JEDDAH, 6 January 2007 — From the erasure of Twin Towers off the world map to the blasts in Mumbai and the e-mail threat to the president, Muslims have held center stage and are seen with suspicion. The image of Islam was never so distorted or its teachings so misconstrued in history as it has been today.
For reasons obvious and evident, all fingers point to Muslim youth every time there is an act of violence. Rightly or wrongly, in the eyes of the media he has become a revengeful, warped psyche willing to destroy himself and lives of the innocent because of his grievances. Is it a media hype designed to isolate a growing community or are there grains of truth in it?
Every time an analysis is made and formulations are prepared, one reaches the conclusion that it is due to the injustice borne by Muslims at a particular time or phase. The lack of timely action by those in power and gross injustice have definitely escalated things. Be it in Palestine or Maraad in Kerala, it is always the emotional and impulsive nature of Muslim youth that is at work in times of catastrophe. The juggernaut of uncompensated anger, once unleashed, finds catharsis and comfort only in bloodletting.
All this has made a number of ramifications in the common man’s life. The average Muslim man lives in a defensive mode every time there is violence. Muslims in administration are viewed with suspicion in times of communal violence and are either under pressure to take a partisan, anti-Muslim stand much before investigations are concluded or face the consequences as ex-district collector Suraj is currently learning. The letter bomb in Thiruvanadapuram was followed by a hasty investigation based on the foregone conclusions of an eager police force that wasted no time in pouncing on an innocent Muslim boy. Who was more surprised? The media or the police when the culprit finally proved to be a Hindu youth is debatable even today?
Definitely a flavor of suspicion hangs over Muslims while the fact remains that such generalizations are neither logical nor intelligent. But what one can do to counter the situation and correct the image is what is relevant. Change is not brought through mighty processions displaying Muslim strength in numbers. It is definitely not by constructing mosques at every junction of the same panchayath. Along with arranging marriages of poor and unmarried women, perhaps we can empower women with a job that will make them stand on their feet? We have orphanages in growing number with boards of directors who hobnob with political leaders and ministers. But are they productive or meaningful when it comes to actual results in terms of progress? Can we send a few of them for higher studies that will make a difference to their lives and to the Muslim society?
Gulf money has added many number of double storied villas to the greenness of Kerala. The meaningless opulence has only succeeded in creating a false sense of affluence and insecurity among other societies and facilitating an anti-reservation stance while Muslims as a whole are still educationally backward.
When change ceases to be merely cosmetic, intolerance gives way to unbiased thinking, and unnecessary stubbornness holds on to rigid mores replaced with an equally stubborn will for education, we can strengthen the social fabric of Islam. The real empowering is through education, job opportunities and an expanded consciousness that occurs when one is able to view world from a broad and balanced perspective. It gives the power of clear thinking and equanimity in times of upheaval, disaster and periods of trials such as Muslims are going through in the world today.
Kerala, which has always set an example of communal harmony by its remarkable and peaceful co-existence of different religious groups and progressive innovations, will be the best ground for such an experiment. Ample evidence is seen in the response from the expatriate community in Jeddah, which is nothing but a cross section of the ethnic fabric back at home.
George Tharakan, a prominent member of the Christian community, responds with great insight. “You cannot generalize and say one community is bad and another good. It is the religious leaders in every community who have lost the true vision and are responsible for this. They change the texture of religion and lead the innocent public from the mainstream of all religions which end up as blemishes in history.”
Sherief Kunju, a well known member of the Muslim community, asserted, “It is a fact that Muslim youth in Kerala too is fast becoming a tool of fundamentalists. An awareness of the pitfalls of such self defeating moves must be generated among the Muslim youth in Kerala. Along with that, the mainstream political parties must stop utilizing unsecular and fundamentalist elements for personal and political gains.”
O.P.R Kutty, a respected social worker from the Hindu mainstream, said, “In India everyone lives in harmony and a particular community cannot be blamed for isolated incidents of violence. However, if Muslims are portrayed in a negative light by the media or by any vested interests, the community as a whole must make an effort to restore its image.
A meaningful change is the crying need of the hour. Is anyone listening?
