Javed Akhtar Is A Belligerent Atheist
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
23 April
2023
While the
entire nation celebrated two festivals, Akshay Tritiya and Eid on
April 22, the wet blanket Javed Akhtar said that he wanted to see a few
festivals for atheists as well. He urged fellow atheists to come up with some
fresh ideas.
Javed
Akhtar, Shabana Azmi
------
This is
called monomania. Javed's atheism is too loud and exasperating. It's belligerent
atheism. In a bid to flaunt his 'unadulterated' atheism, he condemns festivals,
not knowing that festivals have nothing to do with any religion. All festivals
are manifestations of exuberance. If an atheist celebrates Eid or Akshay
Tritiya, will he or she become a Muslim or a Hindu? Just the way neo-converts
zealously condemn all the practices, customs and rituals of their earlier
religion(s), these rabid atheists also cast aspersions on all that they
erroneously think to be religious. This is also some sort of an intellectual
extremism one doesn't approve of. Humans tend to stretch their beliefs a trifle
too far and a tad too much. One doesn't have to wear his/her atheism on the
sleeve and demand a festival for atheists. One can enjoy the gaiety of all
festivals without adhering to any god and faith.
I've no
faith in any god or religion. But I enjoy the festivals of all faiths. I love
to have bowls of Sheer Khurma and Aamras Poori on Eid and Akshay
Tritiya. I unabashedly accept Eidi on the occasion of Eid. All my
Hindu and Muslim friends invite me despite knowing that I'm an apatheist. I
appreciate the concept of Shab-E-Charaghaan (Diwali) and like the idea behind
Holi without an iota of faith in Hinduism, its scriptures and deities. I
celebrate X-Mas and appreciate the significance of Yom Kippur (the Day of
Atonement and Repentance in Judaism and Samaritanism) but my faith in
Christianity or Judaism is cipher. I try to practise Anekantvad or
Pluralism of Jainism but have no faith in Jainism. In short, one can enjoy all
festivals in a detached manner if one wants to.
An atheist
must never be rigid. In fact, it's the rigidity of the followers of all
man-made faiths which an atheist dislikes and doesn't approve of. So, why on
earth should an atheist be rigid like Javed Akhtar? In this age of ubiquitous
social media, whether a theist or an atheist, all are playing to the gallery
with a view to getting that proverbial Warholian fame of 15 minutes.
-----
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/spiritual-meditations/javed-akhtar-belligerent-atheist/d/129625
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