Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Debate or denial?

The article “Debate or denial: the Muslim dilemma” (July 17) highlights the pernicious roots of Islamist ideology in the propagation of terrorism.

Anger or despair can be a justifiable motive for a direct victim of injustice. But for a Muslim from a privileged background in a democratic society to indulge in an act of terror against a country that is host to his ambition is to act like a religious supremacist inflicting indiscriminate violence on society. It is time to demystify Islam and take it out of the hands of hate-mongers.

Mushtaqh Ali,
Chennai

I will not blame Islam for the actions of a few; I will only blame the individuals and organisations that do not preach the religion in its totality. Palestinians are fighting for their homeland, not for their religion, whereas Israel is fighting for a Jewish state but no mention of religion is made when it comes to describing Israeli brutalities.

Muslims should wake up and start propagating the truthful and peaceful aspects of Islam. They should close down madrassas that teach a perverted version of Islam. But the media too should publish true facts and not facts about some individuals.

Mehnaz Ali,
Kozhikode

The article gives the wrong impression that the Koran justifies violence. Mahatma Gandhi said “where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence R 30;”

Does it mean Gandhiji justified violence? Koranic verses become neither redundant nor irrelevant with the passage of time.

Asema Daleelunnisa,
Hyderabad

What is wrong if some verses of the Koran justify violence? If I am hit, I have every right to hit back. As a Muslim, I don’t find the current bombings and suicide attacks an act of Isl amism and hence they cannot be justified in any way.

But the issue will not be settled till we are told whether terrorist attacks are unprovoked and American policies have nothing to do with them.

Sami Ahmad,
Muzaffarpur

Muslims need not be apologetic about the fact that a certain interpretation of Islam condones violence since this would be true of most faiths. However, the relevance of such an interpretation in the face of changing realities has to be put in perspective in order to rein in the radical elements. The surest way of putting an end to mindless violence and containing Islamophobia would be to encourage more and more liberal voices to take up the process of interpreting the Koran.

J. Sai Deepak,
Kharagpur

As J. Krishnamurti observed, it is the conditioning in the mind that one belongs to a particular religion that is responsible for all the violence perpetrated in the name of religion. A perceived threat to one’s religion is sufficient to turn a pious person into a beast. The eradication of all religions and national boundaries, which are mere ideas in human minds, is the only way to ensure peace on this earth.

S.P. Asokan,
Cuddalore

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