Islam and Pluralism *The Liberhan report on Babri Masjid demolition: No point in revisiting the past <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1513>*
*Let us Focus on the Future* The Liberhan report may explain certain things but in the end it would not serve any purpose, as the wounds that have been healed, would freshen up. It is therefore advisable for the Muslim community not to make a big issue of it and disturb the hard earned unity and solidarity of the country. There is no point in revisiting the past. The demolition of Babri Masjid, carnage of Gujarat, bomb blasts and other extremists activities are the things of the past. Muslims have to put all these events behind to look forward for future. The people of India have given a fresh mandate to the UPA govt rejecting altogether the communal elements, as they valued secularism as a cherished goal of the country. Let all of us, belonging to Muslim community, join the rest of the population in extending our support for the govt to concentrate on development activities that would lead to economic recovery which is of greater importance in the life of our country men than holding who is guilty or not of the already demolished Babri Masjid. It would not help Muslims to resurrect the past. Let us bury it deep into history. Let us all remember that we may not be saintly enough to forgive and forget our enemies, but for the sake of our own health, the betterment of our own lives, let us forgive and forget them. Muslims better remember this and march forward. -- *A.M. Jamsheed Basha* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1513> Spiritual Meditations *Wednesday, Jul 01 2009* Babri Masjid: Opportunity for Muslims <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1514> Muslims have gone through a traumatic period in the last several years. They have spent a lot of time in introspection. They have shown great wisdom and maturity in fending off severe and very brazen provocations. One hopes that it is this maturity that is now beginning to be reflected.... *This brings me to my main plea—forgiveness.* Forgiveness is the essence of both the Muslim and Hindu spiritual traditions. It is the only way out of the vicious and very debilitating grip of bad *karma*. It is our belief that one has to always pay individual or collective *karmic* debts in this or any subsequent incarnations or on the Day of Judgement. Both Hindu and Muslim spiritual traditions consider God as the greatest teacher, this world a great school, the events that involve us in this *mayajaal* (illusionary world) as messages. What could this Great Teacher be teaching us in this section of the school through the great *Babri Masjid*-*Ram Janambhoomi* drama? Perhaps the all-important lesson of forgiveness. It may take us years, decades, centuries or millennia to learn this lesson. But learn we will. There is no escaping. God is a very determined teacher. We have the option to learn the lesson now. Let us exercise it. I have a special plea to make to fellow Muslims, a plea I have never made before. Many reasonable Hindu friends asked me in the last few years of strife: why can’t Muslims make a gift of the *Ramjanamsthan* to the Hindus? What is the big deal? I had just one answer. No gift could be or should be made at gunpoint. Give-me-this-gift-or-I-will-snatch-it- from-your-hands-anyway is no way of seeking gifts. A gift of *Ramjanamsthan*at that point would probably have been cowardice. But the situation has changed now. The gun has been taken away from the hands of our spiritually evolving brothers. The law of the land has asserted itself. ... Wallowing in despair would be pointless. How long will we go on commemorating the follies of our neighbours on every December 6? Nursing wounds is no sign of maturity. Wounds should be allowed to heal in a natural process. By wallowing in anger and self-pity, we will be making the same mistake as some of our Hindu brothers did. *Laws of Karma * Laws of *Karma* sanction one great privilege. Either of the parties to a dispute can set both the parties free of the karmic debt by exercising their right to forgive the other party and thus grow spiritually. Every calamity is said to contain the seeds of an equal or greater opportunity. The demolition of the mosque gives us an opportunity to strengthen our stake in secularism, peace and democracy. The Babri mosque is no more. It has become a victim of Hindu-Muslim negative egos. Many precious lives have been lost in the process. The ideal solution would be that both the communities come together, forgive each other and mutually decide what to do about that piece of God’s land. Let us remember that there is no mosque there now. The memory of the mosque remains. The Babri mosque can never come back. Its demolition was perpetrated by a section of misguided Hindus referred to by the Supreme Court as criminals. But Muslims should never forget that the vast majority of Hindus clearly disapproved of it. They neither rewarded with votes in the subsequent elections the BJP which was apparently responsible for the demolition, nor the Congress which had started the whole dispute in the first place in a clear bid to garner Hindu votes. *Reconciliation * If this mutual forgiveness and reconciliation does not take place — and if present Hindu and Muslim leaders are considered representatives of their respective communities, it is not likely to happen — ordinary people of both communities must make their presence felt and come out openly for peace at all costs. If that too does not happen, we Muslims should thank God for providing us with this unique opportunity to exercise our option of forgiveness and making a gift of a piece of God’s land on the specific condition that it be used for nothing but building a place of worship, so that its sanctity is maintained. I know this is not going to be easy. Forgiveness is never easy, except for the spiritually evolved. But I don’t think we have any other option. We have many things, important things to do. We just cannot afford to remain embroiled in inconsequential disputes. The renowned Islamic scholar, Late Maulana Ali Mian Nadwi had reacted to the opening of Babri Masjid locks the following day in these very sensible words: “Many mosques are in the possession of other people.” And indeed they are. There were many mosques in East Punjab of the pre-Partition days? But very few are left as mosques today? A Punjabi Hindu friend of mine complained of so many mosques having been converted into gurudwaras and temples. His Muslim friend (not me, some great soul) reacted: “But they are still places of worship. There is only one God, after all. No matter what you believe in, you cannot but worship the same God.” Amen. -- *Sultan Shahin, editor, New Age Islam* 1 Comments More.<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1514> Islam and the West *The Burqa Debate: understanding the backdrop <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1509>* France has also been a pioneer of sorts when it comes to the feminist movement of the world. Feminism was conceived and practiced first in France and has been a source of inspiration all over the world. France is also known for its outspoken feminine sexuality which might sometimes be beyond the comprehension of the eastern mind-set. Catherine Breillat, for instance, is a movie-maker whose films have created ripples worldwide on this issue but even their concept couldn’t have been imagined in Asian or Middle Eastern societies. French society is a developed society today but it has sacrificed a lot in reaching where it has. Sarkozy’s remark can be viewed as a result of a compelling pressure of French ethos and its history as Burqa is the symbol of the regressive civilization of medieval ages which is gaining currency in French society amongst immigrant Muslims. To any French national who knows the history of his liberal culture that set women free from medieval bonds, this might seem like an imminent threat to his society’s value system. But we should also try to understand the psychology of the Muslims world over who are under constant attack from Western Media and who are facing military aggression as well. Muslims are suffering from a loss of identity especially in the western world. -- *Shamshad Elahee Ansari* 4 Comments More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1509> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Asalam o Alaikum, You Are Receiving This Message, Because You Are A Member Of FOCUS ON ISLAM, A Google Group [..:: The Best Group For Nice Islamic Mails ::..] \/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<>\/ You can Post Your Comments and Suggestions to Me [Moderator of this Group] on this email address: [email protected] To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.google.com/group/focusonislam/ To post messages/mails to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Please forward our Mails to Your friends, and convence them to join our Group. 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