VHP's
demand for re-interpreting the Quran!
By: Ramesh Menon
http://www.hinduunity.org
August 12th, 2002
Re-interpreting the Quran
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of hue and cry in India
amongst Muslims and the secular bandwagon with regards to a few
statements made by the VHP regarding the minorities and the Quran.
It seems the VHP wants the Muslims, more so Indian Muslims, to
"re-interpret" the words "Kafir" and
"Jihad" with respect to non-muslims in India.
Perhaps, a "secular" person would ask a few questions
about the VHP by now. What is that the VHP "want" from
the minorities? Why are they "harassing" these people on
such a regular basis? Can't they just leave them alone and live
their lives? Why can't these "fascist" forces be tamed
and brought to justice?
Good questions! And each of these questions are worthy of being
answered. Nevertheless, to answer these questions, we have to
understand what exactly is the VHP asking for. It is necessary to
understand why these two organizations are making these
statements. Is there any basis for the VHP to make these
statements or are they just paranoid Hindu group or
"fascist" nazis who hate anything other than Hinduism?
I would now dwell into these questions with a few quotes from the
Quran and a few examples. These quotes and examples would help in
understanding these issues.
Quotes from Quran
048.006 (Sura 48 Verse 6)
"And that He may punish the Hypocrites, men and women, and
the Polytheists men and women, who imagine an evil opinion of
Allah. On them is a round of Evil: the Wrath of Allah is on them:
He has cursed them and got Hell ready for them: and evil is it for
a destination. "
048.013 (Sura 48 Verse 13)
And whoever does not believe in Allah and His Messenger, then
surely We have prepared burning fire for the unbelievers.
Well, well! According to these two verses, I myself, am a very
good candidate for both the fire and the hell, for I am a
polytheist (at least by practice, if not by belief), and also do
not believe in Allah nor His messenger.
Now, most people would ask me, "So what if this is what is
written in Quran?" Don't you have stupid beliefs in other
religions? I agree with them more than 100%. A belief is a belief
is a belief and every one as a human being is free to have his or
her own irrespective of what rationale, or the lack of it, that
belief has. But, this is only a part of my argument.
Now let me quote another verse from the Quran.
009.029 (Sura 9 Verse 29)
Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold
that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His
Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they
are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with
willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.
Again, I am one of the people who meets the criteria to wage jihad
against, for I do not believe in Allah, nor the Last day. Neither
do I accept the "religion of Truth" nor WILL I EVER pay
Jiziya with willing submission and feel subdued. I haven't quoted
anything from the Hadith yet, which would open the eyes of most
people who are ignorant about Islam.
The problem does not end here. I could take Allah's curses and be
ready for the blazing hell for my beliefs. Nevertheless, the real
problem lies in the fact that the five pillars of Islam (Prayer,
Zakat, Sawm, Haj and Shahadaah) stand on the foundation that the
Quran and the Sunnah (the life of Prophet Mohammad) are
INDISPENSIBLE and UNQUESTIONABLE. Which means that anyone who
claims to be a Muslim, has to be adhere to the foundations and the
five pillars. Now you can understand, why Dr. Rafiq Zakaria, a
renowned Islamic "Scholar and Liberal", said that Dr.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is not a "true" Muslim since he does
not adhere "all" the rules. Further, he reads the
Bhagwad Geeta, and hence, he violates the basic principle of
Islam, that you shall not join anyone else in prayer with Allah!
Thus, these three verses from the Quran, and the fact that the
Quran is unquestionable and indispensable, is what makes people
like me and those in VHP worry. Because, if I am Hindu, who does
not believe in the "True Religion" like myself, and will
never submit to the will of Allah, things can get ugly. If the
Madarsas, funded by Saudi oil money (many of them in the secular
land of West Bengal), produce fodder for Jihad, people like me,
will be in trouble. For I am an enemy of Islam.
One may accuse me of picking up lines from the Quran at random
without looking at the "full context", which suits me to
defame Islam and present it in a negative way. They could also
argue that the word Islam itself stands for peace, then how can
Islam preach all these things. And, that a few Muslims have
interpreted the Quran wrongly. Nevertheless, most people, even
Muslims would be surprised to know that Islam means
"Submission" to the will of God and not peace. If you
think I am making things up, you can read Introduction to Islam by
Muhammad Hamidullah, (Center Culturel Islamique, Paris, 1969).
The issue is not about people interpreting the Quran in different
ways to suit their needs. The above quotes are totally
unambiguous. Further, in almost all the trouble spots in the
world, viz., Kashmir, Chechnya, Kosovo, Middle East, Philippines,
East Timor, Nigeria and other African countries, what is the
common factor? Islam. And what is the reason for these conflicts?
Something nice to ponder about. Right?
So, when pilgrims headed to Shabarimala or to Amarnath are
attacked by Muslims, or when the Muslims refuse to accept the
Uniform Civil Code and remain a nation within a nation, you can
understand the mindset of the people who engage in such acts from
the above arguments.
And, if the VHP asks the Muslims to reinterpret the terms Kafir
and Jihad, under such circumstances, what wrong have they done? Is
it wrong on part of an organization with a huge base of Hindu
followers, to ask a community, to reinterpret a few quotes from
the Quran which as I said, are not only asking Muslims to consider
the Idolaters as worthy of hell, but also make sure that they make
the life of an idolater a hell. I don't think there is anything
wrong in such a demand. This is not fascism, but plain fact.
The secular bandwagon, does not have the courage nor the time to
read the Quran and understand the VHP's point of view, as they are
too busy in Hindu bashing. They are not willing to concede that
these quotes I quoted are for real and there is a problem when
these things are taught to kids from a very young age in madarsas
funded by the Wahabi Saudi Oil money. Sometimes, I get a feeling,
that they are acting as paid spokesman for these groups.
It is high time the Muslims of India started to sit up and think
whether they want to be always at odds with the majority community
or whether they want to try and understand what the other side is
talking about. To quote Lord Krishna from Bhagwad Gita, "The
only constant in this world is change." So change your
attitude and your interpretation of the terms "Kafir"
and "Jihad" with respect to Hindus in India.
As the RSS puts it, the security of the minority community lies in
the goodwill of the majority community. And this is an excellent
opportunity for the Muslims in India to gain some.
P.S. The quotes were obtained from the following website.
www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/
Previous articles by Ramesh Menon
Cost of Patriotism: August 7th, 2002
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