nice On 2/14/11, Ghulam Muhammed <[email protected]> wrote: > What’s Wrong With Muslims > <http://www.columnspk.com/whats-wrong-with-muslims-by-aijaz-zaka-syed/>By > Aijaz Zaka Syed > <http://www.columnspk.com/whats-wrong-with-muslims-by-aijaz-zaka-syed/>*What > is a writer without his or her readers? I take my share of readers’ feedback > seriously. It’s invariably interesting and instructive. Check out this mail > from a regular reader, Shiv Dhanush, for instance, in response to my recent > column on the predicament of Indian Muslims: “There are less than one > million Hindus and Sikhs in the US, that is, 0.3 per cent of the population. > But governors of two out of the 50 US states are from this community. There > are nearly six million Muslims in the US but they do not have anyone in > governor mansions. You can extend the example to other top learning > institutions like MIT, Cal Tech, Berkeley, Harvard and Yale, etc. The > representation of Hindu and Sikh children is greater than their percentage > in the population. > * > > * “The share of Muslims in these elite institutions is lower than their > population ratio. You can make a comparison of Punjabi (or Sindhi or > Bengali) Hindus and Sikhs versus Punjabi Muslims in the US or UK and their > relative achievements. Make a similar comparison of Hindus and Sikhs versus > Muslims in US and UK prisons and you’ll see alarming results.* > > * “The playing field for all immigrants in the West is the same. So how did > this happen? It happened because Hindus, Sikhs, and others give highest > priority to education and personal excellence (whereas Muslims do not). This > is why Muslims today find themselves even behind the Dalits in India in all > walks of life.”* > > * My apologies for this long quote, but it’s intrinsic to my argument. > Besides, this is fascinating stuff, don’t you think? In fact, Shiv goes on > to argue that the South Asian Muslims wanted Pakistan because they knew they > couldn’t compete with Hindus and Sikhs in an undivided India!* > > * I have no issues with Shiv’s argument and most of his facts. In fact, we > are on the same page in his analysis about the Muslim under-representation > in all walks of life and their excessive presence on the wrong side of the > law.* > > * The shining examples of Louisiana governor Piyush Jindal, being lionised > as the Republicans’ answer to Obama and a future president, and South > Carolina governor Nimrata Kaur are a source of inspiration and pride not > just for Hindus and Sikhs but the whole of India and Asia. There are > countless such examples in the land of opportunity that is America – of > Indians scaling the pinnacle of excellence in universities, research and > scientific centres and Silicon Valley companies, thanks to their hard work > and dedication.* > > * However, if Indian Hindus and Sikhs are increasingly becoming the shining > face of the great American dream while their Muslim counterparts rough it > out in the cold, there’s another more prosaic explanation.* > > * I hate to disrupt Shiv’s reverie, but if the Jindals and Kaurs of this > world find themselves in US governor mansions today, and possibly on their > way to the White House, they’ve had to pay a price for it. Piyush Jindal was > born a Hindu to Hindu immigrant parents from Punjab. He converted to > Christianity when he grew up, christening himself as Bobby Jindal. Today, he > and his wife Supriya are proper churchgoing folk, like the rest of the > predominantly white, genteel Christian America. > * > > *Ditto Nimrata Kaur, who today calls herself Nikki Haley. She was born a > Sikh to second-generation Sikh immigrants. Like Jindal, she converted to > Christianity before joining politics. She’s married to Michael Haley and has > two children, all of them nice, practicing Christians.* > > * Of course, this has nothing to do with faith. Each to his or her own, and > I am a firm believer in everyone doing his/her own thing. What I am trying > to emphasise is the fact that both Jindal and Kaur had to give up their > original identity and faith to find acceptance in white middle-class > America.* > > * I am an ardent admirer of the great American dream and its enduring allure > that continues to beckon generations of dreamers from around the world. But > I have to point out that today if Jindal and Kaur are where they are, it’s > also because of their willingness to give up their beliefs to merge their > identity with the host society, becoming tolerable for the Republican and > Tea Party rabble-rousers. Compromises are made at every step of the > staircase to heaven. > * > > *Unfortunately or fortunately, this is something the Muslims cannot do. They > would rather languish on the edges of the American dream than give up their > identity and faith to live in governor’s mansions. > * > > *I know this is a huge weakness or failing, according to the worldview of > friends like Shiv. But that’s how they are: rigid and uncompromising when it > comes to their convictions and totally out of sync with the way of the world > and liberal ways of the West. If they are left out in the cold while the > rest of the world is partying, they do not seem to mind. And this is a > global phenomenon, wherever Muslims are, from the Americas to Australia. > * > > *In fact, this apparent lack of “flexibility” and preoccupation with > religion is seen as being at the heart of the West-Islam conflict today. > Call it what you will, but this is in the very nature of Islam, that it > demands its followers to accept it as a way of life, rather than as > something private between God and the believer. > * > > *But if the Muslims find themselves stuck in a rut almost everywhere while > the rest of the world is flying past them on the high road to glory, it’s > not because there’s too much of religion in their lives. It’s because they > have failed to apply it the way it should be to their lives. Instead of > imbibing the liberating teachings and revolutionary spirit of a faith that > guides us every step of the way, we have turned it into a set of meaningless > rituals and a heavy yoke around our neck. > * > > *It was the same faith that transformed the bands of unruly, bloodletting > Arabian tribes into a world power in less than a decade, bringing down the > mighty Persian and Roman empires like a house of cards. > * > > *It wasn’t just on the battlefield that they beat others. They pioneered a > knowledge and scientific revolution which, in turn, fed and inspired the > European Renaissance. From philosophy and poetry to physics and chemistry > and from mathematics and medicine to planetary science, the West built its > discoveries and advances based on blueprints created by Muslim pioneers. > * > > *Unlike us, early Muslims had been driven by a compelling craving and hunger > for knowledge and new ideas, wherever they could find them. While we have > become the prisoners of our past and our often narrow, literal > interpretation of Islamic teachings, they looked to the future, showing the > way forward to others. > * > > *They did not preach their faith. They lived it, promoting it with their > actions and with their honesty, simplicity, piety and courage. At the same > time, they promoted a culture of hard work, perseverance and excellence > wherever they went and whatever they turned their attention to. No wonder > they conquered the world in no time and have left behind a civilisation to > last forever.* > > * They were extraordinary men, giants among men. A really hard act to > follow, indeed! But if we could recreate even a fraction of their magic, we > would do ourselves an immense favour, transforming our wretched existence > forever and creating a better world.* > > *<[email protected]> > * > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "humanrights movement" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement?hl=en. > >
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