[GJM] President Of India's Friday Prayer : What this 'devout secular Muslim left, ' ?: Dr.M.K.Sherwani
robert searle
dharao4 at yahoo.co.uk
Mon Mar 5 04:00:51 MST 2007
Dear All,
I wish we did not have to return to religion.
It is more trouble than its worth. Moreover, we can
talk about the development of ethics without any kind
of religious content. This is the best forward here
onsite.
R.Searle.
--- "Richard D. Foley" <rerailer at earthlink.net> wrote:
> With an open heart and mind, desiring only harmony
> and enlightenment,
> without any desire, to diminish, in any way, the
> honor of the beliefs of
> the believers of Islam, I present the following
> thoughts.
>
> Written or uttered, words are the imperfect tools we
> humans have to
> strive to communicate with each other. I am neither
> a Muslim nor a
> scholar, just an ordinary, common man ever in need
> of correction, yet am
> I wrong, was there not some discussion over the
> subject of written and
> oral words between Mohammed and the Arch Angle
> Gabriel, with Mohammed
> receiving some teaching on the necessity that he
> receive his
> instructions orally?
>
> No doubt I am in need of further instruction for the
> question occurs to
> me that if the oral delivery of the instructions of
> God being
> established as a superior, better, more accurate,
> and more deserving of
> believability than a written delivery, then why is
> the written word of
> the Koran worthy of higher veneration that those
> words of God's a person
> may hear in their hearts?
>
> My Creator has provided me a mind capable of
> simultaneously containing
> and considering two ideas (described by some as
> mutually contradictory
> ideologically exclusive), represented by words such
> as secular and
> devout, can a mind not find some positive value in
> both? I am a
> monotheist. I grant no man the liberty to judge me
> in this area of my
> being soul. God is my only judge. I accept His
> judgment only. As I
> know that His judgment shall be perfect, I know that
> every judgment of
> man, regardless of desire for perfection, shall
> contain imperfection.
>
> As Christ instructed, judge not! No man is without
> sin! Sin
> disqualifies the judger. First let us clean the
> tree trunk, clear the
> brush, and mow the high grass from our own eye
> before we undertake to
> remove the splinter from our brother's eye.
>
> If I desire to walk without harm or injury my path
> of life, then who am
> I to allow any others to self-promote themselves to
> some self-proclaimed
> elevated position from which they thereby proclaim
> for themselves the
> authority to not only condemn others, but to punish
> those whom they have
> condemned? For me, this is the essence of what
> others have chosen to
> identify as secularism on one side, and its opposite
> on the other as
> fundamentalism.
>
> Perhaps, the journalist who wrote about President
> APJ Abdul Kalam could
> have used more care in his selection of words.
> Words are powerful
> things, but also powerful imperfect things. On
> judgment day we shall
> know the full truth of the meaning of God's will,
> for we shall no longer
> be enslaved to the imperfection of words, or to the
> will of men who
> proclaim divine talent as sole translators and
> enforcers of the will of God.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Richard D. Foley
>
>
>
>
> Sherwani Mustafa wrote:
>
> >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
> >
> >
> >------------------------------------------------
> >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
>
=== message truncated ===> begin:vcard
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> believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
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