US: Pastors call on Christians to love Muslims

by Anna Douglas
Source: The Herald







Two dozen Christian pastors in York County have joined together to publicly call on members of their faith to embrace Muslims as their brothers and sisters.

The Rev. Sam McGregor, pastor at Allison Creek Presbyterian Church near Lake Wylie, said he has jump-started the local effort because of recent threats against Muslims in the United States that came to light during the trial of Robert Doggart.

Doggart, a failed congressional candidate from Tennessee, pleaded guilty this month to plotting to kill Muslims who live in a religious community in New York. The FBI uncovered and stopped Doggart’s plan.

A similar community, called Holy Islamville, has existed in York County for nearly 30 years. Members of the local community have said they’re fearful for their own safety after hearing of Doggart’s violent plans in New York and learning that he tried to recruit people from South Carolina to help him.

“We have got to take a stand,” McGregor said.

He and 23 other York County religious leaders submitted a letter to The Herald on Friday stating they are “opposed to any acts of violence or threats of violence against anyone due to their religious affiliation.”

The letter also states: “Any Christian who uses their faith as a basis for bringing harm upon another has completely misunderstood what it means to lift up the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”

The pastors who signed come from churches in the county’s urbanized areas such as Rock Hill and Fort Mill and from rural towns such as Sharon.

Fear, McGregor said, has driven many Christians to disparage Muslims, shun interactions with other faith groups, and not take a stand against violence and hateful rhetoric. That behavior isn’t in line with Jesus’ teachings, he said.

“The God who made me is the same God that made every other human on this Earth. … We are all brothers and sisters,” McGregor said.

He also said he’s proud of York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant, who recently said his deputies will remain vigilant in protecting Islamville – the same way they’ll protect every other resident, regardless of religious beliefs.

Sharon pastor the Rev. Barry Lambert says Christians need to remember that “the Lord Jesus Christ was unconditionally loving.”

Some Christians and others who are fearful of the Islamic faith have attempted to make Muslims “the enemy” by spreading lies about people who live and worship in communities like Islamville, Lambert said.

“We should be able to embrace anyone who has different beliefs, simply because they are our neighbors,” he said. Lambert has spent more than 30 years as a pastor, including eight years at Woodlawn Presbyterian Church.

As the leader of a church, he said, he’s called on to be a “peacemaker” and to “call all communities together to understand one another.”

Though Muslims and Christians may have different religious teachings or beliefs, he said, Christianity and Islam, along with Judaism, all have the same roots in the Old Testament.

Inside each of those religions, he said, there are various sects or denominations offering a range of different views. Those differences, Lambert said, should not be feared.

The sign at Woodlawn in Sharon currently says: “Perfect love casts out fear.”

‘We are all God’s creatures’

McGregor said the Bible makes frequent references to surrendering control to God and not living in fear. In scripture, angels often appear and say first, “Fear not.”

Christians who believe God is in control are not afraid of people who may hold different religious beliefs, he said. “Nothing good comes when we react out of fear,” McGregor said.

Often, Lambert said, Americans are afraid of Muslims out of “ignorant fear” derived from not understanding the Islamic faith, its teachings or the worship style.

The letter from the pastors is a call for dialogue among followers of Jesus, Muslims, and other religious people, Lambert said. He hopes local Christian churches will plan joint events with the Islamville community and open their hearts and minds.

Some members of the Rev. Jeff Lingle’s Epiphany Lutheran Church in Rock Hill have visited Islamville in York. Open conversations and learning from one another are ways to combat fear and the “tunnel vision” or “unfair” view that some people have about Muslims, Lingle said.

“Jesus taught to love all people,” he said.

Too often, Lingle said, people become self-centered and lose sight of Jesus’ basic teachings of love and peace. For some Christians, he said, they are more concerned about being “right” than loving their neighbor.

McGregor, too, encourages more interactions.

Understanding and learning from people who believe differently, he said, does not mean a Christian must give up his or her own values or abandon beliefs.

“I’m not going to give up my belief that Jesus is God’s son and Jesus is my savior,” he said, adding that engaging in dialogue with those who believe differently is not about conversion or persuasion.

Over recent years, McGregor has met with Islamville leaders and participated in joint events. In some ways, he said, he does not agree with Muslim beliefs and teachings. But, he says, he won’t allow the differences between his faith and the Islamic faith to keep him from learning from other people.

Christians leaders who prefer to “throw stones” at Muslims are not acting Christ-like, McGregor said. The model he believes Christ has given his followers is to walk beside those people who may believe differently and not “cast aspersions” about your neighbor.

His stance, McGregor says, may be unpopular. He expects he and other pastors who signed the letter may be bombarded with angry emails or phone calls.

Already, he said, in developing the letter, two local pastors disagreed with calling Muslims their “brothers and sisters.” Those two people did not sign McGregor’s letter, he said, because he wouldn’t change the wording.

“I said, ‘Thanks, but that change will not be made.’ … We are all God’s creatures and that makes us brothers and sisters.”

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Not a sprinkle, but a spread of saffron

MANJARI KATJU

The Hindutva agenda is moving forward, the voices of minorities are being marginalised and social hatred is being spread, but the political order continues to escape blame.

At a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is completing one year in office, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi made an embarrassing statement. The beef ban, Mr. Naqvi said, “is not a matter of loss or profit; it is an issue of faith and belief.” All those who want to eat beef can “go to Pakistan,” he added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s rise to power in 2014 with an absolute majority for the first time in the history of independent India was termed by some as a Modi victory. During the election campaign, the Sangh Parivar, to which the BJP belongs, did not seem too pleased with the development and personality-oriented campaign style of the party. But with the BJP’s landslide victory, things took a different turn. Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal called Mr. Modi the “ideal swayamsevak”, and saw his victory as the return of the Hindus to power after Rajput ruler Prithviraj Chauhan’s defeat way back in the 12th century.

An opportunity to seize

Over the past year, the manner in which the Parivar has conducted itself shows its enthusiasm in spreading Hindutva in India. As it believes that the BJP government is its own, it also apparently believes that it can stride confidently ahead by injecting vigour into Hindutva programmes. With the BJP’s victory, the Sangh Parivar feels that it has got a mandate and an opportunity to make all possible efforts to Hinduise social spaces, implement its ideology and show the minorities their “rightful place”. However much one disagrees with or feels for Prime Minister Modi’s development agenda, the fact is that the Parivar comes first — before any individual or office. And its list of ‘things to do’ cannot be locked up in cold storage by a few individuals at the helm of power. While Mr. Modi might express unhappiness when forced to, about the outrageous public conduct of his Sangh family members, the latter has been working overtime to communalise social relations and saffronise the polity. We must not forget that Mr. Modi and his development team also belong to this very Sangh family; they have been nurtured and moulded by the Hindutva agenda. The question we need to ask therefore is not whether Mr. Modi is for development or Hindutva, but rather how Hindutva has moved in the last one year.

In August 2014, Yogi Adityanath, BJP MP from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and also a VHP leader, was seen telling a crowd of about thousand people, “If they take one Hindu girl, we will take [a] 100 Muslims girls”. Holding the minority community responsible for communal violence, he said on a television show, “In places where there are 10 to 20 per cent minorities, stray communal incidents take place. Where there are 20 to 35 per cent of them, serious communal riots take place. And where they are more than 35 per cent, there is no place for non-Muslims”.

In December, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister of State for Food Processing, kicked up a storm when she said at a rally in New Delhi that the electorate faced a choice between “a government of ramzadon(followers of Ram) and haramzadon (illegitimate children)”. The former referred to a BJP government; the latter to a Congress or Aam Aadmi Party government. She later withdrew the remark after coming under fire from the opposition, but the damage had been done.

And just a month later, after the Prime Minister advised MPs to exercise caution while making public statements, Sakshi Maharaj, the fiery VHP leader and BJP MP from Unnao, said in Meerut, “The time has come when a Hindu woman must produce at least four children in order to protect Hindu religion”. He added that those involved in conversion and cow slaughter must be punished with death, though ghar vapsi, the process of converting minority communities to Hinduism, is not equivalent to conversion. “Wait for some time,” he said, “a law will be passed in Parliament in which anyone indulging in cow slaughter and conversion will be punished with the death sentence”.

In another reference to conversions, RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat said in February in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, that Mother Teresa’s service to the poor in India had been motivated by a desire to convert them to Christianity. BJP leader Sadhvi Prachi echoed his sentiments in Dehradun while calling for a boycott of films starring the three Khans of Bollywood. “I, for one, would ask the Bajrangis to tear the posters of films of Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan of the walls and burn them in the fire of Holi,” she said. “They spread a culture of violence.”

The Sangh Parivar also intensified conversions to the Hindu fold through their ghar vapsi programme. While conversions of Hindus to other “alien” religions were opposed, conversions to Hinduism were not only encouraged, but actively conducted. It is the economically backward and often destitute people who became targets of these campaigns. Groups situated on the lower rungs of the caste structure agreed to go through shuddhi rituals for material gratification, aspiring for social dignity and equality. What is significant is that ghar vapsi was defended by some members of the ruling party. Even BJP president Amit Shah called for a debate and a legal ban on “forcible” conversions, implying that conversions through ghar vapsi are not forcible and would be exempt from such a ban.

Another issue close to the Sangh Parivar’s heart is cow slaughter. Laws banning cow slaughter already exist in many States, but the blanket ban imposed in Maharashtra and then Haryana further indicate the creeping in of Hindutva in the Indian body politic. The ban extended to bulls and bullocks with utter disregard for the dietary needs of a large section of the impoverished citizenry and the already distressed agrarian economy.

A slow but sure strategy

All this has been happening in a context of low intensity violence against minorities. Attacks against Christians and Muslims have gone up, and they have been reported from all across the country. The impact of these skirmishes in terms of the spread of religious intolerance is the same as that of religious riots. The problem of such localised attacks is that Hindutva moves forward, minorities voices are marginalised and social hatred spreads, but the political order escapes the blame for dividing people. Statements can be denounced and there can be exasperation over certain doings, but there has to be acknowledgement that all this is being done to gain control over the nation’s polity and society. The Sangh Parivar is doing this in its own typical way by using the strategy of a death by a thousand cuts. These cuts are, slowly but surely, meant to mark out who belongs to the nation and who does not, by defining what people will eat, who they will marry, where they will live, what they will read and watch. Prime Minister Modi’s first year has seen some great successes in this aspect.

(Manjari Katju The writer teaches political science at the University of Hyderabad and is the author of ‘Vishva Hindu Parishad and Indian Politics.’

Keywords: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Hindutva agenda, Narendra Modi, 

original Source :

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/all-those-who-want-to-eat-beef-can-go-to-pakistan-mukhtar-abbas-naqvi/article7244981.ece

Why PM Modi is wrong in saying that Indians felt ashamed before 2014?

By M Reyaz, TwoCircles.net,

In 2008 during my final year of BA (Honours), I went to Lahore, Pakistan to participate in an inter-college drama festival. The hospitality of our host at GC University as also general Pakistanis had left us Indians humbled. They went an extra mile in making us feel comfortable. I remember at Anarkali market, how shopkeepers would insist on not taking money once they realized that we are Indians, or generously gave discounts. “Aap Mehman Ho Hamare,” they would often say.

When relaxing in my hotel room surfing different channels, the room service staff asked me in bewilderment why I was not watching cricket. I vividly remember his heavily Pathani accented Urdu: “Utthapa baot achcha khel raha hai, aap match nahi dekte?” It was an India-Australia cricket match that day. “I like Sachin and Sehwag a lot,” he continued.

Another evening, a stranger introduced himself as Khalid Riaz, a businessman from Bhawalpur, as he came to our room unannounced. He told us that he was on a business tour and when he came to know that Indian students are staying in the same hotel, he could not stop himself from meeting us. He even gave me his visiting card and invited us to visit Pakistan again, and especially Bhawalpur. “I will take care of everything in Bhawalpur,” he said smilingly.

Narendra Modi [File Photo]

In August 2010, I went to Germany to participate in a Summer School programme. As an Indian, I was particularly proud visiting the Allied Museum at Check Point Charlie dedicated to the Berlin Wall and events surrounding it. A section in the museum is devoted to the Messiah of Ahimsa and peace, the Father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi. As I bought some souvenirs from a shop selling antiques and memorabilia, the shopkeeper greeted with a smile: “Are you Indian?” He talked about Bollywood films and laughed saying, “My name is Khan.” As I paid cash and took my packets, he took out a small statue of Buddha, which I respectfully took from him; thanking him.

Fellow German students had told me earlier that a particular German channel broadcasts Hindi films with German subtitles every Sunday. (Read more about my experiences here: Muslim-West clash: My insightful trip to Germany).

In April 2013, I went to Kathmandu, Nepal to participate in a media workshop. Here too Indian journalists were well received and everyone had some ‘nostalgic memories’ to share. To be fair, among educated elites, there was resentment to some degree of what they see as ‘big brother’ attitude of the Indian establishment. But even then, as Indians you enjoy privileged position.

In 2014, I was at Afghanistan for a week during the Presidential election there. From our skin colours, Afghanis confuse us with Pakistani, often seen with suspicions. As an Indian, you feel privileged, walking on the streets of Kabul and talking to common Afghans as India enjoys immense goodwill among them. (Read here: Why India is the talk of the town in Afghanistan )

At least on three occasions, security/intelligence personnel asked me where was I from. But as soon as they would see the dark blue colour of the Passport, their reactions would change. A local Intelligence officer (LIO) at Shahr-e-Nau in Kabul told me: “Sorry Brother, maaf karna, mai samjha tum Pakistani. Hum Hindutan me padhai kiya. (Sorry brother, I mistook you to be a Pakistani. I studied in India.)”

Afghans are anyway famous world over for their hospitality but the moment they realise you are an Indian, they make you feel special. They all go out of their way to make you feel at home, away from home. Many of them refused to take money from me, or at least displayed reluctance.

Although, I cannot claim to be a globe-trotter, but from my few experiences abroad, I certainly felt privileged every time I visited another country. And hence, I was surprised – rather shocked – to hear Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying abroad that before he became the PM, Indians felt it must have been their “sins from the last birth” that they were born Indian, that they felt “ashamed” and adding that his victory has given new hopes to the countrymen and those abroad feel confident now. Despite #ModiInsultsIndia trending globally, Modi repeated similar things in Seoul, South Korea too.

A post-colonial developing country, India has had its own share of achievements. Indians and people of Indian origin have won Nobel prizes from literature to Physics, Mathematics to Chemistry as well as for their humanitarian work. In the cold war period, India led the rest of the post-colonial developing countries under Non-Alignment Movement (NAM). After liberalisation of its economy, several Indian companies are giving tough competition to international majors world over. Within its limited resources, India has tacitly used its ‘soft-powers’ – cricket and Indian films, not just Bollywood Hindi films, but also from Tamils, Malyalam, Bengali, etc. – to its advantages abroad.

No doubt, India has its own share of problems; it still ranks 85th among 175 countries, according to graft watchdog Transparency International India (TII). Yes, I feel ashamed. I feel ashamed when I see that even 67 years after independence, India has not been able to effectively fight poverty and poor farmers, in economic distress, are forced to commit suicide. I feel ashamed when I hear about selective female-foeticides; I feel ashamed every time I hear about rape of some woman in some corner of the country; I feel ashamed when I hear about upper caste Hindus unleashing atrocities on Dalits; I feel ashamed when minorities are massacred from Hashmipura to Gujarat to Kandhamal, with near impunity; I feel ashamed when youths in hundreds are incarcerated on fabricated charges or killed in fake-encounters. In fact, when the 2002 riots happened, the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had made no secret of his displeasure of how the situation was handled by the Gujarat government. He had called it as “most inhuman and horrible” and a “blot” on the nation.

The founding fathers of India and the pragmatic leaders of the country, with all their faults, deserve their dues for making sure that Indians do not feel ashamed of “being Indian” when they visit any country, instead feel proud, feel privileged.

Modi should realise that he has the mandate to rule the country for five years, with one year of it already over. Its high time he came out of the campaign mode – unless of course, he is already preparing for the 2019 general elections – and work towards actually alleviating some of the real ‘shames’ of the nation, as he had promised during his high pitched campaign; rather than indulge in some hyperbolic empty talks.

What our textbooks don't tell us: Why the Rajputs failed miserably in battle for centuries

They were defeated by Ghazni, Ghuri, Khilji, Babur, Akbar, the Marathas and the British.

The home minister, Rajnath Singh, wishes our school textbooks told us more about the Rajput king Rana Pratap, and less about the Mughal emperor Akbar. I, on the other hand, wish they explained why Rajputs fared so miserably on the battlefield.

A thousand years ago, Rajput kings ruled much of North India. Then they lost to Ghazni, lost to Ghuri, lost to Khilji, lost to Babur, lost to Akbar, lost to the Marathas, and keeled over before the British. The Marathas and Brits hardly count since the Rajputs were a spent force by the time Akbar was done with them. Having been confined to an arid part of the subcontinent by the early Sultans, they were reduced to vassals by the Mughals.

The three most famous Rajput heroes not only took a beating in crucial engagements, but also retreated from the field of battle. Prithviraj Chauhan was captured while bolting and executed after the second battle of Tarain in 1192 CE, while Rana Sanga got away after losing to Babur at Khanua in 1527, as did Rana Pratap after the battle of Haldighati in 1576. To compensate for, or explain away, these debacles, the bards of Rajputana replaced history with legend.

Specialists in failure

It is worth asking, surely, what made Rajputs such specialists in failure. Yet, the question hardly ever comes up. When it does, the usual explanation is that the Rajputs faced Muslim invaders whose fanaticism was their strength. Nothing could be further than the truth. Muslim rulers did use the language of faith to energise their troops, but commitment is only the first step to victory. The Rajputs themselves never lacked commitment, and their courage invariably drew the praise of their enemies. Even a historian as fundamentalist as Badayuni rhapsodised about Rajput valour. Babur wrote that his troops were unnerved, ahead of the Khanua engagement, by the reputed fierceness of Rana Sanga’s forces, their willingness to fight to the death.

Let’s cancel out courage and fanaticism as explanations, then, for each side displayed these in equal measure. What remains is discipline, technical and technological prowess, and tactical acumen. In each of these departments, the Rajputs were found wanting. Their opponents, usually Turkic, used a complex battle plan involving up to five different divisions. Fleet, mounted archers would harry opponents at the start, and often make a strategic retreat, inducing their enemy to charge into an ambush. Behind these stood the central division and two flanks. While the centre absorbed the brunt of the enemy’s thrust, the flanks would wheel around to surround and hem in opponents. Finally, there was a reserve that could be pressed into action wherever necessary. Communication channels between divisions were quick and answered to a clear hierarchy that was based largely on merit.

Contrast this with the Rajput system, which was simple, predictable, and profoundly foolish, consisting of a headlong attack with no Plan B. In campaigns against forces that had come through the Khyber Pass, Rajputs usually had a massive numerical advantage. Prithviraj’s troops outnumbered Ghuri’s at the second battle of Tarain by perhaps three to one. At Khanua, Rana Sanga commanded at least four soldiers for every one available to Babur. Unlike Sanga’s forces, though, Babur’s were hardy veterans. After defeating Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat, the founder of the Mughal dynasty had the option of using the generals he inherited from the Delhi Sultan, but preferred to stick with soldiers he trusted. He knew numbers are meaningless except when acting on a coherent strategy under a unified command. Rajput troops rarely answered to one leader, because each member of the confederacy would have his own prestige and ego to uphold. Caste considerations made meritocracy impossible. The enemy general might be a freed Abyssinian slave, but Rajput leadership was decided by clan membership.

Absent meritocratic promotion, an established chain of command, a good communication system, and a contingency plan, Rajput forces were regularly taken apart by the opposition’s mobile cavalry. Occasionally, as with the composite bows and light armour of Ghuri’s horsemen, or the matchlocks employed by Babur, technological advances played a role in the outcome.

Ossified tactics

What’s astonishing is that centuries of being out-thought and out-manoeuvred had no impact on the Rajput approach to war. Rana Pratap used precisely the same full frontal attack at Haldighati in 1576 that had failed so often before. Haldighati was a minor clash by the standards of Tarain and Khanua. Pratap was at the head of perhaps 3,000 men and faced about 5,000 Mughal troops. The encounter was far from the Hindu Rajput versus Muslim confrontation it is often made out to be. Rana Pratap had on his side a force of Bhil archers, as well as the assistance of Hakim Shah of the Sur clan, which had ruled North India before Akbar’s rise to power. Man Singh, a Rajput who had accepted Akbar’s suzerainty and adopted the Turko-Mongol battle plan led the Mughal troops. Though Pratap’s continued rebellion following his defeat at Haldighati was admirable in many ways, he was never anything more than an annoyance to the Mughal army. That he is now placed, in the minds of many Indians, on par with Akbar or on a higher plane says much about the twisted communal politics of the subcontinent.

There’s one other factor that is thought to have contributed substantially to Rajput defeats: the opium habit. Taking opium was established practice among Rajputs in any case, but they considerably upped the quantity they consumed when going into battle. Several ended up in no fit state to process any instruction beyond, “kill or be killed”. Opium rendered some soldiers incapable of coordinating complex manoeuvres. There’s an apt warning for school kids: don’t do drugs, or you’ll squander an empire. 

source             :

http://scroll.in/article/728636/what-our-textbooks-dont-tell-us-why-the-rajputs-failed-miserably-in-battle-for-centuries

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IOS organises Seventh Qazi Mujahidul Islam Memorial Lecture on “Sufism: Relevance and Significance in Contemporary Context”

 April 18, 2015 at IOS Conference Hall, New Delhi

http://www.iosworld.org/7thQazi_Mujahidul_Islam_Memorial.php

Milli council wants Mysuru to be model for other cities

 

Source : http://www.deccanherald.com/content/477586/milli-council-wants-mysuru-model.html

Executive committee of the All India Milli Council (AIMC) that met, here, on Thursday, urged the authorities concerned to make Mysuru city a model for other cities in the country.

The meeting, presided over by AIMC president Mohammed Abdulla Mughisi, delved on building an egalitarian society. Deputy Commissioner C Shikha and Police Commissioner B Dayananda, who met the leaders of the council, were advised to take steps to develop Mysuru as a model for others.

Paying tribute to Tipu Sultan, general secretary of AIMC Mohammed Manzoor Alam said, Tipu never discriminated on the lines of religion. Instead, he spread the message of communal harmony.

Addressing the gathering, the DC acknowledged the role of the council in spreading harmony in the country. The police commissioner appealed to the council to educate the youth, particularly in the age group of 18 to 25 years. 

Heaping praises on Mysureans as peace-loving people, the commissioner assured to maintain peace and harmony in the city.

Out of the total 58 executive committee members of AIMC, 42 members attended the meeting. 

The meeting began with the recitation of versus of Quran by Qari Fayaz Ahmed and ‘Naath’ by Asim Afroz Sait.

Mohammed Ashraf Ali, Syed Mustafa Rifayee and Syed Shahid Ahmed, general secretary, AIMC Karnataka unit, paid tributes to the departed members and other dignitaries who passed away last year.

MLA Tanveer Sait, President of AIMC, Mysuru unit, Mohammed Zaka Ulla Saheb, general secretary, Mohammed Mumtaz Ahmed, secretary, Mysuru District Relief Committee, Ariff Ahmed Mehkri, Corporator K C Shoukath Pasha and Chairman, Mysore District Wakf Advisory Committee, Abdul Khader Sait, were present.

Know thy World

Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam

I am returning to this column after a long time. I was kept busy by myriad other pressing engagements. As I had said at the time of the beginning of this column, I intend to reach out to the youth with it, particularly Muslim youth. So far the tradition with this column has been that it has been talking about Islam as lived and practised everywhere. I am getting back to it as a warm-up to the holy month of Ramadhan that looms barely a few weeks away. This time we will be talking more about this world than the Hereafter.

However, in Islam there is no clear distinction between the affairs of this world and those of the Hereafter. There is no rahbaniyah in Islam, that is, you do not have to renounce this world to be a Muslim. Another principle of Islam is that the world is a mazra’a for the Hereafter. In Arabic, mazra’a is a farmland where the farmer grows grains. Likewise, a Muslim does good deeds in this world to get its reward in the next world. Hence, no renunciation in Islam.

That being the case, it is incumbent on us, Muslims, to know the world, our world, in which we are living and will one day leave it behind for the next generation and other future, subsequent generations to live in. We should learn the world’s history, geography, geology, its physics and chemistry, its green cover, oceans, mountains, rivers, deserts and forests, its plants and animals, its ecology and the state of its environment, the natural resources in it, its mines and minerals, its energy sources, its societies, nations, states, its governments, the United Nations, the balance of power between nations. These are just a few among many more things that we have to know to be able to know the world in which we live before moving on to the Hereafter.

Certainly, nobody is saying that a single individual has to know all this. Collectively we have to know the world in which we are assigned to live our lives. For living our lives successfully and with our heads raised we must learn all the sciences and arts and technologies. Unfortunately, Muslims worldwide are the least well-educated and most poorly trained. Muslims are accused of trying to fight technology with theology. We must come out of this situation, sooner the better.

The situation has not been like this in earlier ages when we were leading the march of knowledge in all fields across all sciences, technologies, arts and crafts. Islam tells us, “Knowledge is the lost treasure of Muslims. Pick it up wherever you find it.” Also, “Go to even China to acquire knowledge.” China being substantially far from Arabia in the 7th century (when transportation was slow and primitive), this injunction is about taking pains to acquire knowledge.

I would like to conclude this rather short piece with an appeal to our youth to acquire knowledge, not only of the Quran and Hadith, but also of worldly sciences and technologies, arts and crafts. You have to make this world better to make your Hereafter better. A failed mazra’a is not the indicator of a successful farmer. We must succeed here to succeed in the Hereafter.

Modi government’s stepchild

Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam

Narendra Modi government has come to power on a plank of “development”, a thriving economy and people’s economic wellbeing. In practice, it has ended up doing just the opposite.

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen says public health and education are the foundations on which development stands. To handle jobs in a vast development enterprise people need different levels of education and training as well as health and fitness to do assigned work efficiently.

The first thing that Modi government has done in this regard is heavily cutting allocation to both health and education. Sen says health and education enable people to earn enough to sustain a flourishing market. A government that de-emphasises these two cannot be development friendly or a champion of market. We will come to health in a later article.

In this column we have earlier discussed the budget cuts on health and education, two stepchildren of Modi government. Here we revisit for a while stepchild number one, education. Funding has been slashed across the board, from primary level to university level and elite institutions like IITs.

The overall education budget has been brought down from Rs. 82, 771 crore to Rs. 69,074 crore, a massive cut from any standards. Under the UPA, the Plan allocation was hiked by 18.2 percent in 2012-2013 and 8.3 percent in 2013-2014. On the other hand, BJP government has reduced Plan allocation for 2015-2016 by 24.68 percent.

The Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan has been reduced by 22.14 percent, funding for the Mid-day Meal by 16.41 percent, Rashtriya Madhyama Shiksha Abhiyan by 28.7 percent and Rashtriya Uchchtar Shiksha Abhiyan by 48 percent.

Such cuts have been made across the entire spectrum of education and the above is only a brief glimpse. The government’s announcement about creating five new IITs is also surrounded by ambiguity. There is a mismatch between the size of funds required and the quantum of funds allocated.

There is a certain lack of seriousness visible in the choice of persons to lead the HRD ministry, University Grants Commission, Indian Council for Historical Research and allied organisations regulating higher learning. The government’s choice for heading such organisations has gone in favour of a person without any academic background (the HRD minister), “historians” who think myth is history and “scientists” who claim that planes were used by Indians thousands of years ago to fly to other countries, and we had surgeons who could graft elephant’s head on human neck. In a speech before “distinguished” academics the prime minister himself endorsed these views. No wonder, the government is treating education like a stepchild

HEART TOUCHING STORY

Ex Indian President Dr. Abdul Kalam Says:
"When I was a kid, my Mom cooked food for us.
One night in particular when she had made dinner after a long hard day's work, Mom placed a plate of 'subzi' and extremely burnt roti in front of my Dad.


I was waiting to see if anyone noticed the burnt roti. But Dad just ate his roti and asked me how was my day at school.

I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember I heard Mom apologizing to Dad for the burnt roti.

And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burnt roti."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy, good night & I asked him if he really liked his roti burnt. He wrapped me in his arms & said:
"Your momma put in a long hard day at work today and she was really tired. And besides... A burnt roti never hurts anyone but HARSH WORDS DO!"
"You know beta - life is full of imperfect things... & imperfect people..."

I'M NOT THE BEST & AM HARDLY GOOD AT ANYTHING!
I forget birthdays & anniversaries just like everyone else.
What I've learnt over the years is: To Accept Each Others Faults & Choose To Celebrate Relationships"

Life Is Too Short To Wake Up With Regrets..

Love the people who treat you right & have compassion for the ones who don't

Petrol price hiked by Rs 3.96 ,I don't mind

Petrol price hiked by Rs 3.96 is too much Worst thing is I would be the first person to taste the hike.. A regular gov exercise..first hike prices & then soothe the protests by lowering prices a little.totally unexpected.There has been no drastic hike in Brent Crude Oil for weeks.

I don't mind Rs 3.96 petrol price hike... Rs 4 would have been just outrageous...(is tarah main 4 paise bacha hi raha hoon) Narendra Modi just Tweeted about the Petrol price hike, criticizes the hike, says its a burden on the aam janta!

BJP not keeping words, Cong never kept, AAP immature, JantaPariwar illiterate !! M tellin u only kamaalrkhan can save this country RS 3.96