SHOULD  K.R.RAVI  BE  BANNED OR KILLED ?

I received  a few emails  in  the wake of my blog ‘SHOULD WE BAN RELIGION?’.  asking me why I had used the term ’Islamic terrorism’ .’How is it that nobody refers to Hindu terrorism of LTTE?’ asked an irate reader. Good question .

Another reader sent my  a one line email. ‘BAN  K.R.RAVI’. Another said tersely  ‘DEATH   TO      K.R.RAVI THE INFIDEL’. It was signed ‘OBL’. I am sure this is a  joke!

In case you do not  hear from me   you can blame or  thank [DEPENDING ON YOUR REACTION TO MY BLOG]a frail sick man in a cave in Afghanistan !

Why do I refer to Islamic terrorism? The reason is that the terrorists  themselves refer to [Salafi or Wahabi ] Islam  whenever they commit such ghastly acts like  killing innocent people. Even the names of their outfits smack of Islam. ‘Jaish E Mohammed’ [meaning the Army of Prophet Mohammed]  for example.

The terrorists have repeatedly proclaimed their hatred for Hinduism and other faiths. Osama Bin Laden was once asked when there could be an end  to terrorism. He famously replied that peace  would come when all lands once ruled  by Muslims  including India are returned to Muslim rule and all religions other than  Islam are wiped out .

Need further proof ?

Read this news item based on an email sent by someone connected to the perpetrators of the recent bomb blats in Jaipur [which  provoked me to write my blog Should….banned]

I have omitted parts of the email that are serious but not relevant to my topic. Read carefully the highlighted portion.

E-mail traced, UP police detain cyber cafe owner

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh police have detained a cyber cafe owner and his employee in Ghaziabad from where the e-mail claiming responsibility for Jaipur serial blasts were reportedly sent.

Shyam Bir, owner of Naveen Computer Jobs, a cyber cafe in Sahibabad area of Ghaziabad, and his employee are being interrogated by police officials to find out the details of the persons who may have sent the e-mail.

They have also detained 40 others, most of them Bangladeshis.

Indian Mujahideen, which has claimed responsibility for the Jaipur serial bomb blasts on Tuesday evening,…Apparently the outfit is divided into three wings: Shahbuddin Gouri Brigade, to attack Southern India, Mahmood Ghaznvi Brigade, to attack Northern India and Shaheed al-Zarqawi Brigade, dedicated to suicide attacks

The e-mail also says Jaipur was chosen as a target as the organisation intended to hit at the country’s tourism industry. The e-mail reportedly says the blasts were triggered to demolish people's faith in the 'dirty muds' in the name of Hanuman, Sita, and Ram

 The highlighted portion may   settle any doubts anyone may have  on why most people refer to ‘Islamic terrorism’. My Muslim friends —moderates all of them—tell me that while they are not in agreement with some Hindu beliefs and practices they  harbour no hatred for it and  certainly do not wish its demise . Nor do they expect Hindus to en masse embrace Islam. Did the Prophet of Islam not say ’To each his own religion?’ Incidentally it is not widely known that some Indians travelled all the way to Arabia when they heard of the Prophet. They took  with them gifts including ginger or adhrak. The Prophet not only enjoyed  adhrak but referred to India as the spiritual capital of the world. Are Islamic terrorists listening ?

Then there is another question –the LTTE factor. Why do people not refer to their acts as ‘Hindu Terrorism?’ A scholar as erudite as the late Dr. Rafiq Zakaria asked this question. I may shock many readers by informing them that LTTE chief Prabhakaran is   a Christian ! His band of marauders includes  Christians and a few Muslims apart from Hindus. Prabhakaran demands a TAMIL  Homeland not a HINDU   homeland. In any case neither Prabhakaran nor his  men claim that they are influenced by  any Holy Book.

We need to distinguish between  TERRITORIAL AND ISLAMIC TERRORISM. This distinction is  not just  a play with words but makes a serious difference  to  our approach to the crisis .  

Islamic terrorism based as it is on religion, is  predicated on  non- negotiable demands like  the  whole world embracing Islam , India being handed,  over  to a Muslim ruler etc. This will never happen. That’s why I had stated in my earlier blog that we have no  ‘ solution’  to the crisis of terrorism and have to wait it out till the terrorists realize  the futility of their ‘ cause’ .

As for the  equally reprehensible Territorial  brand of terrorism , solutions exist or can be found  given time, patience, give- and- take and creative solution finding.

One more interesting information. A  new type of terrorism is stalking large swathes of India.

According to media  reports the INDIAN GOVERNMENTS AT CENTRAL AND STATE LEVELS HAVE LOST CONTROL  ON OVER 30% OF INDIAN  TERRITORY to this violent movement .

It is called the NAXALITE MOVEMENT  in India and THE MAOIST MOVEMENT in Nepal.

What is intriguing is that the Nepalese Maoist movement is headed by a nominally  Christian Prachanda who is now the Prime Minister of Nepal. He is probably  an atheist like his counterparts in the Naxalite movement  in  India  !

Should we ban atheism ?Just kidding .

K.R.RAVI

USA