Is India a Secular Country ? Secularism Debate India is the only country where Hindus have to prove that they are secular and Muslims have to prove that they are patriotic. Hindus are deemed secular only if they are bold enough to criticize the problems (as viewed by them) in Hinduism as a religion while a Muslim can be religious and secular. India is a secular country, i.e., secularism is expected of all Indians only in public life while in their personal lives, they can follow any religion. There are numerous parties representing the interests of Muslims which are not criticized for not being secular, but BJP is berated for representing the interests of Hindus. Subramanian Swamy and other Hindu-based political parties are pointing out such hypocrisy which may appear to be hatred of Muslims. Threat of radical Islam He has been very critical of radical Islam in the recent times by referring mostly to three controversial divisions of world in Islam: Dar Al-Islam (Place where Muslims are in rule) Dar Al-Harb (Place where Muslims are a sizeable minority) Dar Al-Amn (Place where Muslims are a tiny minority) These divisions are not present in Quran and Hadith. It was proposed by some early Islamic jurists after Prophet Mohammad. In spite of his factual errors, the behaviour of Muslim community all over the world appears to be in line with such divisions. Anti-India activities Al-qaeda has set up an Indian branch recently and there are numerous sleeper cells operating in India. While Indian Muslim community is the one of the least radicalized, the threat of that tiny radicals has been mostly ignored by the media. Perceived Hypocrisy The attitude of Muslim community towards various situations is highly questionable. When there are Muslims killed in Gaza, Myanmar, etc or if there is a movie/cartoon that is highly objectionable to Muslims, the following are the usual responses from them: 1. Stop killing Muslims (not humans) 2. We demand freedom of religion (as if it is not granted) 3. Insulting a religion is not freedom of speech 4. There would be widespread protests around the world--some include violence too. If there are terror strikes in the name of Islam or if the lack of freedom of religion and biased laws in Muslim countries are cited to them, the following are the responses from them: 1. They are not true Muslims (as if the responsibility ends there) 2. We condemn it--some even support it though they are a tiny minority 3. They are brainwashed (easiest way to defend anything) 4. Complete silence (no protests) Do you see the difference in the behaviour of the same community between the two similar scenarios--yet different victims--mentioned above? What kind of image about Muslims does it project to the world? Muslims care only about Muslims, they dont respect freedom of speech, they demand religious freedom while they fail to reciprocate in their rule, etc. I respect the peaceful majority of Muslims who live their lives contributing to build a proper society. But, they should also take the lead in Islam if they believe it advocates all about peace. These terrorists claiming themselves to be Muslims is the greatest insult to Islam(if Islam is a peaceful religion) anyone can possible think of. Peaceful Muslims are obliged to create a new reformed image of Islam. I dont know how it can happen, but it cannot happen by the following ways: 1. Denial of threat of radical Islamists 2. Sending children only to Madrasas for education 3. Demanding special status to Islam/Muslims 4. Protests for criticism of religion and no protests for terrorism in the name of Islam. 5. Following only Imams to understand Quran/Islam 6. Supporting Saudi Arabia for no freedom of religion while demanding the same where they live 7. Indoctrinating children the idea that Islam is the only true religion and everything else is false and wrong 8. Defending terrorism or ethnic cleansing by Muslims by saying they are a tiny minority (but they use Islam to justify it) 9. Trying to impose shariah in secular countries (A big no)
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 07:35:03 +0000
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