Taslima's article sparks violence in Karnataka, 2 killed

The Indian Muslim clergy and the leadership needs to jump in on this.

As an individual she has the right to express her opinions whether we agree or not, as much as any one has a right to condemn her statements.

The major mistake Muslims are making is not to have a debate with her on the issues, that's the civil and democratic thing to do. She will lose debate "She told the Muslim women to burn the Burqa" as if she will start wearing a skirt if a westerner says "Burn the Saree, it is a sign of backwardness". Neither is a sign of backwardness, it is a culture that has evolved and no one will drop what they are used to on the sound of a word 'drop'. In a democracy, people should have the freedom to speak; the best way to combat a bad idea is to offer good ideas to compete.

The major mistake Muslims are making is not to have a debate with her on the issues. They did not have enough faith in their culture or religion to debate. Taslima would have easily lost in a debate from a few intellectuals and most likely she would not have gone on the attack binge.

Ms. Nasreen is a bellyacher and not a reformer. A reformer brings solutions to the issues and presents his or her research and asks the scholars to review and build consensus for a gradual acceptance of the proposed ideas. Instead, she agitates and builds resentment and does exactly opposite of what she claims to do; reform. Her approach is wrong and her statements may please the Islam-bashers and earn some circulation. However, her opinion does not affect the world or the religion of Islam.


Ref: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/11/asylum-for-taslima-nasrin.html
The role of a Muslim is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill.


Mike Ghouse is a thinker, writer, speaker, optimist and an activist of Pluralism, Interfaith, Co-existence, Peace, Islam and India. He is a frequent guest at the TV, radio and print media offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. His work is reflected at three websites and 22 Blogs at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

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Taslima's article sparks violence in Karnataka, 2 killed

SHIMOGA/BANGALORE/HASSAN: Two persons died and eight others were injured in Shimoga district of Karnataka on Monday following violent protests over the publication of an article by Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen on the burqa in a vernacular daily. While one of the victims died in police firing, the other died during the clashes.

The police opened fire after protesters, who were taking out a procession, burnt 12 two-wheelers, two tractors, two autos and pelted stones at buses and buildings. The deceased were identified as Mustafa and Ataulla.

According to home minister P V Acharya, there was trouble in Hassan too, with protesters burning two-wheelers, shops and raining stones on buses and buildings. But the situation there was more under control. About two dozen persons were arrested in connection with the incidents.

Curfew has been clamped until Tuesday morning in both districts. The police force was meagre in Shimoga with most of the personnel being deployed in other parts of the state on account of Holi. The intelligence wing is also said to have erred in assessing the situation when the protesters began attacking shops and went on a burning spree.

One of the victims of the violence in Shimoga, Karanataka, died after the police opened fire in the air to prevent loss of property during the protests over an article by Taslima Nasreen.

In fact, the district administration had appeal to community leaders not to go ahead with their procession plans, in vain. In Hassan, minority committee members gathered in large numbers and forced the closure of shops belonging to members of their community. Hassan additional SP Yellappa told TOI that a section of protesters turned violent after submitting a memorandum to the deputy commissioner.

But IGP (southern range) Jeevenkumar V Gaonkar said the situation was limping back to normal, but they would continue intensive patrolling across the town for the next couple of days. KSRP men and additional forces from other districts have been pressed into action.

Meanwhile, the Mysore police tightened security by erecting pickets at many spots. Police commissioner Sunil Agarwal said, "So far, no incident has been reported in the city, but we don't want to take chances."

Karnataka home minister P V Acharya said the government has taken all possible steps to check violence from spreading in the state. "We have ensured an elaborate bandobust in all 30 districts of the state and prohibitory orders have been clamped in several sensitive districts," he said.
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