that talk about killing gays in an ideal Islamic state? Or those that mandate murder of ex-Muslims in a similar setting. Isn't it far worse than mocking them? What if Jews, gays or ex-Muslims around the world start demanding a ban on the teaching of Islamic scriptures because their sentiments are hurt?

You understand the problem now? The rationale for allowing the recitation of the Quran and the teaching of hadiths is that they're protected under freedom of speech. Nobody can come and demand that these books be banned because they promote hate and murder of various communities in idealized conditions. Shouldn't the same courtesy be extended to others? After all, the cartoonists aren't calling for the murder of a particular people, unlike the scriptures quoted above.

But here's the thing. As soon as you read this, your mind desperately wants to find excuses as to how all this doesn't fit your particular case. You scramble to find ways to project insult of the Prophet as a completely different category of hurt. And you'll succeed, of course. It's not very difficult to come up with arbitrary categories supported by post-hoc justifications. But know that it's special pleading. You want to insulate the Prophet from insult, and instead of thinking of a genuine principle that protects everyone's sentiments, you're coming up with principles that protects your particular notion of hurt, while allowing you to   teach   and   recite   books   that   hurt   (let's   say)   gays   and   other communities.

The whole thing isn't really about the Prophet; he isn't with us anymore. It's the sentiments of his followers that's the real issue, and it's these sentiments that protection is being demanded for. Imagine if disbelievers started demanding protections for their sentiments.

Let's talk more about the oft-cited Quranic verse that urges Muslims to refrain from insulting gods worshipped by other people. Not long after the above verse was revealed, God commanded the Prophet to annihilate all pagan temples in Arabia, and raze their idols to the ground. All of this just shows how our unexamined intuitions of what constitutes hurt are so tied to the culture we grew up in. We are perfectly okay with extremely hurtful acts or speech, as long as those that are hurt have been successfully demonized in our minds.

The famous incident of Abraham is narrated in the Quran where he smashes all idols and then put the axe around the largest one's neck. When questioned by his townspeople, he pointed to the one remaining idol, and said, "Well, why don't you ask him?" We all laughed at this in childhood. Here was the great Abraham, teaching stupid pagans how idiotic it was to worship idols who could neither speak not protect themselves. Never did we pause to think how hurtful it is for anyone to see his gods desecrated like that. We revelled in the triumph of "right" over "wrong", without sparing a thought about the pagans whose beloved gods were being so violated and defiled.

The argument can go on endlessly. The world populace especially Muslims must introspect if "their" definition of insult is in consonance with the "others". We live in a pluralistic society governed by various laws. Any reaction to a situation must be looked through the lens of laws & customs of the land.

 

Muslim Women Empowerment

 

Muslim Women Empowerment

Muslim women empowerment has always been discussed and debated in policy circles, media and academia. There are differential narratives, conceptions and thoughts as to what empowerment comprises of, and particularly when Muslim women are contextualized. Empowerment generally refers to the overall development of an individual enabling him/her to cherish the desired goals. But the parameter by which women empowerment must be measured is her capability to define and redefine the 'good' for her-self and, the role in decision making- in socio-cultural, economic and political arenas. However, one should not go by the literal definition of the term, rather consider it as 'process' through which self-realization is attained and makes an individual a contributor to and constituent of social progression. Muslim women are generally considered to be constrained by their belief system, the patriarchal family structures and the economic backwardness of the community as a whole. But the question remains- does religion (Islam) in the absolute sense hinder Muslim women emancipation. Or the socio-cultural rigidities and the societal structures that both Muslims and their Hindu counterparts share in common, restrict women from attaining empowerment.

Whenever Muslim women are framed in debates of empowerment, the generalizations are drawn that wholly and solely religion orients them to adopt the social roles inducing submissive behaviors, instead of the discriminatory social apparatuses and defective governmental policies. It is often maintained that Women due to their religion are reluctant towards newer social changes and modernization processes. However, wearing community identity markers does not signify an individual's unwillingness to adapt to new social changes. Rather economic and social backwardness of the community shapes the behavior of individuals, particularly women. The Muslim community in India has faced the developmental and institutional neglect which has left women at the receiving end and worst off in terms of education and employment. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire women section of the Muslim community grapples with these problems, particularly the rural ones. In fact, such problems are cross-sectional, marginalization needs to be inculcated and promoted so that such women become articulate about their choices and needs.

The question of religion  Islam,  in the determination of Muslim women's empowerment is not independent of influences. In a cultural complex society, India, religion couldn't be solely held responsible. Does the religion truly set the margin for Muslim women for persuasion of educational carriers in religious studies only? Let's elaborate on this question in the Indian context by analyzing the history. As numerous studies have shown that the reservation schemes instituted by government have not transformed the condition of the Muslim minority in comparison to other marginalized section. The reason being the faulty reservation system, as the Muslims have always been considered as a homogeneous society while neglecting the divisions and sub-divisions based on economic and social status and in fact on caste bases. That leads us to the fact that the religion has the least to do with the continuing illiteracy among the Muslims particularly women. In fact, Islam encourages both men and women to educate themselves so that they become active contributors to the development of the civilization.

The religion Islam puts greater emphasis on seeking of knowledge and education, because it is through education one realizes the true meaning of his/her creation. The Quran in several verses praises knowledgeable people, encourages inventive and innovative thinking and research and at the same time deprecates unoriginal and imitative knowledge. Islam does not discriminate between men and women when it comes to knowledge seeking, in fact, there is more emphasis on women education because the mother is considered to be the first school for the child. That means it a religious duty to educate a girl child.

That brings us to the point that the social rigidities and cultural conservatism were not inducted into Indian Muslims by the religion but from historical experience and shared civilizational past. For instance, Muslim communities in Bihar & Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Moplah Muslim community in Kerala have adopted a highly criticized Hindu dowry system. Hence blaming a religion simply for conservatism and restricting its women adherents for backwardness is a poor reading and understanding of the texts and commandments.

As there is no escape from the fact that Muslim women lag behind in attaining literacy equaling to other religious communities, reason being the economic destitute and community's socio-cultural marginalization. A high-level committee chaired by Dr. Gopal Singh constituted in 1980 by the Indian Government's Ministry of Home Affairs observed that Muslims are most undeveloped and marginalized Another report by the 2005 Prime Minister's High-level Committee chaired by Justice Rajendra Sachar found that the Muslim community's condition worsened than earlier. A similar report was also presented by Justice Ranganath Mishra who chaired the National Commission on

Linguistic and Religious Minorities set up by Ministry of Social Justice and empowerment, Government of India in 2005. The poor economic conditions of women deprive them of any say and also of educational and employment opportunities. According to data near about 48.11 per cent women of the Indian Muslim community are illiterate which is highest amongst the religious communities. Furthermore, in comparison to urban women, the rural are the worst off- here the majority of the women either never entre the school or leave their studies in between either before the primary stage of at the higher secondary stage. Studies further reveal that the percentage of Muslim students in higher education is the lowest and Muslim women students are nearly invisible.

The Status of Muslim women in India needs lot of attention. Special welfare schemes and reservations in political, educational and employment opportunities are the need of the hour to encourage women to empower themselves. As most of the Muslim women in India are not well aware of their rights and schemes available for them, a decentralised awareness programme is much necessary. While the governmental mechanisms are a pre-requisite for empowerment and upliftment of marginalised sections of society, particularly women. But at the community level, the role of religious and welfare organisation is required for promotion and inculcation of the true meaning of the empowerment and development. Especially, there is a greater need within Muslim community to balance between religious and modern education so that its women population is capable enough to secure a brighter future for themselves so that they can contribute in community welfare and development. At the same time, it needs to be stressed that Indian Muslim women need to understand their value, place and responsibility and to equip themselves according to changing circumstances at the same time asserting their Muslimness.

 

Real concept of Jihad in Islam and its distortion by Extremists

 

Real concept of Jihad in Islam and its distortion by Extremists

In the contemporary era, the term 'Jihad' has become associated with extremism and precisely more with Muslims. The academic literature and media regularised any violent act by a radical Muslim as 'jihad', so much that Muslim jihad and terrorism are perceived as synonyms, often. However, the meaning and interpretation of 'jihad¹ varies and depends on the personal understanding of the individual. Jihad can be any act (nonviolent) aimed at transforming either individual itself or society as a whole. Unlike the erroneous western translation of the term as 'holy War" Jihad means to "struggle", "effort" or "to strive" towards betterment and annihilation of injustice. The holy Quran makes references to wars (harb), physical conflict (qital) and numerous struggles/strivings (jihad).

The western interpretations of the term have diluted its actual essence and importance. That is to say that jihad does not mean fighting and glorification of military virtues and neither is hostility inherent in it. Jihad, in any way, does not endorse violence against civilians neither encourages offensive warfare. In Islamic politics, there are clear precedents, principles and guidelines for just conduct of war. In fact, the Islamic thought prescribes usage of jihad as a defensive strategy in the wake of attacks and threats. Islam does not impose upon Muslims an outright obligation to carry out jihad against those who do not accept Islam as their religion.

Islam and jihad have always been used as tools to attain religious legitimacy and recruitment. Extremist organisations tend to find means for justification of their actions and plan besides looking for references in religious texts and accordingly appropriate those references. They always bank on religious concepts like 'jihad' for generating both 'threat' and the 'solution' to the problem. They claim to be guardians and protectors of religion itself and thereupon of the believers also.

Therefore it is crucial to highlight that there is a persistent instability in the Muslims world coupled with sectarian divisions and numerous other socio-political problems. Furthermore, Muslim nations have witnessed continuous interventions from world's strong powers, either in the name of democracy or human rights or for that matter spreading modernisation. The interferences sometimes resulted in complete failure of state structure (Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, etc.) and degeneration into deadly civil wars leading to the emergence of multiple armed organisations. These organisations have not only damaged but also distorted the original essence of religious concepts like jihad. There is no escape from the fact that from 9/11 till today, ordinary Muslims face an identity crisis and a continuous alienation in societies across the world due to the large spread misapprehensions.