There’s an interesting interview with Maulana Wahiduddin Khan in today’s New York Times on the topic of Salman Rushdie’s cancelled appearance in Jaipur. This is perhaps the most important point:
These protests were by a tiny minority, who are not representative of the Muslim community.
The protesters were completely wrong in doing what they did. Salman Rushdie has every right to come to this country. I heard his interview after the video conference was cancelled and agree with him when he said that all other freedoms rest on the freedom of expression. If you abolish the freedom of expression, all other freedoms will cease to exist.
As I read this, I was reminded of a commenter on my recent post on Islamophobia who was grumbling that Muslims fail to speak out against terrorism and extremism. So I thought s/he might find it gratifying to read about another example of Muslims in India combatting these unwelcome forces. This is New Age Islam, which sends me regular emails (I’m not sure why, but they are quite interesting) and which you can read more about here:
Shahin sees New Age Islam as part of a global effort by believers to reclaim Islam from the religious right, and address the questions and conflicts which confront believers in the twenty-first century. “Islam,” he argues, “is a spiritual experience; a system of beliefs through which believers seek to live a meaningful life. For the Islamists, though, religion is primarily a tool through which they seek power. In practice, they worship power, not Allah.”
