FROM MAULANA’S DESK

Another news report from Victoria is as follows: In a move slammed on Thursday as troubling and wrong, an Australian Islamic council has called for taxpayer-funded “safe spaces” so young Muslims can express “inflammatory” views without fear. News of the request comes just days after a fatal shootout in Melbourne claimed by the Islamic State group, which is being treated as a terrorist incident. In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into freedom of religion, the Islamic Council of Victoria demanded funding for federal counterterrorism and anti-extremism programmes be diverted to create the refuges. “Existing funding re-allocated to create safe spaces urgently needed by Muslim youth to meet and talk about a range of issues in emotional terms,” it said. “(A space) where they can be frank and even use words, which in a public space would sound inflammatory.” Victorian state Premier Daniel Andrews said he was “very troubled” by any suggestion for safe spaces where Muslim youth “could be radical”. “There is no safe way to rail against the West,” he told reporters. “I am very troubled by the suggestion that we might have a space where people could be radical as part of a de-radicalisation programme. That makes no sense to me whatsoever.” He ruled out any funding for such an initiative. (“Australian Muslims demand safe spaces to talk about Islamic issues”, Hindustan Times, 8 June 2017) The above two news reports from Australia set me thinking about the present age and the role of Muslims. Of all events of the twentieth century, the Second World War particularly stands out, as it was the worst event of destruction in the entire history of war. However, it also had a positive aspect, that is, after WWII the change in thinking that emerged led to the dawn of a new age of globalization. This age was characterized by a new dimension to tourism, global mobility between nations, opportunities for peaceful activity, unprecedented expansion of modes of communication, innumerable scopes for global interaction, an explosion in the desire for the quest of truth. In these changed circumstances, a new historical phenomenon was witnessed. That is, people began to travel frequently to different countries. This scenario had a natural effect on Muslims as well. Earlier, Muslims had remained confined to their respective countries, but now they too began to migrate to other places. Today, Muslims are present in almost all the 196 countries of the world.