A good Muslim friend of mine is the most vociferous critic of Islam I've ever met. However, he cannot listen to anyone else criticizing his religion. He goes on the defensive and then on the offensive. His behavior does not surprise me. I criticize my home state in an invective laden language but even a mild rebuke from anyone else, upsets me to no end. That is human nature for you.
With that in mind, let us examine the question at hand - What can Hindus do about problems facing Islam? My answer to that is NOTHING!!!! I will explain.
We can educate ourselves in the Sharia or the Quran or the life of Prophet Muhammad and then we can argue with any Muslim. With our knowledge, we can point out all the follies in their religion. We can point out the prevailing hypocrisy in their ways. We can point out embarrassing detail in the life of the Prophet and put the Muslims on the defensive. Criticizing Islam is easy especially the way it is being practiced these days. We can do all that but to what end?
The educated Muslims are well aware of the problems facing Islam. They will not come out and say it but they know it. They read the same papers and see the same news shows. However, like my friend, they will go on the defensive when faced with criticism. There is no point in talking to them. Talking to the uneducated Muslims makes even less sense because they do not even know the problem. If Islam has to come out of its medieval mindset, the movement will have to come from within. Non Muslim Islamic scholars can continue to do what they are doing but they will hit the wall each time. Muslims will need to get out of the current mindset and solve their own problems. No one else can least of all, the Hindus. Hindus need to get their own house in order.
However, almost 20% of Indian population is Muslim and the percentage is growing. So we cannot ignore the problem that Muslims are facing. What can the Indian establishment (Congress or BJP or whomever) do? We can do what parents of teenaged children do. You cannot force the children after a certain age. You can, however, give them options and let them make their own choices. In case of our country, the Hindus need to solve the problems facing Hinduism and our society. There is no need to point them out since we know what they are. We then elect a performing government who will try to function as honestly as they can. We seize every opportunity that comes our way and put India on the road to progress and prosperity. We should try to keep the country as safe as we can. We can then see if the Muslims want to join the mainstream Indian society or stay in their ghettos. If they join us in taking the country forward, then the problems facing Islam become a background noise. If they choose to stay in ghettos, then we treat the occasional bomb blasts as sins of our fathers (Improper division of India) and move on.
The status quo is unacceptable. Pandering to Muslims insults the able and weakens the weak. That is not the solution. The solution is what Bhai Narendra Modi has shown over the last decade. Creation of opportunities is the answer. When the state prospers EVERYONE prospers. That is why Bhai Narendra gets Muslims votes despite of his incessant demonization.
With that in mind, let us examine the question at hand - What can Hindus do about problems facing Islam? My answer to that is NOTHING!!!! I will explain.
We can educate ourselves in the Sharia or the Quran or the life of Prophet Muhammad and then we can argue with any Muslim. With our knowledge, we can point out all the follies in their religion. We can point out the prevailing hypocrisy in their ways. We can point out embarrassing detail in the life of the Prophet and put the Muslims on the defensive. Criticizing Islam is easy especially the way it is being practiced these days. We can do all that but to what end?
The educated Muslims are well aware of the problems facing Islam. They will not come out and say it but they know it. They read the same papers and see the same news shows. However, like my friend, they will go on the defensive when faced with criticism. There is no point in talking to them. Talking to the uneducated Muslims makes even less sense because they do not even know the problem. If Islam has to come out of its medieval mindset, the movement will have to come from within. Non Muslim Islamic scholars can continue to do what they are doing but they will hit the wall each time. Muslims will need to get out of the current mindset and solve their own problems. No one else can least of all, the Hindus. Hindus need to get their own house in order.
However, almost 20% of Indian population is Muslim and the percentage is growing. So we cannot ignore the problem that Muslims are facing. What can the Indian establishment (Congress or BJP or whomever) do? We can do what parents of teenaged children do. You cannot force the children after a certain age. You can, however, give them options and let them make their own choices. In case of our country, the Hindus need to solve the problems facing Hinduism and our society. There is no need to point them out since we know what they are. We then elect a performing government who will try to function as honestly as they can. We seize every opportunity that comes our way and put India on the road to progress and prosperity. We should try to keep the country as safe as we can. We can then see if the Muslims want to join the mainstream Indian society or stay in their ghettos. If they join us in taking the country forward, then the problems facing Islam become a background noise. If they choose to stay in ghettos, then we treat the occasional bomb blasts as sins of our fathers (Improper division of India) and move on.
The status quo is unacceptable. Pandering to Muslims insults the able and weakens the weak. That is not the solution. The solution is what Bhai Narendra Modi has shown over the last decade. Creation of opportunities is the answer. When the state prospers EVERYONE prospers. That is why Bhai Narendra gets Muslims votes despite of his incessant demonization.
Let the Muslims decide what they want. Meanwhile India needs to roll ahead; we cannot wait for the Muslims to make up their mind. It is not about Hindus or Muslims. It is about Mother India!!
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