The Message of Islam

Ayatollah Hamidul Hasan
I CHANCED upon two well researched articles in Awadhnama late last year. One was by Dr Mohammad Saani and the other by Ms Razia Majeeda.  As per those articles, during the last 20 years, in India alone, some 80 to 100 million infant girls were killed in their mother’s womb. Reading the articles, some other figures crossed my mind.

The World War II resulted in some 50 to 70 million casualties, the partition of India saw one million people killed on either side of the border, more than a million perished during the Vietnam war, and Saddam’s terror reign followed by the Iraq war saw a million people losing their lives. The list goes on with Bosnia, Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, and others. So much bloodshed! Is this all in the name of Islam? Compare these figures with the female infanticide in India alone! Continue reading “The Message of Islam”

What makes the muslims angry

Throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.”
—Barack Obama, 44th President of USA

THE  year 1979 holds special importance. It was the year that saw two  significant happenings in the Muslim world. The events occurred in two  states holding contrasting views on Islam but triggered by a common  enemy, the US. One was the hostage crisis in the Shiite ruled Iran,  which was covered quite extensively by the press, the other being the  lesser known and reported uprising at Islam’s holiest shrine in Mecca,  the city under the control of Sunni Muslims.

There  was a fundamental difference though between the two events. The embassy  takeover in Tehran was a student initiative against the US for its  meddling in the country’s politics. The siege of Mecca was the rebellion  of a Muslim group against the policies of the ruling family in Saudi  Arabia which were influenced by the US.

The  rebellion in Mecca combined with the events in neighboring Iran forever  changed the equation of Muslims with the US, and the west in general. Continue reading “What makes the muslims angry”