Faint glimmer of hope

[bongule]

[size=12pt]nspired by the uprising in Tunisia, which saw the country’s long-ruling President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali flee to Saudi Arabia, a wave of popular protest is sweeping through several Arab countries, grabbing the world’s attention. It all started in Tunisia when a jobless 26-year-old graduate set himself on fire to protest against the seizure of his vegetable cart, his only means of earning a livelihood, by officials, triggering countrywide protests. Now, the three-decade-old regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has come to an end. Sudan, Jordan, Algeria and Yemen are also witnessing protesters taking to the streets against the entrenched regimes. The anger is also threatening to scorch Lebanon where Najib Mikati, a Hizbullah politician backed by Syria and Iran, has been installed as Prime Minister.

What remains to be seen is whether the House of Saud feels the heat and what direction the course of events in Tunisia and Egypt takes. In both countries, Islamists have become active once again. If the present political upheaval goes the Iranian way, it is bound to be a cause for concern for the entire world with radical Islamists coming to power in Arab states.

After the assassination of Salman Taseer, Governor of Punjab Province in Pakistan, there has been a surge in Islamic orthodoxy, threatening the civilian Government in Islamabad. In the Soviet era, communist states would view dissent as deviation from ideology. In the 21st century, dissidence is being equated increasingly with blasphemy in Islamic countries. For instance, in Pakistan, at least 30 people are reported to be on the death row for alleged violations of the tough anti-blasphemy laws of that country.

While Indian secularists remain silent over Pakistani clerics’ hailing the murder of Salman Taseer and calling for the killing of all those who demand amendments to the blasphemy laws, such incidents are happening in India too. In the town of Sopore, which is the heart of the separatist movement in the Kashmir Valley, militants dragged two sisters from their home and shot them dead. The hardliners in the All-Party Hurriyat Conference issued a mild condemnation only after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed his indignation over the silence of the separatist leaders. There are no prizes for guessing what would have been their reaction had the killings been perpetrated by security forces.

What would happen if in an environment of Islamic orthodoxy eminent Muslims were to raise their voices in favour of reform and modernisation? We have recently seen that at Darul Uloom, Deoband where Vice-Chancellor Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi is under assault from fanatics. Eminent Muslim scholars elected Maulana Vastanvi as the Vice-Chancellor of this seminary in Deoband. His election itself was a surprise. Till recently he was not known outside western India, but his call for changes in the curriculum of the education offered by seminaries has catapulted him to the national scene.

[color=red]This Muslim scholar from a lower middle-class family of farmers in Gujarat is a self-made man who is interested not only in theology but also modern education. After earning an MBA, he moved to Akkalkuwa on the Gujarat-Maharashtra border to set up a seminary and a modern educational institution to give free education to the poor people of his community. A whopping 1.7 lakh students have enrolled at this institution, named Jamia Islamia Ishataul Uloom, as compared to 3,000 at Darul Uloom, Deoband.

For Maulana Vastanvi — his surname comes from his native village of Vastan in Gujarat — an off-hand remark that Gujarati Muslims are not discriminated against and that “all communities” have prospered in Gujarat has landed him in trouble. The students at Darul Uloom, Deoband, as well as orthodox Muslims elsewhere, have demanded his immediate resignation from the Vice-Chancellor’s post.

What is most surprising is the deafening silence of secularists and liberals in other communities. Why are they not coming forward to support this little spark of reform? Why are they not standing by Maulana Vastanvi in his battle against those who want Muslims to remain tied to the past and neglect modern education? Is it because they realise that if Muslims break free of the past and embrace modern education they will no longer remain a captive vote-bank?

In Bihar, the JD(U)-BJP Government, has successfully reached out to Muslims. As a result, they gave communal propaganda during the recent Assembly polls a thumbs-down and voted in favour of NDA candidates to register their support for development, education and eradication of poverty and crime. This contributed to the overwhelming mandate for the NDA in last year’s election.

Maulana Vastanvi, who found Muslims in Akkalkuwa “illiterate and poor”, did not blame others for the sorry state of affairs. Instead, he set up a modern educational institution in that little town. “The idea,” he says, “is to be present in those areas that have no educational or health facilities to provide education to Muslims in Islamic atmosphere.” Though he acknowledges that Darul Uloom, Deoband, is differently conceived, he believes in learning English and computer science. “The next thing I would like to do,” he says, “is to ensure employment for every student who passes out of Darul Uloom, Deoband.”

But jobs don’t come easy in this era. Students have to acquire competitive skills to be employed in the industrial, services or retail sectors. If Muslims in India are willing to accept this reality, they should also applaud the Maulana-dominated Shoora for electing this reformer against one of their own kin.
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When the electoral council of Darul Uloom, Deoband, meets later this month, will it ask Maulana Vastanvi to go ahead with his vision of uplifting the community and helping it to embark upon a journey that will take them to a brighter future? Even as the small flame of hope flickers, our so-called secularists would like blow it out lest Muslims see the reality and decide to get rid of their ghetto mentality. It seems they want Muslims to remain prisoners of the past. No wonder these secularists have not condemned the murder of Salman Taseer or the killings in Sopore but are busy demonstrating elsewhere.
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sHa_clap4 sHa_clap4 sHa_clap4 sHa_clap4 sHa_clap4 sHa_clap4 sHa_clap4

[gerrard]

*=: *=: *=:  nemo baaa  you rock you rock

[PAVITHRA]

did not read but  *=: *=:

[gerrard]

[quote author=PAVITHRA link=topic=156431.msg1855290#msg1855290 date=1297871124]
did not read but  *=: *=:
[/quote] mari sadavakundaa  *=: *=: ani ela telusu  sCo_hmmthink sCo_hmmthink

[PAVITHRA]

[quote author=gerrard link=topic=156431.msg1855308#msg1855308 date=1297871377]
mari sadavakundaa  *=: *=: ani ela telusu  sCo_hmmthink sCo_hmmthink
[/quote]

because he never posted something bad as far as i know  @3$% @3$%