Fundamenalism in all faiths

I finished with Karen Armstrong's Islam. It was a good book very informative. I have understood many things about Mongol period, Ottoman empire, Muslim empire in India. I always wanted to read more about Mongol and Ottoman empire. I got a basic information of it from the book but not detailed one.

The book starts with short biography of prophet Muhammad and origin of Islam. Then it takes readers to the period of the Mongols; with an introduction to the Safavids, the Moguls, and the Ottomans empire. Lastly it points out challenges before Islam in today's modern society. Here I got my real answer for fundamentalism.

Armstrong has correctly mentioned that fundamentalism has surfaced in all major faiths in response to the problems of our modernity. This is true because no religion can claim that it does not have any issue of fundamentalism. But one can easily understood that the root of fundamentalism lays in the modern society. As certain part of the society keeps progressing by suppressing other section the rift between the two widens. This increasing gap encourages fundamentalism.

A recent example is Malegaon blast case, where Hindu fundamentalists were alleged of being involved. The reason for mentioning the particular example is that till now the all communities used to point out Muslims as fundamentalists, but its not true.

Back on the book, it has written in a balanced way and with a simple language so that common people can read and understand about the religion. Some of my doubts are still not clear about Islam. I think I need to read more about it. Someone has suggested me Martin Lings, Montgomery Watt or Maxime Rodinson, Bernard Lewis and Achdiat Karta Mihardja. I have long way to go!

Islam in Armstrong's view

I received an SMS: A man in US sees a dog about to bite a lady. He kicks d dog 2 death. Newspapers report: Us citizen saves lady from dog. Man says he was not a US citizen. So report changed: Foreign hero saves lady from dog. Man says he was from Pakistan, Next days headline: Terrorist attacks local dog.

I found this is utter rubbish. How one held responsible an entire nation for few terrorists. I repeatedly asked this question to many but most of them have no satisfactory answer. People think Muslims or Pakistanis are terrorists by birth.

Yesterday's editorial in Saamana, Shiv Sena mouthpiece criticised slain ATS chief Karkare's family again for showing humanitarian approach towards Kasab, the only terrorist caught during Mumbai terror attacks.

Actually, frequent terror attacks are compelling people to spread such messages. But none of the religion especially Islam ever started with an aim to produce terrorists or Jihadis. This reminds me Karen Armstrong's book Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time, which gives brief biography of Islam and its founder Prophet Muhammad in a very balanced and in-depth manner. The book may reduce distortion and myths about the religion and of course "Islamophobia" in people’s mind. It was rewritten on the backdrop of 9/11 attacks on US.

Armstrong says the second largest faith in the World is Islam but people don't know much about it. In fact they have many myths and misconceptions about the religion and prophet Muhammad. After 9/11 attacks Muhammad was alleged of being a ‘terrorist’ and ‘pedophile’ which is nonsense.

The story starts in 500 century when Quraysh tribe was dominating in Arabia. Social atmosphere during the period was very unstable and the region was prone to internal conflicts. Though born and brought up in such atmosphere, Muhammad’s took first bold step when he was 25 and married to a widow Khadija who was 40 years old.

Soon after that Muhammad received revelations from God which he preached to close ones and then to all. This is known to be the first form of holy book Quran.

Islam was definitely more progressive compared to other religions of that time since it allowed widow marriage, care for orphans and the poor, belief in justice, equality and compassion. The most surprising was that it treated women equally by giving them property rights and right to divorce. Though the prophet promoted peace in the tribe, he also fought wars when inevitable, Armstrong says.

The meaning of Islam is surrender or submission (to God). Praying together, eating together, staying together were the simple lessons in Islam created to keep the isolated people binding in real sense. In fact, no activity was excluded from mosque like Churches, which were devoted only to worship.

There is also a misconception in western world that Prophet Muhammad was a womanizer because he married to five women. But in reality he was married to Khadija only. (Hindu hero Shri Krishna married to 18,000 women because their husbands were killed in war but we never alleged him.) All his other wives were political or social ties with his companions. None of them bore any children to the prophet except Khadija. He was also criticized for married was married to his daughter in law Zeinab.

But what I have understood is that Zeinab was not his daughter in law in first place. She was a wife of his servant. The servant was very loyal to the prophet and that is why he was adopted by the latter. As per the Quran, adopted girl or boy does not get any legal status. In that sense the servant was not his legal son and according to the revelation from God, the prophet married to Zeinab.

In this whole making and practicing of Islam, there is no encouragement or a single word on terrorism. Jihad has been mentioned as a struggle for survival. I think Islam was way ahead of the ancient religions of that time like Christianity, Judaism and even Hinduism. It was originated to emancipate the people from conflicts and provide them a stable life.

In my opinion, the origin of any religion has been always same except the Hindu religion, which started with an intension to exploit people (See the philosophy of Manu). New religions were created in the human history because the earlier religion was exploiting certain section of society.

Not withstanding the exploitation new religion was the way out for the people. This I believe an unending process, because the new religion also goes in the same manner of the old and starts exploiting people. Now it is interesting on my side to read further that why Islam became so radical and pushed its self centuries back.

A Woman in African Desert

I have started reading Isabelle Eberhardt's In The Shadow of Islam which I bought last month from Strand book store. Actually the synopsis of the book forced me to buy it. The story is of early 19th century when a woman wearing men's clothes travels in the deserts of North Africa alone.

Isn't the concept exciting?

I was trying to imagine how would have been the situation then for her, how did she managed to travel and what was her intention behind it. Many questions and only one answer-- buy the book. So spent Rs 400 and copy was mine.

It is one of the books from Peter Owen series, original Arabic translated in English.

Isabelle was born in Geneva in 1877, the illegitimate daughter of a Russian priest and a half-Russian and half-German aristocrat. She spent much of her short life in north Africa where she converted to Islam. She died an unfortunate death at the age of 27.