Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Indian Muslims Victimized: Singh

[S A Hannan]

Dear members,   Assalamu Alaikum. This is a good move by Indian Prime Minister. It ia also a recognition that the Muslims have seriously suffered in India in social and economic sector.   Shah Abdul Hannan   Subject: Indian Muslims Victimized: Singh Indian Muslims Victimized: Singh Islamonline.net & News Agencies "All of us have an obligation to redress legitimate grievances of our minorities," Singh said. NEW DELHI — Indian Premier Manmohan Singh has underlined the urgent need to counter a sense of alienation among the country's 140 million Muslims and champion a pro-active policy to ensure that they would not pay for the actions of a few extremists. "It is unfortunate that terrorism has resulted in certain sections of our population being targeted, with a result that a wrong impression has been created of the radicalization of the entire Muslim community," Singh told top central and state governments officials, reported Reuters. "No innocent person should be harassed in the struggle against terrorism," he stressed. "If a mistake is made, effective remedial corrective measures should be taken well in time." Indian Muslims have complained of increased harassment since a series of bombing attacks against commuter trains in Mumbai, India's financial hub, on July 11 killed 186. The attacks, blamed but not claimed by Muslim groups, resulted in increased police raids on the city's Muslim areas and the detention of hundreds. Experts warn that the random arrests alienate an already frustrated minority and could backfire pushing some green youths to fall prey to radicals and extremists. On Tuesday, the Indian Express newspaper said heavy handed policing in the wake of the Mumbai blasts had left Muslims in the city feeling "under siege." India, which is officially a secular nation, is home to the world's largest Muslim population after Indonesia and Pakistan. Hindus account for more than 80 percent of the country's 1.1 billion population while Muslims make up about 13 percent. Grievances Singh said India had to immediately embark on a pro-active policy "to ensure that a few individual acts do not result in tarnishing the image of an entire community." He also underlined the importance of working to "remove any feelings of persecution and alienation from the minds of the minorities". Being himself a member of the Sikh minority, Singh said Indian Muslims nursed a strong sense of grievance that they have not actively benefited from the processes of social and economic development. "All of us have an obligation to redress legitimate grievances of our minorities," he said. Though the country's top woman tennis star, president and richest man are Muslims as are several top film stars and federal ministers, such high-profile success stories mask the real status of Indian Muslims. The country's Muslim minority has suffered decades of social and economic neglect and oppression. Official figures reveal Muslims log lower educational levels and higher unemployment rates than the Hindu majority and other minorities like Christians and Sikhs. They account for less than seven percent of public service employees, only five percent of railways workers, around four percent of banking employees and there are only 29,000 Muslims in India's 1.3 million-strong military. __._,_.___ *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recommended: http://www.ikhwanweb.com http://www.islamonline.net http://www.islam-guide.com http://www.prophetmuhammadforall.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured Visit Your Group | Yahoo! 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