‘PK’: A Muslim perspective

To create a film that brazenly lampoons blind faith in a country known for religious sensitivities is nothing short of bravery.
It is the business of religion and not religion per se that is satirized in Aamir Khan’s “PK.” The film rightfully ridicules the “managers” in this business or so-called “god-men” who have accumulated millions by taking advantage of people’s fears, fooling them by selling hope.
However, if it is the stereotyping of “god-men” that has caused outrage, then no one batted an eyelid when in the movie a terror blast is shown to take place in the name of “Khuda” (God in Urdu/Persian), an attempt to stereotype Muslims as terrorists. Imagine the furor if the blast was linked to a Hindu holy man.
To say that “PK” criticizes only Hindu rituals and deities is incorrect because it essentially mocks superstition and baseless practices associated with religions in general.
As a Muslim, I am not offended when the protagonist visits a shrine or takes part in the Shiite ritual of zanjeer zani (self flagellation), because both have no basis in Islam.
Referring to the countless Hindu idols of both genders, “PK” questions how man can create and worship God, when he believes God created him. In Islam, idol worship amounts to the greatest form of “shirk”, i.e. associating partners with God.
“PK” also questions how man can claim to “protect” God by creating temples for him, when God himself is the creator of the universe. Indeed, it is the Muslims who strive to seek the protection of Allah and not the other way round.
In the movie, Aamir wonders why a follower is told by a “god-man” to pursue a long spiritual journey so that his wife is cured, instead of simply staying back and taking care of her. To “PK,” the notion that a divine solution to a problem would be more problematic than the problem itself is absurd.
It is only in India, where in spite of an anti-superstition law, popularity of “god-men” (read tricksters) increases. Be it Sant Rampal, who is in custody facing a contempt case or Asaram Bapu detained for sexually assaulting a minor, the pattern is the same — thousands of followers, lavish lifestyles and criminal activities.
In the wake of Rampal’s arrest, the ruling BJP, whose leaders are said to have close proximity with “god-men,” had sought to ban ashrams run by controversial gurus, describing them as “centers of terror.”
While some misguided Muslims may gloat over the film scorning Hindu rituals, let them turn searchlights inward. There is no dearth of fake pirs and babas who manipulate holy verses, promote superstition and sexually exploit unsuspecting women in the name of cure. They sell solutions to everything — from getting hitched within 40 days to reviving a dead business to conceiving a child. They even give amulets meant to create discord in marriage. But everything comes for a fee, at times in thousands.
Moreover, we too have our share of innovated, meaningless rituals such as Shab-e-Bar’at observed in the Islamic month of Sha’baan or the Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, when millions are spent on lighting, massive processions and special delicacies. Such practices are not only a waste of resources, they also have no religious basis.
The silver lining in the “PK” debate is that apart from a handful of Hindutva radicals, most of India has embraced the film that has become the highest Bollywood grosser till date.
The film’s purpose will be best served if its message is accepted all across and the shops of charlatans of faith are permanently shuttered.