There is something peculiar about Mumbai; the showbiz city of India; well, some would still prefer to call it the Financial Capital or New York of India!!! Some days back, Mumbai was in news with rains flooding the city from one end to the other. Somehow, the city manages to be in the limelight always. However, yesterday’s event (catastrophe?! Tragedy?! Calamity?!) was certainly more astounding, abhorrent, detestable, sordid, heartbreaking … (?! no adjective or adverb would suffice enough) than anything else. Seven serial bomb blasts rocked the entire Western Railway local train route in a span of almost 15 minutes; and Mumbai was bleeding. However, as always, the Mumbaikars (as they proudly call themselves) once again demonstrated their featured and unparalleled unity and fraternity while facing the challenge. Hats off to the Mumbaikars; I feel proud too, I have been a Mumbaikar for almost three months!!
Who did it, and why, is a separate question, and I will try not to be politically correct in discussing it. Media instantly has some favorite first-hand names for lamenting the responsible for such acts of violence (should I add “as always”??), such as LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) and SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India). Whoever it be, I am not concerned; and I do not want to know. What I know is the intolerable and excruciating video clips of the tragedy that were being flashed on the various news channels; and what I wanted to know was the whereabouts and welfare of my friends in Mumbai. Amit should be fine, I knew, he never took a local to work; normally walked down or rented an auto. I called Shariq bhai, and the call was received by his wife, who asked me to pray for him in a shaky voice, as Shariq bhai had still not returned from office. Shariq bhai called back after half an hour and confirmed that he has reached home safely, after an ordeal of 5 hours. Slowly, thanks to Allah, I started getting the welfare news of all of my friends at Mumbai, but still had no news of Ahmad bhai; and his mobile was not reachable. It was almost 2.30 in the night when I got the welfare sms from Ahmad bhai and felt somewhat comfortable and at ease.
The emotional strain of the tragedy will probably take some time to recede, but violence is not always about emotions. Of course, politics has a lot to do about it at the backdrop. And when we talk of politics, can religion be far behind (specifically looking at the present unfolding)?? So, media says it is LeT and SIMI. The same old stuff: terrorism, religious extremism, fundamentalism, “Jihad,” holy war, Islam… For one thing, it cannot be Islam for sure. Quran says: “… if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land - it would be as if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind.” Al Quran:: Surah Al-Maidah:: Verse # 32. Whatever people say about instances in Quran regarding violence has some context, and cannot and should not be interpreted on standalone basis, stripped off the context. Doesn’t make sense?? I will quote Prof. Mohamed Elmasry, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Waterloo and national president of the Canadian Islamic Congress:
"You shall destroy all the peoples ... showing them no pity." (7: 16)
"... All the people present there shall serve you as forced labour." (20:12)
"... You shall put all its males to the sword. You may, however, take as your booty the women, the children, the livestock, and everything in the town -- all its spoil -- and enjoy the use of the spoil of your enemy which the LORD your God gives you." (20:14-15)
"... You shall not let a soul remain alive." (20:17)
All these quotations are from the part of the Old Testament called the Torah (Deuteronomy), a scripture that is holy to both Jews and Christians. But very few people would sanely suggest that the Torah sanctions violence. The reason of course is that these verses and others much like them are subject to various interpretation and contextual assumptions. So why there is a wide perception that the Qur'an sanctions violence?”
Another resourceful reference that I got is of Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former president of the Islamic Society of North America, a member of the Fiqh Council, and adjunct professor of comparative religion at California State University - Fullerton:
“Nowhere do these verses [of the Holy Qur’an] give general permission to kill any one. They were revealed to Prophet Muhammad [Peace be upon him] at the time when the nonbelievers were attacking Makkah's Muslims and threatening those in Madinah. In contemporary jargon, we may say that as the Muslims were subject to constant terrorist attacks on Madinah, Allah allowed them to defend themselves. These verses do not allow Muslims to engage in terrorism; rather, they are warnings against terrorism, but they also contain clear calls for restraint and care.
Religious texts, if not read within their proper textual and historical contexts, are easily manipulated and distorted.”
This topic is highly subjective and requires much space, time, and understanding. However, I believe I have made the point that I wanted to by these quotations. [Would suggest following the two hyperlinks to study their full research on this subject for better understanding.] Let us now focus at making some daring acknowledgements and corrective actions. If the “Black Tuesday” at Mumbai was indeed caused by LeT or SIMI, let me state vehemently, with full vigor, without any regrets and doubts, that WHAT THEY DID IS UNISLAMIC, INHUMAN, INSENSATE, ABHORRENT, HEINOUS, SHAMEFUL, SCORNFUL… (?! no adjective or adverb would suffice enough; once again). Whoever it be, the feelings remain unchanged; but a universal appeal to the people of the World: Please, do not add another appalling tinge to the tragedy by associating it with fundamentalism or Islam. Its time to reconstruct, restore, and rebuild. Another serious confession: believe me, history is witness to the sheer fact that processes of reconstruction have always been opposed by asocial souls, irrespective of any political or religious inclination. Let us pledge not to fall prey to these forces in this case, and in future. Being humans, at least we can do this bit of charity towards ourselves and towards the society.
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