Osama Bin Laden and the Indian Muslim

Submitted by admin3 on 4 May 2011 - 8:26pm

Articles
Indian Muslim
By Shehzad Poonawalla,
Ever since the world's most wanted terrorist -- Osama Bin Laden -- was shot dead
by the Americans in the Pakistani suburb of Abbottabad, there has been, quite e
xpectantly, non-stop coverage of the incident by the media in an attempt to unra
vel the sequence of events which led to his killing. Obvious and legitimate ques
tions are now being raised, both in India and abroad, as to where Pakistan stand
s in the "war against terror" given that the United States unilaterally carried
out the entire operation to eliminate Osama. And frankly, it is important to deb
ate and analyze, what level of co-operation can be expected from Pakistan given
that some elements in the Pakistani establishment, namely the Pakistani military
and the ISI, do provide a safe haven to organizations that wish to target Ameri
can, European and Indian people, interests and assets.
So as I flip channel after channel I find tired and retired diplomats, strategic
affairs "experts" and former officials from India, Pakistan and elsewhere say t
he same thing over and over again in many different ways. Given that some channe
ls like to be more hard-line than others, one isn't surprised at their tenor and
language when they say "Pakistan caught with its pants down!!!" "Shouldn't Indi
a also go after the 26/11 perpetrators just like the Americans went after Osama?
" "Pakistan's ten lies have been exposed" so and so forth. Now, while I don't su
bscribe to the childish idea of gloating (simply because I believe that foreign
policy is more about silent action than loud ranting) and mocking Pakistan as if
to say "we told you so", I do realize that there is an audience which likes thi
s entire 'Pakistan-bashing' bit even though it amounts to nothing more than empt
y rhetoric. I can understand the â economicsâ that guide a channel to indulge in such se
sationalization meant for consumption in a TRP driven market for news.
But what I did find very disturbing (yet not surprising) is how the Indian Musli
m once again was called upon "to prove his loyalty" by a section of the media na
mely Times Now. This has been the trend for quite some time now. Every debate th
at concerns Pakistan, wittingly or unwittingly, is extended to the Indian Muslim
. While it is taken for granted that every other Indian supports the Indian posi
tion as enunciated by "Times Now", the Indian Muslim is called upon to expressly
state the same or else it is to be assumed that he tacitly supports Pakistan. F
or example, last night (3rd May 2011) the Newshour debate hosted by Arnab Goswam
i on "your channel" rhetorically asked why Osama was being lionized by a few peo
ple and that the Indian Muslim must resist from making Osama "a figure of worshi
p". Now, the average non-Muslim Indian would see nothing wrong in what he says.
Perhaps the average non-Muslim Indian may echo his line and say "Why don't you (
the Indian Muslim) denounce Osama and his brand of venomous ideology?" What Arna
b forgets however is that no Indian Muslim ever considered Osama to be the torch
bearer of Islam in the first place nor did his brand of Islam (or perversion of
Islam) find an acceptance in any section of Indian Muslims so where is the ques
tion of denouncing him? Why must I denounce Osama when I never ever thought of h
im to be worthy of my support in the first place? Why can't it be assumed that w
e Indian Muslims think of him as nothing more than a criminal who killed innocen
t people just like it is assumed for any other Indian?
My problem is just this, that by asking the average Indian Muslim to reject Osam
a expressly, one creates an impression that Indian Muslims were and are naturall
y inclined towards supporting him.
In one way itâ s like asking a victim of a sexual abuse to expressly state and submit
 that she did not want to be sexually abused or else it would be assumed that sh
e wanted to be sexually abused or asking every Sikh to state that he isn't a sup
porter of Khalistan!! Arnab's argument unfortunately is as disgusting and discom
forting as the arguments I have just stated. What Arnab forgets conveniently whi
le asking this question of the Indian Muslim is that not a single Indian Muslim
had been associated with the Al Qeada. Isn't that itself evidence of the fact th
at Osama had been rejected a long time ago? And perhaps Arnab's enthusiastic bun
ch of journalists managed to get some sound-bites from some worn-out separatist
leader or some Maulana who spewed out some anti-American rhetoric, for consumpti
on by a hard-line Muslim audience. Does that mean that the entire Indian Muslim
community is obligated to 'prove' that we are not a part of team OSAMA? Do three
or four Maulanas represent a community of over 13 crores?
And this isn't the first time the Indian Muslim is being subjected to this 'loya
lty test'. During the Kargil War or during 26/11, it's the Indian Muslim who nee
ds to come out and assure the rest that our hearts do not beat for those who liv
e on the other side of the Line of Control. (If Bal Thackeray had his way, he wo
uld want everyone to believe that Indian Muslims were praying for Pakistan and n
ot India to win the 2011 Cricket World Cup!!!) My simple question is only this-
Do Pakistan sponsored terrorists differentiate between Indian Hindus and Indian
Muslims when they open fire and engage in wanton killing like they did at the Ch
atrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai on 26/11? Haven't Indian Muslims laid down t
heir lives for protecting the sovereignty of India? Haven't enough of India's Mu
slim sons and daughters made their motherland proud? If yes, then why is the Ind
ian Muslim required to wear a badge of being Anti-Pakistan or in this case Anti-
Osama to show that he does not condone Islamist Terror?
These questions may seem innocuous to those who subscribe to the mindset propaga
ted by the likes of Bal Thackeray, Narendra Modi and Arnab Goswami but they leav
e an indelible mark on the psyche of the Indian Muslim. Ironically and unfortuna
tely, itâ s the bullets and shrapnel from the Pakistani terrorists that carries a gre
ater validification for the loyalty and sense of belonging of the Indian Muslim
than people we thought are our own. At least they look at us no differently than
other Indians and they snuff out our lives without sitting in judgment over our
patriotism.
Jai Hind.
(The author is law graduate from Puneâ s Indian Law Society and political activist)
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Its bcos TImes now knows more of Islam than Shehad bhai
Submitted by faisal (not verified) on 6 May 2011 - 2:54pm.
Its bcos Hindus, secularists and all others non-muslims in india or the world kn
ow something of Islam that Mr.Shehzad doesnt seem to fathom.Muslims are asked to
show their loyalty bcos Islam asks muslims to show their loyalty to fellow musl
ims and the ummah, its bcos Islam tells a muslims that no matter which part of t
he world a muslims lives he is the brother of every muslims, its bcos Islam reje
cts all ideologies which create hatred between humans in general and muslims in
particular whether it be nationalism,regionalism,tribalism etc etc ... its bcos
our beloved prophet had said that any muslim preferring his tribal loyalty over
the brotherhood of islam will find his place in hell.Its bcos we indian muslims
are muslims first and indians later.
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@ Mr Bharat. Firstly stop
Submitted by Shehzad Poonawalla (not verified) on 6 May 2011 - 2:31pm.
@ Mr Bharat. Firstly stop referring to me as "she" because I am a male. I think
you presumed Shehzad is a woman's name. This is the problem with your argument t
oo. It's presumptious. Neither am I being paid by NDTV nor am I on an agenda to
divide communities in India. I am stating the obvious. But I guess its difficult
to accept the truth. Nonetheless, I accept your snide remarks and comments whol
eheartedly. Someday the realization will daw upon you that Indian Muslims deserv
e better treatment than what is meted out by the likes of Thakeray & Goswami.
Jai Hind
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osama and the indian muslim
Submitted by buddha (not verified) on 5 May 2011 - 9:00pm.
If osamas death has to mandatorily invite condemnation from indian muslims as a
test then when Azim Premji donates 7000 crores for phianthrophy( the highest by
any indian) does the media salutes all muslims as charity doers.
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Shehzad bhai why accept all
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 5 May 2011 - 8:20pm.
Shehzad bhai why accept all the allegations against islam muslims and osama
wirhout any trial??What about the root cause? of all anti muslim wars
perpetrated by Israel &USA?why forget OIL WAR?why accept 9/11
when 10 out of 19saudis alleged are ALIVE?!
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arnab a braminists
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 5 May 2011 - 1:44pm.
What can be expected from a braminical racists. So its not a surprise that he is
spewing venom
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real terrorist is obama
Submitted by real indian (not verified) on 5 May 2011 - 12:54pm.
9/11 is planned by america as per dr zakir naik.
but america blamed osama for this attack is wrong.
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Arnab Goswami owes an apology to Muslims!
Submitted by Ghodboley (not verified) on 5 May 2011 - 11:57am.
In the write-up it is said that Arnab Goswamy, the anchor in a website debate ha
s said that Osama was being lionized by a few people and that INDIAN MUSLIMS MUS
T RESIST FROM MAKING "OSMA A FIGURE OF WORSHIP!"(EMPHASIS ADDED).in these days o
f "over-activisms',every one is taking liberty to say anything and get away with
it!If a painter's brush adds a small peck in it, he becomes the founder of a ne
w school of painting! If a mason misplaces a brick, he becomes a founder of a ne
w school of architecture! But if an anchor spills words without any reflection,
he will be soon shown the door!Gowswamy should know the religious sentiments of
the people have to be respected at all costs and time.A Muslim makes the declara
tion of his conviction that there is no God, worthy of WORSHIP,except the one an
d only ALLAH!How,then, he could of all the people make osama. a"figure of worshi
p"? Arnab has regrettably affected the sentiments of the Mulims,obviously withou
t any reflection, therefore he owes an apology to Muslims!
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The role of muslim media
Submitted by Sahil (not verified) on 5 May 2011 - 6:16am.
The role of muslim media across the globe is to project muslims as poor victimiz
ed people who need nothing more than live their life peacefully but they are har
assed by the governments/majority of the countries they live in.
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Shehzad Poonawalla-THE OBAMA WORSHIPPER
Submitted by Bharath (not verified) on 5 May 2011 - 12:53am.
Seems Shehzad is saying - 'DON'T CONFUSE ME THE FACTS I HAVE MADE UP MY MIND' or
SHE IS PAID TO WRITE THIS ARTICLE supporting TERRORISTS who are the BREEDING GR
OUND IN PAKISTAN.I CAN SEE HER NARROW MINDNESS IN LINKING TERRORISM with MUSLIMS
- though Terrorism have NO RELIGION and her article is JUST LIKE what PIGvijay
is saying.MUSLIMS CAN BE FROM ANY COUNTRY BUT IT DOES NOT MEAN THEY are supporte
r of TERRORISM but SHE is attempting to RAISE COMMUNAL FEELINGS IN INDIA and ALS
O PROBABLY WITH SELF INTEREST OF DEFAMING 'TIMES NOW'(May be SHE is PAID BY CHAN
NELS LIKE NDTV who are loosing their VIEWERSHIP FAST for THEIR ANTI HINDU PROPAG
ANDA).
SHE should remember Mumbai Blasts and attack by LeT planned killings in Mumbai W
HO ARE OPENLY CARRYING OUT HATE CAMPAIGN AGAINST INDIANS in the NAME OF RELIGION
and SHELTERED BY PORKISTAN.AT LEAST SHE COULD HAVE REMEMBERED THAT and ALSO NO
COUNTER ACTION TAKEN BY WEAK PM.Because of persons LIKE HER only INDIAN MUSLIMS
ARE SUFFERING and MARGINAL FANATIC MUSLIMS and COMMUNAL CONgis are taking advant
age.
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Mr Poonawalla. I am with you
Submitted by Siva (not verified) on 4 May 2011 - 10:54pm.
Mr Poonawalla. I am with you on this. The majority of Indians - Hindus, Muslims,
everyone; including atheists like me - don't give a damn about such divisive fo
rces. Screw the right wing.
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