Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Muslims & linkages

The views expressed in the article “Indian Muslims and their linkages” (June 6) deserve praise. Much has been written and will be written on the role of Muslim civil society in India. Muslims have suffered from many prejudices and misconceptions propagated by a few dominant people claiming to be the saviours of the community, and have not had many role models to draw inspiration from.

The article has given a few suggestions for the empowerment of Muslims. But what will help to bring the community into the mainstream is education, particularly equal access for boys and girls. This will help the youth distinguish between right and wrong. It is also the media’s responsibility to play a more constructive role in highlighting the positive side of the community.

Syed Khaja,

Gulbarga

The fatwa against terrorism is a giant leap forward. It shows that Muslim leaders have taken the responsibility of uniting the community against jihadis. It is clear that development and prosperity figure high on their priority list. Issues like price rise are far more relevant to them than Hamas or Iran. It is only a few who get sucked into terrorism or end up supporting terrorists. Political parties that try to polarise Muslim votes through minority appeasement do not help either.

Aniruddha Ghoshal,

New Delhi

Terrorism has no religion. My advice to my non-Muslim brethren is to shed their prejudices. Don’t we see terrorist activities in the Northeast, Assam, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh which have nothing to do with Muslims? The media and some sections of the intelligentsia are to blame for adding fuel to the fire by blaming the community for terrorist activities even before the investigations into terrorist strikes are complete.

S. Abul Hassan,

Chennai

Since 9/11, we seem to hear the term ‘jihad’ almost every day. It is used without any qualifiers and is generally understood as war on behalf of Islam. In the West, ‘jihad’ is translated as “holy war,” a usage the media have popularised. The highest form of ‘jihad’ is to speak the truth in the face of an unjust ruler. All known religions of the world call for love, peace, and tolerance. Acts of terror are committed by those who call themselves religious, and attribute their evil acts to the religion. True Islam forbids the killing of innocent people.

Shamsuz Zaman,

Aligarh

The Deoband appeal should have relevance across the border. It would have been better if top political leaders had attended the congregation and sent a strong message to the world about Indians’ view on terrorism.

Ravi Kumar Singh,

Varanasi

The letters that found the article patronising and accused it of generating baseless arguments (June 7) seem to have missed the point. The article has exhorted the minority community to stand up for its rights and move forward on the path of development, leaving behind the sores that the parochial thinking of the self-proclaimed saviours of the religion have caused in the past.

Jyotika Singhal,

New Delhi

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