The Passion of The Pacifist

Bufoons like Asghar Ali Engineer are a dime a dozen.These are the unqualified,uneducated,street people who are mistaken for having acquired some learning simply because they are making every effort to mould themselves into western norms & practices.

Like the Roman Catholic church they are constantly trying to convince others that given enough gallup-polling the church will fine-tune itself to the Satanic religion of Secular Humanism.

These witch doctors want to practice medicine & insist that the rules of the medical establishment are too rigid to be accomodate these innovative methods.If Asghar Ali Engineer wants to acquire some learning he must enrol at some reputable madrassah & sit at the feet(very humbly,mind you)of some maulana [they speak read & write better english,french,german--can explain science better than hawkins AND know more than any Harvard/Cambridge type).In case the poor fellow is deluded that most people who follow Maulana Tahir Saifuddin are stupid or ``common folk``,he is sadly mistaken.It is just that they write him off even when they take a look at such secularistic bimbaas.

Such as his kind appeal to a dwindling ``uneducated`` contituency which for one reason or another want legitimacy of a fatwa for letting their kids drink,date,fornicate,appear foreign at home,be homos,spurn eastern superior values for inferior western ones & not adopt superior western values.

If they get rejected & ostracised by their community community it does not mean that because of this persecution complex he is right----so many illegals get deported from US but they themselves have to be blamed.ASghar Ali(& his ilk) must be treated with the same contempt as that for an illegal alien.

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Can`t comment because I have absolutely no idea who Engineer Sahib is. Farzana, please write a note in the reply section, as to who this person is-and if possible paste some cut`n`paste links to his work.

THank you

hamzad#2:

What exactly is wrong in being a ``pacifist``? If secular humanism is as repugnant to you as witch doctoring, maybe you ought to take a closer look at yourself. As for ``enlightened`` maulvis, please.... and let`s not even START on ``Islamic science`` and extracting energy from jinns...

Always had this impression of Bohras being the bright happy face of Islam.... If the Bohras can excommunicate one of their own for ``daring`` to oppose the Syedna, it reflects badly on them and their alleged liberal-ness.

Farzana,

Marvellous...

AAE is what many of us strive to be, although that is a very difficult challenge for the lesser mortals like us.

Thank you, F, for bringing this interview to us.

Hamzad Afaqui

Engineer makes sense. You do not. The Holy Quran

and Islam flourish today, not through misguided `watchdogs`(screaming blasphemy) like your yapping buddy, Qazi Shaikh Abbas Borhany, but because it protects itself. Butt out. You`re both `bad for business`.

I wont comment on the responses to date on Farzana`s interview. Their small-mindedness and

aggressive language speak for themselves.

Asghar Ali Engineer is a distinguished scholar

and social activist in India. He is a critic

of the right-wing extremists (Shiv Sena, Bajrang

Dal, Wahabi fundamentalism, fundus in the

Bohra community) of all kinds. Here are links to

some of his writings:

http://www.dawoodi-bohras.com/aboutus/asghar.htm

http://www.vedamsbooks.com/no14547.htm

http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu12ee/uu12ee0k.htm

http://www.secularindia.com/BJPandminorities.htm

http://www.addall.com/Browse/Detail/187938325X.html

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Thanks Farzana for such a beautiful article.

I am proud and ashamed at the same time.

Thanks once again,

jntuece99

Its a sad out come of a restless soul(mr.Engineer) caught in the turmoil of conflicting loyalties to sub sect of Bohra to belonging to larger muslim ummah ,yet being minority to non muslim hegonomy .

It needs more than unusual resilience to make sense out of these conflicts .

Most of assertion of mr.Engineeer are OPINIONS rather than backed by religous text of any religion.As a tesimony of his agony & pain it is admirable but as a solution to Hindutva in india ,iam afraid muslims like Kashmiris ,who have yet to make there final discision will buy these conditions for being part of a country which after more than 1000 years of interaction with muslims have refused to accept it & still tries to change islam into its own acceptable version.Why dont we see a islamised version of hinduism in the form of reformed hindu rather than forcing muslims to give up non veg habit ,role of females ,spiritual inspiration from mecca etc.

Urstruly # 3

Asgharali Engineer is a renowned Islamic scholar, Bohra reformist, and Human Rights activist. Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, who has been a Vice President of the PUCL (People`s Union for Civil Liberties )for a number of years, has dedicated his life for securing liberties granted by the Constitution of India but denied by the Bohra priesthood, Syedna to his followers. Syedna, who run a State within the State, is very intolerant of any opposition to his fiat.

He has wriiten a few books too. I think he wrote ?The women of Islam? and ?lifting the Veil? but I am not sure.

Regards,

Faruk

I have been following the writings of AAE for quite a while now. I also know that he has been under a ``boycott`` from within the Bohra Community.

Although I do not agree with the notion that he is a ``Islamic Scholar`` but he does appear to be rational humanist and makes some reasonable arguments.

I do not know what his differences are with other Bohras in their practice of faith, but he does come across as someone to listen to.

And it does bring us to the question whether rigid dogma or freedom of religion is the answer for Muslims today. I am for the latter and choose to boycott irrational fanatics myself.

Thanks Farzana for introducing CHOWK readers to AAE. I do not agree with some of his views and his use by the Indian Establishment on occasion.

Ras

Ras Siddiqui # 12

?Although I do not agree with the notion that he is a ``Islamic Scholar`` ?

Ras,

Could you explain why you think Dr Asgharali Engineer is not an ``Islamic Scholar`` and what in your opinion it takes to be an ``Islamic Scholar``.

Regards,

Faruk

dear Farzana,

Thank you for a very thoughful and interesting interview. You asked all the right questions.

One of your most insightful questions was regarding the right of a (cultural) minority to retain its identity and how to deal with the resultant pressure to conform to the majority.

My own feeling is that when our constitution guarantees a citizen the ``right to life``, it gives him the right to create and maintain his own identity: religious, cultural, ethnic etc. becoz to ``live`` life is to live it the way you want to. Thus to DEMAND conformism is unconstitutional (not to say just plain wrong!). That is all very clear and black and white.

But living in society inevitably means compromising somewhat. The grey area is about where one draws the line. How much should one compromise? And if one is compromising, does this constitute domination by the majority?

For eg: supposing you think your religion demands wearing a burqua. But you are interviewing with a corporate firm in Mumbai, and you know that the westernized people there would be uncomfortable with it. They might not say anything to you directly, but you know that it reduces your chances of getting hired. Are you compromising your religion if you do not wear it? Are you justified in feeling angry with the interviewer for his views? Even simpler. Let`s say the normal way of greeting in India is a namaste. Are your rights being trampled if you are expected to say that instead of the traditional Salaam-aleikum?

Melting into the melting pot is always a very painful process. But who is to blame for it? Is it really such a bad thing? What should be saved? These are the harder questions that all minorities have to face.

-narain

Glen 11 writes:

----

Why dont we see a islamised version of hinduism in the form of reformed hindu rather than

forcing muslims to give up non veg habit ,role of females ,spiritual inspiration from mecca etc.



I have no idea where you have picked up these

rumors. Fact: meat-oriented cuisine especially

with muslim influence is a huge hit in India

(hyderabadi, bhopali, lahori, ....) and is

consumed everywhere. It is generally considered more sophisticated than the local regional

cuisine. Perhaps you are confusing

some backward areas like Uttar Pradesh with

India. Even there the BJP will be toast after

the next election if other groups (UP is 18%

muslim, 14% dalit) can get their act together.

As for role of females, growing up in Calcutta,

I saw 100`s of women in the street wearing Burhka.

Some still do and nobody gives a damn about it.

Spritual inspiration from mecca..., hmmm, do you

mean wahabism or truly mecca. Cults like wahabism

are not in favor but I dont think people care much

about whether you pray facing mecca or banaras.

India is a large country with a lot of diversity.

The North and West of India have gotten closer

to a ``pakistani``-style hate-the-other culture

(thanks guys!) but the south and east are quite

different.

I have always admired for Asghar Ali Engineer has had to say.