Islam Under Scrutiny by Ex-Muslims

Islam-watch: A Platform for Religious Propaganda or Enlightenment?

Below is a letter we received from a well-wisher of our Website about his concern whether Islam-watch is becoming a religious propaganda tool, especially one for Hinduism.

We started this Website as a nontheistic, freethinking platform; we push for enlightenment. We profess progressivism, liberal humanism. We focus on the criticism of Islamic so that Muslims can make informed choices about their religion, leave it and join the global humanity unchained by religious, racial, national biases. I am publishing this letter here to assure our readers, who might have similar misgivings because of some slightly out-of-track postings, that we are determined to be on our original mission.



The Letter:

I have a few issues regarding the material being posted on Islam-Watch. I would like to mention a few things that have been disturbing me since some days and I wish to share my criticism with you. Kindly take my criticism in a positive vein.

First of all, I am highly perplexed by the articles by Dr. Radhashyam Bharmachari. I am specifically speaking about his articles in which he is inviting Muslims to Hinduism. My problem is that even though he does a good job of exposing what Islam has done to the subcontinent, his appeal for Muslims to convert to Hinduism is a bit dumb. I doubt if any Muslim apostate would ever consider Hinduism as a choice. Now whether we like it or not, the reality is that some people did convert from Hinduism in order to get out of the Caste order which is a part and parcel of Hinduism.

Hence I fail to understand how possibly the Muslim would benefit by going into a belief system that encourages dowry, casteism, etc.

Hinduism today is a bigger quagmire than Islam. Hindus, for the most part, are confused and many of the Urban Hindus are becoming Atheist in the absence of a belief system.

I agree that Hinduism is not dogmatic, yet for a Muslim to embrace Hinduism there is no incentive. Just because my ancestor was a Hindu does not mean that I should also take up his belief system.

I feel Hindus should first set their own house in order before asking Muslims to convert to their religion.

Another fact that also has to be taken into consideration is that Islam-Watch is basically an Atheist site; by allowing such articles we would also be paving the way for followers of other religions like Christianity, Jainism, Sikhism, etc. to propagate their faith.

Don't you think that this would basically lead Muslims from one hell hole to another? True, they wont become Jihadis, but they wont be enlightened either.



MA Khan's response:

I understand your concerns; Prof. Brahmachari's this series of articles (Muslim Brothers of Indian Subcontinent: It's Time for Homecoming) undoubtedly goes a bit out of track. Furthermore, our forum, which we try not to control, has become the playground of believers, mostly Hindus, followed by Christians. On it, nontheistic views are smacked down almost like Islamist views. In these circumstances, many a reader may have misgivings like yours as some articles, apparently professing religious views, started appearing in our content section.

Indeed, I have been conscious of a similar concern myself. That is why I have added an editor's note at the top of Prof. Brahmachari's articles in this series. So far, his articles in the series haven't been of seriously preaching nature. I have disallowed Part III, which had such concern. I hope, the series concludes in similar note; I am, at best, willing to conclude the series with an appeal to Muslims for returning to the historically tolerant, nonviolent, chivalrous civilization of Hindustan or Hinduism, not to the strictly scriptural Hindu creed.

Enlightenment, at its first stage, may lead religious people into a quagmire. Descent of believers into a quagmire is not a bad thing; it is good for their eventual enlightenment, it is the first step. Atheism is the final destination of humankind. I see descent into quagmire is the preceding stage to enlightenment, to atheism.

Given the kind of feelings Muslims entertain toward idolatry, I am somewhat sceptical about ultimate outcome of Prof. Achari's call to Hinduism is going to make on his Muslim audience. But having been aware of what Islam has committed to Hindus, to Indian civilizationwhich you are as aware as I amI just felt sympathy that a "peaceful call" for Muslims' return to their root deserves to be heard.

I believe in shocking Muslims. This is one of them too. A call to Hindu civilization, making a case of whatsoever sort, is unbelievable to Muslims. Such shocks of all sorts, I believe, will desensitize Muslims; it would make them more thick-skinned, eventually less violent.

I am not a firm believer like Ali Sina that Islam will collapse and cease to existat least, not in a few centuries. If some Muslims even take up Prof. Brahmachari's call to Hinduism, that will make their transition to quagmire, and eventually to enlightenment, easier for them. We loose nothing.

Yet, I am most conscious that we don't loose our credibility regarding the principles, set out in our mission statements. I will keep my vigilance over it as best as I can. Alerting us to any likely failure of our judgment, as you have done, will always be welcome and help us keep on track.


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MA Khan is the editor of islam-watch.org Website and the author of upcoming book, Islamic Jihad: A Legacy of Forced Conversion, Imperialism and Slavery.


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Comment:

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Name: Dangers of Islam
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 01:21:19 -0500

Comment

Islam, as preached by the likes of Osama Bil Laden,Mohammad Ahmadinejad will lead to nuclear war and huge destruction of entire humanity. My view is whatever Mohammad had preached has become irrelevant today whether it is violent or non-violent. What is preached in his name by the above sort of people and terrorists in Pakistan is relevant and dangerous and will lead to the eventual destruction of entire human race. This way Islam will cease to exist.


Name: jenn
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 02:01:03 -0500

Comment

I understand your concern. Hinduism is another mad cult similar to islam. Both these mad cults attract only brain dead people


Name: why they hate Muslims
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 02:20:09 -0500

Comment

Muslims have no problems with Jews, Muslims and Christians coexisted in the past and can coexist even NOw. Keep in mind that there was no terrorism prior to the creation of Israel. Zionism is what as caused all the terror. Blame all the evil to islam and if Possible refer pages of the Korran and highlight them out of context. Who hates the muslims the most? The Christian church existed under Muslim rule for more than thousands of years with no problems. It is only recently that the Christians and Muslims find themselves at each other’s throats, and it’s all the Zionists’ doing. They want to see the Christians and Muslims wipe each other out for the benefit of the Zionist state, which views them both as a threat. The Zionist plan to use Israel as their headquarters for world rule and as an escape hideout. The war on terror is a war on Arabs and Muslims who concider the Zionist of not following the Ten commandments. It’s about fighting Israel’s enemies who are not America’s enemies. Zionist inlike Jews, Muslims and christians are not loyal to anyone but themselves. They are not allies to America. They use America, her money, her technology and her political system until America is of no use, and then when they are done they will dump her just like flushing the toilet. America had no enemies in the Middle East before the Zionist became our ‘friend’, and those who insist these zionist are our friends should consider a few facts–She blew up American government buildings and tried to blame it on the Arabs. She attacked the USS Liberty and killed 34 of our sailors. She stole our secrets through the Zionist spy Jonathon Pollard and sold them to the Russians. And, last but not least, she was responsible for 9/11. There is no way that a bunch of guys in caves learned how to fly those planes in a few weeks and did all that damage without help from Mossad, and now we have/ had 2 Jewish traitors sitting as head of Homeland Security and Attorney General.’


Name: ab
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 03:04:35 -0500

Comment

Hinduism cannot really be distinguished from its scriptures. The Hindu way of life like non-violence, tolerance is derived from what is said in the scriptures. The scriptures also say that in this present age of Kali, devotion to god and belief in the supreme being is more important than mere rituals or idol worship. You can note here that it says Supreme Being. It does not say Allah or Krishna or Jesus Christ. So you can belong to any religion and fervently pray that god for salvation. We all come from the Supreme Being or Supreme Consciousness. The problem with proselytizing religions like Islam or Christianity is they believe their god is supreme. When mankind believes that we all come from that one Supreme Consciousness but you may call it Allah or Krishna or Jesus, most of our troubles can be solved. Jenn should study Hinduism before pronouncing it as a mad cult. I also cannot accept the view that atheism is the destination of mankind. As long as we believe that there is a creator and we are the created atheism does not stand a chance. But I do agree that atheism is better than being a religious bigot whether it is Hindu, Muslim or Christian. One can again see that Hinduism is probably the only religion which accepts atheism. There are enough quotes in the scriptures which say there are so many paths to reach god like doing your duty or work or charity. I believe that Islam needs to be moderated from its radicalism and extremist views. It is just not feasible that you can exterminate about 1.5 billion Muslims or convert them to some other religion. And I think it is only the moderate Muslims within Islam who can do it. I have been living and working in Dubai for the last 15 years and never had a problem practicing my religion in the confines of my house. There is lot of freedom here compared to some other countries. As long as I am not practicing my religion outside I don't need to be worried and why should I practice it outside. For a Hindu, religion is a very personal thing. Recently, I ordered 3 books on Hinduism through Amazon for my personal use and received them with no problem. May have been a different case in Saudi. I am quoting all this to say there are places in the Islamic world which are moderate. Similarly there are lot of Muslims who are moderate but afraid to speak out against radicalism. So instead of just wishing that this religion will disappear from the face of the earth which seems to me to be highly unlikely let us wish that there is a change in the thought processes of Muslims wherein they accept other religions as well. The same holds true for any other religion whether Hindu, Christian or Jew. Sorry for this long post.


Name: vbv
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 04:53:54 -0500

Comment

To jenn- Christianity is a madder cult with worshipping a corpse hanging pathetically from a wooden cross. Christians expect 'salvation' / deliverance from a loser like Jesus Christ who cried on being crucified by the Romans "O father why did you forsake me!". Now , who is a zombie? After muslims it is the Christians who are the greatest zmbies ever. Either they are stupid to believe in some jewish mythology and a story about a sore loser like Jesus ,or they have an ulterier motive to use the "show your other cheek if someone slaps you" as an effective tool to subjugate colonies they have conquered to render the natives impotent and helpless. What was christianity in its haydays , in the middle ages, the golden age of christianity ? It was a quagmire of superstitions, intolerance to science and knowledge, burning hundreds of heretics who refuse to become 'christians', lackeys of the church and fuedal kings and lords. All monotheistic cults are like that. See the conflicts and turmoil around the world - it all relates to the three cults :Judaism,Christianity and Islam. Each of them are vigorously promoting their cult as the only true "religion" - a saviour of humanity , a way to heaven and what not , at the same time going berseck like mad dogs at each others throats! If anything it is only hinduism ,Budhism ,Jainsim,Taoism that are peaceful and promote true spiritualty , not giving false hopes and then go about on murderous misadventures!


Name: Against Fundamentalism
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 05:11:58 -0500

Comment

In most cases ancient holy books do not refer to nowadays life. This is something almost all fundamentalists cannot agree with. For example, the Revealation of John is referring to the rule of Domitian and Rome is referred to as Babylon. That is what the text is referring to and not any modern Harmageddon fundamentalists are so wishfully thinking of. Similar misunderstandings can be found in the quran. Gender segregation is mentioned in the quran and to some degree it takes place until today in almost all civilisations (toilets for example). But in modern times, this gender segregation in muslim countries has been overexaggerated by the bigots like many other rulings. So bigots and fundamentalists are almost the same kind of people. They always become angry and they feel extremely offended if they hear any criticism against their religion. They want to force others to adopt their stupid way of life which is reduced to the contents of their holy scriptures they don´t really understand. Because they are so poor in their minds they hate to see others being happy and free of any kind of oppression. And of course it makes no sense to replace islamic fundamentalism with christian or hindu fundamentalism. Thus, what we realy have to do is to is to understand the historical backgrounds of holy scriptures and their true meanings.


Name: Against Fundamentalism - Addendum
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 05:21:41 -0500

Comment

Another thing fundamentalists don´t understand is that the number of converts in any direction is - in most cases - very, very small. There are more Trotzkists in Europe or the Americas than converts in either direction. The numbers are indeed so small that they just confirm that there is almost NO movement in either direction. Indeed, it would be strange if there were no converts at all. Africa is an exception because of the heavy efforts being made by missionaries, and in China, where religious activities couldn´t take place for decades, there are many people not converting to but embracing christianity for the first time. No, most people leaving islam are not leaving for christianity, hinduism or any other religion; most are leaving for what they might call atheism, agnosticism or secularism.


Name: No Sharia
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 06:18:37 -0500

Comment

I am happy to read that this website will be open for all interested be they religious or not. Christians, hindus etc have much to contribute with regarding all the theological errors and weaknesses of Islam and atrocities committed by muslims. But they shall not of course try to use this website as a pulpit for their own religion. No Sharia


Name: sat-chit-ananda
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 06:24:42 -0500

Comment

Comment for Mr MA Khan: I agree that the focus of this site should be anti-Islam rather than promoting one or the other belief system. But I have a comment about your personal beliefs. You say "Atheism is the final destination of humankind." You are obviously perfectly entitled to hold that viewpoint. Yet there is a lot that has not yet been explored by modern science. There are many testimonies regarding previous life memories and near-death experiences. Read the book "Life after Life" by Dr Raymond Moody. The science of consciousness was explored in great depth in ancient India by Hindu seers like Patanjali, the author of the "Yoga Sutras". This ancient Hindu wisdom is again being studied around the world. For a logically sound exposition of what Hinduism (at it's core) is really about, I would recommend the small book "The Science of Religion" By Paramahansa Yogananda.


Name: jenn
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 08:00:03 -0500

Comment

To vbv i have this message. Hindus in india still hold on to the cruel caste system and just like islam , Hinduism too justifies the marriage of underaged girls. let me tell you what that great indian thinker and the 1st prime minister of india jawaharlal nehru wrote in his autobiography. ' Hinduism continues to hold my indian people captive as slaves , and as long as Hinduism dominates my india will never be an equal or humane society'


Name: jenn
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 08:41:09 -0500

Comment

To vbv, you say that Hinduism , jainism and Buddhism are peaceful. Is that the reason why peaceful Hindus in india go on wild rampages murdering indian muslims and burning down christian churches? peaceful Buddhists in sri lanka attack christians and burn down churches every week. peaceful ? lol


Name: dd
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 08:45:52 -0500

Comment

"Atheism is the final destination of humankind." I second that. I was a Hindu, I still believe in a lot of things from Hinduism, like Ayurveda, yoga, pranayama etc. but worshiping any god or doing any rituals or holding any book as holy is not necessary nor is it even necessary to call myself an Hindu. Because there is no such thing called Hinduism. It is a blend of thousands of different beliefs, collectively dubbed Hinduism by westerners. "Given the kind of feelings Muslims entertain toward idolatry, I am somewhat sceptical about ultimate outcome of Prof. Achari's call to Hinduism is going to make on his Muslim audience. " I disagree, I have found Indian muslims to be more superstitious than hindus, they look at all sorts of mediums, signs etc. they have even adopted many hindu practices like dowry etc. I have even come across many muslims who go on pilgrimages to hindu temples!! ?? scratch head... though they still call themselves muslims. I have even read accounts of muslims donating to hindu temples.... duh?


Name: dd
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 08:51:36 -0500

Comment

"Is that the reason why peaceful Hindus in india go on wild rampages murdering indian muslims and burning down christian churches? peaceful Buddhists in sri lanka attack christians and burn down churches every week." All these attacks can be traced back to monotheistic intolerance and demonizing of polytheistic gods. Nowhere in the hindu budhist or jain holy books are passages that advocate murder unlike bible and koran which both advocate murder and mayhem. Suppose hindus in new york start distributing phamplets that said "christianity is a corpse worshiping religion and its symbol is a stinking rotting naked bloody decaying corpse and its founder gayus was gay because he couldn't get married" to all christians year in and year out how long will it be before christians in new york start retaliating? In fact when a theatre in ny staged a play showing gaysus as gay it was burned to the ground. To see which is more peace ful indian religions or christianity/islam you should see how they have treated jews for the past 2500 years not a single jew has been killed by hindus but millions of jews have been killed by christians and muslims.


Name: to MA khan from amar khan
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 09:22:16 -0500

Comment

dear MA khan. you did a right job to publish this. actually i was also very worried about such kind of preaching postings. i have no problem with hinduism but it will cause muslims to think that IW is any hindu site or any jewish conspiracy etc. even many muslims thinks that "amar" is also hindu. therefore please correct spellings of my name from "amar" to "amaar". this will show to the reader that i am an ex muslim not hindu.


Name:
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 10:09:59 -0500

Comment

vbv it's moral and cultural relativists like you that will let islam win; im an atheist european and the only solution to the islam problem is to protect our judeo christian platonician roots ; if we keep ignoring our identity islam will win.


Name: IK
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 10:12:02 -0500

Comment

I am not a Hindu. But, I do think that Dr. Brahm's view point ought to be heard. Don't you folks promote freedom of thought. The only thing i care about is exposing the evils of Islam, no matter who tells it. So what if he/she was influenced by Hinduism. The goal is showing the true face of Islam. Dr. Brahm does a good job of that, even though his tones sometimes is too much hinduism. thanks


Name: dd
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 10:50:27 -0500

Comment

"vbv it's moral and cultural relativists" moral and cultural relativism is usually a phrase used by book followers to insist that there is only one absolute moral and that is what their book says. "im an atheist european and the only solution to the islam problem is to protect our judeo christian platonician roots" Thats the first time I am hearing an atheist speaking in favor of judeo christianity. "if we keep ignoring our identity islam will win. " What was your identity before christianity wiped out the original cultures of europe?


Name: bobby
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 10:59:40 -0500

Comment

The people who do not follow any of the dogmatic organized religion and live in India are collectively called hindus. So if you are attacking "hindus", you are pumping your fist into thin air. there is not one such person. everyone has their own set of belief system with gurus and gods, which they have learnt from personal experience or from the society they live in. there is not one set of core beliefs that can be termed as hinduism. the core may be just plain humanism. as far as taking isolated bad practices and painting a whole non-existent community with it, that is just laughable! maybe it makes some people feel better thinking they are better than that! ha hah!


Name: seeker
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 11:40:02 -0500

Comment

Though this site is intended to educate Muslims and help them leave Islam, we non Muslims are not freeloaders in any way. Many of us have seen the fallacies of our own belief systems after visiting this site. There are bigoted zealots everywhere. Look at the comment posted by Jenn. Which planet is he living on? I dont see any wrong in Prof Acharis call to our Muslim brethen to come back to their roots. Would it be wrong if an Iranian called his countrymen to came back to the Zorastrian or the Bahai faith.A handful of Parsis in India have shown to the world what Iran would be had not Islam ravaged Persia. Coming to MA Khans analysis that Islam will continue for a few more centuries.Well in a few more centuries there wont be much of any religion left either,leave alone Islam.A person is born an athiest.He adopts the belief system of the family he is born into as he grows up.Atheism is the final destination of humankind. I agree with you.Another point. The lifeline of Islam is oil.Once this natural resource dries up Islam will disappear sooner than you can think of.


Name:
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 11:45:02 -0500

Comment

let's keep denying our european culture and identity , muslims love that , they are already trying to re write theh history of europe ;but they have nothing to do in fact because useful idiots like you do all the job


Name: Tony
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 11:50:29 -0500

Comment

Islam-watch is brilliant at promoting 'freedom of thought'. Religions do the opposite - they ENSLAVE thought to superstitions, encourage their followers to evade reality, encourage the slaughter of those who hold competing superstitions. Keep up the good work. Religions (especially Islam) are the earth's worst pollution - mental pollution.


Name:
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 11:58:12 -0500

Comment

Thats the first time I am hearing an atheist speaking in favor of judeo christianity that is because you do not really pay attention to what some intellectuals have to say


Name: VP
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 14:43:10 -0500

Comment

Jenn is just another Christian Supremecist like her fellow Islamic prosletyzers. You see both Christianity and Islam are imperialist in that they will of course bad mouth Hindism and Bhuddism in order to promote their religious supremesist and imperialistic ideology. Live and let live does not exist with Christianity and Islam both need to promote their religion. Jenn is just another ignorant Christian who has no knowledge of Hinduism but bases her ignorance and hatred in order to promote Christianity. During the mid ages Christians were on witch hunts, promoted slavery, killed many indigenous native Americans. They hate other cultures so that they can continue their colonial supremacist. It is barbaric and sick religion just like Islam. Indian civilization coexisted with Buddhist, Jains and Hindus. The religions of Christianity and Islam are intolerant and violent. It is only their advent into India has created such a mess.


Name: jenn
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 17:11:45 -0500

Comment

dd says that the Hindu and Buddhist scriptures do not justify war , murder , pedophilia or the subjugation of women. what a pity that he has not read how the Hindu gods advocated war , married loads of women and little girls. Buddha says its ok to kill some times. And Buddhism also says that a woman needs the assistance of a man to enter nirvana and will never be permitted on her own. Since converting to islam and escaping from it although i remain an atheist , i can honestly say that christianity is a better religion than islam, Hindu or Buddhist because it has eveloved into a free thinking ideology. But i agree with M. A khan about keeping this website open in order to debunk the maddest cult islam. Hindus, Buddhists, christians or jains should not be allowed to use this site to promote their religions. we first must deal with this mad cult islam, then move on to exposing the other mad cults such as Hinduism and buddhism


Name: Mohammad Afaq
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 19:44:37 -0500

Comment

I don't want to be rude or something but I just want to say that Islam is the fastest growing religion of the world (you can research that) and what some so-called Muslims like osama bin ladin etc. are saying or doing does not change what religion says. I am not fighting with anyone but all the Muslim world (except some culprits) wants and loves peace. Just believe me and go to www.peacetv.tv and in the right hand corner click watch Peace TV live. If there is some other language going on that you don't understand come back later and see what they tell you about Islam (it is mostly in English). No religion is bad it is just made bad my its followers. I am in US and I have many friends who are Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists and there is no point killing people to be a Muslim and Quraan says: "Killing one man is the same as killing the whole humanity" then there is no point of telling Islam is a corrupt or unpeaceful religion.


Name: notice notice foolish muslims it is essential for you jackasses!!!
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 19:50:05 -0500

Comment

israel is not occupant army of palestin.bcz this land now named israel has belonged to jews some thosand years ago. and roman and muslims brutally inavded their land. for muslims case it is horrible and foolish. muslms say palestin is for us only bcz of a foolish story made by muhammad that proclaim he had been traveling to skies!!! by a donkey named buraqand this funny and impossible trip began from masjed aghsqa!!(notice when muhammad made this there was no masjid in those landbcz muslims had not invaded to israel).bcz of this foolish story they say israel is usurper.shame on you shit moslems shame!!!!


Name: VP
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 20:03:44 -0500

Comment

Exactly I agree with Jenn we should first deal with the mad cult of Islam and then move to the mad cult of Christianity. It is a very mad cult just as Islam because to has two divisions its ideology those who are sinners is non sinners. That whole idea is sick and to even classify people by that is definitely a backward and cultist to the highest order. So after dealing with Islam and then deal with Christianity both are the of the same origins, and both are mad.


Name: Sunny
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 20:18:00 -0500

Comment

As a Hindu, I support this website a lot and I admire it a lot. Dr.Brahmachari's articles are good and are well researched, so even if he says something good about Hinduism, doesn't mean people will start converting to it. I really haven't heard much or know anybody that converted to Hinduism. So let's not worry about this too much. Mr. M.A.Khan has done a commandable job in balancing this web site. There are many other things to worry about Islam, than any other religion.


Name: To MA Khan
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 23:31:58 -0500

Comment

Its good that you came finally round to this issue. This website was being hijacked by a few vicious fanatics trying to hardsell their "perfect" religion. Apart from weakening the fight against Islam this was causing unnecessary offence to others. I am glad that some hardnosed readers put things in proper perspective. Whether you believe in any religion or not, no right thinking person can dump all belief systems into the same basket as Islam at this point of time. Such people represent the ugly face of an obscurantist and supremacist mindset. They will only give a reprieve to the Islamists. It is paramount to unite and fight the menace of Islam forgetting our differences


Name: Home-coming of India's Converted Muslims - Dr Radhasyam Brahmachari
Date: Monday January 19, 2009
Time: 23:48:26 -0500

Comment

It is nice that a discussion on the topic has ensued. Since most of the Muslims of India were converted from Hinduism, it is necessary to highlight some aspects of it. It is really unfortunate that some of the readers have taken it as a propaganda for Hinduism. When my articles came up in Islam-watch website, many readers commented that Hinduism is bad for two reasons, firstly it is polytheistic and secondly, it contains a dirty thing called casteism. I countered the first allegation in Part-III of the article, which Mr M A Khan refused to post. I Therefore, place the same below and want counter the second allegation in a future article. *******Muslim Brothers of Indian Subcontinent : It’s Time for Homecoming - III By Dr Radhasyam Brahmachari Hindu God Brahman The entire Hindu culture, religious ideas, social customs and the way of life etc. are based on the single belief in the existence of one absolute and imperishable Being Brahman. Advaita Vedānta says that Brahman is the the Cosmic Consciousness, It is the ultimate reality of this creation and is the Divine Being. According to Vedanta, that imperishable (sat) is Brahman, while perishable (asat) is the entire phenomenal world. In this universe at large and in every being, there is a ground for that absolute Being, which is impervious to change. According to Vedanta, this phenomenal world is nothing but innumerable manifestations of the same imperishable One (Brahaman). So Rishi Shandilya in Chhandogya Upanisad says, “The whole universe is Brahma. Let man in all tranquility revere It as Tajjalan- or That from which all other things are born, into which they dissolve and in which they breathe and move” (III-14-1). “All works, all desires, all scents, all tastes belong to It. It encompasses the whole universe and does not speak and has no ear” (III-14-5). “As a spider emits and reabsorbs its threads, as plants grow upon the earth, as hair grows on the body and head of a living person, so does everything on earth arises from This Imperishable” (Mundaka, I-1-7). “All things pervading is that Blessed Lord. That (imperishable Brahman) is the beginning and is penetrating everywhere” (Svet, III-11). “All this world is That (imperishable Brahman) and what was and what is yet to be” (Svet, III-15). “It is That alone, who approaches every womb, in Whom alone does this universe grow together and dissolve” (Svet, IV-11). This Cosmic Consciousness Brahman is Immensely Vast, as vast as the universe and at the same time finer than the finest. “The Lord of the constituents of nature, It is the cause of the universe” (Svet, VI-16). “The one Lord in all contingent beings hidden, pervading all, in all beings the innermost self, of all works the overseer …(Svet,VI-11). “More subtle than the subtle, in the midst of chaos of all things. It emanates- how manifold It’s forms” (Svet, IV-20). “It cannot be comprehended by the eye, by speech or by any other senses” (Mundaka, III-1-8). “Eternal among the eternals, Consciousness among the consciousness, the One among the many” (Svet, VI-13). In all the above verses, the Hindu God Brahman is referred to as It, and not as He or She. And hence it proves that, Brahman is genderless. In this context, it would be relevant here to quote Yajnavalkya, a great Hindu seer, while he explains Brahman to another lady seer Gargi in the Brihadaranyaka Upanisad. He says, “Gargi, that which is above the sky, which is below the earth, which is in between the sky and the earth – that which men speak of as past, present and future, that is woven on space, wrap and woof” (III-8-7). “Gargi, It is what the Brahmanas call the Imperishable. That is not coarse, not fine, not short nor long, not red nor adhesive. It casts no shadow and It is not darkness. It is not wing nor is It space. It is not attached to anything. It is not without energy (tejas) or life (prana). It is no force or measure. It has no within or without. Nothing does it consume nor is It consumed by anyone” ( Briha: III-8-8). From the above verses, it becomes clear that the Hindu God Brahman is eternal, omniscient as well as omnipresent. In scientific terms, Brahman is neither matter nor energy. It is the eternal, absolute, imperishable Being which is impervious to any change. This Divine Being is the primeval substance of all contingent beings, very subtle – finer than the finest. It embraces the entire space and time and at the same time, is invariant to any transformation of space and time. We have seen earlier that the Islamic (as well as the Christian) God is, more or less, a sexually capable male human being. Particularly Islamic Allah is 60 cubit tall. Above all, both Christian God and Islamic Allah have worldly attributes like vengeance, envy, cruelty and so on. It has been mentioned earlier that such a God cannot be eternal and he is bound to get older with time and ultimately perish like all other living beings. Science is the process of knowing two fundamental entities of nature, namely matter and energy, with the help of senses. Furthermore, according to Einstein, these two entities reduce to a single entity, either matter or energy. But Vedanta says that the fundamental constituent of this universe is neither matter nor energy, but an absolute Divine Being, which is consciousness and cannot be perceived by the senses. The notion is supported by the well known Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle of Quantum Mechanics. On the other haqnd, according to Vedanta, Matter and energy are nothing but two aspects of that Divine Being. Scientists indirectly admit the existence of this Divine Being when they say that the elementary particles, the ultimate constituent of matter, will always remain mysterious to human intelligence as they are point masses occupying no space at all. Furthermore, the scientists admit the Vedantic view and say that the elementary particles, constituent of crude matter, seems to be individually conscious. Dr. Roger Penrose, the well known Oxford mathematician, has upheld the said Vedāntic view and has said, “Consciousness may arise from quantum mechanical phenomena – the laws that govern the behaviour of the subatomic particles”. Furthermore, Vedāntic seers have said long long ago that this Supreme Consciousness Brahman “cannot be comprehended by the sight, by the speech or by any other senses”, and Dr. Penrose and Dr. Sutherland simply confirm this conclusion of the seers when the former asserts, “Perhaps human mind will never be able to comprehend human mind”, and the latter says, “It is impossible to specify what it (consciousness) is, what it does, or how it evolved”. The Hindu or the Vedantic God Brahman is best described by five verses of the Kena Upanisad which read, “There no eye can penetrate. No voice, no mind can penetrate. … That, which cannot be expressed by speech. By Which speech itself is uttered. That, which mind cannot think. By which mind is thought. That which eye cannot see. By which the eyes have sight. That which ears cannot hear. By which ear is heard. That, which breathes not by the breath. By which breath is drawn in. That is Brahman….” (translated by.R. C. Zaenner). Thus according to Hindu view, consciousness is the Brahman, Consciousness is the God Almighty and It is also the soul or Ātman and our sense Self, Whom one can perceive only through pursuit of pure knowledge, or by yoga and meditation, or by deep devotion. According to Islam or Christianity, Allah or God resides in heaven and He controls the worldly phenomena by some type of remote control. But according to Hinduism, the Divine Consciousness Brhaman is the primeval constituent of this material world and Beyond this Consciousness there is nothing whatsoever, no other thing. This Supreme Consciousness Barhman controls every worldly phenomena from within and hence no external agent is needed for the purpose. Or in other words, the Divine Consciousness Brahman controls the microscopic phenomena here and also controls the distant cosmological phenomena there. So, Vedanta says, “What is here. That is there. (Katha, II-1-10). Aaccording to Vedanta, the Cosmic Consciousness Brahman is the ultimate cause behind every physical phenomenon and says, “This is the Lord of all. This is the Omniscient. This is the inner controller and both the origin and the end of all contingent beings” (Mandukya- 6). According to Indian school of thought, Atma or Brahman is ever free (mukta) and hence It cannot possess any attribute. Otherwise, That Brahman being the subject of the attribute, would have been in intimate bondage with the attribute, as heat cannot be separated from fire (Samkhya Pravachana Sutram, I-54). The point may be explained by the following example. Suppose a man is holding the chain of a dog. The common notion is that the man is free but the dog is bound to the man through the chain. But according to the Hindu view, the man is equally bound to the dog through the same piece of chain. From this viewpoint, Atma, as It is eternal and not susceptible to changes, cannot possess any worldly attribute. There is another concept in Hinduism which is absent either in Islam or in Christianity, and that is the concept of Avatara. The literal meaning is “one who descends”. Both the Christian God and Allah send messengers to the earth to propagate their teachings to human beings. But in Hinduism, Brahman Itself comes down to the earth as an Avatara to guide man during a crisis. There are many kinds of Avataras, according to their closeness to godhood. But Lord Krishna of Dwaraka is believed to be the purest and most Divine among the Avataras. There is another point to highlight in this context. Both Islamic Allah and the Christian God seem to be extremely biased. Allah is Rahmanir Rahim or kind and compassionate only to the Muslims alone and to the non-Muslim kafirs, He is a cruel killer, a ferocious demon and a violent despot. He is determined to heap inhuman torture and atrocities on them either in this world or in His hell. The Christian God is equally cruel to the heathens. But the Hindu God Lord Krishna treats His children, equally and says, “In all contingent beings the same am I; none do I hate and none do I fondly love. But those who worship Me with devotion, I am in them (Bhagavad-Gita: (9.39). From the above mentioned discussions, it becomes evident that the concept of God in Hinduism is based on extremely subtle philosophical arguments and scientific reasoning. In fact, there is not in a single instance where a scientific finding has ever gone against the conclusions of Vedanta. On the contrary, it is assisting one to understand Vedanta in a better way. As a matter of fact, science is playing the role of a laboratory to prove the truth contained in Vedanta. On the other hand, the concept of God (Allah) in Islam is extremely crude, illogical, unscientific and childish, and hence it is not possible for a rational mind to accept such a God. The basic task of science is to present a qualitative and quantitative description of nature, but due to its inherent limitations it is unable to accomplish its task beyond a certain limit. According to the Nobel Lauriat French physicist de Broglie, philosophy is destined to guide human intelligence after this limit, but he failed to ascertain which philosophy is to play that role. Many believe that, considering the entirety as well as completeness of thought, Hinduism is destined to take that sacred and historical responsibility. Days are not very far away when science will have to admit the existence of divinity (Brahman) in every speck dust, in every atom and in every molecule, as visualized by the Vedantic seers (Rishis) thousands of years ago. Apart from that, Hinduism is most humane among all the religions on earth as the Hindu God does propagate hatred. The Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), is a NGO, which is working for peace and amity between the people of these two neighboring countries. In November 21-22, 1998, it was holding its yearly convention at Peshwar, Pakistan. On that occasion the Pakistani delegate Dr Abdul Karim Naik, in his address, said, “Only the message of the Upanisads is capable of removing discriminations among the human race created on the basis of religion and nationality. Only Upanisads consider the entire humanity as a family and every person living in this world as a member of the world family.” So, it is evident that the God of Islam, Allah, Who divides the humanity into believers and non-believers (kafirs) and propagates hatred towards the kafirs, is incapable of producing lasting peace in this world. But it is a pity that the converted Muslims of this country are worshiping a God, fit to be worshipped by the illiterate and pastoral Bedouins Arabia. In fact, Allah is not a God at all. He is a cruel killer, whose eyes are always red-shot with anger (Koran- 9/33, 48/28 2/39). In short, He is a demon and is trying to establish Himself as the God of this world (not of the universe) with the help of the mujahidin through terror and bloodshed. So, it is better, sooner they reject that Arabian God and come to the God of their ancestors. “From unreal lead me to real, From darkness lead me to light, From death lead me to immortality” (Briha, I-3-28). Briha - Brihadaranyaka Upanisad Isha - Isha Upanisad Katha - Katha Upanisad Mandukya - Mandukya Upanisad Mundaka - Mundaka Upanisad Samkhya - Samkhya Pravachanasutram Svet - Svetasvatara Upanisad I felt it necessary to say a few words, as given above, to make a comparative study between the Islamic concept of Allah and the Hindu concept of Brahman, for the convenience of the reader and not for propagating Hinduism.


Name: Shafee al-Zindig
Date: Tuesday January 20, 2009
Time: 04:12:31 -0500

Comment

The problem with organized religions today is that their sacred texts are frozen in time. They are like the ancient laws of the Medes and Persians that cannot and must never be changed. That they were actually written by fallible men who reflected the biases, intolerant attitudes, misogyny and outdated beliefs of their time is evident to anybody who does not look at them through the veil of blind belief. Unfortunately the vain belief that these absurd teachings are from the God or the gods severely hampers the effort of sincere reformers who are seen as impious blasphemers who are presuming to be smarter and more ethical than the god/s who supposedly made these unjust divine laws. By seeking to overturn or ignore or re-interpret these laws, they face the wrath of those with vested interests who want to maintain them at all costs. To be fair though, we must acknowledge that the reformers of all the major religions, except Islam, are having greater success to meet the standards of equality and justice. Their battle is still far from over and their efforts must be acknowledged and supported. Islam unfortunately vainly believes itself to be perfect needing no reform and therefore presents the biggest challenge and threat to humanity.


Name: Sher AFzal
Date: Tuesday January 20, 2009
Time: 16:37:28 -0500

Comment

To all who comment on this site should unite against islamic fanatics not islam as fanatics are the enemy of mankind - 25 - 30yrs ago islam was not as bad as it is portrayed today. so unite against fanatics not islam - it is fanatics that have changed the world I hate fanatics just like you & so does islam. adam & eve are our parents & god is our creator no one can deny that? as for islam now & islam 25 - 30yrs ago how much has it changed with the koran still the same as it was then. its the twisted power mad fanatics to blame not islam there are still good muslims in islam only fanatics are to blame.


Name: to Sher AFzal
Date: Tuesday January 20, 2009
Time: 20:06:39 -0500

Comment

You should go back to the days of Muhammad, and through the subsequent centuries of Islam to get a real picture of it. Screws were tigthened upon Islam by the European colonists since the 18C. The colonists gone, Islam is returned to its old ways.


Name: Muslims Returning to Their Roots: Dr Radhasyam Brahmachari
Date: Wednesday January 21, 2009
Time: 11:16:06 -0500

Comment

21,000 Muslims embrace Hinduism in Agra and Roorkee (Haridwar) on Dec 25 2008 A total of 21 Prathamik Shiksha Vargas were held across Uttarakhand from December 26, 2008 to January 2, 2009. According to RSS Uttarakhand Prant Pracharak Shri Shiv Prakash some of the vargas were held in remote areas. Members of Prant Karyakarini attended all the camps. Shri Shiv Prakash himself attended ten camps. A total of 2,182 swayamsevaks from 700 places participated in the camps. Addressing the swayamsevaks at SGRR Inter College at Bhauwala in Dehradun, Shri Shiv Prakash said swayamsevaks are today engaged in various constructive activities. One of them is development of villages. He pointed out that swayamsevaks have adopted about 800 villages of the country for their total development. Swayamsevaks are striving hard to raise the standard of education and living and are disseminating awareness about the protection of environment there. The children who do not go to schools are inspired to go to schools. He emphasised the village temples should not merely be the place of worship but they should also be the place of infusing a sense of harmony into the people where people learn to co-operate one another. He said the Hindus should also embrace the Muslims whose ancestors were Hindu and a large section of them are willing to come back to their roots. He pointed out that about 15000 Muslims embraced Hinduism on December 25, 2008 in Agra and about 6000 Muslims were brought back to Hinduism at Roorkee in Haridwar last year. This process should go on. He said the yugdharma says the Hindus should accept the Muslims who want to come back to Hinduism. By Ravindra Saini


Name: Charles Martel
Date: Wednesday January 21, 2009
Time: 13:30:33 -0500

Comment

I am a Christian and certainly no fan of Hinduism, but Hinduism does not pose the dynamic, global threat to human freedom that Islam does. Hinduism had 4000 years to break out of the subcontinent and it hasn't, so I would consider mass conversions of Moslems to Hinduism as an improvement in the world situation. Look, by comparison, at the 1400 years of Moslem aggression and oppression.


 
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