Team Blitz India
‘WE are privileged to be Muslims of India. It is a great privilege. Let us not underestimate it. Who did what and when? Let’s leave that to books. We know that we are privileged. We know that we are grateful to God for keeping us in our motherland,” said MJ Akbar, eminent author, journalist and former minister in the Indian Government, in New Delhi on March 3.
Akbar was speaking at an event organised by the Khusro Foundation to mark the release of the book, What is the reality of Ghazwa-e-Hind? that debunks the concept of Ghazwa-e-Hind, one of the most misinterpreted concepts.
The book is edited by Dr Hafeezur Rahman, convener of the Khusro Foundation. Published in English, Hindi and Urdu, it is a compilation of eight essays by Islamic scholars and religious leaders. The launch function was attended by prominent Muslim intellectuals and Ulemas.
A myth debunked
Ghazwa e Hind is an apocalyptic prophecy attributed to Prophet Mohammad in which he is said to have predicted that Islamic forces will conquer India before the apocalypse. For a long period of time, this fabricated Hadith has been quoted to justify a clash of civilisations. The book is the first-ever serious work of scholarship in the world to debunk the myth of Ghazwa-e-Hind.
Akbar, in his speech, said Islam should not be blamed for the sins of Muslims. He said that there is a lot of misunderstanding about Islam and it is important to understand the faith. “The tragedy of Islam is really very often, I believe not those who believe in it but those who claim to believe in it. What is the term used by the Holy Quran for Allah? Anyone who reads the namaz wherever knows that Allah is Rab-ul-Alameen. Nowhere is Allah called Rab-ul-Muslim. He is the creator of all human beings,” said Akbar while drawing attention to several verses of the Quran.
Akbar said that if Allah created all of us, who are we to judge each other? He said, “The only mandate we have been given is to live in peace. We have not been given the mandate to kill. The Prophet warned Muslims only about one community. He came to a pact with every other community. There is only one community which the Prophet said that you cannot come to terms with. That is the hypocrites. Regrettably, the voice of hypocrisy is drowning up the voice of Islam.’’
First modern State
He added, “A hundred years ago also began the era of nationalism and India was in the forefront of creating a nation state in the modern era. So, we are the first modern State. What the four principles of modernity? Democracy- we have it. Freedom of faith- without that, you can’t be a modern nation. China may be a successful nation but China is not a modern nation because it has no democracy. It has no freedom of faith.
Gender Equality- without that, there can be no modernity… And of course, Poverty Elimination- that too, we are witnessing now. This is what Indian Muslims have got in free, independent and democratic India. And we know through our experience. We know through what we have lived through. And we know because we have eyes to see, ears to hear and the intellect to understand what is happening in the world beyond.’’ He said that Prophet Muhammad spent most of his life under persecution but there was no call to war during the Prophet’s time- not even when his life was under threat.
Fraudulent, mischievous
He said that Ghazwa-e-Hind is not just fraudulent but also mischievous. “There are ten rules of Jihad to be followed. It is not as simple as it is made out to be. You cannot even burn trees, not to talk of killing human-beings.”
Akbar asked the audience to look back at years around 1919-1920 and see which model has succeded. The model of violence or the model of non-violence? The Communist State created by violence has crumbled and collapsed. He added that the Gandhian concept of non-violence has proven to be more sustainable.
Dr Hafeezur Rahman, in his speech, said he felt compelled to tell the world that the entire concept of Ghazwa is flawed. Ghazwa, he said, is an Arabic word which implies a war that was led by Prophet Mohammad. “This is a completely false narrative and, therefore, the urgent need to debunk it completely,” he stressed. Dr Rahman said the book aims to promote inter-faith understanding and challenge the narrative that can imperil the shared heritage and composite culture in India.
