Fatah said Arab countries have an imperialistic view of Islam
by Nirupam Banerjee
Controversial author Tarek Fatah on Saturday said that the influence of Arab countries have greatly affected the Muslim population in India and is slowly damaging it. Fatah, who was in city for a public lecture programme, said Arab countries have an imperialistic view of Islam which preaches that they have to conquer the world and establish an Arab caliphate.
Fatah said that the burkha system in India, abandonment of Indian names by Muslims and using Arabic words in daily conversations and greetings are some of the examples of the growing influence of Arab countries in Indian Muslims. The author, who has come out with a new book—’The tragic illusion of an Islamic State’, said that the very concept of Islamic state for which many are fighting is all illusion and Islam did not come to create an Islamic state. He also said that countries like Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia, which have been proponents of Islamic state, have failed miserably.
Fatah, a Pakistan-born Canadian Muslim, also remarked that Islam has been hijacked by Islamists, who invoke the Quran and Prophet Muhammad for their own political agenda, not for piety or submission to the divine. He remarked that Islamic clerics criticise the west, India and Israel for the ills that affect Muslims and such criticism deflects the failure of most Muslim countries which offer little freedom, human rights and equality.
The author also said that Quran did not prescribe that Islam should take on a political form—an entity that first emerged as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1947 and is today spreading havoc as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
On being asked on the difference between Indian and Pakistani Muslims, Fatah said Pakistani Muslims are hostages and Indian Muslims are in a much better position enjoying their democratic right. In the same breadth, he said Muslims in India have the worst leadership and they should be cautious while choosing their leadership so as not to become a tool for winning elections.
Commenting on PM Narendra Modi, he said had he been an Indian, he would have never voted for Modi, but praised him for being a strong leader who has the potential to change the country.
Source: dnaindia
