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France begins the hearing on Hijab Ban |
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Gay ruling unites diverse religious leaders |
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Armed forces
say no to homosexuality
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Aid, Madrasa Board not acceptable to Maharashtra Ulema |
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Insufficient Junior Colleges escalating school dropouts |
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Jackson hailed as greatest entertainer, best
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A tale of two encounters: Dehradun and Batla
House |
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Kahin
Khushi Kahin
Gham |
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Insufficient Junior Colleges in Maharashtra escalating dropout cases:
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 Kahin Khushi Kahin Gham:
However we write this with
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THE UNTIMELY death of Michael Jackson
became international news, and it has affected many people,
including my children and grandchildren.
I dedicate this column to the philosophical and spiritual turmoil I
felt when I heard Jackson died June 25 of an apparent cardiac
arrest.
He had an extraordinary charisma, absolute innocence and a childlike
charm that never left him.
As his music spread all over the world, bringing him wealth and
recognition, he slowly transformed his God-given African texture and
features into something else.
I could never explain this part of his life to my children.
He appeared to have a genuine concern for children and wanted to
offer them a world that was denied to him as a child because of the
abuses he claimed to have suffered.
I was very happy for him last year when he reportedly became a
Muslim in Bahrain. He had apparently followed the footsteps of his
brother Jermaine Jackson, who converted to Islam 20 years ago and
found peace when he gave up drinking, drugs and womanizing. Michael
Jackson admired this kind of change in him.
So in search of peace, he lived in Bahrain.
For some time, Jackson thought of making an album in Bahrain to
promote spirituality and signed a contract. However, when he
returned to America, he was too afraid of the consequences of
aligning with the Islamic faith.
Islamophobia is a curse in America. He was advised by
close associates and sincere friends not to go public with his new
found spirituality.
He remained in his own closet of spirituality that few outside his
close circle knew.
American pop culture is not about religion but about a world of
fantasy — a flamboyant facade. And he sunk deeper and maintained a
lifestyle that increased his dependency on drugs.
He lost all peace of mind and self-control to such an extent that
his personal doctor said, "I had to wake him up with medication and
had to put him to sleep with the help of medication."
Michael Jackson is a trivial pursuit of American popular culture.
In Indian culture we say, "this was a bud that was cut before it
could fully blossom."
Practically, we have powerful people who worship money and power and
who are constantly defeating any new ideas that challenge the status
quo. Jackson — who was sweet, innocent and talented — fell victim.
I am obsessed with the question, "Why couldn't Elvis and Michael
Jackson remain famous, rich and on a musical pedestal and still live
a drug-free and spiritual life?"
Ali Akbar Khan of Berkeley was such a musician, who gained great
wealth, fame and popularity and left more than 1,000 students who
are spiritually elevated musicians.
Michael Jackson's death to all of us is one that is sobering. One
can climb to fame, acquire great wealth and riches, but death comes
knocking without much fanfare.
Nevertheless, Jackson's very public death is a powerful reminder
that no matter how famous, talented or wealthy one is, death comes
sometimes sooner than later.
He has now entered a world of extraordinary perception, a world that
makes his "Thriller" video seem mundane.
Given Michael's reported conversion to Islam last year, Muslims
count him as one of our own, and we pray that he can finally find
the peace he never found in this world and that he is in a place,
God willing, of mercy, forgiveness and solace.
(insidebayarea.com)
Iftekhar Hai is
president of United Muslims of America Interfaith Alliance and a
resident of South San Francisco.
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