[GJM] President Of India's Friday Prayer : What this 'devout secular Muslim left, ' ?: Dr.M.K.Sherwani

[Sherwani Mustafa]

www.hindustantimes.com( March.2,9pmIST)
Amid thousands, Kalam prays at Fatehpuri Masjid
March 2
-----------------------------------------------
  " The prayers over, the devout secular Muslim left,
after thanking the mosque officials and shaking hands
with some of the more enthusiastic visitors."
--------------------------------------------------
  
     The way  Friday prayer of the President of India
Mr. APJ Abdul Kalam has been reported in the
newspapers indicates that perhaps after entering the
President House it was the first occasion that he
entered any mosque. The religiosity or the depth of
spiritualism of a person is a matter between him and
God,and  no human being has the authority   to judge
it.Our president is also a person of deep spiritual
values the directions of which he himself and his
Creator can assess.
    
      What came to me as a great astonishement  was
his description by four attributes 'the
devout''secular' 'muslim' 'left'- a combination
comrising mutually contradictory ideological
perceptions that  he earned after his visit to
Fatehpuri mosque. 'Muslim' no doubt he is. 'Devout'
'secular' and 'left', however, have hostile relations
with each other - pragmatically if not theoretically.A
'devout muslim' is termed as 'fundatmentalist' because
he can never indulge in polytheistic practices which
are the negation of 'Islamic monotheism' but integral
part of 'secularism'.Conversely, a muslim cannot
succeed in establishing their 'secular credentials'
unless they do everything which is prohibited in
Islam, while simultaneously retaining their 'muslim
identity'. 'Left' is generally associated with
atheistic  assumptions, and as such the use of this
word in  describing the characteristics of the
President of India is totally out of place. 
   
   ---------------------------------------------
  Dr. Mustafa Kamal Sherwani  


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Amid thousands, Kalam prays at Fatehpuri Masjid
March 2
 
Ignoring requests to stand alone for better
protection, President APJ Abdul Kalam offered midday
prayers on Friday at the historic Fatehpuri mosque,
standing among thousands of believers.

The president spent 20 minutes at the mosque, located
near the Red Fort monument in the city's old quarters,
during which he accepted the greetings of many with a
polite walekum as salam (May Allah bless you too).

Kalam entered the sprawling mosque shortly after 1.30
p.m. and joined the prayer, led by Naib Shahi Imam
Maulana Moulvi Mohammed Mouazzam, a 49-year-old who
along with his brother received the president with a
bouquet.

Kalam stood in the second row of a larger gathering
5,000-6,000 strong and prayed, like everyone else,
with his head bowed and while facing the Mecca. He
wore socks, having taken off his shoes in his car.

The prayers over, the devout secular Muslim left,
after thanking the mosque officials and shaking hands
with some of the more enthusiastic visitors.

The Fatehpuri mosque is not as well known as the
nearby Jama Masjid although Mughal emperor Shah Jahan
built both. Among Muslims, however, the Fatehpuri
mosque commands greater respect owing to what the Imam
said was its "spiritual loftiness".

Asked why Kalam had chosen the Fatehpuri mosque to
pray, the Imam said: "The president is deeply into
spiritual affairs. He is devoted to Sufiism. He has
discussed with us religion and Sufi thoughts many
times. So he chose to come."

The Fatehpuri mosque also houses one of the biggest
Islamic seminaries in the Indian capital. It is ringed
on all sides by narrow lanes chock a block with shops
including those of Khari Boli, one of the biggest
wholesale markets of Delhi.

Some of the locals had wanted to meet Kalam and submit
memorandum related to Muslim affairs but the Imam said
he dissuaded them from doing so "since the president
is coming for a religious affair".

"He is the president of India and it is a honour for
us to receive him," the Imam said. "He should not be
troubled on this occasion by purely Muslim issues."

Hindu-majority India is home to the world's second
largest Muslim population after Indonesia.

 


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