Accepting the Bitter Truth

The recent disclosure of the Emran Hashmi about his denial of housing in Mumbai, on his being a Muslim, is not at all surprising but is a bitter fact which should be accepted by one and all. It should neither be diluted nor discounted.  Earlier Shabana Azmi, by admitting the very same fact stirred up a controversy on the subject.  Unfortunately many are still struggling to put the facts under the carpet on false assumptions.

Saad was working for a public sector organization in Mumbai. He was desperately looking for a decent flat on rent.  During his interaction with various landlords and friends he was shown some written rules of certain societies about not hiring/selling properties to Muslims.  There were also unwritten understanding not to do the same.   Initially he got frustrated, and then he tried to pacify himself by accepting that it is the right of the society to make their own rules and he should not feel bad about it.  But eventually he got a flat hassle-free in some other non-Muslims occupied building. 

One of the leading doctors working for the state government had the taste of the bitter pill in his home town of Hyderabad.  During his search for temporary accommodation he approached the landlord, who agreed to hire his apartment based on discussion in Telugu (a local language mostly spoken by non-Muslims), whilst progressing towards preparing the contract he realized that the doctor is a Muslim.  He immediately informed him that he is a very secular person and likes Muslims but it is his mother who is very conservative and does not like non-Hindus and even certain categories of Hindus and excused.

Mohammed also had the bitter experience of being denied many job opportunities just because of being a Muslim. In one of the classical cases, He was selected by a famous Multinational Company, after topping in the group discussions and written examination. He was asked to report on a particular date for posting to their operations in Visakhapatnam. However he reported a week ahead of agreed date only to be astonished by their response. He was told that a particular person is already posted in his place. The selection process involved 2 weeks and a waiting of 2 months for posting. When he asked the reason, they tried to give some silly excuses and upon on pestering for the real reason. He was told clearly that he was dropped as he is a Muslim and a certain group does not like to deal with Muslims.

Many reports including the Sacchar report have revealed the backwardness, conditions and representation of the Muslims in India, which the vast majority of jaundiced eyed audience is not able to accept it as a fact.  However in reality the situation is more pathetic than the report.

The negative image of Muslims is not built overnight.  It is being systematically cultivated even prior to Babri Masjid demolition and prior to 9/11 and has resulted in the death and destruction of their properties. It is the responsibility of all Indian citizens to see to it that this image is rectified.

Fortunately this is not at all a widespread phenomenon, and confined to small pockets. The best way of resolving any problem is to identify and accept that a problem exists.  The mere denial of any problem will not help in finding a solution.  Another fact is that fear, greed, hatred, discrimination, favouritism and other vices are in human nature and cannot be eliminated but efforts should be made to reduce them. 

Mohammed Sadullah Khan is a free-lance writer and can be contacted at mosakhan40@gmail.com.

World in Turmoil

The human nature of greed and selfishness has brought about the misery to the whole world. This has given twisted meaning to the religions and other systems of governments.  Man is pursuing a profession of destruction rather than construction.

 We are the real witnesses to the ill effects of this greed. The 26/11 episode which not only shocked the Indians but the entire world is a grim reminder of what a handful of terrorists can bring about. In the process they have killed the key officials of Anti-Terrorism Squad. People are still not in a position to gauge the real motive of their operation. The war mongering exercise by the two neighbouring democratic elected governments and nuclear powers has caused many peace loving citizens sleepless nights.  However it seems that the war or peace is not in the hands of these democratically elected governments.   The string of powers which control the decisions of war or peace is outside these rulers. However the threats by these governments will definitely bring about a solace to their followers and enhance their vote banks politics. Media and the vitriolic politicians have done their best to provoke these countries into a war.  A real war will be a disaster to the region

Middle East has been a region of turmoil and disaster for many decades.  The economic sanctions have killed millions of Iraqi's and the policies of its dictator another million and the so called freedom is leading them to further death and destruction.  A pair of 10's shoes may not help the daily death and mayhem but will remain a symbol in the years to come. A strong and peaceful Iraq would have been a boon for the region. Afghanistan is still groping for stability.

We have also seen the pounding of the Gaza strip by the Israeli bombs and killings of innocent children and women for no fault of their.  Further the entry of heavy tanks into the civilian and densly populated areas as a part of ground offensive has already caused substantial financial and human loss. By the time the silent international community takes a firm stand, Israel might have accomplished its task of eliminating and destroying its targets.  This process has being going on since many years. Peace and dialogue may still remain elusive.

The capture of Tamil Tigers strong-hold by the Sri-Lankan government and a firm resolve to end the problem of the tigers may not bring about the required peace to the island. 

The over zealousness to get quick and easy money has led to the Financial crisis. There is a fear of collapse of the global financial system. The sub-prime crisis was the stepping stone to the financial problems of the world. The world is being plagued by other problems like the recessionary trend, which is making millions lose their jobs and means of livelihood. Many stable organizations are facing a glut and need stimulus packages to provide bread and butter to their employees. We have also seen that inspite of tighter controls, the corrupt practices of the financial markets, banking, investment institutions and the mismanaged multinational corporations are on rise. Basically this is nothing but a failure of the Capitalistic culture. Many including multinational organizations have become victim to the siphoning of 50 billion dollars by Bernard Madoff.  The down trend of global share markets has eroded the value of billionaires apart from making many small investors lose their life-time savings.  The entire global loss is estimated over 40 trillion dollars. The latest to the list is Satyam fiasco, which may cost its investors over a billion dollars and may cause the booming IT sector of India a big jolt.

The fluctuating price of oil has caused many mis-calculations. The shortage of food has also given rise to the speculation of increase in starvation deaths. The green house effect and the increasing levels of pollutions have caused alarming level of global warming.  Many plants and animals are extinct and some are on verge of extinction. 

We have seen 21^st century pirates holding to ransom the most advanced countries.  With the departure of Ethiopian troops the popped up government in Somalia will not be able to survive for long.  This will create more blood shed and give free hand to the pirates.  It was rightly suggested that the business has a right to do business and not to get involved in the war of sorts.  The Insurers have once again decided not to insure the shipments traveling in those areas or to hike the premiums multi-fold.

It is high time that various international organizations under the umbrella of United Nations with the co-operation of the world powerful nations are given free hand and resources. They should do away with their myopic policies and frame the right policies, free from bias and prejudices in-order to tackle the real problems the world is facing. The world has become a global village, which cannot stand wars or threats of war. All problems need to be solved permanently. United States with its hegemony, should be a part and parcel of any initiative and be impartial in solving the problems of the world by dialogue and mutual respect.   A peaceful world free from conflict, greed and adhering to human rights is for the benefit of the present generations and the future generations.

Mr Mohammed Sadullah Khan, is a freelance writer and a commentator. He can be contacted at mosakhan40@gmail.c

Time to understand Muslims

The recent statement of the mufti of Lebanon's Sunni Muslims to Pope Benedict XVI that he would consider "any attack on a Christian as an attack on all Muslims”, needs to be highlighted. This is not a bold statement but a true view of Islam.  Muslims are guided by Quran, which is the holy book of Islam and it is the most read book in the World today.  I have not come across similar statements from any other religious leaders of the world.  

The production of the film titled “Innocence of Muslims” by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula under the alias name Sam Bacile with the sole intention of provoking and inciting Muslims is highly condemnable.  Muslims love their Prophet (PBUH) more than their own selves.  Hence anything against prophet (PBUH) is bound to inflame the passions of Muslims.  Nakoula, being an Arab knew very well the reaction of Muslims to his film.  Since he made the film with bad motive, he should be convicted for premeditated Murder of innocent victims and destruction of properties throughout the world.   Along with him all the people who are associated with the film like by funding, acting and promoting should also be prosecuted. On this controversial issue the Islamic view in nutshell is very clear and the Quran clearly guides all the Muslims by its verses.  The Holy Qur’an says: “Revile not ye Those whom they call upon Besides Allah, lest They out of spite Revile Allah In their ignorance.” [Holy Qur’an 6:108].  Hence Muslims do not indulge in such acts as has been committed by this man and his friends. There may be guidance in almost all the religions of the world about not ridiculing other religions and communities, which should be highlighted and propagated to avoid such incidents in future. There is a greater responsibility of the religious leaders and community leaders in educating their flocks about the mischief mongers on the fringes, out to cause trouble in the society.

On the violence post movie, again there is a clear-cut guidance from Quran. No amount of unjust policies of America, no amount of discrimination and no amount of hate mongering will ever allow the Killing of any innocent human being as it is against the teachings of Islam.  According to the Qur’an, killing any person without a just cause is as big a sin as killing the whole humanity and saving the life of one person is as good deed as saving the whole humanity. This beautiful guidance is the best guidance anyone can produce on protecting the lives of human beings.   If all the humanity follows this beautiful guidance then the whole World will become a better place to live in. 

No doubt there has been demonization of Islam and Muslims, even-though the Muslims are the worst victims of terrorism and discrimination throughout the World.  Even the common Islamic words like Jihad and Kafir has been misused to create hatred and resentment among non-Muslims.   The root cause of all the major problems is moral corruption and not due to any religion. The energy spent on hating a particular religion or community should be spend on understanding that religion in right perspective or at-least in understanding own religion or ideology. One of the good features of human beings is that more than ninety nine percent of the human beings behave humanely irrespective of their religious or ideological affiliations, unless provoked and manipulated. Understanding the true Islamic view will dispel many myths surrounding the Islamic terminology, Islam and Muslims. It is the duty of religious heads, preachers, community leaders, different governmental and non-governmental organizations and media to understand the problem and address the issues causing provocation, manipulation, friction and declining moral values in the world. 

By Mohammed Sadullah Khan, based in Riyadh is a Faculty Member and Freelance Writer and can be reached  at mosakhan40@gmail.com