The recent destruction of 28 churches in Pakistan by a mob on the charge that the Koran was desecrated by two Christians is nothing new. Blasphemy is a law in Pakistan and with the social and economic parameters collapsed, the Pakistani people can easily invoke blasphemy and accused anyone for desecration of their cherished Islamic beliefs.
Like most converts, Muslims are told that Islam brought light to the world when it came into existence in the 7th century. Moreso, Pakistanis are told that their identity began with the invasion of Sindh in 711 A.D. by Mohammud Bin Qusim. At first the people of Sindh did not welcome Bin Qusim and offered fierce resistance. It was only after defeat, and they were brutalized into submission that they accepted the light of liberation from their ancestral darkness in Hindu customs and myths.
When a people can embrace their invaders who murdered and raped their ancestors, destroyed their places of worship, and made them into servants, such a people have nowhere to go. If today, Pakistan is a failed State it is only because of this cultural cancer that has destroyed its social and cultural immune system.
How do you evaluate the response of Islamic leaders in India who shunned the remarks made by Ghulam Nabi Azad that all Muslims in India are coverts from Hinduism which is the oldest religion. This remark has caused a conflagration of protests as Muslim leaders are in denial of that historical truth. The Congress which has practiced the politics of appeasement has joined these spin doctors in bending history to suppress historical facts.
In 1971 East Pakistan broke away from West Pakistan to form the independent nation of Bangladesh. It was not just political differences that fired the civil war but the Bangla people’s resistance to the imposition of Urdu as the national language at the expense of Bangla and other native languages, dress, customs etc. Today the women of Bangladesh wear proudly their multi-colored saris much to the dismay of Arab supremacists.
The Islamic world as much as the Christian world must accept that it has a spiritual and cultural past that precede the revelations of Muhammad. Both pre-Islamic and pre-Christians cultures have fallen victims to the concept of One God, One Book, One Prophet and one holy site. This belief system has infiltrated and poisoned the consciousness of too many to the detriment of reasoning and development.
The early Christians of Europe, capturing the Roman Empire, converted the natives by force in almost 50 years. Today, Europe is in social and cultural decline. It now must share social space with the Islamic migrants that are infiltrating their borders. Europe is unable to deal with this new breed of fundamentalism. It is a replay of the crusades, the only difference being the turf – no longer in the Middle East but now on European soil.
The enlightenment and the scientific revolution have introduced the age of reasoning in Europe, but such a revolution is a far cry away from Islam which holds the view that the teaching of the Koran is perfect and not to be tampered. Islamic scholars such as the Taliban are steeped on making adjustment to society so that the citizens can meet the commands and codes laid down in the Koran.
The removal of Article 370 that provided special status to Kashmir has now reintegrated this estranged region fully into the Indian nation. The Kashmir of the Jihadists is now history and with the influx of investments and the returning of the Kashmiri Pandits, India is demonstrating that its heart is still beating. The upcoming reopening of the Ram Mandir that was destroyed by Babur is a clear statement that India (Pakistan and Bangladesh) is not a done deal. Prime Minister Modi and the BJP are intent on redrawing the map of India and the next move will be the reintegration of POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) into the Indian Union.
Hindus in the diaspora must work assiduously to bring back their fellow Indians who have wandered away from the dharma through trickery and material inducements. Hindus have thwarted the objectives of the Presbyterian missionaries. Soon the evangelists would be brought to their knees as the Hindu juggernaut rolls forward. Now is not a time for confrontation and wars but an opportunity to light the lamps of tolerance and acceptance in all the dark corners where bigotry and fanaticism have grown deep roots. It is a big challenge, but this work must be done.