LETTERS

The June 2008 edition of Islamic Voice was good compared to the May 2008 edition. Making up of a Healthy Personality, Muslim Women are Educationally Backward, Hollywood accused of Demo-nizing Muslims. Stop Wasting Food and The Different Faces of Hijab were some of the well written articles. The proof reading mistakes too are very few. I am a recent reader of Islamic Voice. I am reading it since 6-8 months only and I was under the impression  that it dealt with only Islam. But now I realise it deals with Muslim issues and I think “Muslim Voice” would be a better name than “Islamic Voice.”

I happened to pick up the May 2008 issue of Islamic Voice recently and read the section where Adil Salahi answers questions of readers. His answers have always appealed to me and many doubts that I had were put to ease reading them. But in the May issue, a certain reader asked if it would be disrespectful to the holy Quran, while sitting down and reading it and having another person sitting near on a higher position. The answer (in part) said: “When you read the Quran, your position in relation to others does not matter, as long as there is no disrespect. No one feels that he is in a better position because he is sitting on a sofa. .Moreover, it is not where you are seated that matters , it is how you respect the Quran and think of its meanings and message.”

I would like to bring to light that Muslim children, from a very young age are taught to respect elders and it is considered very disrespectful to be seated on a chair or sofa while an elder is sitting on the floor or to sit with the legs facing an elder. Children are taught to be humble and I have read many stories of pious men who would remain standing in the presence of their parents and would prefer the floor to any other seating arrangement in their presence. We were taught the same. And we were also taught not to sit on a higher platform while the Quran is being read sitting on the floor or stacking a book over it, even if they may be religious, except if it is another Quran itself.

When elders sitting on the floor while youngsters sitting in a higher position is considered disrespectful, how can the matter of someone reading the Quran sitting on the floor and another seated above, be considered as being fine? I hope you see what I mean here. I would never want to see a fellow Muslim in such a situation in the presence of such a sacrosanct Book.

This has reference to the article by A. Faizur Rahman in April 2008 issue of Islamic Voice. The author has questioned the authenticity of some of the pronouncements of the present day Hadith-centric shariah provisions.

In this connection it will be interesting to know the views of Dr. Hasan Turabi, the Islamic thinker from Sudan, a product of Sorbonne University, Paris. Turabi says that the traditions attributed to the Prophet, peace be upon him, which prescribe beheading one who renounces Islam should be judged on the basis of the context of time frame in which it was pronounced. The newly found Islamic state of Madinah had its diehard enemies, the Makkan non-believers were in a state of continuous and constant hostility for several years in succession. The nascent state, according to the practice prevalent then, did not have regular professional army. Every able-bodied citizen was recruited for military duties. Every citizen was considered a soldier of the Islamic army. The established and universally accepted rule of the war times is that anyone who changed sides should be done to death and the Prophet simply prescribed it.

This explanation offered by the particular Islamic scholar of Sudan seems to be quite in accord with reason and common sense.

While many Americans still believe that Bush only came into office as a result of vote manipulations in Ohio and Florida during the elections, it cannot be denied that his leadership has been bad for US. While there are still a diminishing number of diehards who believe in Bush’s message, body and soul, an increasing number of Americans have been turned off by what he has turned the country into. It has become a land where dissenters are seized and imprisoned without due process of the law. It has become a land where a spook is believed to be found behind every corner. Anthrax and the poisoning of water reservoirs were tactics used to shepherd a gullible public along those lines. It is a land where the investigations and the real truth behind the 9-11 disaster still remain shrouded in controversy. Bush can also perhaps be linked to the delay in sending relief and federal support to the victims of the Katrina disaster. Money and resources that could have provided immediate relief to the disaster victims were spent on more glamorous adventures abroad. The trillions of dollars gone to support Bush’s foreign adventures could and should have been spent on the welfare of his people. Old age care, improved health coverage and funding for more schools would have been a far better alternative than dead bodies littering the killing fields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

When the word “politics” appears in our mind, numerous pictures rush through our mind, such as robbery, fraud, trickery, treachery, dishonesty , breaking promises, telling a lie etc.

Politics was meant to lead the nation to the path of progress. Common people look upon politicians to take the country to the zenith of success. But today, such politicians have vanished from the face of the earth. The Muslim community is suffering. The Ummah trust the Ulema.. Our community should look upon our Ulema to take the community to success. They have sacrificed their lives for the sake of the nation. They have kind hearts. They are god-fearing. Before taking any step, they would think, that one day they would have to stand before Allah Almighty. They are taught the values of treating the poor with kindness.

Some may argue that Alim and Politics do not go together. Public want to see them on prayer mats and mosques. Some may say that they have no place on the political stage otherwise, they will lose their faith. People will abuse and not obey them. I agree with all this, but I am not talking about all ulema. After seeing the sorry state of the Ummah. The Ulama should come forward for the sake of the community. They should sacrifice everything for the service of the community. If they fail, and go by what people think, it would be selfish. So it is the need of the hour that Ulema should enter into politics.