Hussain- The epitome of justice and tolerance

In a world engulfed by violence and corruption, it sometimes becomes very important to invoke a character in which a battered society can find ultimate solace or refuge. Each and every religion has it's brand of secular and fundamentalist forces. Same is the case with Islam.
Muharram is a festival, which is closer to my heart than any other festival, even more than Eid. I have been born and brought up in a family, which has a great affinity with Imam Hussain and his cause. It has some sort of emotional attachment or appeal for each and every Muslim. The martyrdom of Imam Hussain bin Ali bin Abi Talib is a true and best example of non-violent resistance against a dictator or a tyrant or an unjust system where the poor are getting poorer day by day.
The commemoration of Muharram in India has a historical importance with nearly people from all the major religions and castes taking part in the mourning to remember the sufferings of Imam Hussain against the most unjust and tyrant ruler in the history of Islam , Yazid bin Muawiyah.(61 AH, approx 20 oct 680 AD), at the banks of Euphrates.
The sacrifice of Imam Hussain forever drew a line of demarcation between the truth and falsehood, good and evil, right and wrong and his death gave a new name and honour to victim hood. To die for a just and honest cause is better than to live under the rule of a tyrant like Yazid.
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a great sufi saint in 12th century praised about imam Hussain in the following quartet.
Shah ast Hussain, Baadshaan ast Hussain

Deen ast Hussain, Deen panaah ast Hussain

Sar daad, na daad dast dar dast e Yazeed

Haqqa ke banaye La ilaah ast Hussain.
( Hussain is the king, Indeed he is the king of kings

Hussain is deen and also the protector of deen

He gave his head but not his hand of allegiance in the hand of Yazid

Indeed he was the founder of the concept of one God.)
The Holy Prophet every now and then insisted his Umma not to forget Hussain. This insistence of Prophet Mohammad shows that those who will forget Karbala and the Martyrdom of Hussain will cause trouble in his mission. The so called custodians of Islam or the radicals who are killing innocents in the name of Islam have forgotten Imam Hussain and the basic tenets of Islam just as the zealots who went on massacring thousands in Gujarat in the name of a peaceful religion like Hinduism forgot the tolerance taught by Lord Rama.
It's most important today to tell the people about the sacrifice of Imam Hussain and his mission which will let them to realise that the people who every now and then commit the barbaric acts of terrorism and call themselves Muslims are just terrorists and the majority of world's Muslims think these acts as going against all the ideals and principles of Islam.
Imam Hussain demarcated the truth from the falsehood forever when he said to the ambassador of Yazid ," A person like me would not give the oath of allegiance to a person like Yazid.", which means that the good or the truth cannot be bowed down by the falsehood or evil, no matter how powerful is the tyrant or the dictator.
Imam fought the battle with Yazid on the spiritual plane, he opposed Yazid's might with his nobility of character, confronted power with powerlessness, met multitudes with want of material support and defied oppression with suffering and martyrdom.It has been more than 1400 years since the battle of Karbala was fought, but even after centuries is remembered with unmatchable enthusiasm.
While I was in my hometown Muzaffarpur in Bihar on the 10th day of Muharram which is called Aashura, I got in touch with a police officer who was offering flowers at the Karbala there. On being asked the reason behind his attachment with Imam Hussain's cause he replied," Please do not think that remembering the sacrifice of Imam Hussain is a copyright of Muslims only. Imam Hussain's martyrdom has given voices to the voiceless. His sacrifice was the ultimate level of tolerance and non-violence in which after losing every one of his companions and his family members he stood firm on the path of righteousness. We remember him because he is worth remembering."
In a sermon while proceeding towards Karbala Imam Hussain said to his followers," O' people The Prophet of Islam has said that if a person sees a tyrannical ruler transgressing against Allah and oppressing people, but does nothing by word or action to change the situation, then it will be just to God to place him where he deservingly belongs. Do you not see to what low level the affairs have come to…. Do you not observe that the truth has not adhered and falsehood has no limits? And as for me, I look upon death but a means of attaining martyrdom. I consider life among transgressors an agony and affliction."
About 1200 years later Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech in which he said," To suffer in solace while they should protest makes cowards of men." These words of Abraham Lincoln reflect exactly what Imam said some 1200 years ago that oppressors and transgressors from the true path of justice would emerge all the time. If there remains no one on the earth to object over there transgressions that they will go unchecked. One should always point out to these tyrants of the right path of justice. This is the lesson we learn from Imam Hussain.
Hussain was a spiritual superpower that is an icon not only for the Muslims but also for each and every person with whom injustice is being done in whatever form, no matter to which religion he belongs. Nearly each and every revolution of the world got inspiration from the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.
The tragedy of Karbala took place some 1400 years back but Karbala has a universal appeal and in today's climate of violence, terrorism and communalism, it is more relevant than ever.
The uprising of Imam Hussain and the tragedy of Karbala bring everlasting messages for the entire humanity. The movement of Imam Hussain is not confined to his times, but it is for all eras and places. Imam Hussain courted martyrdom in order to inspire mankind in the fight against injustice and exploitation.Some people doubt about the intention of Imam Hussain by claiming that Imam Hussain came to Karbala having wordly desires and think that Yazeed was the victor of Karbala In fact this thought is totally unwarranted. But it is Imam Hussain whose name and mission has remained immortal while great empires of Umayyad and Abbasid dynasty have vanished and mighty rulers reduced to dust. No wonder despite the passing of 1000 years the tragedy of Karbala lives on.
While addressing the enemy in Karbala Imam said one of the most inspiring words ever been said, " If you do not have religion, at least be a free man in your life of this world." Because a free man can differentiate between the good and evil more easily than a biased one.
The mission of Hussain did not and could not come to an end just by the martyrdom of 72 individuals, it's everlasting, acting as a catalyst in nearly every age , era and place. Today at the remotest corners of the globe the tragedy of Karbala is remembered.
Muharram is not just for ten days and going back to business as usual. For a person who stands up to fight against the oppression, injustices and tyranny and terrorism , for him the place is Karbala, The month is Muharram and the day is Aashura. He is Imam Hussain and his opponent is Yazid. Muharram is not just for shias of for that matter Muslims but for each and every person who has the guts to stand against the injustices. The people who are maligning the name of a pious word like Jihad should try to understand the true form of Jihad practiced by Imam Hussain.
The following couplet best describes the importance of Karbala and Imam Hussain.
Jahan bhi maareka e khair o shar bapa hai Hussain..

Wahan hai mujib e har inquilaab teri zaat..
( Wherever there is a fight going on between the good and evil..O' Hussain!!!! You are the inspiration behind each and every revolution)
Imam Hussain raised Islam to its purest form by not letting evils to distort, corrupt or insult and destroy a peaceful religion like Islam, a non violent resistance He taught us not to take life but sacrificing one's life in the path of truth and righteousness.

Following is the link to the edited version of this article in Hindustan Times:-

http://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle-news/travel/Why-I-love-Imam-Hussain/Article1-379787.aspx

Community bias no solution

The Indian Express , India’s one of the best and responsible newspaper carried a picture on the front page of its city supplement ‘Newsline’ on September 25 of a boy being questioned by the Delhi police in the IndiaGate lawns. In the aftermath of 9/13 in Delhi interrogation of someone suspicious is not unusual. But the boy in the picture with a skull cap surrounded by the policemen evidently appears to be from the Muslim community.


This picture at its first appearance reveals the bias of the media and law enforcing agencies towards a particular community. Everyday so many people are being questioned on the streets of Delhi by the police but hardly anybody makes it into the pages of the National dailies. On the other hand many people would be visiting on the IndiaGate lawns but the questioning of a Muslim boy is again awful.


Being an witness to the operation Batla House on 19th September and a resident of Jamia Nagar the representation of facts by media and the conduct of the security agencies makes me to recount the incident. In the morning of 19th September at around 11 am I got a call from a colleague that there was an encounter going between and the suspected terrorists in the nearby L-18 flat of Batla House. I took my camera and rushed to the spot. And at that time the whole Batla House was cordoned off and while I was penning down this piece of article the building was still under high security cordon.


After the encounter there is a sense of fear and alienation among most of the residents of Jamia Nagar, which has become a “Police Chhawni” in common parlance, an area like Srinagar. The anger of the people rises whenever they talk to someone from the media.


“Why is it that the acts of terrorism and violence are regarded as an act of Islamic terrorism? Islam is a religion of peace, please do not defame it.”, asked Abdul Ghafoor , a software engineer working with a reputed multinational firm in Gurgaon. Sarfaraz Ahmad , a student of Jamia Millia Islamia says, “Since childhood we have been taught that violence begets violence and no one can justify any type of violence done by followers of any faith or religion, but when we see that there is no action after the Sri Krishna Commission report set up to probe the Mumbai riots , it pains a lot. Many police officers whom Sri Krishna commission found guilty were promoted.”


“When you can catch or execute a terrorist who happens to be Muslim then why is this government so much reluctant in acting against the accused of either the Gujarat or the Mumbai riots”, adds Sarfaraz.


No act of violence and terrorism can be justified but the carnage in Gujarat after the Godhra massacre in 2002, are perceived as having the implicit support of state administration, which saw more than a thousand people killed , mostly Muslims. It has clearly radicalized some of the elements of the minority community. Whether we accept it or not it is the main reason behind the home grown terror which has driven a minuscule section from the Muslim community towards the extreme forms of anti-social and destructive behavior. Obviously this cannot be justified at any cost.


Lalu Prasad Yadav says, “Modi is a communal virus centre and had he been punished on time for his crime no youth would have turned terrorist today”(Hindustan Times,dated 26th September).


In fact a terrorist is a terrorist either he is a Muslim or Hindu.


The authorities in power dealing with the acts of terrorism against the nation must understand that this battle cannot be won by identifying terrorism with any one single religions (or any other socially catagorised community). We lost our great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajeev Gandhi to the bullets of terrorists none of whom were associated with any Muslim group or outfit.


The communalism or terrorism either they are of minority or majority community only tend to feed off each other. According to the NGOs Anhad and Human Right’s Law Network , a large number of innocent young Muslims have been and are victimized by the police on the charge of being involved in various terrorist activities, particularly in Gujarat , Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. And this victimization and demonisation of a particular community is having a very serious psychological impact on the minds of not only the families of the victims but also other members of the community, which is leading to a sense of insecurity and alienation.


There is no evidence to suggest that these terror groups who happen to be Muslims are truly representative of the mindset of the Indian Muslims or they have any real support within the Muslim community as a whole. Just as the Sikh militants of 1980s did not represent their community, these bombers do not represent Indian Muslims.


Asghar Ali Engineer, one of the most secular writers and a renowned Islamic scholar in India says, “Every I go I see how upset the Muslim intelligentsia is with the way the community is being treated by the communalized polity and media.When a state discriminates against a section of it’s citizens , it prepares a fertile ground for retaliation.”


In 2006, two Bajrang dal members died in nanded while making crude bombs but nothing came out of that and a similar incident happened in Kanpur last month. Why is it that the government misses no chance to ban dreaded terrorist organizations like SIMI and Indian Mujahedeen , but at the same time it seems to be reluctant in banning Bajrang Dal, the cadres of which are on a rampaging spree , by burning Churches and rioting in various states.


In a nutshell, terrorists simply are anti-national criminals. They need to be dealt without any sense of prejudice. Failing to do so can be counterproductive and unfortunately the bias towards the minority community may promote many hardliners to take extreme steps.

Following is the lilnk to this article in Hindustan Times:-

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=ed5a3c47-c881-485d-993c-77018fa6ecca_Special&&Headline=Community+bias+no+solution+