The Lesson of the Spring

a day of hatred and violence. Almost every leader is using the Friday gathering for political ends. This is a very dangerous sign. This is making use of the religion of God for communal and political purposes. This is exactly what happened in the case of the Jews during their phase of degeneration. According to the Quran, this stand taken by the Jews incurred the wrath of God. If Muslims adopt a similar stand, they will not be able to save themselves from its bitter consequences. No exception is made for any community in this matter. I wasted the whole of my Life A well known Kashmiri scholar, who was also called the “Mufakkir” (thinker) of Kashmir, was one of the leaders of the continuing political militant movement launched in Kashmir two decades ago. On December 13, 1990, at the age of 87, he was shot dead in Kashmir by some Muslim youths. In a meeting on November 28, 2011, a Kashmiri Muslim told me that some time before his death he had given my book, ‘Al-Islam’ to this leader. In a later meeting the leader admitted to him that he was in total agreement with the content of the book. He further said that after reading it, he realized that he had wasted his whole life. With intense regret, he said, “I wish I had found this book earlier.” These words of the slain leader might be taken as the last word of a dying person. In the lifetime of the scholar, the Kashmiris had taken his advice in the political field. Now they should take his advice in the matter of launching a different kind of Islamic movement. That is, the people of Kashmir should abandon the way of violence and opt for treading the path of peace. They should abandon political activism and opt for engaging in peaceful dawah work. In the words of a Persian poet, it is as if the soul of the slain leader is saying to the Kashmiris: Man na kardam, shuma hazar ba kunaid (I could not refrain (from politics) you ought to refrain from it). The Gate of Paradise Once the Emperor Jahangir (d. 1627) visited Kashmir. On seeing the beautiful scenes of nature in the valley, he exclaimed: