The prob
lem with Britain is clumsy handling of a very sensitive issue and in the process giving legitimacy to some really nasty people. The mistake is the attempt on classifying certain set of people as ‘Muslim community’. It is a reflection of not ignorance but complete lack of involvement as to who consist Muslims. One wonders if it is lack of understanding or is it complacency. It is a general happening in the elite sections when they patronize what they consider ‘less fortunate’ people. It is an affliction of those wallowing in laziness, lacking any understanding on reality.
‘Muslim community’ for ever- ready- to- patronize dubious elite in Britain means to encourage a set of people who are actually the original degradation of the Muslim world (if ever we can classify the world that way). The Wahabi Sunnis seems to have fashioned themselves as championing for ‘Muslims’ in general. They have usurped this position with utmost ease. Any attempts to curtail their regressive practices seem to be seen as attempt against ‘Muslims’. The ‘beleaguered Muslim community’ image after the 9/11 adds to the advantage. One might say Taliban or even Osama is not a Wahabi or Deobandi but that is not the point. Wahabi I am using as loose description of those who want a stricter and more intolerant version of Islam to be imposed. It is this breed of Islam who has and is destroying gentler cultures around the world among some very beautiful followers of Islam. Whether in Indonesia or Kashmir or in Kabul (through Taliban) or some quaint community with rich cultural heritage, the wahabis have always attempted to destroy it and introduce regressive and demeaning practices. Many Muslim communities and sane people are fighting these degrading influence around the world. Defining Wahabian worldview and practice as matter of choice is grievous mistake. One, there is no democracy within the practice it is imposition infact these people are using democracy to their advantage for narrow reason and agenda. They are mostly byproduct of feudal mindset, religion and tradition is just an alibi. Second, is the idea of choice- someone happily want to do anything, need not be accepted as valid argument there are many things which an individual or group want to do happily but may not be acceptable to civilized society. So women happily exercising ‘their’ choice are an old ploy we have seen throughout the history. Woman stitch vagina happily as a matter of choice in North Africa, woman walked on toes happily as matter of choice in china, woman burned daughter in law as matter of choice in north India, and so now woman cover their face happily as matter of choice in London. It is shocking since it is happening (more appropriately allowed) in places like Britain since the beautiful idea of democracy, liberty and other values were codified and exalted in west (it may not have originated here). It provided immense possibility for reason, logic….the harbinger for all scientific and technological development. It also provided space for civilized interactions and freedom of expression. Thus people experimented with themselves and the surrounding, able to tap their potential unlike anywhere in the world. Creating wide range of creative divergence and variance contributing to the beauty of human experience. The Wahabis stand for all that is against this. Most of the cultural contributions of Islamic communities around the world are despite these people. Cultural contributions like folk music, dance or theatre and other forms of expressions have been brutally suppressed. To take an example, in the Indian subcontinent the wonderful tradition of Sufis was brutally dealt few centuries back. Even Ustad Bismillah Khan was asked to not use Shehnai by some Mullah just think how many more talented people could never make it because of these nasty people and their world view. What we now know as beautiful poems, songs (quawwalis) and so on were to large extend contribution of some beautiful people despite these prosecutions and threat for centuries. For fundamentalist grouping under Wahabis this was blasphemy. I read sometime back about a young Pakistani writer (not able to recall name) who was so traumatized by his childhood memory of his uncle who destroyed his toys and delicate paper works he created calling it blasphemy. This the kind of psyche they can inflict on children. Now one might say that such occurrings are common in other cultures or religion. Maybe but in other cultures and religion there is always a possibility to question, protest and change but when it comes to Wahabis and their brethrens this is the finality. They want to freeze everything into history. They now want civilized people to tolerate it as ‘choice’ and be more 'understanding'!!. Basically it is ploy to gain power and control. And post 9/11 is apt occasion to sneak in the stink.
In the name of Islam these people have done heinous crimes over many centuries. Now it is petro dollar which is playing havoc over the lives of ordinary Muslim people. It is this brand of Islam which is the threat to Islam around the world. It is this dangerous people we need to beware of. The veil (that is covering the whole face) is the extension of this regressive world view. They have been very aggressively spreading this onto very unsuspecting and ordinary Muslims around the world in the name of religion. Even in the places like Kabul these fundamentalists whose world view are so narrow, are considered ‘nuisance and uncultured’. I happen to see a program in National Geography Channel sometime back wherein the man on the street who used to make living through music and photography made this comment about Taliban. If this is the case in ‘conservative’ places like Kabul one can very well imagine what the situation is around the world. There is struggle in most Islamic societies against this Wahabis brand of Islam by the natives of the region. The culture of settlers is being threatened whether in London or in Dacca. If these scoundrels had their way we will not have any freedom or forms of creative expressions. Think of the millions of lives made miserable by these people particularly women, in some places they even carry stick to check any transgression. Where these people are not any majority they use democracy to spread their stink, this they do by ghettoizing people and creating vote bank. The reason why they are very upbeat about any tradition or belief which can alienate.
The veil represents this threat. Apart from objectifying women it curtails woman’s activity in public space. It strives to make women dependent on male therefore severely restricting their potential except may be to produce children and look after them. There is no music, no dance, no sports…it represents that world. Even in comparatively open societies like Pakistan women have no chance in sports while the male sportsperson are considered national prestige. The stance is mostly patronizing which is what makes it most disgusting. Even in India Muslim women’s contributions (in middle class) are quite limited and if ever despite heavy odds, contrasts this with other communities particularly Protestants. Infact the Muslim communities are one the poorest in India but instead of providing opportunities of modern education and health benefits the mullahs are working on huge money building bigger and bigger(and in some cases very ugly) mosques and madrasas, as also nuances on ‘religious life’. This is the case all the around the world. And then they say we are alienated!!. I am told that no community feels so alienated as Muslims around the world. Well when it is always the case then it is time to look inside than blaming others. The mullahs are taking the ‘Muslim community’ for big ball ride. For that first they need to construct a concept of ‘muslim community’ to usurp the angst, in patronising Britain they have been immensely successful. They are beacons of democracy here and exotic pets of multicultural masters. Infact Britain is a case study on Mullah’s success story.
When elite in Britain say this is freedom of expression and should be tolerated what they forget is that veil is a symbol against expression. Sensuality is integral part of humanness and any attempt to curtail that comes under violation of basic rights of any human. Veil represents that heinous form of human right violation. Tolerating human right violation is not the way to define democracy this is a grievous mistake. You encourage these barbarians you are sowing seeds of violence. Remember peace is not absence of crime. Violence is the state of mind which gives space to tolerate violation of another human being. When we allow such practices it is not about tolerance it is about we loosing our space for not tolerating injustice. The society looses that space and then these injustices we tolerate breeds its own new world which can be nothing but violent. A byproduct of careless and indulgent society living in suspicion with itself.
The bikini angle which is being brought into this issue is a way to divert the attention. How far sensuality be expressed in public space that it crosses the line of decency or vulgarism is a different issue. It is about our right to express. Further when woman are seen as object of sex and male potential rapist and so be protected under veil, this represent a crude form of understanding of human sensibilities. This is the psyche that mutilates human relations. This can only create negative feeling around and so mistrust, Britain need to understand this. Also the child brought in such environment is a potential victim of such world view and will definitely find difficulty adjusting to egalitarian and equitable world view. Eventually will find himself alienated and so a potential recruit for hate. It is no surprise that the contribution of this breed of people to humanity have hardly been positive. How many art forms or scientific or folk lore or other form beauty is contributed from this part of the world?. When I say ‘this part of the world’ it means the space occupied by women in veil all around the world. Where as all around the world in Muslim and non Muslim communities’ women have contributed in all sphere, women under veil remain a dark spot, a shame on humanity. Wahabi Sunni’s contribution to the world is that they made the life of many ordinary people around the world miserable in the name of Islam. They are the crudest people. Future generation will not forgive west for their thoughtless and careless act which amounts to encouraging these people. In many countries around the world whether Turkey or Uzbekistan the ordinary Muslims are threatened by these regressive forces. Britain’s capitulation will weaken their stand and will lead to more insecure and intolerant world, a severe setback. It will give space to accepting injustice and legitimatize tyranny in the name of religion.
Postscript: the reference to defecation was in context to my surrounding, and a gag on Blair (he is the one who should be in jail). Since it is being taken out of context, as also i believe it was not needed here i am removing it. Apologies for the mixup.
mething in what he said that made me think. Race courses whether in Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata or Bangalore are located in ‘prime property’ that is these are located right in the middle of the city. They are kept as flat surface with few decorative plants or shrubs in acres of land. So also is the case of Golf courses. This is criminal. Steps should be taken to relocate Golf course and Race course to outskirts of cities. The land be then converted to bio diversity park (on the model one finds in Ooty). Maintaining acres of land in cities with few shrubs and grass is an insult on people. It is a kind of colonial affliction for indulgence of few. This has to stop. 
g one doesn’t need a race course a betting centre is enough. One wonders why horse racing not deemed as proper sport?!!. It is rarely in the mainstream news whereas dumbest game like golf makes it. Also what I don’t get is why betting is not allowed in cricket?. The police are being misused for adherence to club rules. This is ridiculous. If Marketers can cash in on the game why not common people what is the difference? Sometimes people tend to take high moral grounds on cricket. Chill it folks after all it is just a game where people want to just hit the ball.
