1. I must thank Kamal Das for being prompt in giving reference to some of M.J. Akbar's works for the benefit of the "uninformed" and "not well informed" fellow mukto-monas. From Mehul Kamdar's (I guess one of the moderators) response it appears to me that his old wounds have not yet healed completely and that's why whenever he gets chance he renews his old anger through personal attacks. That's O.K. with me although I expect more civility from him.
2. Now my question to Kamal Das is: How do you define a (religious) fundamentalist? To me a religious fundamentalist is one who takes the religious teachings literally and does not have the ability to interpret them in the light of the evolving circumstances. In other words, he has been stuck in a particular time and space. Does Akbar seem to be like that?
3. Should Akbar be called a closet fundamentalist just because he has written "Shade of Swords?" I have not read the book yet. From reading a part of it and some reviews it appears to me that shallow reading of the book may lead one to have the impression (probably a wrong one) that he endorses the philosophy of militant Islam. The book seems to have an attempt to shed light on the evolution of the concept of jihad to its current forms and how the prescribed actions of the current jihadists can be found to be rooted in some verses of the very Koran and Hadiths. Side by side, he has emphasized on the secular teachings of the Koran (no coercion in the matter of faith) and excesses (transgressions--not to kill the innocents and not to be tempted to loot when war is critical) that a warrior can commit. Does it make him a fundamentalist?
4. By giving some examples and at the same time attacking me Kamdar cannot disprove the well established fact that Akbar is a great journalist. He is now 57. Look at his achievements. Both Khushwant Sing and Kamdar have mentioned them. His achievements are great although all of them may not be noble. Noble or not---that is mostly a political decision.
--SC
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