Alas, Aaftab Happens To Be A Muslim
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
30 November
2022
News is
that Aaftab's van was attacked by sword-wielding men belonging to a Hindu
outfit. Reprehensible, to say the least! Will these Hindu goons attack a Hindu
woman and her stepson for killing a man (woman's husband) and cut her body into
pieces a la Aaftab-Shraddha episode? This gory incident also happened in Delhi,
the country's crime capital.
Why is
someone's faith so important to us? I've been reiterating that crime has
nothing to do with the perpetrator's religion and his/her esoteric beliefs.
Image OpIndia: India Posts English
----
At the
moment, Indian society is polarised on the basis of religion/s (read, Hinduism
and Islam). Bad-blood had been brewing for quite some time but now it has come
to a pretty pass.
Now, we're
living in a binary of Hindus and Muslims. Followers of other faiths are
secondary.
When all
these religious identities are causing so much rancour and retribution, why
can't we leave them and become humans sans all insignia? Alas, we're not so
advanced to accept and follow this.
I remember,
census people visited my place during the 2011 census. When they asked my
religion and caste, I said that I neither had a religion, nor any caste and
added that I was a complete apatheist. Flabbergasted, they asked me, " Bhagwan
Par Vishwas Nahin Hai ( no faith in god), Koi Dharm Bhi Nahin Hai, Caste
Bhi Nahin ( no religion and caste), Aap Kaise Jeete Hain (how do you
live)? As if these are unavoidable and inescapable conditions for survival!
They were quite reluctant to write NA (not applicable) as replies to one's
faith and caste.
This made
me think deeply as to why we became so ghettoised. Mind you, that happened a
decade ago and today's world, esp. Hindu India, is all the more religiously
stubborn.
Today, a
person's identity is his or her religion and at a deeper level, an individual's
caste, that seals the fate.
Are we
evolved? Certainly not. Mark my words, until you've belief in a man-made
religion, caste and god, you'll not be able to treat your fellow humans in an
egalitarian manner. Sorry, no self-praise or claim of higher evolution, except
for my mentor Dr Zaifa Ashraf, I've not yet come across anyone in my whole life
who's as irreligious, emancipated and ideologically as free as I've been
throughout my life. Why can't we all become like that? All differences and
divisions will vanish in a jiffy. Alack, you're all frightened.
-----
A
regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative
religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the
world's premier publications in several languages including Persian….
URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/aaftab-muslim-hindu-society/d/128529
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic
Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism