‘Khuda Hafiz, Muslim India!’ I was taken aback by this editorial in the December issue of the highly influential monthly journal founded by Syed Shahabuddin. I didn’t expect the redoubtable fighter for the cause of Muslims in India to give up, saying, “Muslim India was my favourite child, nurtured with love, time, energy and money for more than twenty years...Agonisingly, I realised that, with poor health and faltering finances, I had no option but to call it a day. So, the last issue is in your hand.”
I have been an avid reader of Muslim India, also an admirer of Shahabuddin. Not because I agreed with him. Indeed, I disagreed with much of what his journal contained and the sectarian perspective that he brought to bear on the issues he championed. I had first criticised his approach way back in the 1980s, when in a letter in response to his article in the Illustrated Weekly of India (now long-defunct), I had objected to his use of the phrase ‘Muslim India’ and argued that ‘Indian Muslims’ was a proper, non-communal alternative to it. The difference between the two phrases is salient to how we view the past, present and future of the place of Muslims in India.
Despite my differences with Shahabuddin, I have continued to admire him for two reasons. First, persons like him with deep conviction and commitment, who struggle tirelessly for a cause that transcends their personal interests, are always worthy of praise. In spite of the high profile he had in public life, he ran his journal from a very humble office. Genuine respect for the person with whom you disagree is a prerequisite for meaningful dialogue for the larger cause of Hindu-Muslim harmony.
http://newageislam.com/khuda-hafiz,-pakistan?-/the-war-within-islam/d/2362
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9:26 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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