T Thomas: A misunderstood religion called Islam

Schools and hospitals set up by Islamic trusts can initiate steps to integrate Muslims with the rest of society through liberal admission norms.

This year Diwali and Id fell in the same week. Both are joyous occasions""one marking the return of Lord Ram from exile and the other the end of 30 days of fasting and abstinence. In a city like Mumbai, the colourful Diwali decorations of Crawford Market merge into the Ramzan Id festival in the adjacent area of Mohammed Ali Road, where Muslims are predominant. All celebrate and wish one another.

We need to ask, is Islam perhaps a much-misunderstood religion. The 1993 bomb blasts, following the demolition of Babri Masjid, and the more recent July 2006 bomb blasts in Mumbai's suburban trains have led many people in India to equate aspects of Islam with terrorism. The September 11, 2001, incident in New York turned most of the Western world to that way of thinking. Yet Prophet Mohammed never propagated violence while imparting his teachings. He urged his followers to fast and pray and to give a part of their wealth to charity. Many Muslims carry out these obligations very diligently even today. Muslims revere Jesus Christ as a prophet. According to Islam, Jesus did not die on the Cross and it will be Christ who will return on Judgment Day. In spite of this acknowledgement of Christ in Islam, the Christian West is more anti-Islam than even the Hindus of India, who suffered under Islam for five centuries.

The misunderstanding and prejudice about Islam are so pronounced and widespread that some prominent Muslims may feel embarrassed about how Islam and Muslims are perceived. According to me, this is a negative attitude which does not help. True Islam is nothing to be ashamed of. It is different from Hinduism, as it is a monotheistic religion similar to Christianity, where there is only one god. In Hinduism, god has many forms and incarnations. Similarly in Christianity there is the concept of the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost, which is in some ways not dissimilar to the Hindu Trinity of Creator (Brahma), Sustainer (Vishnu) and Destroyer (Shiva). Islam has no such ambiguity about God. There is only one Allah. One of the most appealing aspects of Islam is its emphasis on charity. When one goes to the airport in Mumbai, one has to pass through a narrow and crowded road at Mahim, where there is a large mosque. The locality is predominantly Muslim. It nestles between the predominantly Maharashtrian Hindu area of Shivaji Park and the markedly Christian stretch of the Mahim Church, famous for its novena miracles and the schools attached to it. Every Wednesday, thousands flock to this St Mary's Church to pray, including a large number of non-Christians. The belief is that if you worship there for nine Wednesdays, your submissions to God will be answered. Similarly, every Wednesday hundreds line up on the footpath outside the Muslim mosque to be fed by local Muslims. No one asks them whether they are Muslims or Hindus, and everyone is fed. This one-mile stretch of road from Shivaji Park to the Mahim causeway can be said to be a true representation of the religiosity that exists in India, alongside religious tolerance. That indeed is the innate strength of our society.

Prominent Indian Muslims owe it to themselves and to the whole society to stand up for the good things in Islam, so that the myths and misunderstandings can be dispelled. This does not have to be done in a combative manner, but in a gentle and rational way. They can also initiate steps that will integrate Islamic institutions with the rest of the community. For instance, schools set up by Islamic trusts can be made accessible and acceptable to children from all religions. If such schools want to impart the teachings of Islam, they can set apart certain periods for Muslim children to be instructed in their religion, like the Christian missionary schools do. In addition, the curriculum can include lessons on other religions and introduce children to the comparative study of all religions, the universal belief in a Creator and the need to observe certain humanitarian disciplines of behaviour so that society can function for the benefit of all. This will be somewhat similar to the teachings of "Moral Science" (not Christian scriptures) in some of the Christian schools.

The other step which will help to integrate Muslims closely with other communities will be setting up world-class hospitals where people from all religious groups can get treated. Mumbai has some very highly qualified and competent male Muslim doctors. But it is rare to find a Muslim woman doctor and almost impossible to find a Muslim nurse. If more young Muslim women become doctors and nurses and treat people of all religions, it will facilitate the process of understanding and integration. If some of the mosques in Mumbai could endow a hospital and a medical college which are open to people from all religions, it will do more to create inter-religious goodwill. Christianity has acquired a softer image because of the hospitals and schools provided by Christian churches.

Ultimately, all of us have to realise that we are Hindus, Muslims or Christians not because we studied these religions, evaluated them and chose one or the other. We belong to a particular religious group simply because of the accident of being born into a family that had adopted that particular religion. Once we realise this fact, it will become easier to respect other religions just as we respect our own. True and mature religious conviction usually comes to us at a mature age. By that time most people would have realised that all religions lead to the same God, whether he is called Rama, Krishna, or Allah.