Grand Mufti to take decision after Ulema Council meet
The controversy over conversions by Christian missionaries in the Valley may further deepen as the Pastor of the All India Saints Church has admitted to his involvement in the practice. He has also claimed that he was being supported by certain NGOs and intellectuals in his “mission.”
Pastor C.M. Khanna has made his confession before a group of 15 Islamic scholars and representatives of various religious groups headed by the Grand Mufti of Kashmir, Mufti Mohammad Bashiruddin.
The Grand Mufti, after receiving complaints that the Pastor was involved in conversions in the Valley, summoned him last month. The Pastor, however, was out of station and had sought time to appear before the Grand Mufti who heads Supreme Court of Islamic Jurisprudence in Kashmir.
Speaking toThe Hindu, the Grand Mufti said: “Initially he did not accept that he was doing this.”
The Pastor reportedly said he was on a “peace mission promoting communal harmony between Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Christians.”
“But when confronted by some boys, he had no option but to accept,” the Grand Mufti said, adding that they had a CD containing evidence about how the Pastor was performing conversion.
The Pastor has confessed to having converted 15 boys so far and promised to give their list to the Grand Mufti.
“The Pastor said some NGO and intellectuals were with him in this mission and some of them had accompanied him to South Africa to preach Christianity,” said the Grand Mufti.
Ulemas to meet
Terming the issue a “grave” one, he said Ulema (scholars) from various organisations including the Jamat-e-Islami, the Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadees, the Islamic Study Circle and the Nadwatul Ulema would meet again to take a final decision. “As of now I have reserved my judgment. The Ulema council was scheduled to meet on November 19, but it has been postponed,” the Grand Mufti said.
The Grand Mufti asserted that whatever be the decision, it has to be implemented, otherwise “there will be serious consequences… We will implement the part we have to do and government should do its part,” he added.
Authorities were, however, cautious in reacting to the development.
“Let the final decision of the Grand Mufti come. We will proceed accordingly,” said a senior police officer. According to sources, the State government is perturbed over the matter, fearing another cycle of unrest in the Valley.
The police have already registered a case under Sections 153A, 259 and 186 of the Ranbir Penal Code. Seven people have been arrested so far.
Conversion is simply a person deciding to change what he/she believes. I don't see what's wrong in that. Many Hindus were delighted when Julia Roberts converted from Christianity to Hinduism. Many Muslims were delighted when Sharmila Tagore converted from Hinduism to Islam. Individuals should be allowed to change their minds and make their own decisions. Kashmir is not Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, where converts away from Islam are terrorized and murdered. Many Kashmiris have grown weary of Islam--which they associate with violence--and are looking for an alternative. I hope the Indian government does the right thing and stands up for religious freedom.
Rahman Khan says that Christians believe in a 'flat' earth.
Misconceptions about the Bible have been around for a long time. For
example, one misconception is that the Bible teaches that the earth is
flat, or that it is the center of the universe. A closer examination
of Scripture shows otherwise. The Bible does not say in anyplace that
the Earth is flat. In the creation itself it is clearly stated that
God made a dome to separate the earth and sky. Dome is spherical and
not flat. It is also stated that God created the sun to rule over the
day and the moon to rule over the night. The separation of the day and
the night described in Genesis 1:4 clearly refers to the formation of
the sun and the earth. If the earth created by God was flat, the sun
would shine over the entire planet and there would be no night at all.
The Bible says: “Evening passed and the morning came – that was the
fourth day.” Genesis 1:19. The separation of the day and the night
described in Genesis 1:4 clearly refers to the formation of the sun
and the earth. Day and night produced because of the earth’s spherical
shape this is possible because of the earth's rotation. It is a clear
indication that God created a spherical earth. The Bible affirms that
the earth is held in space like the Moon and other planets and this
can be seen in the verse, “God spreads the canopy of the sky over
chaos and suspends earth in the void.” Job 26:7. The round shape of
the earth is further confirmed in this verse. "He sits enthroned above
the circle of the earth.” (Isaiah 40:22). Christianity has often been
held responsible for promoting the flat Earth theory. Yet, it was only
a handful of Popes, claiming to represent the Church, who held to a
flat Earth. Most of these were ignored by Christians and the
Reformation movement removed all such foolish ideas. Jeffrey Burton
Russell is a professor of history at the University of California in
Santa Barbara. He says in his book inventing the Flat Earth (written
for the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's journey to America
in 1492) that through antiquity and up to the time of Columbus,
“nearly unanimous scholarly opinion pronounced the earth spherical.
Russell says the flat earth mythology flourished most between 1870 and
1920, and had to do with the ideological setting created by struggles
over evolution. He says the flat-earth myth was an ideal way to
dismiss the ideas of a religious past in the name of modern science.
And yet, opponents of Christianity continue the propaganda that the
Church invented the myth of the flat Earth, although the Bible does
not say in any place the Earth is flat.
Conversion is part of religious freedom and it is law of land. It is a fundamental right
granted by the constitution. The government of Kashmir is not for the muslim clerics
but for the entire population in Kashmir. Unfortunately a small minority impose their
will on the majority with impunity.
Those who talk about "charity" of Christian Missionaries, please restrain hiding your dirty job of "converstions" under the name of "charity". I have personally been "preached" christianity and "asked to embrace Christianity" at the age of 13. I still remember one of the preachers who spoke extremely bad of my religion and religious symbols by giving me "lift" in his cycle while I was walking to my school. The way Christian Missionary people have tried to "infuse" christianity into me subtly, passively, implicitly but baptisingly at my young age when I was not in a position to discriminate between what my religion is and how good another religion is, is a criminal activity. Due to our family moving to another town, I somehow have escaped these conversion plots.
Why there's much fear about a person accepting Jesus Christ as personal Saviour? Its the responsibility of every christian to convey the good news to others and this is a grand commission from Jesus Christ. Today none can win anyone by mere words, its the Spirit of God who transforms a person. Jesus says "I am the WAY the LIFE and the TRUTH. You shall KNOW the TRUTH and the TRUTH shall set ou free". It must be every person's right to know the TRUTH, and the person's choice to live or leave the TRUTH. Human knowledge is observational/emperical and scientific evidences/facts are based on such observed knowledge and definitely limited. Because they are facts not Truth. But the knowledge of God is revelational and is far beyond human observation and interpretation. Only by one's Spirit aligned towards God's Holy Spirit can comprehend and understand revealed information and thus transformation of a person is. In a religious perspective its Conversion but spiritually A RENEWED MIND.God Bless
Let us compare India and Africa. Both comprise many identities, many tribes, many customs, many languages etc etc. They have always been at each others throats, while Indians formed a system where everyone could co-exist, each fulfilling the societal need of other. This much maligned Caste System, has been the savior of our nation.
Conversion to any religion per se is unwarranted.The aim of any
religion is to propogate ways and means of living a principled ,
peaceful and happy life.Claiming , that one religion is superior than
the other is making mockery of the idea of the supreme being.Since
time immemorial , different people adapted different lifestyles ,
culture according to the place they lived , the experience they
developed over different period of time.Hence to to ridicule one
another based on his / her religion is highly improper and is an
insult to the ethos of the very religion one claims to profess.Every
religion propogates peace,harmony and inner happiness.One wonders what
one aims to achieve by conversion? A true faithful of any religion
would only see the humanity in the other than indulge in increasing
headcount into his / her religion.Today, unfortunately, forceful
conversions have become "Big Business" of some in the name of
religion.Its high time we see the issue in the right perspective.
Exactly Mr.Anil. Try converting people who are more than 21 years of age and who have the maturity to think. Not young boys, which is the case in the Kashmir incident. Young minds should not be poisoned with the views of missionaries and there is no fault in prosecuting the pastor for converting young boys.
Every person has a natural right to get converted to any religion of his or her choice. Nobody, no government, nor any power on Earth has a right to tell anybody which religion to accept, and which religion not to accept. At the same time, nobody has a right to lure anybody into other religion by gifts and money. If somebody is personally affected/duped by such inducement, let that person alone lodge a complaint with Police. Vested interests, who try to act as owners of their religions, should not take the law into their hands as they are not doing it with concern for the affected person.
A very healthy and balanced discussion going on here. How I wish all religious, cultural and racial disputes be sorted out in the manner that you all are doing so, in your comments. I believe our Country will benefit a great deal if the majority of us, display the discretion and logic that most of the above comments have shown. Hats off to you all!
Dear Anil,
Un touchability existed in every form, and in every religion. What
would you say about apartheid so relevant in christian countries.They
were also living in a christian way,isnt it?. If you say you have
dwelled well into Christianity, why then the church has created a
seperate entity called dalit christians?. untouchability was removed
with equal effort from hindu community itself. Many so called upper
cast also supported the venture and were in the forefront. Never think
that christianity is the all of religions.
Dear Anil, I think you are only familiar with the history interpreted by Church. You come and see the damage done by missionaries in slums of Indian cities. You have to see to believe it! Even after generations, converted peoples condition has not changed. Probably in India Christianity has more casts than Hindus and cast Clashes within Christian community is usual and equally violent! I think you are aware of violent clashes between Vanniyar, Thevar, Nadar.....Christians! Even today there are separate Churches for different castes! Who brought the deceases like Plague, Smallpox, STD...to India? Are you aware of Goa Inquisitions? If you expect returns After giving service, it is a business and missionaries are doing that business!!
@ Anil: there were social evils India some time ago just like as there
was in other societies also (please do not forget the witch hunts done
by the so called missionaries during the middle ages) but all of us
,as human make mistakes and the future generations will learn from
these and try to improve that is what it means ,when we say our
society had progressed and Indian society would have eventually
progressed without any foreign aid if left alone.
The conversion that you said is allowed by the government where you
are preached by a religious person and then you convert. The problem
is when a religious figure head lures a person to convert with the
promise of material gain. This not only supports the lazy but also
sets a bad precedent for other hard workers within the community. but
in the present situation we do not know whether the conversion made by
the Pastor were genuine or illegal and this has to be found out by the
Court of India and not by an individual.
The so-called Grand Mufti seems to be running a parallel Govt out there -- he is intimidating the elected Govt that it better listen to him as he has got the support of various organisations including the Jamat-e-Islami, the Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadees, the Islamic Study Circle and the Nadwatul Ulema.
The pastor seems to be under great pressure in this case -- the job of missionaries should solely be to focus on service without expecting anything in return. But if anyone wants to convert to any religion voluntarily, the state has to make sure that there is freedom and security.
Dear Sundaresha,: Before missionaries, India means a group of people,and they were literate and had medical facilities for them. People like me were called untouchables and we had seen schools that we were not supposed to go in and I had seen Gods who considers us as bad omens. And I would like to know what disease did you get from missionary? God Bless you brother !
And What do Christians gain by converting people forcefully?? They dont run for the elections, neither does create empires. When I am fed, clothed and educated by some good person, and when he says that the reason he did that was "It was his way of christian life", why wouldn't I ask more about his way of life and wish to be like him? Is that is what is explained as forceful conversion??? There are people who use the religion and caste names to live a merry life, and they don't want others to rise up and live their life. They are the ones, who don't want me to accept another faith. To follow any faith is a person's constitutional right ? If the law says, I cannot change my religion, I would call it as FORCEFUL RETENTION. Once I am 21, I am wise enough to pick my wife, Am I not wise enough to pick my religion? How old should be I to do that ?? Why should there be a restriction? The ones who are making a living with their religion are worried about it.
Dear Helema, Do you mean to say that, all Indians were illiterates and there were no health care system in India before missionaries entering Here? have you forgotten to mention that missionaries brought highly contagious deceases also along with them?
Missionaries, have brought schools and hospitals to India. shut them down and we would have nothing
It is not the conversion issue about which the religious authorities are concerned,it is about the forced conversion,exploiting the poorer sections of the society and the increasing unemployment in the valley.The Christian missionaries lure the young minds of the valley by promising to give them every luxury of life.Given the unemployment in the valley,people think that this is the best way to earn their employment.So isn't it a grave concern for the society and the Govt. of j and k and ofcourse of religious authorities..
It is sad that the Muslims that have posted to this forum are the ones with the most venom and irrational statements. The statements of others - while mostly critical of the so called conversions - are more balanced. Rahman Khan does not know that not all Christians look to the Vatican as the spiritual home of Christianity. Most Christians - Catholics included - consider the area around Israel as the home of Christianity and this is not really under Muslim control as he would like to believe. Moreover, the Bible does not claim that the world is flat. Oh, and I suppose you were cheating off Christ in the spelling test in school to know that he does not know the spelling of the word "Vatican." This letter is as silly a response to your ignorance which unfortunately is the root cause of a lot of trouble around the world - India included.
The comments here are an eyeopener to the state of matters in India. Any kind of conversion due to inducement is wrong and shallow. As already said, conversion due to inducement is an indication of the economic poverty of the people. These "conversions" are not genuine as these "converts" will accept any religion that pays them a higher price.
Conversion is looked upon as something evil and demonic. Conversion is a change a person makes from his existing belief system to one he things is better suited to him given the various options. This is brought about by either free-will or is coerced. Free-will can be truly free or brought about by incentives and perceived benefits. Changing political parties affiliations is also conversion. Making the adivasi to give up their traditional animistic faith of the the worship of Jesus Christ, Allah, Ram, Krishna, Shiva, Buddha etc is conversion.The problem question if free will. The age old rituals and lack of rational or reason or just feeling that the present form does not agree to their knowledge and belief system makes a person change. People change religions or within the religion, Either become a libral or a hardliner or a fanatic. The issue of free will should be paramount and supreme. Will we Indians allow that to happen, or would we have a "thought police" making our choices.
Conversion from one religion to another is a redundant task as it basically is moving from one delusion to another.
This must be most commented article in Hindu in a year. I find it funny
that people are writing for secularism.
Who is the Grand Mufti to "summon" the pastor? The pastor is subject to the laws of our land and not to any religious head. I'd like to see the Grand Mufti also announce that no Muslim will convert others to Islam. If not, its hypocrisy at best and fear mongering at worst. Its a classic case of the pot calling the kettle-black. Every religion practices conversions, including Hinduism and Buddhism. Conversion is a good thing, as long as it happens freely and out of a new found love and respect and faith in a person, practices or religious beliefs.
Jesus Christ in a parable talks about a traveller way-laid by robbers and left to die. A village priest goes by, sees him and crosses onto the other side, ignoring him. So also a village lawyer. A third person "a Samaritan" (a heathen/non-believer) stops, picks up the injured man and puts him in an inn, leaving money for his upkeep. Christ asks his disciples "Who do you think Heaven will be open to? And answers "The Samaritan" for it is your good deeds that will get you to heaven. Mother Teresa too always gave hindus, a hindu burial and others according to their religion. Her simple answer when asked if she converted people was "Yes I do, I ask the Hindu to be a better Hindu, the Muslim to be a better Muslim, the Christian to be a better Christian."
I am surprised at some of the comments here. Conversion should not be allowed until one is 25 years of age, when he/she has attained a maturity and can think about differences in different faiths. Converting young children is a very disgusting act and shows desperation.
People talk about the charity work of Christian institutions when the topic of conversion is raised. So if the true intentions are just helping the people, why resort to conversion?
Is conversion of muslims in India to other religions banned?Do the law
applies to them in a different fashion or what??
Why should the way conversion is looked upon in the rest of India be
different than that in Kashmir.
I hope the revered Mufti's utterings regarding "grave consequences" be
given the due attention by our secular,forward looking media.
Davis K. Thanjan, You are questioning the government for spending on Hindu temples, Government is not paying the tax payers money. They are only paying the small part earned from temples. If you want the government to spend for other religious institutions, let them allow the government to take control of their religious places. Islam and Christianity is surviving only by conversion from other religions. Conversion is multimillion Dollar business of head counting and in business nothing is crime!!
The government should not encourage such kangaroo courts - even in Kashmir. Gradually these ayatollahs will start assuming power, mobilise people and challenge the government. Their eventual goal is to enforce saudi-style Sharia laws in kashmir & india, so that mullahs could have absolute brain-washing power over their population. These things should be nipped in the bud. India is a free country and everybody could practice/propagate their religion anywhere - including kashmir.
Conversion...? how can a person accept a religion if it is not by his own will. Even if its by alluring him with wealth or through force. Nobody can ever change his faith; believes.. unless he is determined too. I feel it should be left to the individual to decide about his personal life. About the rules its just waste of time. If people really care about India I think its high time leave this things and really worry about other important things. Why not talk about Assam, Manipur.. try solve their issues. There are many other important issues Kashmir is facing. Why not the Grand Mufti sit for those matters and solve them..? Everyone is concerned about themselves, their homes, their state.. High time guys wake up, as time is ticking things are getting worse here. Think independently ...
I believe conversion to any other religion should be banned. If someone wants to convert, on a voluntary basis, it should be examined. What is wrong with remaining in one's own religion? There is not much difference between religions. All religions preach peace and universal brotherhood. So, how come one consider the other religion is better than his/her own? I think only Christianity is the only religion that grew on propagation - while their public service approach should be appreciated.
Teh tribals of NE India (32 naga tibes and the arunachal tribals) eat meat of pigs and cows from time immemorial...I lived there for 30 years... it is hard to imagine these people , very different culturally, from the rest of india, embracing islam or hinduism even by forced conversion... Their tribal music is very much akin to western or south asiatic music from whence they originate..Christian missionaries did not force them to convert... they just took to christian religion as water to fish..
The christian missionaries bring education to the illiterates. Few resort to conversion...while muslims converted the whole of Hindu kashmir valley at the time of the great Moghuls, on pain of death, these few protestant missionaries bring solace and comfort to the poor derelicts of the valley and if the poor ask to be converted seeing the outgoing examples of certain protestant missionaries who , denying all comforts to themselves, dedicate themselves to social welfare, we should not grudge a situation of that sort..because we can follow any creed that we deem to be fit for our spirtual well being..one swallow does not make a spring.Sporadic conversion won't affect the social equilibrium of the one billion plus indians in the subcontinent...North east india is christian not because of christian conversion... the tribal nature of north east is very much akin to the south east asian cultural spectrum and from time immemorial.
There is no harm if the boys with the knowledge of parents have voluntarily agreed to become Christians. But this is totally different from forcible conversion by Muslims.Last year, Aziz Rozko Hanna, an Iraqi Christian who was serving as director of the Department of Financial Control of the city of Kirkuk, was driving with his daughter in Dumiz, a Christian neighborhood in Kirkuk, when he was stopped, pulled from his car, and shot dead in front of his daughter. On the same day, five churches in Baghdad were bombed, wounding eight civilians. And all this has come after persecution and harassment that has led over half of the Christians in Iraq to leave the country in the last few years. The situation has gotten so bad that the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Baghdad, Jean Benjamin Sleiman, said in May: “I fear the extinction of Christianity in Iraq and the Middle East.”Sleiman lamented. It also accounts for the decline of Kashmiri Brahmins. The Mufti's version need not be true.
Hope this applies to conversion of Hindus in the Valley also into Islam and Christianity. There should be no special privilege for Muslims that they cannot be converted while they go on converting Hindus into Islam. Also there is no special provision in the constitution that disallows conversion of Muslims in the Valley. I wish there is a ban on conversions in every part of India.
Any sane person will not be surprised by this news, been an ongoing thing for decades now with clear results in our north eastern stagtes where 90% of population is now christian. The rest of india will just accept this as a fact of life and moves on.
Christianity is not a conversion religion. It promotes peace and love. Serving the need and loving others as our selves is the main theme. It is very sad to use the word 'conversion', this will hurt people and missionaries who are really dedicated to serve others. We should know that there are also people who say they are Christians but don't live a Christian life.
Hope all sections of the society should take it seriously. Grand Mufti is ably supported by his people to investigate and truth is out in open. But not all sections of society and states know the grand design of each others to know the truth behind every conversion campaign. We may well risk the multi-cultural character of India and eventually democratic institution in India. Today's India is desire of its majority community.
Christian Missionaries are converting all over India by paying Rs. 6000 to Rs. 20,000 for each conversion. It is high time the Government of India act. What the Grand Mufti did was Right....by paying and using other tactics these conversions are illegal as per Indian Constitution.
While India claims as a secular state, why the religious authorities and government concerned with conversion of citizens from one religion to other. While the polititions are previleged to promote conversions from one party to another, why not the religions practice conversion? While the government is dismantling the scourge of caste system in India, the politicians and the government are encourging the scourge of religions in India. Why the government is subsidising the Muslim Haj pilgrims to go to Saudi Arabia? Why the Christians are not subsidised to go to the Holy Land? Why the government spends enormous amounts of money to maintain numerous temples? Why the same rule did not apply to Christians and Muslims in practice? The Government and politicians should get out of promoting religions and castes in a secular state. Every individual has the right to choose their religion. Government should stop all subsidies and reservations to all religions and castes.
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