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Give Muslims the Benefit of Doubt, Mr. Swamy

Wednesday February 29, 2012 03:58:09 PM, Mohammed Ayub Khan

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More than seven months after Subramanian Swamy wrote his controversial piece on Muslims the embers of his rhetoric continue to be kept aflame. Defending her husband’s stance Roxna Swamy in a recent interview to the Outlook said: “Muslims give Swamy the benefit of the doubt, believe his views are those of a patriotic India.”

 

Subramanian Swamy, as one may recall, had argued in his DNA article that Muslims either proudly accept and acknowledge their Hindu ancestors and legacy or be disenfranchised. It appears that Mr. Swamy is blissfully ignorant of the sentiments that Indian Muslims have of their motherland and ancestors. Had he taken the pains to find out the real views of Indian Muslims he would have realized that Indian Muslims consider India not only to be their motherland but also one of the holy lands.

One may not look beyond the most orthodox of Islamic traditions in India to find testimony to the above assertion that Muslims not only acknowledge the indigenous roots of their ancestry but also their faith in India. The late Qari Muhammad Tayyab Qasmi’s orthodoxy is beyond reproach. He was a Vice Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband. In his book in urdu Islam and Communalism he writes:

 

“If Hijaz is holy because it is the land of birth of the last Prophet (Muhammad) and of the place of revelation of the Quran; if Syria is holy because it is the land of the Prophets of Bani Israel; if Egypt is holy because of its association with Prophet Moses; if Iraq is holy because of its association with Prophet Abraham; then without doubt India is holy because of its association Prophet Adam and for being the place of God’s first revelation. It is the first land of prophets…It is also holy, because according to a report by the historian Tabarani, it is the land of Prophet Seth who led the funeral prayers of Prophet Adam. It is also holy because, according to a report by Ibn Abbas, it is the land of Prophet Noah. Many pious and holy men have also stated (based on their internal illumination) that India is home to remnants and graves of several prophets.”

Qari Tayyab Qasmi further quotes Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi, the founder of Darul Uloom Deoband, to bolster his assertions. “Maulana Qasim Nanautwi says in his writings that one should never insult or denigrate the holy personalities of Hindus like Rama or Sri Krishna…It is possible that these personages might have been persons of truth, warners, and guides of their time. It is possible that they might have come to India with the true teachings but that their message had been corrupted due to the ravages of time.”

One may also look at the collected works of Maulana Shams Naveed Usmani, who was born in Deoband but educated elsewhere, to know the many commonalities between Islam and Hinduism. He had argued that the Hindu concept of sanatan dram or ‘eternal religion’, if understood as ‘submission to the one God,' is the same as the concept of Islam as Al Deen Al Qaim, or again the ‘eternal religion.’ His writings are replete with such parallels.

Apart from such scholarly writings Indian Muslims have produced voluminous poetry in Urdu and Persian in praise of Hindu personalities whom they accept as pious personalities but not as gods. There is a long list of poets who have accommodated these sages in their writings without compromising the Islamic beliefs. These include Shah Muhammad Kazim Qalandar, Seemab Akbarabadi, and of course the great nationalist and freedom fighter Maulana Hasrat Mohani. Mohsin Kakorwi, created a completely new genre of Islamic poetry by using Indian metaphors.

 

This is well captured in a couplet from a poem written in praise of Prophet Muhammad:
Kahen Jibreel Isharey Sey Ke Haan Bismillah
Simt Kashi Say Chala Janib Mathura Badal

(Gabriel signalled ‘Yes, In the Name of Allah’/In the direction of Mathura went the cloud from Kashi)

Such deep feelings for their motherland abound in Indian Muslim psyche, their literature, and in their day to day life. For them Indian is not only their motherland but also one of their holy lands. Would Subramanian Swamy care to find out their true feelings and give them the benefit of doubt instead of indulging in hateful rhetoric?


 

 

 

 

 

 

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Picture of the Day

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh presenting a memento to the President of Rotary International Kalyan Banerjee at the inauguration of the Polio Summit 2012, in New Delhi on February 25, 2012. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Sudip Bandyopadhyay are also seen.

(Photo: Asish Maitra)

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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