The Approach Muslims must Adopt
Al-Risala (English), December 1990, p. 6
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
The Approach Muslims must Adopt
1990 12 December 6-7 The Approach Muslims must Adopt (715) The Western media have often been labelled anti-Islamic, but, surprisingly, the one BBC T.V. films, which I saw in London was in fact supportive of the Muslim cause. I chanced upon this telecast in the month of May 1990 during a stopover in London, on my way to the United States of America. It was about The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. I wish more Muslims could see this revealing episode.
It was a very novel idea indeed. Two groups of people, with diametrically opposed view on The Satanic Verses were closetted together under one roof for four days to exchange ideas and explain their respective stands.
One groups, which believed in total freedom of speech and saw nothing wrong in the contents of the book, was composed of three Englishmen and a lady. Interestingly, the lady was a Muslim in her forties married to an Englishman. To her, Islam was an intolerant religion and the Muslim bigots. Her colleagues firmly believed that banning any book was an infringement of freedom of speech, and that The Satanic Verses should, therefore, never have been banned. One of them was the owner of a book shop which sold the book in dispute. The other group was represented by four young and practising Muslims including a girl, from the Indian subcontinent, but living and perhaps even brought up in England and they came from diverse professional backgrounds like the other participating team. But they had one thing in common, a strong and abiding faith in Islam.
They were housed in a building specially rented for this purpose. For full four days they interacted with each other, held group discussions, indulged in community cooking, informal chats and fishing, etc. The Muslims would disengage from the activities when it was time to pray.
On the first day, both sides were guarded and a little tense, but were more relaxed later when a free exchange of ideas took place. The Muslims explained their point of view with great zeal and sincerity and remained calm and courteous. That is not to say that the others were discourteous.
The final day was full of surprises. The owner of the shop declared, “I have decided not to display The Satantic Verses on my shelves! The commentator was quick to ask if he had been intimidated. He said. “No. I don’t think I would have yielded to any pressure. I am doing this in deference to Muslim sentiments which I understand better now.”
The Muslim lady had a change of heart too. She said, “I had greatly misunderstood Islam. I was apprehensive of the treatment I would get from the participating Muslims, but they accepted me for what I am, and explained to me what Islam is all about. I agree with them that this offending book should not have been written. “The other two participants were deeply touched by the zeal and the sincerity of the faith of the Muslims and were willing to see the whole thing in a different perspective.
It was amazing how a group of young Muslims was able in so short a time to transform the thinking of hardened men and a woman who had been so strong in their own convictions.
Consider their achievement against the dismal result of the large-scale protests over The Satanic Verses made periodically by thousands of Muslims in London. Can the thousands of protesters produce just two people whose sympathy they have gained against the book? The fact is, whenever the Muslims take to the streets, it only hurts their cause. They lose the sympathy of the common man, who by and large, is orderly and disciplined, and hates to see his life disrupted by street demonstrations. To my knowledge, all that the Muslims in London have achieved is a hardening of the attitude of the U. K. government and members of the public on this issue, and the label of intolerance, for the Muslims as a community.
This story also signifies the two broad approaches available to the Muslims where they feel they are disadvantaged and need to remedy the situation. If only the Muslims cared to open their eyes, they would know which of the two approaches would bring positive results with honour. (Contributed by Wg, Cdr. Yusuf Khan. New Delhi).
