Title: Keralite Moulvi to convert to Hinduism By: P K Surendran Source: The Times of India News Service http://www.timesofindia.com THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kakkatummal Hassan ``Moulvi'' will become Kamala Hassan as he gets converted to Hinduism next week. The first Kerala Muslim intellectual to change his faith, Hassan, a 30-year-old Sunni Muslim writer from Palakkad district, has turned away from his faith on the issues of polygamy and talaaq. He will now edit Desa Nadam, a periodical published by the Shiv Sena. Hassan will get converted and renamed by the Arya Samaj at a function to be held here at the end of the month. Noted writer Kamala Das had recently converted herself to Islam. The Muslim youth has left his parents and family behind. The family is in Palakode, a village in Palakkad district. His parents are unhappy with the decision. His wife's family had already distanced themselves from him for writing ``secular'' articles and questioning polygamy. Hassan says after schooling, he had studied Darz for five years to become a Moulvi. But instead of accepting the job as a Moulvi, he went for a Bible study lasting three years at a Mangalapuram seminary. He had travelled with Pentecostals, a Christian fundamentalist sect, and attended several Gospel meetings. He says he found the basic principles of the Bible attractive but its practioners unappealing. It was then he turned to Ramayana and Vivekandanda. ``I found polygamy being practised in Islam. The easy way in which talaaq is being said has no Koranic backing,'' says Hassan. ``Sura Nisa'' in Koran that dwells on matrimony, is explicit on the virtues of having a single wife. The Koran says you can marry twice or thrice, only if you find destitute women. It was obviously a matter of helping hapless women rather than granting sexual indulgences to men.'' The male-dominated priesthood had twisted it to mean a licence for multiple wives, he says. Those who justify polygamy argue that Prophet Mohammed had 11 wives. But those were strategic tie-ups as the Prophet had been founding an empire. ``In Hindu history and mythology also, one will find kings having several wives and concubines. But do the Hindus follow this practice in modern life? No,'' says the acolyte. Hassan writes about theology in several Malayalam magazines. His belief that neither was Islam monotheistic nor Hinduism all pantheism earned him the ire of religious hawks who more than once thrashed him in public. ``Because of me, my family - parents and eight brothers and sisters - are troubled. I, therefore, thought it better to leave them alone and come here.'' According to the Hassan, Islam's insistence on praying in the direction of the West and selecting a ``holy spot'' were akin to the Hindus' worship of several idols. The idols are symbolic, a means to the ultimate truth. He says he considers Hinduism more as a culture of a people than a religious faith. ``I will oppose injustice in whatever form. Today, I find women's status under Islam the worst of all. But the Islamic priesthood does not tolerate criticism and I thought it better to take shelter where kindness is more palpable, '' says Hassan as he prepares to embrace Hinduism. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit India Think Tank's Home Page at http://www.indiathinktank.net. India Think Tank's Legal Disclaimer: Please note that all messages posted on the message boards and forums of India Think Tank are subject to India Think Tank's legal disclaimer. Please visit http://www.indiathinktank.net/legal.html to read the disclaimer in detail. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Offer-Earn 300 Points from MyPoints.com for trying @Backup Get automatic protection and access to your important computer files. Install today: http://click.egroups.com/1/2344/7/_/3986/_/953846891/ eGroups.com Home: http://www.egroups.com/group/ittmembers/ http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
