Okay, I was offended.
There, I said it.
It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders just saying that out loud because the whole world seems to think otherwise. And it makes me feel like some hardcore fundamentalist to get all offended over a movie. But that’s the whole truth.
I am a Muslim, a very proud Muslim, in fact. I practise my religion. But I keep it to myself. I believe in it wholeheartedly but I do not thrust it on other people. I pray five times a day but I don’t go around exhibiting it. I fast all 30 days of the Ramadan, of which others wouldn’t have the slightest inkling.
I believe in beliefs. My beliefs are personal. So are yours.
I was born and brought up in Chennai, in a conservative society overpopulated by Hindus with an assortment of Jains, Muslims and Christians. But I never felt even for a second that I was a minority living in a sea of majority. Hindus would land up in our houses for delicious biryani during festivals. We would attend the Sunday mass just to hear the Father praise the Lord. I would accompany my friend to the temple and watch her do 108 rounds. That was my land. All were one.
But the days during the Vishwaroopam controversy have been a whirlwind.
It has literally pulled the earth from under one man, a superstar in his own right, a man who always went against the system and stood by his bold beliefs, yet might not have expected such a huge uproar of his dream project.
It has baffled an entire State, garnered support from unexpected territories, led to politicians seizing the golden opportunity to turn every catastrophe into a vote-bank and, of course, brought up communal feelings.
So I decided to watch the movie, to find out what all the uproar was about.
It was perfect. There was action, romance, mystery, edge-of-the-seat moments and some splendid display of acting skills. And then there were also killing, bloodshed, missing body parts and torsos strewn apart.
Maybe, I’m too old-school.
Maybe, I shouldn’t have been offended when a verse from my daily prayer was read out before a man was publicly hanged in an Islamic country. Maybe, I shouldn’t have been offended when a phrase I mutter a zillion times is echoed loud in a videotaped beheading of an American soldier. Maybe, I shouldn’t have been offended that all terrorists were depicted as Muslims.
Maybe, I shouldn’t.
But since when did we stop calling a spade a spade?
How else would you portray terrorism if not like this?
In the name of God, planes were plunged into buildings, hotels held hostage, railway stations became firing arenas, bomb blasts became a common thing and the long list of suicide bombers was bottomless.
So because of one small fraction of society, a whole community had to suffer. From rejected visas to embarrassing underwear checks at airport immigration, banning of the burqa to being refused houses, it was the common man who suffered. Oh and yes, terrorists were henceforth stereotyped to one religion even though we have proof otherwise. Even when a Norway madman shot 69 unsuspecting people on an island claiming his hope to oust Muslims from the country, the stereotype didn’t change.
So let’s not blame the moviemaker. For, he is just telling us a story, his side of the story. Whether fact or fiction, it does not really matter because a movie is after all just a goddamn movie. And if you need to blame someone, then blame the fundamentalists with the wrong notions in their heads. Blame the men who trained young boys that they could reach heavenly bliss by becoming suicide bombers. Blame the ruthless minds that planned attacks to eradicate an entire country with a single button. Blame the people who are too unstable to live life that they shoot down kindergarten kids in schools across a country that gives its citizens the freedom to carry arms. Blame the people who waged wars on other countries under false pretexts.
Religion is just an excuse.
Keywords: Religion, terrorism, fundamentalism, Vishwaroopam, Kamal Haasan
A terrorist killed some 69 people in Norway; another in the USA killed 26 school children; and another, at a Sikh Gurdwara killed more people and so on. In those occasions the press did not report the religion of the killer. Why? Is it because the press persons everywhere are prejudiced? No. It is because in these specific instances the killers did not kill in the name of a religion – they did not shout “God is great” while doing their evil deed. On the other hand, when some Buddhist monks self-immolated in protest in different countries, every time the press identified their religion as “Buddhist”. Cannot blame the press for our own selective reading of the news.
The political and communcal forces having a free go at the democracy. Rather than any positive and constructive plans for unity, they advance their own goals shamelessly while some just do it for personal vengence. I do not know how these groups react to the Intelligence reports that are just coming out with claims of nexus between terroist outfits like indian mujahideen to terror links in Tamil Nadu. Pathetic state of affairs. There is no place for honest citizens like Kamal Haasan who has always practiced no religion and no community in his life and profession.
Right to Insult
Dear Samira,
I really admire and appreciate your point of view; however I hold a
different opinion. I am happy to learn that you are a practising
Muslim and it is not an optional choice but every Muslim must have to.
We should not be boastful of observing fasts in the month of Ramadan
or to offer Namaz five times in a day. It is like telling your boss
that you work for them. Every Muslim is bound to perform such acts.
Now coming to your arguments, I would be Referring to Noam Chomsky and
Herman’s Propaganda model, which says that Media manufacture consent.
If ‘Proud’ Muslims like you may become such insensitive and
irresponsible towards the community, it will be very difficult to see
any progress for the community because apostles won’t be coming
anymore.
Not everyone is incorrect!
With respecting to your sentiments completely, I would like to mention
that bad people are there almost in every religion and they are not
the exemplary ones. We must have to understand that Islam is a
peaceful religion and it does not preach violence at all. It is an old
cliché that not every Muslim is a terrorist but every terrorist is a
Muslim. In today’s times, impartial media such as The Hindu has
exposed the different facets of other religions too and rather being
negatively charged it publishes positive stories on Islam and
different faiths.
In the infinite Muslims around the globe, how many choose the path of
violence? We can’t blame the entire community only because some people
go awry. Your ideation is consequential event due to the absence of
hegemonic ideologies. They malevolently cause damage to the cherished
ideas.
Muslim with an Identity Crisis
Visiting Temples and Churches won’t make a Muslim secular. Why a
“normal” Muslim’s affiliation to the nation is always questioned?
Can’t be a normal Muslim wear skull caps and grow a beard only because
some imperialist and anti- Islamic forces have stigmatised it with
hate, anger and fundamentalism. I am a normal, ordinary and a regular
Muslim, I go to mosque, wear a skull cap, grow a beard and on the
other hand, I love my nation and its people regardless of their faiths
and beliefs.
But I want to ask you that why do a Muslim need to participate in
other’s festival, when others simply don’t? Is it a way to prove your
love for your nation? Eating Biryani cannot be equated to attending a
Church. A food has no association to a particular religion. A good
Muslim can be a vegetarian too. Why does a Muslim need to be
defensive about his faith? Islam is sacrosanct and static in nature.
The propagandists are trying to malign it with rhetoric of disdain by
scathing false stereotypes.
Vishwaroopam, Innocence of the Indian Muslims!
Last year a highly offensive film to the Muslim community, Innocence
of Muslims was released, following to the rampant protests especially
in entire Middle East. Why Kamal Hasan is not defying the fact that it
was an unsavoury product. What kind of welfare will it make while
having a dig at the community? From Hollywood to bollywood, Muslims
have replaced the murky gangster villains. My name is Khan was a
movie with a Muslim antagonist, so do most of the movies in the
country. They are never barred and in fact appreciated, provided
presented in a right context. Being a film scholar, I can assert that
Kamal’s movie had nothing new to offer.
Uniformity in Portrayal of terrorism
Come on! What happened to our conscience? First let’s just define the
terrorism. For me a girl who was gang raped in Delhi late last year
was a matter of fear and concern. I get terrorised when I hear such
things. The author said that if we won’t portray terrorism like this
then how? There are uncountable things through which anyone can be
terrorised? How can we stereotype terror activities? It’s too shallow
thinking and for the fact of the matter, it is highly subjective.
Since 9/11, our definition of terrorism is changed. Now even our enemy
is the same that our ‘ally’ US has. The author also established that
only a handful of people influence Muslims to become suicide bombers
and in contrast to that she said that the same Muslim terrorist
identity has become a renowned metaphor used largely for depicting
terrorism? How can a minority represent the majority?
We are educated Muslims, who live in a perfect harmony with our non-
Muslim brothers. Are we not representing the true face of Islam?
Muslims, the Scapegoats?
No god says to diffuse the planes in his name, neither any god
commands to wage a war. CIA’s (the American Intelligence Agency)
Creation Osama Bin Laden was an engineer whose education could not
help him to be ‘civilised’. What about people like Praveen Togadia
(Head, VHP), who is a medical practitioner too and is diagnosed with
communal hatred. He prescribes hate speech and violent therapy to heal
the nation. Why we don’t draw such parallelisms?
From rejected visas to embarrassing underwear checks at airport
immigration, banning of the burqa to being refused houses, Muslims are
always at the receiving end. Ironically no one sympathises with this
community. Common man is suffering due to his inability to stand for
his rights.
A person in Wisconsin opened a fire at Gurdwara but still nobody
flavoured his religion for his action. In a different case a person
opened fire in a primary school in Colorado, killing more than 8 kids.
It is very strange that even his religion also played no role in this
but I was really petrified and terrorised by that barbaric act.
Moreover many innocents Muslims are being killed every day in Iraq,
Palestine and Afghanistan but the perception will always remain
biased.
If someone has a right to insult the Muslims, then these
people have a right to protest by not letting the movie released in
the state.
Sameera, you are right and I fully vouch your feelings on this. I am a Hindu and am equally proud of my Religion, morethan that, I am also respecting others religion and duly value them. As you rightly said, this is my land and all were one, is a very delightful statement.The anti social elements are there in every religion and only our responsibility is to isolate those elements and we should not succumb to them in the name of Religion/God.Our only motive is to grow as a total family especially for the benefit of our own future generations. We should act responsibly and to be ashamed of our own development when such a populated country like China is growing with atleast 50 years ahead of us. Let us keep away the politics/anti communal acts and target only our country development inturn our own development.Our mother land is waiting for that visionary people like Vajpayeeji/ Abdul Kalamji to lead this country.
Beautiful article. Nice thoughts. People forget Dr. Kalam when they take
a movie like this. They do this to please USA.
But, people like Kamal deserve such a treatment as time and again, he takes movies that does hurt sentiments of one or the other. A true actor like Kamal with so many resources at his disposal can take good movies without courting controversy. I do not remember Oscar winner Speilberg ever rubbing religion on the wrong side
Well said, Sameera! I think its important to acknowledge that a
filmmaker isn't attacking anyone or discriminating, he's just telling a
story. If he were doing the former, he'd probably be in politics
instead.
In pretext/context of your article, media as whole bombarding on
one religion and its followers.In recent past we have experienced
the irresponsible behaviour of media when Norway carnage
happened.Did responsible person get accountable for their
behaviour? What it shows? On story of WMD a country invaded by
group of countries hence hundred of thousand lives migrated from
one world to another world and later it came into media there was
no WMD but before invasion Media escalated WMD loudly?Countless
people lost their lives who is accountable?Leaving accountability
aside now,if a filmmaker shows in his film 2+2=5 than people will
not accept why because it is against mathematics,because we all
know 2+2=4.If filmmaker starts to say no it is vandalism and
fundamentalism of society!What would be our response?If some
student of math starts doing wrong what would be our response?Do
we say mathematics is worse subject?It would be illogical and
unfair.Religion can't be an excuse..
There are instances everywhere in the world when the specific religion
is targeted in the name of terrorism; and as you mentioned in the
article; there are stories otherwise. So my question is WHY do you want
to go with the flow and bring more discriminating pictures against the
specific religion? Why didn't the movie makers not try to put a clear
picture or avoid further tarnishing the image of a specific religion?
When the whole world calls a son as MAD; the child’s mother never call
him MAD…
Thanks to sameera.. it was one of the best article i ever read on the
issue of religious fundamentalism and its portrayal
hindus when they terrorise, they take the name of Maoism but not hinduism, because thats what their faith is-maoism. Similarly in Mexico hundreds and even thousands are killed by catholics but in the name of drug mafia not in the name of christianity, so those men are called mafia not crusaders. But when some muslims resort to killing they are doing so in the name of of religion. Thats the reason this stereotypy took birth. Solution? Muslims must be bold enough to call them nonmuslims and expel them from their fath,reduce them to mere murderers and antireligion, unfortunately it doesnt happen clear and loud.If that happens then cornered those jijhadis will get the message and stop using name of religion. Muslims have to help cleanup and delink terror from their fsith.
Well said Sameera. Thanks for writing this up....
Religion is personal; if it is understood by every indian, there will not be any quarrel and
conflict of any nature. I also firmly believe high growth economic development is a must.
That was a wonderful thought and argument. We all know that
fairly large number of sane and moderate voices exist in every
religion. More saner voices from every religion should join in
this endeavor.
But unfortunatley, it is dismaying to note that not many comments
have come from muslims for this article. Do they concur with the
author or not. It is this attitude from fellow moderates, that
discourages the good intentions of muslims such as this author to
voice against fundamentalism.
Come on brothers, let's voice support vocally to what our
compatriot chosen to do. Bravo Sameera!
I was born an upper caste Christian. It took heavy doses of Periyar
and Ambedkar to see the wrong notions ingrained in me by my upper
caste society. Finally, Christ taught me that in Genesis He had
created man (male and female) in His own image. We are not Darwin's
survivors-of-the-fittest for the human society has made its foremost
duty to protect the weak, the old, and the infirm, though aberrations
like casteism, aparthied, segregation, jihadism, and Hitler appeared
and still exist. They are now being dealt the way they should be. In
the book of Acts of Apostles, God speaks to Peter in a vision to eat
all animals that are considered unclean by Jews(God loves Chinese menu
very much), Peter protests, but he is reprimanded by God to not
consider unclean those declared clean by God. Elsewhere, Jesus says
what you eat comes out of the body, it is what comes from the heart
that determines your actions, so if your upbringing teaches you wrong
you can always change it as it was with myself
Beautifully written article!
I had / having the same experience like you sameer. On hindu festivals we used to give food to our muslim neigbhours and for bakrid we were the first to occupy the briyani feast. but when I saw the facebook sharing against kamal and other things, i astonished that these kind of division existed at some parts of the society.
Sameera, this article echoes the right sentiments. But lets remember this film is not the first of its kind. Even "Oh my God" before this was not short of mockery to the religion which you empathize with.
@EssDee, i agree with totally.
A well presented article which echoes the feelings of all the real Indians. My salutations to you, sir
Wonderful and sincerely a bold article. Hope and pray that Sameera is not singled out and attacked. Let us wait and see. God bless her.
I am 100 percent in agreement with what Sameera had said.
I totally agree with you.But you should not forget the responsibility
of media on society. Imagine a teenager watching this movie, who can
not think in a matured way.A bad impression is imprinted in his mind
about certain type of religious people.
Even media people should think twice before acting.
Well done Sameera. You are proud of our nation. One should watch the
film in a time passing way, not as a fundamentalist point of view.
One may be a muslim, a christian or a hindu but we are all sons of the
soil and we have to protect our country from the terrorists attacks.
But in a real life the people in one way wasting their energy in silly
matters. One should understand that the action in a film by an actor
is only to earn for his livelihood. But in real life this is not so.
Hence, muslim fundamentalist should think that that this is film and
should express their gratitude to the film industry in which they are
seeing what is really happening in and around the world. If any
untoward incidents are happened we all should put our hands together
and thwart away the mishappenings. However, the muslim fundamentals
have given a cheap publicity to the film.
Here's an anti-dote to "Religion is just an excuse". Religion is the Opiate of the uneducated masses and it has caused more harm than good. Whatever the Religion. It destroys personal power and intellectual curiosity. Every country that has prospered has recognised the destruction it has caused. And they have abandoned religion to be the fulcrum of development, both individual as well as communal. Even communism is just another religion. Abandon religion, Be irreverent.
Well Said madam. Hope every person thinks like this.
No religion preached violence but thick headed people took things in their own hands and practiced violence. Praying in temples, mosques and church are all for the solace of the mind. Instead of doing the right thing section of the society take a violent end to vent their feelings. People should think for a moment.
You are right ahmed, but why all the movies have a philosophy when they
show the terrorist only as a muslim in the recent years. we are living
in a society where film and tv serials literally change the minds. when
you show constantly, a certain thing it corrupts the mind. Your friends
might have come to your kitchen to enjoy the tasty biriyani. tell me are
your Children's friend coming and taste the same. I m sure NO.
Things have been corrupted by the politicians.
A sane article. There should be more like this to make us aware how much human energy is wasted squabbling. The biggest sacrilege to religion is using it to wage war.
Well written.but the Norway killer was not a terrorist.possibly he was not mentally sane.
But the terrorists act as insane people. Terrorists don't think about the family members who
will be left after their acts.
Very nice article by a neutral and level headed person. The contents of the article are really true. when our political and religious leaders will wake up from their pretended slumber and leave the people to live in a peaceful, harmonious way.
Pray to Allah, Jesus and Shiva to give wisdom to the youngsters who become easy prey in the hands of religious and political fundamentalists.
Very well said, Sameera! You should have boldly added the many 'Mulla's and 'Ulema's who continue to 'glorify' Jihad much against the real preachings of the most peaceful of religions. The 'Madrassa's should also have been mentioned. How painful it is to see our Tamil muslim friends caught up in that whirlwind that left them at least slightly scarred in its aftermath! You rightly said that we have always lived as one; never have had the slightest feeling of indifference. Timely and most necessary article.
Religion is just an excuse. Spot on.
Some elements in our society and many other, simply feel offended by anything different to their own perceptions, nay, interests personal, political or religious. Our politicians exploit every little chance to gain prominence and some mileage out of every situation and create a mob lead violence. Governments in the staes and centre too easily allow these people to get away with it, actually directly or indirectly supporting them by banning the publication of books and films. In developed societies, nobody takes any notice of even deep deviations from the accepted truth unless of course those are multi-ethnic societies where the minorities though frothing at their mouths cannot do much because of the national laws, effective police forces and lack of their own political control. Where they try to exploit any such situation they fail
Kudos to Mr Hasan for saying how it is.
Hi Sameera. Very well written article. I sincerely wish our country has majority of like
minded people from all faith. A movie is just a movie that has been played or
screened privately. One has to go to a movie hall and buy a ticket to watch it. No one
is forced at gun point go to a hall to watch it. You watch it if you wish to. Otherwise
ignore it. I can't protest against starting a bar or people going to bar just because I
don't drink. Ours is a democratic country with all kind of faith exists. Be tolerant, let
people enjoy their freedom of expression.
Kamal Haasan Sir is very very broad minded parson i would like to thanx to Mr. Kamal Haasan for making a very good movie because not i m a Hindu man i like because we all are An Indian thats your style Mr Kamal Haasan like that.....
Hi Sameera,
Very well said and honestly spoken. I was brought up in Hyderabad,AP. Muslim
traditions and culture were part of our up-bringing. As you have rightly pointed, we
all have been brought up among different religions and there are many who shared
your mulit-religious experience. I remember a muslim colleague of my father who
had brought a peer-baaba home to pray for my dad's health when he was unwell.
Even abroad, my student days were filled with mosque and gurudwara meals which
added to the moral support one gets from these places of worship, when they are
away from home.
Your statements about Norwegian shooting and American arms attack came as an
eyeopener, because we tend to make it less relevant as the incriminated people are
not muslims!!
Thank you for a nice article I read after a long time.
Miss Sameera, You have given me hope. You have taken a stand. And I
appreciate it. I am a mulim too. Hindus never hated Muslims. At least,
not amongst the people i know. But recently, we have seen a surge in
Hindus hating Muslims. Its because you see a lot of normal Hindus
denouncing fanatic Hindus, but we hardly see/hear Muslims denouncing
the moulvis etc for their fanatic diktats.
If people think like you, the situation wont be far when politicians
can no longer divide people based on hate speeches. Because we know
the truth. Because living together in harmony is the only way to live.
Corruption by politicians and administrators which rule the roost and erodes the image of our country cannot and will not rear its head if only our Politicians take a cue out of the innumerable movies released decades back that preach morals and human values with abundant clarity and the songs in them are still rated best for meanings. That movies in general and scenes / songs in movies have little impact in feelings of humans, be it minority or majority is reflected in the degree of intolerance, disrespect with which some sections are able to take the nation to ransom. Viewed in this angle, to delay release of “Vishwaroopam” , religion was used as a tool to get over a personal vendetta. Author is definitely right in his observation.
It is a tragedy that an entire community, Muslims, has been
unfortunate victims of fanaticism of a small segment, arrogant and
presumptuous enough to PRONOUNCE death for the infidels' and crazy
enough to don the mantle of "protector" of the all-powerful Allah.
These mindless terrorists have no qualms blowing up innocent women
and children adopting foul, cowardly, stealthy methods. these warped
minds get a kick out of this mayhem and revel in the gore and the
publicity. The entire Muslim community is perceived by a significant
proportion of the world as being equally fanatic. The worst tragedy
is that even though there are so many brilliant intellectual and
literary minds among Muslims virtually none has shown enough courage
to openly condemn the lunatic fringe among the Muslims; none has been
bold enough to launch a campaign against the fanatics out to denigrate
the entire community. after Rushdie & Taslima they all have clammed
up. Sameera Ahmad is a rare exception. BRAVO SAMEERA !
I applaud Sameera Ahmad for an unexpected but refreshing Muslim
perspective, one that is exceeding rare in these days of political
correctness and Islamic radicalism. She has revived my faith in the
goodness of people, for I have increasingly wondered if there is such
a thing as a moderate Muslim. Muslims that I remember from my youth,
when Islam just meant another religion in India. When Muslim did not
automatically mean an Islamic beard and prayer cap on men and a Hijab
or Burqua on women. When Islam did not mean anger and intolerance of
even the slightest criticism. I sincerely hope that there are many
more Sameera Ahmads in India and the rest of the worlds, and that they
too feel that it is time to speak up and reclaim the middle ground of
civil and political discourse, where we can calmly discuss issues that
are important to us without being shouted down, or worse, threatened
with retribution. If only for this lone voice of reason, I thank Kamal
Haasan for making Vishwaroopam.
Hats off to you ..The biggest crime done today in the country and
the state is that, the politicans are playing with religion and caste, i
think its high time the people take efforts and stop that gamble, else
it is the innocent citizens who will be affected in violence which are
designed by the politicians.
I Thank The Hindus for publishing these kind of articles which help the
society in many ways and is way better than the political news.
Such articles by liberal Muslims should be publicized. I feel the
majority of every community is peace-loving, and each community needs to
internally encourage these fundamental peaceful tendencies so that
extremists don't end up being the representatives.
Very well said! The voice of this part of the society was not heard loud enough for a while. The weight is not lifted off your shoulders alone but many others like me. I am able to relate very well to the fact that religion never came across our friendships when we grew up and we respected and accepted each others religious sentiments without even feeling a tinge of hurt. Let this voice be heard more often and the secular credentials of India be reimbued.
Jiddu Krishnamurti famously said
“When you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or
anything else, you are being violent. Do you see why it is violent? Because you are
separating yourself from the rest of mankind. When you separate yourself by
belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence. So a man who is seeking to
understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any
political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of
mankind.”
Like you said, all we need is tolerance for one another and letting others believe in
their own beliefs. Poverty and illiteracy are main reasons for getting influenced by
extremists.
Well written. We need many more such saner voices.
Bravo, Sameera. Hats off to your bold, honest and straight forward
article which brings out the taste of truth, with a pinch of acceptable
sarcasm.
However religion is something deeply ingrained in one's psyche that one wonders if it is possible in letter and spirit to control the swell of aversion or anger on seeing something one perceives as offensive to one's religious belief.Exactly this phenomena that is exploited to the hilt by fundamentalists when it comes to brain washing youngsters to lay down their lives as suicide bombers without any remorse to kill innocent folk; they are led to believe that they would in return get heavenly bliss. War on terror touted as the Third World War cannot be won or lost unless and otherwise our religious beliefs undergo a paradigm shift towards equating God only with love- unconditional love for fellow humans. Humankind has to produce a prophet who profess humanism above all religions and proclaim to the world that God is one and He is beyond all religions.
Very well said. I have always believed that all religions need to reinvent themselves at some stage in their evolution. But the change has to come from within the religion. I hope we have more such voices from Islam speaking out.
let me congratulate u for the thoughts and iam happy that at least
there are still some sane people in this insane world
I appreciate the writer. And wish such sensibility prevails over the
minds of all Indians.
The writer has expressed the sentiments of all peace loving citizens, especially of the particular religion. Suffering and poverty are the dual forces which leads the young to follow such a path filled by bloodshed. Only through education and employment these can be eliminated. It is high time for the society, community, government to identify and adopt immediate corrective measures so as no untoward incidents may take place in future. Our communities are strewn with the bonds of co-operation, love for each other and trust worthiness. Let it continue as same in the years to come for the benefit our upcoming generations. Let us preserve the true spirit of being an Indian in our acts and words. Jai Hind.
Religion may be an excuse but religion is supposed to gradually eliminate the crude feelings
and savage instincts in a human being. It is a puzzle why the followers of Islam arguably
show marked affinity in solving conflicts by inhuman ways and manners rather than the
followers of the other faiths.Perhaps global politics seduces the followers of Islam.Should not
religion be above earthly politics and enticements ? I prefer to stand corrected.
Absolutely true Sameera! At least educated people should stop being fanatic and try to understand the context. Both the sides need to understand and accept what is wrong and what is right rather than blaming each other.
Every religion must of through a reformation periodically.
Christianity did so about 500 years ago and Hinduism had one about 300
years ago. Both these religions are still in flux with vocal
reformists and still have a long way to go. !Islam must also go
through a period of reformation to bring it in line with modern
thinking. Many of its do's and dont's are archaic - ban on music (?),
ban on girls being educated, ban on women in the workforce, four
marriages allowed, etc. Turkey has successfully made this transition
after the ottoman empire fell and therefore, is a model that can work.
The difference between Xtianity and Hinduism on the one hand and Islam
on the other is that the first two have radicals and fundamentalists
but are opposed by strong, vocal reformist groups and supported by
secularism. Islam, however, has vocal fundamentalists but the
reformists cannot be heard above the din of the fundamentalists. Let
us hope for change.
Sameera, this is a very well written piece and presents one point of
view - that of a moderate who also sees what is wrong with Islamic
fundamentalism. Islam is as flawed as any other major religion
including Hinduism and Christianity. For e.g., Islam has codified
practices that repress women - the burqa can be taken as traditional
dress and covering one's hair is perfectly alright but when I see
women in full black chadar and niqab, I do wonder at the need to cover
a woman's face and eyes in a civilised society in the 21st C! And in
Saudi Arabia, women cannot even leave their homes without a male
escort, cannot work. I, as a woman, cannot apply for a drinking permit
in the UAE without a 'letter of consent'from my husband (!) - I
shudder at the loss of freedom this implies.
We are fortunate indeed to live in India where a more secular form of
every religion is the aim.Islamic, Hindu or Christian fundamentalism
has no place in the world and should be fought against, even through
movies
Kamal hasan is a different artist and person altogether and showed his
talents which is unparalleled. With his article He has revealed his
self. Let us respect his feelings, his works.
I only hope that this recent happenings should not changes his natural
artistic instinct to create, WE AS audience welcome his new thoughts
through his movies.
"Oh and yes, terrorists were henceforth stereotyped to one religion even though we have proof otherwise."
That was terrific !
Wonderful article.
A well written article from a follower of Islam but rather too late.
When the whole issue happened there were silence all over. Its a vote
bank politics and nothing else.
The film is a blockbuster so Kamal won't complain now. But this
controversy has brought another shame of actions from the opposing
parties including the Govt.
Sameera, fully agreed. Given the controversies and the superstars obvious talents, I went
and saw the movie. Even as a Hindu I cringed; I could put myself in the shoes of a Muslim
and felt that the fuss was justified. In retrospect Jayalalitha acted appropriately given the
content of the movie.
Yes, maybe the prevailing situation in Afpak is shown authentically, but when kamal had a
complete plethora of subjects to take a movie on, why pick this? A subject beaten to death,
with stereotyping of an entire community only getting reinforced.
You have the right to feel offended, and many of us share it.
Thank you... and just thank you :)
One of the finest articles I've read in a long time. It takes enormous courage to be so brutally
frank. Some of my best friends are Muslims and like the author, they are all God fearing and
moderates. Religious fanaticism has come to rule the roost in all religions. The situation is
going from bad to worse day by day. I only hope and pray that good sense will prevail in the
end and the blind faith will give way to enlightened beliefs.
Sameer is absolutely correct - 'Religion is just an excuse', and if you have 'to blame someone, then blame the fundamentalists with the wrong notions in their heads' Isn't that what the movie does?
IRA bombings never got noticed as it happened in a small island .christians long gave up
crusades, ex communication, inquisition etc. Hindus still practicing untouchability in villages
stealthily gave up all obduracy. But only one religion has a word jihad, killing same fellow
religionists , Muslims killing Muslims. Thank god in India though they may feel uncomfortable
Shias, muhammadiyas and other sects are safe from salafism and Wahhabism. Confine your
beliefs at home , stop public exhibitions be it Hindus, Christians, Muslims. Stop. Hey what
about evolution and natural selection with irrefutable fossil and DNA proof. Are we all taken
up the garden path by all religions , is it a mere delusion .
.
hats off to a well-balanced article. i hope more such people from the muslim community will come out in the open and join your hindu brethern in our sojourn toward common prosperity and peace.
Excellent Sameera,You have genuine guts to reply not only Kamalahasan
but other parts of the world also.Very true ,it applies to all
religions and people who practice religion across the globe.But sadly
everyone religion is selfish to rule others and fear each other and
finally who goes first will be blamed.Some religion people take
revenge for what happened in the past some three hundred years
ago,that is also terrorism,I don't see any civilized society these
days ,all look like finishing this world fast and giving way for the
god to decide new regime.
What a beatiful article Sameera, I take my hats off for you. It is beatiful for its honesty and calling a spade a spade. The truth in this is impeccable
.
India, especially the South and Tamil Nadu in particular has been very homogenous and a congenial place for people of all religions to coexist peacefully, nay, even happily. Look at the sports teams, most of them reflect a good mix of all religions. Our teams are religion-neutral. Pataudi was as popular as Sachin.
I have been living in the USA for 35 years, but I visit India fairly frequently. I have many muslim friends who will make me proud anyday anywhere. Unfortunately, in the name of religion, some so called leaders have brought havoc and it affects all good muslims whose number is legion.
Kamal had every right to have created this movie and our fundamental rights include narrating a thrilling story on the silver screen without being held hostage by religious extremists.
Sameera said it all exquisitely.
Bravo congratulations Sameera Ahmad
A long awaited 'brave ' article.
Hope your spirit and honesty in calling a spade a spade spreads like a wildfire in your
community.
Sameera, thanks for bringing your voice out. The world needs Muslims like yourself to speak up for Islam and lend it the pacifist reasoning voice. The world needs your voice and more in all its heaviness to provide the counterweight to the madmen who have usurped the epitome of Islam. But let's not forget that the West was the source of legitimacy for the hardcore murderous brand of Islam of the Pakistan-Afghanistan belt. The West created, nurtured and supported this brand of Islam as "from freedom fighters". All religions have their zealots. The zealots of Islam were not this ferocious and evil forty years back. The nurtured Frankenstein's monster has been made into this mess and it has back fired against the whole world, the worst victims being the Pakistanis and Afghanis themselves.
I wish the courageous and articulate Sameera Ahmad a long healthy life.
She represents vast silent majority of Muslims not only in Tamilnadu and
India but the whole wide world.Also, my compliments to The Hindu for its
praiseworthy praiseworthy upholding of traditional journalism and
granting her the forum.
Well written, Sameera. One can understand how you might feel. I am sure many Hindus or Christians would feel bad if their normal prayers were shown in the contexts of killings, as shown in Vishwaroopam. When someone makes a movie, after all a piece of fiction, say about British rule, they often take care to not hurt sentiments of the average Christian by such juxtaposition of the teachings of Christ against scenes or slavery or atrocities. Now a days, it seems that people are given license or have taken license to do this against Muslims worldwide without any qualms. Sad situation... Just remember, not all humans are unthinking and like this, there are always a certain number of understanding good people in all religions and a certain number of idiots. you cannot help that and they too will speak their mind out in public and spread their positive or negative vibes.
Good op-ed! Many of what you say makes sense. If a community feels they are paying a price for a few demented individuals then it is best the community turns on the demented and fixes them rather than have people outside the community fight to fix it. Besides eliminating the consequences the community faces or will face it also shows the community in good light as responsible world citizens.
A final comment your choice of the word goddamn is not reflective of a conservative, religious person which you claim to be. It is a word aped from the west without understanding its origins. Lesson learnt?
I believe people have the right to get offended. As long as people
protest against "offensive speech/art" peacefully no one is going to get
hurt. But crying out for a ban or indulging in violence is not
acceptable. The stereotyping is unfortunate. The actions of a few is
causing great harm to a community. Sometimes things like these make me
wonder if a world without religion or God be more peaceful.
Brilliant article! It only reassures my faith that humaneness is the
virtue that is more important. I strongly believe that every religion
started out with peace at its core. Those with power always corrupt
institutions and religions are no exception.
I am sure that every true Indian will stand by this author. As long as
the younger generation tends to think this way, there is still hope for
India.
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