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 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*
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Islamic Ideology
*The Beauty of Islam that attracts intellectuals like Kamala Das
<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1503>*
Kamala Das had converted to Islam on 12 December 1999. Kamala Suraiya - her
Islamic name - was considered to be one of the finest authors. She was also
a good poet.
Known as a tradition-defying iconoclast, she had sought to convince her
readers that inequality among humans is most inhuman. After a long creative
life and having pondered over the ideology of Islam and presumably comparing
it with other religions, for a long time, she decided to take refuge in
Islam. After her conversion in a grand ceremony organized at Chohi in
Kerala, she observed in a T.V interview: “I didn’t accept Islam under any
pressure; it’s my spontaneous and personal decision. So I don’t care about
any criticism, Islam is the most precious treasure for me and it is dear to
me more than my life”. -- *Maulana Nadeem Al-Wajidee
*Translated from Urdu by *Syed Raihan Ahmad Nezami*
More.<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1503>
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