I have read Dr. Pal's article with particular interest. An atheist by strong conviction, Dr. Pal never hesitates to criticize religion based politics-- be it Hindutabad or fanatic and fundamentalist Islamism.
As he is from Poschimbongo, he knows more about Hindu-Muslim relation in that state than those who are not from India. I will say his observation on the subject is near perfect. I, however, disagree on one point.
Dr. Hossainur Rahman (I might have misspelled the name), an author from Poschimbongo, has criticized all the secular ruling parties for using the Muslims in the state as vote bank and caring the least about their socio-economic upliftment. The ruling parties' attitude is as follows: Stay in the same dark as you are in now. We will not bother you. But vote for us. Mamata has been following the same policy. If BJP comes to power, it will do the same thing. (Modi distributed borkha to Muslim women before election. That is symbolic). Sachar Commussion report is a shame for secular India.
I am sure some will argue: Don't the Muslims have any role? I am sure they have. But the rulers have to be proactive by organizing progressive programs and activities and allocating sufficient funds so that they can implemented. Once the rulers become proactive, there will be no dearth of volunteers to support the same.
We have to remember that religious fundamentalism, fanaticism and militancy thrive on poverty and illiteracy. Data indicate how easy it is to recruit suicide bombers, for example, from among the socially and economically distressed people. And when you are in bad shape socially and economically, you do not feel like belonging to the mainstream and thus you suffer from identity crisis in a secular democratic country. And that feeling makes you tempted to resign or strike.
Dr. Pal has opined that a new Muhammed in the new age is needed to bring about the reforms in Islam. Sisi has appealed to the Ulema to bring about a new Islamic revolution. What else could he do? Reject the Koran and Islam and get assassinated by one of his soldiers? Before we challenge him, we should remember that he ousted a legitimate government which was inclined heavily to Islamic fundamentalism. If you read unbiased authors like Karen Armstrong, you should agree that Muhammed was progressive with respect to his time and was also dynamic in thinking. But the fundamentalists and fanatics have hijacked the religion and extrapolation has been made almost impossible.
Literally the proposition of welcoming a new Muhammed is a mission impossible; but what does not seem impossible is highlighting the good teachings in Islamic teachings and reinterpreting many teachings and keeping quiet about the rest and sending them to cold storage for blissful solitude.
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মুক্তমনা বাংলা ব্লগ has posted a new item,
'মডারেট, মহম্মদ এবং মার্ক
জুকারবার্গ '
আর ইসলামের বিরুদ্ধে এই লড়াইএর
অনুপ্রেরনা যদি কেও হতে
পারেন-তিনি হজরত মহম্মদ নিজে (
যদিও তার জীবনীর প্রায় সবটাই
কাল্পনিক) । ওই সময় মক্কাতে
যারা শাসক দল ছিল, তারা ধর্মকে
কাজে লাগিয়ে মক্কা-সিরিয়া
ব্যবসার ওপর সম্পূর্ন কব্জা
রেখেছিল। ছোট ছোট ব্যবসায়ীদের
ওপর কর এবং সুদের হার বাড়িয়ে
যাচ্ছিল। যার প্রতিবাদে এক
আর্থসামাজিক আন্দোলন হিসাবে
ইসলামের জন্ম হয়। হজরত মহম্মদ
নিজে প্রানের ভয়কে উপেক্ষা করে
মক্কার স্বার্থান্বেশী গোষ্ঠি
এবং তাদের ধর্মের ভ্রান্তির
বিরুদ্ধে বলেছিলেন। শেষে
লড়েছিলেন। সমসায়মিক ধর্ম যে
মিথ্যা, তা যে শাসক গোষ্টির
লুন্ঠন এবং লাম্পট্যের সহায়
যেটা বলতে কি তিনি ভয়
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