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Indian Muslims React to Mumbai Horror

By pm317 on December 3, 2008 at 6:45 PM in Current Affairs

(Please welcome pm317 — who you all know as a regular reader — as a contributor to No Quarter. Pm317′s resume is astonishing, but that’s all I dare say in order to protect her privacy. And she will bring so much to our blog with her rich and diverse background. Just this phrase alone, from a section below the fold, explains how much she’ll have to share with us: “… Having grown up in a Hindu household listening to Islamic prayer call in the early mornings. …” How lovely … nasuS)

India has the second largest Muslim population in the world next to Indonesia. How are they reacting to Mumbai horror? There are two stories which reveal the character of Indian Muslims in whom I always had faith. Imams are appealing to their devotees as they celebrate Bakrid, a religious holiday to be considerate of the current circumstance and to wear black ribbons on their shoulder to show grief and solidarity as reported here. The article says:

New Delhi: A group of Imams have appealed to Muslims to celebrate Bakrid in a sober way and wear black ribbons on their shoulders to show their grief and solidarity with Mumbaikars who faced one of the worst Terror attacks in the country.

The All India Organisation of Imams of Mosques (AIOIM) also asked all Imams and Muftis to denounce terrorism and the brutal killing of Jews in Mumbai during this week’s Friday prayers.

All mosques, religious scholars and madarsas should ‘announce in the Friday prayers this week that they are against any type of terrorism and deeply aggrieved by the loss of human lives especially the brutal killing of Jews,’ AIOIM President Hazrat Moulana Jameel Ahmed Ilyasi said in a statement.

A second article is reporting a Mumbai-based Muslim organization refusing burial of the dead terrorists in their cemeteries.

Mumbai: Terming acts of Terror as ‘un-Islamic’ the Muslim Council Trust, a south Mumbai-based Muslim organisation, has opposed the burial of the nine dead terrorists in the city’s burial grounds. The decision was taken by the organisation on Sunday evening. The trust that works in the field of education expects backing of other prominent Muslim organisations in the city. “We term these acts as ‘un-Islamic’ as they have killed innocent people,” said Abraham Tai, president of Muslim Council Trust. “We are not bothered about what they do to the bodies of these terrorists. But we won’t allow them to bury the bodies of these people in city’s burial ground.”

Having grown up in a Hindu household listening to Islamic prayer call in the early mornings and thinking how melodious it is, I would not expect Indian Muslims to react to this horror in any other way.

This is the time to come together and show unity and solidarity. I think their reaction will go a long way in fostering communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims. Majority of India, Hindus and Muslims understand their fate lies in preserving a secular state and that they have to peacefully coexist and prosper.

Otherwise the terrorists have won again because one of their goals is to destabilize India internally and put a stop to its growing economy. As all evidence points to outside interference (see here) in this latest terror episode, this is no longer just India’s problem.

This can happen anywhere. We are all vulnerable and the good people of the world have to come together to root this problem out.

  • http://firefox AnnieCollier

    This is good news. But they’ve done the same after any of the attacks by Muslim terrorists.

    I will be further encouraged when the community, including the Imans, begin turning in the people during the planning stage rather than being sorry after the fact. They can’t be that clueless to disaffected young men in their midst.

    • R2D2

      How are the Imams supposed to know what those who come into their mosque are planning to execute a terror attack? What nonsense! The idea that Imams are complicit is downright dumb assumption. Just because a few Imams have condoned terror attacks does not mean that all Imams are supportive. I’ve visited India a few times, and Muslims and Hindus live in the same neighborhoods and buildings.

      • noname

        It is nice to know that Indian hindus and muslims live in same neighborhood. Many disagree, however many have shown such togetherness is her story of civilization, they used to live together in Pakisthan, Bangladesh and very much recently in Kashmir , many Kashmiri muslims remember the nostalgic days and great secular ethos of India.

        There was no Danish cartoons then to know the reaction of imams or political organizations, but how could the imam know such acts to bring bad name to muslims instead of making Islam more powerful ?

      • http://firefox AnnieCollier

        I guess I think of Mosques as a part of a community much like a small town. Frankly, my relatives in the south knew who was sympathetic to the KKK and who were not. My grandfather was elected Sheriff of a small GA town and ran afoul of the Klan. He was not re-elected as a result and left Georgia for good. However, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind of who, what, where and when.

      • http://firefox AnnieCollier

        Yes, and I’ve visited Israel and know that Arab and Jew can live together too. However, this is neither here nor there. The fact is that the leaders of the faith have a responsibility to know what their youth are doing and if they can’t be steered in the right direction, stop them in any way possible from harming others. There is a vivid profile of the people who go in this direction after all.

  • I’m a Linda too

    Hey pm! Great post.

    How refreshing to hear how all can see the horror as that, nothing noble and nothing resembling their religion as so many try to claim.

    “Otherwise the terrorists have won again because one of their goals is to destabilize”

    Exactly. Maybe India and her citizens will be the one showing the correct path to take.

  • Tricia Spiegel

    Thank your for this perspective. It is so informative and well done. I will be interested in hearing more from you.

  • rolling_thunder

    Quick breaking* OT

    Ellen Moran, who will be leaving her job as executive director of EMILY’s List to serve as Obama’s communications director.

    That’s why she came out onstage to endorse blobama while Hillary was winning ND, WV, KY

    • R2D2

      And that’s why Emily’s List lost my support!

  • Steve_in_KC

    pm317, I have taken note, appreciatively, of your recent comments here at NQ. I am happy to see you headlining a post! Welcome!

    • workingclass artist

      I second that Steve…I look forward to to more of your articles PM317…

      • pm317

        Thank you both!I didn’t know I had this much of a following. :)

  • kitkat

    I appreciate the sentiment to peacefully grieve, but the muslim community needs to do more. If a bunch of skinheads were going around the world and killing innocent people, you can believe Americans would find them, punish them and make it a personal agenda to prevent further attacks.

    Those of us on the outside of the muslim community can only do so much – muslims and countries that have Islamic extremists – must do more.

    • pm317

      The problem is, these are not just a bunch of skinheads, these are sophisticated terrorist operations emanating from countries like Pakistan with or without the support of their govt. or Intelligence agencies (see the last article I linked). That makes it more complicated.

  • Rich

    Thank you for the information you shared with us. I wonder if we should be wearing black to show our solidarity with them.

    I agree with those who say being sorry is easy. Being vigilant, being against those who would do harm by turning them in is harder. Turning in those who have done harm, and might do more harm is harder still. Then the police need to be willing to take action and the courts need to do their part, then maybe things will change. What will definitely make change is when the people, just like in Iraq, stand up against the terrorists by put their lives, money and weapons on the line little will change.

    Rich

  • benny

    The muslim moderates in India should come together and hunt out the radical extremists among their community, and hand them over to the relevant authorities. Thats the only way forward. Being defensive, or just talk about how evils of terrorism is useless IMO.

    • http://firefox AnnieCollier

      Good idea benny. Wouldn’t it be great if Muslims would act as the “relevant authorities” themselves? Seems to me the only way it would work. Discipline/punishment from your own community.

  • cynic

    We really ought to stop thinking of these people as Muslim terrorists. They’re violent psychopaths who happen to be Muslim. Muslim isn’t really part of the pathology. It’s only incidental. We shouldn’t dignify them by attributing their behavior to religion or politics. They only lay claim religious and political motives to rationalize their homicidal and suicidal actions. Take away those rationalizations and what remains is unvarnished hatred and insanity.

    • WildChild

      What you are saying would be possible if it weren’t for the concept of jihad. Putting the terms holy and war together in the same term when supposedly Islam worships the same God that said, thou shalt not kill, makes it undeniable that Muslims are worshiping something. So we can’t say that this behavior isn’t rooted in a religion. The harder case to make is that their religion and for a matter, any other religion with such a concept, has anything to do with God .

      • Nellie

        Wildchild,

        The term Jihad, or losely translated, “holy War” DOES NOT mean just terror attacks or overt violence. Jihad actually means a struggle between good and evil.

        It starts at a personal individual level – before someone makes a trip to the “Haj” they are required to rid themselves of all negative thoughts and feelings toward all others. That is a personal “Jiahd”. They are also taught to “search their conscience – to see if their negative feelings about another are actually caused by some fault within themselves. Envy would be an example of this.

        It is also used to represent conflict within tribes and families. In Malaysia the prepartion for a man and woman to marry lasts for a solid month. They travel alternately to the brides and then grooms house, in which the “elders” instruct them in their “duties” (encompasses expected roles within the marriage, larger family and community). A large part of the preparations forcus on “How to resolve conflicts” with family and tribe. Riverbend described much of this in her descriptions of her “community” and family in Baghdad.

        In the West we only hear “Jihad” used in reference to oppsotion groups physically fighting an established order. That is a VERY wrong definition of the full meaning.

        • WildChild

          Holy war is a very specific term. Looking inside oneself doesn’t require war. Struggling with the good and evil within doesn’t require war. No introspection requires a hyperbolic term like war. Neither, is the other. Self awareness is founded in the peace of inner calm. War is founded on the hysteria of inner fear. I’m no longer going to make any apologies for religions and I’m no longer going to accept any. This is not a misunderstanding. Jihad is precisely as it is advertised, Holy War. It’s death and destruction in the name of God, the same God who said thou shalt not kill. It’s vengeance in the name of a god who said vengeance as his alone.

    • pm317

      You see, that is exactly what Indian Muslims are doing, separating themselves from these terrorists and saying their religion is not what these terrorists say it is. And that is why I like their message. I want the world Muslim community to come out and say this is not the way we live our religion.

      • jomama

        We don’t often hear of Muslims denouncing these terrorists acts. Is that mostly due to fear of retaliation?

        • pm317

          This is the most defiant I have seen them be, especially refusing to bury the dead or wearing black ribbon and so on. I don’t know if it is the fear of retaliation but retaliation from whom? The scale and sophistication of it may have caught them by surprise. It is important for Indian Muslims to denounce this loudly and clearly for two reasons: to show to the terrorists who are mostly from Pakistan that they will not be lured into participation and to show the rest of the country that they are united as Indian citizens against these atrocities.

        • workingclass artist

          I think there are as many shades of Islam as there are of Christianity or of Judaism.
          From Orthodox…to Moderate or Reform. Even amongst the two main sects of Shia and Sunni here are different philosophies and practices.

          • pm317

            Also India is a secular state — they have freedom of religion but the diversity in society at large constrains them from going too far. For instance, not every woman wears Burka, why would they if no one is forcing them to wear it? They have role models in entertainment(many bollywood men and women artists), sports (Sania Mirza), ex-President (Kalam, he is a revered figure), entrepreneur (WIPRO CEO Azim Premji).

  • TeakWoodKite

    PM317, A fine article and I certianly look forward to more.

    I am wondering if the deep historically rich culture of India will draw people together who are of different beliefs.

    It is not lost on some that while India has the second largest population of Muslims in the world, India
    is a democratic state with history.

    • pm317

      Teak, you’re right. It is a democratic state with a long history and more importantly it is a secular state. There is by and large a healthy respect for each others’ religion. Skeptics will argue about the recent growth in Hindu fundamentalism. But that too shall pass because there is a critical mass of a large middle class which is getting the taste of a growing economy. Same goes for the Indian Muslims I hope despite the lure and the temptation in the name of religion and perhaps money from these outside terror groups.

  • carbynew

    pm317, What are your impression of the government response to this terror attack?

    • pm317

      Hey carbynew, well, I don’t enough to say the response could have been better. But the first responders like local police have to be better equipped and better trained. But this was like the Columbine or VATech situation on a much bigger scale with multiple simultaneous sites. So even before people realize what is happening, enough destruction has already been caused. Consider that the terrorist were going for 5000 kills and they wanted to destroy the beautiful Taj hotel. That didn’t happen. But they were very sophisticated and covered their tracks very well. For instance, they hijacked a Indian fishing trawler to come on shore and avoid detection. {See Larry Johnson’s posts from last week on this topic.}

  • basil

    Thank you, pm317.

    It’s important to read eye-witness accounts of the reaction in India.

    I hope you will continue to update us.

    • pm317

      Hey basil, welcome to NQ.

  • Soldier of Christ

    I love India, and my sponser child is from this area. I cherish seeing her grow in India and being educated by my funds. I don’t care whether the worship is hindu, muslim or christian. As long as the muslim indians condemn terrorist in their country we will find peace in this country. I would condemn the christian abortion destroyers, even if I disapprove of abortion. Peace in India with muslims, hindus and christian have been demonstrated hundreds of years but these radical muslims are evil and they need to be wipe out of this earth. I am happy to see India and Pakistan working side by side to get rid of these religious fanatics terrorist.

    • pm317

      Pakistan is not quite there yet but let us hope international pressure will bring them to sense.

      Thank you for your generosity. I am sure the child knows to be grateful to you.