MY Trip to India (2)
Ismail Imadudeen
December 12, 2008
Lessons in Tolerance
The area where I had a stay in Hyderabad was in the outskirt of the city; in a high point. The majority of people in Hyderabad are Hindus but you can find many Muslims, many Mosques and some Arabic influence, except in that particular area where I stayed. It was the first time then for me to feel that I was a minority or a stranger. I didn´t actually know what it meant to be a minority or how did it feel, but I could understand this that time. I had never experienced also to have all eyes on me wherever I went like the way it was in that place. So I was some kind of an alien or something in that place! Although earlier I met Hindu people in Qatar and I found them to be very peaceful people, I was still under the influence of some of the media propaganda that tried to promote the idea that there was deepened hatred and extreme distrust between Muslims and Hindus in India.
However, all those unjustified feelings came to an end as a result of my day to day experience with the Indian people. The area where I was staying had about 5% or even less of its population Muslims, but yet I was astonished to hear the ´Azan,´ or the prayer call for Muslims, echoing loudly; the same as in any Arabic town or Islamic city! ´So how about those disturbances that arise always between the Hindus and Muslims that I used to see on the TVs?´ I asked my self in wonder. This was a lesson I got not to always believe what the media is trying to promote! When I went to the Mosque to pray with my friend I found only a few worshippers, and when I asked my friend about that he assured me that these were all the Muslims in that area! ´So these Hindu people must be very peaceful,´ I wondered. Although we were extreme minority in that area, we could perform our prayers in absolute security and contentment.
The family whom I stayed with, were all Muslims; they used to tell me that all Indians feel that they belong to India, and that religion doesn´t really matter. Sometimes I thought that these were mere statements, but indeed every daily aspect of life assured that. One day I found the young people in that family dancing and cheering on the street with their friends. There was then a procession for a huge statue, and I knew later that it belonged to one of the most worshipped Hindu Gods ´Ganish,´ or ´Ganesh.´ It was then the Hindu festival of that God, but what really amazed me was the kind of joy and belongingness that those young Muslim fellows experienced with their Hindu friends. I recalled my earlier memories with my Christian friends in Egypt, and how we used to play in joy in both the Muslim and Christian festivals, but I can say that what I saw in India outweighed every example of tolerance and understanding that anyone can imagine! In fact I got some kind of envy that I hoped to see the same kind of that extraordinary tolerance in my own country and in the Middle East region as a whole! I dreamt that time of the day when no one is asked about his religion or sect; when all the Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Middle East live in complete harmony and understanding; an Indian- type one! All those thoughts were just inside my mind while I was watching the festivities around me.
One day, I was invited by a Hindu neighbor. When I entered the house my attention was caught by the line of photos hanged on the wall. I hoped if I could make a copy of that wall and show it to the whole world to learn a lesson or two. What were hanged there on that wall were simply a group of pictures represented almost all the faiths in India. In that Hindu house I found photos of the famous Hindu Gods, beside a photo of Jesus Christ and Mother Marry, and guess what? A photo of Mecca and ´Qaba;´ the holiest shrine for Muslims. I asked that neighbor ´What do these pictures mean to you?´ He answered simply that he believed in all the Gods and that whichever ´Godly´ inspiration from any faith would give him some kind of enlightenment in his life!
One time, I was surprised to find the grandmother of the Muslim family whom I was staying with, reading Quranic verses on a neighboring child who was there with his mother. When I asked my friend about those people he said that that woman came because her son suffered from severe headache and that she wanted the old grandma to read the Quran on him so as to bless him and give him some relief. And when I asked him about their religion, he told me that they were Hindu! ´This is really too much,´ I told my self. I was very much confused that time. ´Is there any thing like that?´ I asked my self in wonder, but this was India, a wonderful place of wonderful people.
All my days in Hyderabad gave me many lessons in tolerance; I realized that the dream of a peaceful world is possible and can exist, if only those greedy and profit-motivated politicians and beneficiary groups leave people alone! During my stay I read many Indian news papers, and I read about many incidents of ethnic disturbances here or there in India. ´Where are these things happening?´ I asked my self. I found many columns by Hindu extremists who called for banning religion conversion and the necessity for the Hindus to rule ´their´ country. I realized that it is the politicians and the media men who try to poison life for people, and for what? For their own sake of course; let people die, let people vanish, let people fight, it doesn´t matter as long as those politicians and media men are gaining power, money and strength. Religion paves the easiest way to get money! Religion is the easiest means to get power and influence! Isn´t that funny! It is, but it is true. That time I found something very similar between the Middle East and India; it was the winning card for the politicians and other groups in the two regions; it was the ´religion´ card.
Now the whole world is following with horror the news from India. My full heart and sympathy are with India and the Indian people. Again my Indian friends; politics and politicians are trying to spoil your lives. I call upon the Indian people to have some self restraint, and not to be carried a way with what the politicians or the media are trying to do. I call upon Pakistan, on the other hand, to show an example of a responsible Muslim nation, as it is perceived to be.
I pray for you all.
The area where I had a stay in Hyderabad was in the outskirt of the city; in a high point. The majority of people in Hyderabad are Hindus but you can find many Muslims, many Mosques and some Arabic influence, except in that particular area where I stayed. It was the first time then for me to feel that I was a minority or a stranger. I didn´t actually know what it meant to be a minority or how did it feel, but I could understand this that time. I had never experienced also to have all eyes on me wherever I went like the way it was in that place. So I was some kind of an alien or something in that place! Although earlier I met Hindu people in Qatar and I found them to be very peaceful people, I was still under the influence of some of the media propaganda that tried to promote the idea that there was deepened hatred and extreme distrust between Muslims and Hindus in India.
However, all those unjustified feelings came to an end as a result of my day to day experience with the Indian people. The area where I was staying had about 5% or even less of its population Muslims, but yet I was astonished to hear the ´Azan,´ or the prayer call for Muslims, echoing loudly; the same as in any Arabic town or Islamic city! ´So how about those disturbances that arise always between the Hindus and Muslims that I used to see on the TVs?´ I asked my self in wonder. This was a lesson I got not to always believe what the media is trying to promote! When I went to the Mosque to pray with my friend I found only a few worshippers, and when I asked my friend about that he assured me that these were all the Muslims in that area! ´So these Hindu people must be very peaceful,´ I wondered. Although we were extreme minority in that area, we could perform our prayers in absolute security and contentment.
The family whom I stayed with, were all Muslims; they used to tell me that all Indians feel that they belong to India, and that religion doesn´t really matter. Sometimes I thought that these were mere statements, but indeed every daily aspect of life assured that. One day I found the young people in that family dancing and cheering on the street with their friends. There was then a procession for a huge statue, and I knew later that it belonged to one of the most worshipped Hindu Gods ´Ganish,´ or ´Ganesh.´ It was then the Hindu festival of that God, but what really amazed me was the kind of joy and belongingness that those young Muslim fellows experienced with their Hindu friends. I recalled my earlier memories with my Christian friends in Egypt, and how we used to play in joy in both the Muslim and Christian festivals, but I can say that what I saw in India outweighed every example of tolerance and understanding that anyone can imagine! In fact I got some kind of envy that I hoped to see the same kind of that extraordinary tolerance in my own country and in the Middle East region as a whole! I dreamt that time of the day when no one is asked about his religion or sect; when all the Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Middle East live in complete harmony and understanding; an Indian- type one! All those thoughts were just inside my mind while I was watching the festivities around me.
One day, I was invited by a Hindu neighbor. When I entered the house my attention was caught by the line of photos hanged on the wall. I hoped if I could make a copy of that wall and show it to the whole world to learn a lesson or two. What were hanged there on that wall were simply a group of pictures represented almost all the faiths in India. In that Hindu house I found photos of the famous Hindu Gods, beside a photo of Jesus Christ and Mother Marry, and guess what? A photo of Mecca and ´Qaba;´ the holiest shrine for Muslims. I asked that neighbor ´What do these pictures mean to you?´ He answered simply that he believed in all the Gods and that whichever ´Godly´ inspiration from any faith would give him some kind of enlightenment in his life!
One time, I was surprised to find the grandmother of the Muslim family whom I was staying with, reading Quranic verses on a neighboring child who was there with his mother. When I asked my friend about those people he said that that woman came because her son suffered from severe headache and that she wanted the old grandma to read the Quran on him so as to bless him and give him some relief. And when I asked him about their religion, he told me that they were Hindu! ´This is really too much,´ I told my self. I was very much confused that time. ´Is there any thing like that?´ I asked my self in wonder, but this was India, a wonderful place of wonderful people.
All my days in Hyderabad gave me many lessons in tolerance; I realized that the dream of a peaceful world is possible and can exist, if only those greedy and profit-motivated politicians and beneficiary groups leave people alone! During my stay I read many Indian news papers, and I read about many incidents of ethnic disturbances here or there in India. ´Where are these things happening?´ I asked my self. I found many columns by Hindu extremists who called for banning religion conversion and the necessity for the Hindus to rule ´their´ country. I realized that it is the politicians and the media men who try to poison life for people, and for what? For their own sake of course; let people die, let people vanish, let people fight, it doesn´t matter as long as those politicians and media men are gaining power, money and strength. Religion paves the easiest way to get money! Religion is the easiest means to get power and influence! Isn´t that funny! It is, but it is true. That time I found something very similar between the Middle East and India; it was the winning card for the politicians and other groups in the two regions; it was the ´religion´ card.
Now the whole world is following with horror the news from India. My full heart and sympathy are with India and the Indian people. Again my Indian friends; politics and politicians are trying to spoil your lives. I call upon the Indian people to have some self restraint, and not to be carried a way with what the politicians or the media are trying to do. I call upon Pakistan, on the other hand, to show an example of a responsible Muslim nation, as it is perceived to be.
I pray for you all.
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