When people’s quest for understanding is not tolerated,it leaves them trapped in doubts
A boy on the brink of entering teens baffled his grandfather with a query. He asked, “If we were living in a locality near Antarctica, what would be the duration of a roza (fast)?”
The grandfather in his youthful years was often bothered by such enigmas, but he never had mustered up courage to talk to his elders. The astronauts’ flight to moon in 1960s had left him puzzled. He had wondered if one of the astronauts in the spacecraft was a Muslim, where would he turn his face to for offering prayers. You do not have well-defined East or the West, North or the South when space borne! You are then actually and proverbially in a void. He had witnessed many a people go bewildered when Neil Armstrong had set his foot on the moon, a sacrosanct object for the followers of almost all the faiths in the world.
The moon, thereafter, did not remain a myth. The first-ever landing of man on the moon had outraged the mullas. They out rightly rejected one of the greatest achievements of man. They decried it as hoax, a gimmick to shake the faith of the Muslims. The moon occupies sacred place in all religions, especially the Hindu religion. It was not an exclusive concern of the Muslims. The unique feat of Armstrong globally triggered unending debates, discussions and dialogue. Doubts put dent in the armour of the faithful. The shrewd cleverly drew line of demarcation between foundations of faith and scientific discoveries. They abstained from such discussions and debates. The conservatives turned a deaf ear to the deafening noises echoing in the world. The inquisitive young men were left wondering whether to discuss the enigmas with their elders or not!
The grandfather, then a young man had refrained from discussing man’s landing on moon with his parents. Almost 50 years after the landing of man on the moon, the world has not remained the same. Information technologies have emboldened man to seek answers to the queries that bother him. He doesn’t hesitate to explore and ask questions. The young grandson was one such creature who baffled his grandfather with a query. There are countless young men like him who need to know. Disrespect to their quest for understanding leaves them trapped in the cobweb of doubts. Speaking ill of Islam lands a person in grave trouble. One wonders what punishment is in store for a person who ridicules other people’s faiths and beliefs! Why doesn’t it amount to blasphemy?
A Hindu girl Sapna in Pakistan recently converted to Islam. She adapted a new name, Mehik and married an already married Musulman. Her conversion to Islam was considered lawful, and her protesting parents were silenced. In a similar context a Muslim girl fell in love with a Hindu colleague in the office. She converted to Hindu religion. They were married last week in Sukkur. The incident triggered rage and fury among the faithful. They rejected their marriage and avowed shedding the blood of the couple. The bride and the bridegroom have gone into hiding.
Test cricketer Yousuf Youhana embraced Islam and became a Muslim. He is now Mohammed Yousuf. It sent waves of jubilations among the Muslims. Three Muslim players Mohammed Kaif, Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan play Test cricket for India. Simply imagine how the Muslims would react to it if one or all of them converted to Hinduism! Won’t they be declared murtad (dissenters) and liable to be beheaded? Such issues need to be academically addressed to and explained. When an adherent of some other religion embraces Islam we feel overjoyed. In identical circumstances, if a Muslim converts to some other religion we feel annoyed and angry, and cry for his blood. What could be the logical foundations for such a discriminatory approach?
We are living in the midst of the age of inquiry, but not in Pakistan. To know, to comprehend and to understand is a global trend. People in developed countries have benefited from it. They take up the issues hitherto forbidden, seek answers to enigmas and filter their doubts. They sieve the subjects hitherto considered sacrosanct. They no more get emotionally involved in discussions on a man’s relationship with his Creator. They respect his personal belief and faith. They don’t hang him for dissent. They consider it his right to think differently. But, in Indo-Pakistan it is a separate story to tell. Individuals are lynched, beheaded and stoned to death for believing differently from the masses.
How are we to convince our media-exposed generation that the world, fourteen hundred years ago was devilish and dark, and was submerged in the sins? The prophets, saints and the enlightened wise men like Abraham, Moses, David (Hazrat Daud), Hammurabi the law giver, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Mahatma Gotama Buddha, Zarathustra, Confucious — the upholder of the ethical system based on justice and moderation — and Jesus Christ, to name a few had graced the earth more than two thousand years ago. To know, to understand and to comprehend is not a crime. Do not conveniently excommunicate the youth of today you think have gone astray. Sit with them, talk to them and listen to them.
