Put Modi on Trial in a Public Court

Non-conviction does not necessarily mean the innocence of the accused. A court decides on the basis of hard evidence and if there is not sufficient evidence, the court has every right to give a no conviction verdict. But the absence of evidence does not mean that the crimes were not committed and the accused was not involved in those crimes.

Evidence can be tempered, witnesses can be intimidated, tactics can be used to discredit the victim and judges can be influenced.

In a Gujarat court, the state chief minister was recently given a no conviction verdict because the court did not accept the evidence submitted by the victim regarding the murder of her husband by a mob in the presence of active state police.

Modi, commenting on the verdict used an old Sanskrit proverb meaning “truth ultimately prevails” and justified his innocence, claiming that since the Gujarat genocide in 2002, he has been living in pain and agony.

Only a narcissist  and the psychopath is capable of making such a statement and once again the prime ministerial candidate of India has proved beyond any doubts that he belongs to a class of leaders who do not care about justice, truth or peace to achieve their political ambitions and objectives.

The genocide committed against the Muslims of Gujarat was a premeditated and well-planned event. A political party, the Bhartiya Janata Party, (BJP) with an ideology of hate against Muslims is in power in Gujarat. It has the backing of a non-political organization, the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh, (RSS) that believes that India is only for Hindus (mainly upper castes). It believes in the establishment of Ram Rajya, which in simple English means a system of government where power would belong to those who are of higher castes. It promotes the idea of profanity of those who are not part of the Hindu caste system. It views the Muslim presence as the desecration of Mother India. It labels Muslims as enemies of the state and defines Islam a violent faith.

During his rule as Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat, the BJP succeeded in promoting the RSS volunteers in all private and public sector positions. Thus, from judges to the peons and from district collectors to constables, the party succeeded in securing its presence in all crucial positions. There were few who did not toe the party line and they were intimidated into silence.

The court verdict should not disappoint the victims. It should only strengthen their resolve to fight an evil that would go to any length in securing its interests.

If the Judiciary in Gujarat is insensitive to the demands of justice, then people should act in solidarity with the victims. Let those who believe in the supremacy of justice and truth put Modi on trial in a public court constituted by the people and let all the evidence be presented to solicit a fair judgment. This is the only way, the truth would be allowed to prevail.

If the judiciary and bureaucracy refuse to uphold the truth, people in a democracy are entitled to act on their own in a peaceful manner. The judgment of a public court would have far-reaching consequences than the judgment of a judicial court. The public court may not have the political authority to execute its decision, but it would have the moral authority to prove that truth ultimately prevails.

Modi may or may not be the next Prime Minister of India

The latest assembly elections in five Indian states do not offer good sign for Narendra Modi of the Bhartiya Janata Party, the Prime Ministerial aspirant of India even though his party has been given the mandate to run Delhi, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Prior to the election, Modi was sailing smooth and he appeared a viable and formidable candidate for India's top job. But the election results have changed all that.
The reason: The emergence of AAP (Aam Aadmi Party, Common People Party) as a major player in India's electoral politics. The AAP that was formed on October 2012 contested Delhi's election and won some 28 seats out of 70 upsetting the BJP as well as the Congress Party, the two main political parties in Delhi. AAP is not composed of seasoned politicians. It is a party of common people drawn from all sectors of Indian's society. It does not enjoy the patronage of any religious establishment or big corporations. It is not based on caste, religion or region. Its main goal is to rid Indian politics and bureaucracy of corruption. The corruption that is bigger in size in India's history since the beginning. A corruption that encompasses every aspect of Indian society.
In this corrupt environment, it fielded candidates with no previous political background in general whose strength was their character and social service. Even in a district which is the stronghold of the Hindu fascist BJP, it fielded a Muslim candidate who mustered over 17,000 votes challenging the notion that a Muslim candidate can only contest the election only from a Muslim dominated district. The leader of the Party himself challenged the three-term chief minister of Delhi risking his entire nascent political career.
The AAP wants transparency in Indian politics. It wants democracy to serve people and not the politician. It wants to eliminate corruption in political circles by making it a crime. It wants to give people the right to recall their elected officials. It wants to create a public evaluation board to keep an eye on the functioning of political leaders and it wants public officials to represent their constituents and not lobbies. Its strength lies in the support of the people, average people who are never remembered by politicians once the ritual of democracy is over.
These are the ideals that more than 70 percent of Indian voters under the age of 35 identify with. It is this section of Indian society that supported the AAP in Delhi. AAP was pitched against the cadre of the world's most disciplined and dangerous secret organization, the Rashtriya Swayam Sangh (RSS) the fascist ideological organization behind the BJP and other similar outfits. It also faced the rank and file of the oldest Indian political party, the Congress. The party did not have an elaborate organization and unlimited secret funds that every political group usually spends in India. It refrained itself from buying votes on the election eve, a common practice in India, where millions of dollars are distributed to buy votes. Both the Congress and BJP supporters gave away hefty cash to their potential voters. Liquor was distributed freely on the eve of the night.
AAP contested only from Delhi, Had it fielded candidates in other states, the BJP would not have got the majority anywhere, because a great majority of Indian voters seem to be sick and tired of the politics of Congress as a party that is immersed in corruption and the BJP, a party built on the bones and the blood of thousands of Indians killed in communal riots. Since people did not have any alternative they chose the one they found was appealing to their religious emotions.
BJP's politics is the politics of hatred, corruption, and revenge, while Congress politics is the politics of deception and corruption. Both have presided over the destruction of minority rights systematically.
The decision of AAP to sit as opposition in Delhi is a good decision as this would give the leadership an opportunity to focus on expanding the organization in different parts of the country. AAP has presented itself as a value-driven organization and it has made it clear that it would not share power with those whom it accuses of being corrupt or communal. Rarely, one finds such stand-in politics. AAP knows that an overwhelming majority of Indians does not subscribe to caste and religion politics. It wants clean governance at all levels and it has no sympathy for those who play divisive politics.
AAP has the capacity to channelize these sentiments in the upcoming election of Indian parliament because it is run by people and not by leaders. Thus, the party would pose serious challenges to both the fascist BJP and the corrupt Congress. The fascist party has its own cadre and it probably would get their full backing. But those who want to see a corruption-free India that does not favor any caste or religion and that does not promote a particular class would be enthusiastic for AAP as they were in the just concluded elections in states where an alternative was not available.
It is this alternative that offers Muslims and other minorities an opportunity to identify with.  Because India in the political hands of those who believe in a corruption-free India offers the best hope for minorities including Muslims. In Delhi, the Muslims voted for AAP but not as enthusiastically as they voted for Congress. The BJP hardly got Muslim votes. But this would change in the upcoming Indian parliament election as Muslims cannot keep them isolated from what is happening in the country. AAP would be seen as an alternative to Congress as BJP has never been a choice of the overwhelming majority of Muslims. The BJP also does not want loud Muslim support as it would hurt its own upper caste, hate-filled interest groups, including many in the US who have sent millions to the murderous Modi.
Narendra Modi was hoping a smooth sailing in the national election. But things would change now. He would be forced to talk about the corruption in his own state and the violence his state perpetrated against Muslims and other minorities. The blood of the innocents would haunt him and AAP and its supporters would ensure that the communal politics, the hallmark of BJP, is not allowed to dominate the election agenda. On the strength of the masses, the AAP would make the corruption as India's top agenda and through choosing candidates who would ensure clean politics, it would emerge as one of the most effective players in Indian politics. A new India is about to be born, an India where Modi would have no place, an India, where the masses would rise above their caste and religions to restore the dignity to common men. Thus, Modi's dream to become Prime Minister of the country would evade him even though his party seems to be intoxicated with the victory in the four states.

Living Together: No Crime and No sin, Says the Indian Supreme Court

The Indian Supreme Court in a recent ruling asked the people of India (parliament) to frame laws protecting the rights of women and children in live-in relationship. It has ruled that such a relationship is neither a crime nor a sin.
One needs to look at the accepted definitions of Live-in, crime and sin before commenting on the Supreme Court ruling
Live-in relationship is defined as a living arrangement in which two individuals who are not legally married, live together in a long-term relationship that resembles a marriage but not accepted as a marriage by society at large.
Crime means an act committed or omitted in violation of the law forbidding or commanding it and for which punishment is imposed upon conviction or a serious offense, especially one in violation of morality or an unjust, the senseless, or disgraceful act or condition.
And sin is described as an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.
In Indian law, fornication has not been prohibited. A man can have sexual intercourse with an unmarried woman over the age of 16 provided she consents to such a cohabitation. A person can also enter into adulterous relations with a married woman provided the husband has no objection. The Indian law intervenes only when non-consensual intercourse is committed with a married woman or with a minor. The Indian law also says that only a man can be proceeded against and punished for adultery, but the married woman cannot be, even as an abettor.
The Supreme Court has suggested that the rights of children born out of living together relations and women involved in such relations should be protected. In reality, the rights of men, women, and children must be protected regardless of the relationship among them. There is no need to have separate laws to protect the rights of people in this relationship as long as the law respects the equality of all Indians regardless of their background.
There are certain inalienable rights that cannot be denied to any individual. Among them are rights to live and to choose one's own lifestyle. However, no one in society has a right to weaken or destroy the primary social institution that is the foundation of human civilization, i.e. the family.
Long before the emergence of the modern state, it was the family that provided support to its men, women, and children, most of the times in a patriarchal arrangement but at times in a matriarchal situation too. The family was and is the human necessity as the life of an individual starts in a condition of total dependence upon others and ends in a situation of total dependence upon others. The family had rules and roles assigned to its members, especially the rules pertaining to conjugation and reproduction.
Humans had two options to select rules and roles pertaining to the family. Either they draw their own rules based on their likes and dislikes or they accept the rules given to them by a higher authority, God, Almighty, objective, and neutral who does not take sides of any gender or ethnicity or race.
It was the second option the humanity accepted and adopted a definition that ensured the continuity of roles assigned to various members of the family.
One of the fundamental rules in the divinely guided definition of the family dealt with the relationship with men and women. It was accepted that the conjugal relationship between a man and a woman should always be within the confines of marriage on the basis of contractual or sacramental ties witnessed by the people and approved by society. The purpose was not only to secure the interests of the couple, but also the rights of their children and other relatives.
Physical relation established outside these rules was considered illicit and a major sin carrying severe penalties. The purpose was to protect the dignity of both men and women and help them discipline their sexual urges and social responsibility in a meaningful manner.
Now, after some 8,000 years of recorded human history, we are back to where we began our human journey. Whose definition should we accept in defining the nature of the relationship between a man and a woman, i.e. the definition we as a human being evolves based on our limited knowledge, interests, and experiences or the definition received through divine guidance?
The Supreme Court said that people through their elected representative should define a family. It has also given a verdict on the 8,000-year-old wisdom of humanity that living-in without binding contractual or sacramental relations is neither a sin nor a crime.
The Supreme Court is not a lawgiver, it is a law interpreter and the decision that the live-in is not a sin or a crime is beyond its jurisdiction. It cannot give verdict on issues it is not competent to talk about. The Supreme Court follows the constitution that says that it would respect the religious beliefs of people. Hence, when it says that that live-in relationship is neither a sin nor a crime, it is showing disrespect to the people’s belief.
One of the definitions of crime describes it as an act in violation of morality or an unjust, senseless, or disgraceful act or condition.
In the eyes of the religious community of India or the world, physical relationship not based on a contract or sacrament is unjust, senseless and disgraceful from the perspective of their belief. Hence, by giving its verdict in this matter, the Court is again violating the constitutional clause that demands respect to the belief system of the people.
One should hope that the religious communities of India, regardless of their denomination would look into this verdict seriously and assert their right to make laws that would ensure the sanctity of marriage and family.

Singles, Sex, and Faith

Living together before marriage is generally accepted as a normal practice in the USA and Europe. Premarital sex in the USA and European societies has become a norm and even though adultery is illegal in 23 states in the USA, since 1983 no one has been punished while some 60 percent men and 42 percent, women reportedly commit acts of adultery in the country. In those states where adultery is still on the statute books, penalties vary from a life sentence in Michigan to a $10 fine in Maryland to a Class B misdemeanor in New York to a Class I felony in Wisconsin and to a fine of $500 in South Carolina.   

Islam advocates celibacy before marriage and defines pre-marital and extra-marital relations as greater sins and proposes strong penalties. The Quran says, "Nor come closer to illicit sexual intimacy (zina) for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil, opening the door (to other evils)." 17:32

Yet many in the Muslim community living in Europe and the USA and elsewhere cannot claim to be strict followers of their faith.  A good number of single men and women as well as married couples, mostly men, seem to be involved in pre-marital or extra-marital relations. There is no sociological study to substantiate the statistics, yet there are reports based on independent research of many journalists and social scientists that suggest incidents of pre-marital sex among Muslim men far exceed the incidents of similar behavior among Muslim women. By and large, Muslims avoid discussion on this subject often living under the assumption that their community is free from these acts.  Few would dare any write up and those who do would generally be looked down upon.

Yet it is an issue that one has to face, especially when it impacts the image of Islam and the health of the community. There are many disgruntled women, mostly non-Muslims, who feel betrayed by their Muslim boyfriends after living together for several years and there are many Muslim women who out of fear and social pressure are not willing to admit the intimate nature of their relations with their boyfriends in secrecy. It is an issue that deserves to be addressed openly, fearlessly and seriously.

With sex and the discussion about sex everywhere, the Muslim community cannot claim to save itself from its impact. It cannot simply close its eyes and say that “it’s a non-Muslim problem.” It has to deliberate the issue and work to strengthen young men and women to stand their moral grounds no matter how tough the circumstance may be. Sex is a physical activity, but it is born in the mind and ideas. But it is not a physical necessity (prior to developing authentic relations, assuming their responsibilities and consequences) without which a human cannot survive like food or water. So it is possible that if the mind is properly trained and the ideas are channelized into positive energy, people can control their sexual urges within a moral frame. But this would happen only when the discussion is open and objective.

It is one thing to say that God frowns upon those who indulge in illicit sexual relations, but it is another to study the causes of this lifestyle and pragmatically take steps to channelize the sexual urges within an ethical framework for the good of all. 
Not many are willing to admit that pre-marital sex is common among single Muslim male students in various colleges and universities especially among those enrolled as foreign students. There are incidents of extra-marital relations among students who live without their spouses.

Among the male students, this happens in different ways. The boy either enters into a temporary marriage relationship with a non-Muslim girl for a specific period of time or maintains a relationship in secrecy. In some cases, the boy even marries the girl in what he defines “Islamically”, without any legal contract or paperwork. In this situation, the couple approaches either an Imam or anyone they trust to conduct marriage Islamically. The marriage is not recorded under the assumptions that God is the greatest witness along with two other male witnesses. Such marriage is also solicited by married men. The women are generally non-Muslims and they are told that at a later time when it is appropriate the husband would divorce his first wife.

Temporary hookups through chat sites and dating agencies are also not uncommon among Muslim singles and married men. Usually, Muslim men and women come to these chat sites with non-Muslim names, regardless of the region they live in and slowly and gradually they reveal true identify once the possibility physical hookup becomes a reality. Usually, Muslims would avoid entering into these kinds of hookups with fellow Muslims of the opposite or same gender, yet, these unions are not rare.

Single Muslim men often start facing trouble, when their partner wants to declare their relations open. Most of the time such single Muslim men, who are not serious, do not introduce their girlfriends to their Muslim circles. However, when girlfriends ask for declaring this relationship in the open, they refuse and offer religious explanations admitting that they were wrong in maintaining these relations. This either terminates the relationship or assume different dimensions.

Ironically, many non-Muslim women take this relationship seriously and some try to familiarize them with Islam or even considering to become Muslims. Single Muslim men often avoid discussions about marriage under the plea that either they are not ready or their families are not. In this situation, the couple usually breaks up.

So what needs to happen to address the situation? First of all, Muslim social scientists and leaders should acknowledge that the issue is real and take it seriously and conduct objective studies to assess the true dimensions of this issue. Simultaneously, we should also develop a curriculum that addresses the issue of the relationship between boys and girls and men and women sociologically and pragmatically. The basic guidelines on this issue are given in the Quran explicitly, but often we, the believers, have failed to transmit this basic message in a manner that would empower individuals to take control of their lives. This should happen from an early age because in public or private schools and in circles of their peers, they are exposed to sex-related issues at a very tender age.
While, we Muslims, generally, leave it to an individual to navigate his or her way through the maze of information on sex, others offer structured courses on the subject to students as young as nine or ten. By the time, we intervene on behalf of our religion, the children are already exposed to information far better and tempting than the one offered by us. In fact, intervention at this time becomes counterproductive as it leads to stealth sexuality that no one would want to admit to one's elders or oneself. The situation often becomes explosive when the girl gets pregnant. This either results in the termination of pregnancy or sending the girl away from her circle. Very rarely, a Muslim girl uses DNA to determine the paternity to receive child support as this would violate the honor of the family. Often, the girl is punished while the sin of the boy is generally ignored. In situation, the boy often abandons the girl assuming that the secret would never come out. But with non-Muslim girls the situation is different. So, it is important that we begin the process of education at an early stage. We have to decide when it would be appropriate to introduce such subjects to students.

Only when one would have a strong foundation in a lifestyle guided by the divine teachings, one can hope to reduce such incidents in real relationships. The solution lies in empowering individuals with knowledge that would inspire them to be responsible and disciplined in every aspect of life. Where self-control would be an assertive way of life and where the relationship would not be used to serve feelings of self-indulgence. It is possible to control sexual urges but it would not come through condemning sexuality, but giving it a positive spin within a moral framework that is useful for everyone. Humans are their best supervisors and controllers, but we have to be empowered with the knowledge that would strengthen those aspects of our character inwardly.

Ashura and the Martyrdom of Imam Hussein

During the early period of the Prophet's mission in Makkah, Muslims fasted on Muharram 10^th and then they started fasting for two days in Medina on the 10^th and 9^th or 11^th of the month. Ashura refers to the 10^th of Muharram and according to Muslim beliefs in all religious traditions this day was of great significance. The literature about the fasting on the 10th of Muharram is all over the internet and one does not need to repeat that here. It is a significant part of our faith and the entire Muslim world recognizes that,
But this article would focus on what was said by Imam Ibn Taymiya about one of the greatest events in the early history of Muslims.
 وأما من قتل الحسين أو أعان على قتله أو رضي بذلك فعليه لعنة الله والملائكة والناس أجمعين, ابن تيمية في مجموع الفتاوى 4 / 487 

"The curse of God, the angels, and the entire community is on those who killed
al-Hussein assisted in killing him or accepted his killing. 
Ibn Taymiya, Majmou' al-Fatawa 4 / 487
فإن قتل الحسين وقتل عثمان من قبله كان من أعظم أسباب الفتن في هذه الامة وقتلتهما من شرار الخلق عند الله, ابن تيمية411 /3 الفتاوى
The killing of Hussein and Uthman before him is one of the great reasons for the temptations in the Muslim community and God regard their killers as the worst of people / Majmou' al-Fatawa, Ibn Taymiya

In our recent memory, the 10th of Muharram is remembered more for one of the greatest tragedies that occurred in the early history of Muslims. It was this day when Imam Hussein, son of Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad offered his life together with members of his family in the fields of Kerbala in Iraq. It was this day when an army claiming to be Muslims confronted the grandson of the Prophet and denied him even water before decimating him and his family. It is a tragic day for Muslims, nay for all the people in the world, and the 10th of Muharram reminds us of that constantly..

Shias observe this day as a day of great mourning reminding them of the sacrifices of Imam Hussein and his family. Sunnis on the other fast on these days and usually avoid participating in events organized to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.

Imam Hussein belongs to the entire Ummah and his sacrifices are for the entire Ummah and not just for one section of the community. He stood for the principles of Islam and not just in the interests of one section of the community. He stood for those eternal values of Islam that every Prophet preached to his people. He knew that life is sacred and a gift from Allah, yet he realized that there may come times in the life of individuals when the goals of life may become more important than life itself.

The goals of life he stood for are obvious. He believed that people should not be coerced to give political allegiance to leaders they disagreed with. People have a right to dissent with rulers and leaders with dignity and honor. The resources of a nation belong to all and not to one dynasty, or aristocracy or an elite group. Coercion and violence were weapons of despots in their campaign against truth and justice.

Thus, Imam Hussein challenged the decision of Ameer Muwaiya, the ruler of the Muslim world at the time, one of the companions of the Prophet, when he nominated his son Yezid as his successor. Imam Hussein was of the opinion that Islam was against the dynastic rule and the one nominated was not qualified to lead the nation of Muslims He was not alone in this opinion. Many of the companions in Medina and Makkah supported his ideas.

Against all odds, Imam Hussein challenged the forces of Yezid in Kerbala realizing that those who had promised to be on his side had betrayed him. He knew he would be crushed and his family would suffer the dire consequences. He knew that he would achieve martyrdom in the battlefield. Yet he decided to offer his life. Primarily to prove the point that goals of life are more important than life itself. He knew that compromise was not an option in these situations. He also realized that when the choice is so clear between right and wrong, one should offer all one has in defense of one’s ideals. His ijtihad and actions were based on his understanding of the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet and he stood by that.

It is this message Imam Hussein upheld and offered his martyrdom for. This message has been forgotten by one section of the community and highly expanded by the other. Shias mourn on this day. If they mourn the loss of the grandson as a token of love, it should be within the limits that his grandfather set for these occasions. Because the mourning and repentance should belong to those who betrayed Imam Hussein and refused to support him even after inviting him to continue his resistance. It does not behoove to those who see in the example of Imam Hussein a manifesto for the Ummah to rid itself from all sorts of despots and tyrants in every aspect of life. By and large, Sunnis have remained silent on his martyrdom in general not realizing that he stood for the principles that Allah introduced to the world through his grandfather.  

The tenth of Muharram, thus, is a day of great significance in Muslim history as it is a day when one of the great leaders of the community, Imam Hussein, knowingly and consciously accepted martyrdom for saving the soul of Islam. It could be a day to bring Shias and Sunnis together. Because it is a day of pride when the divine cause was given the priority over one's life and family. This day should be viewed as the day of deliverance.

Both Sunnis and Shias can focus on the message of the Imam and work together to rid their world of all sorts of despotism that have negated the essence of the divine guidance. 

Welcome to the Human-Machine Civilization

From the midst of the modern civilization is emerging yet another set of ideas that would probably exhaust all possible means to reportedly make human beings smarter to the extent of promoting a new scientific world known as human-machine culture.

By the year 2015, as predicted by Ray Kurzwell, one of 18 thinkers chosen by the US National Academy of Engineering to identify the great technological challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, "we will have intelligent nanobots go into our brains through the capillaries, and interact directly with our biological neurons." These nanobots, he concluded, would make us smarter, remember things better and automatically go into full emergent virtual reality environments through the nervous system."

We are on the brink of advances that, many argue, will change the face of the world, in a dramatic fashion, unknown and unseen by anything in the past. We thought the computer was the smartest invention we ever had. The emerging new changes will make every scientific discovery up till now seem primitive.

The idea of placing tiny robots implanted in our brains to give us more intelligence will indeed change the way we think, act and respond, some argue.

However, in realistic terms, those who will design the software for such robotic implantation would essentially control the definition of everything that goes with the word "smart". The software engineers will determine, based on the guidelines given to them by consumer-driven multinational-controlled capitalism, how to interfere with human nature in terms of proposing courses of actions that would serve their interests.

Under this new so-called nanobot technology, we would be virtual slaves to those who will manufacture the best software, something that the rulers of the world were unable to do in the past. We witnessed in our long recorded history several attempts to subjugate human will to the dictates of the most powerful people at the helms of affairs, yet none could even come close to controlling human thinking and actions as this nanobot inventors intend to do.

This will create the ability to make us eat, drink and do what we are told by robotic implanting. We could be thinking about the way we are programmed. But how will that be done?

According to the Quran we believe that human beings are created by the divine with part of the created energy infused in us (Quran; 32:9, 15:29, 38:72, 21:91, 66:12). We believe that God is the one who creates, invents, and designs (40:64,59:24, 64:3). We believe that He is the one who has created us with the faculty of rationality that gives us options to choose between various alternatives available in all aspects of life (3:191). We also believe that in a world that is yet to come, we will be questioned for all our actions in this world as well as in the world hereafter (2:210).

In a nanobot controlled and driven world, rationality would be determined by the investors in the device, alternative actions will be drafted by programmers, and choices will be pushed by competing entrepreneurs and so on so forth.

If our nature is tempered with devices, the whole issue of the existence of the creator would come into question. Many, who have already written an obituary of God, would triumphantly blow the trumpet of their victory, claiming that the human mind has finally been liberated with the biggest and longest superstition it carried for millenniums. But could they really make such a claim and would such a claim be valid?

This brings us back to the question posed earlier: How will this be done? Well, software interacting with our brain cells, may be used to block our diverse thinking capabilities. Even though those cells may still be there, yet their effectiveness may be destroyed or altered as a result of this calculated intervention.

Regardless of what and how it happens, the fact is that those who are working on these technologies are doing so within the framework of mental capacities they are endowed with by God that is the ultimate creator, a creator who created balance in everything including ourselves. The creator reminds us in His revealed wisdom that "He will constantly show us signs in our universe and in ourselves till we come to the conclusion through a manifest reality that the He is the ultimate truth" (Quran 38:53). 

Science has helped us identify, locate and discover signs of God in this universe in our quest to understand the divine creation. Science, through its method of controlled experimentation, has allowed us to conquer our own ignorance in various fields and would continue to do so. Science has made us more efficient and not necessarily smarter. Despite all the discoveries and advancements, we are still subject to our biases in defining our world within a range of limited knowledge that we have.

We are still searching for some direction in our lives, a direction that would help us ensure that the inconsistencies that we have shown in our behavior and attitude in our relations with each other and the universe, are overcome. We still find ourselves at a loss to understand that despite the monumental progress that we have achieved, why do people in our world kill the fellow human beings at a rate of one person every 45 seconds? Why does there occur a rape every ten-seconds in our world? Why do more than one billion people sleep hungry every night despite the fact that the world has enough food to feed the next several generations? Why are there still wars for national supremacy? Why do people commit suicide at the rate of one every 5 minutes? Why do we have so much injustice built into our social structures despite all the unprecedented achievements that we have made over the centuries? Why does the notion of racial, ethnic and cultural superiority still dominate our way of thinking? 

To be a smart person means that that we address these issues on the basis of free choice that we all have been endowed with, we on the basis of ideas that we are exposed to. To be a smart person means that we discover ourselves on our own rather than through some devices that may serve the purpose of those who have always sought to control us for their interests. If the emerging scientific realities help us achieve our independence, we should be the first one to adopt and accept them. However, if they are meant to deprive us of our freedoms and rationality based on our origin, we must not be skeptical about their discoveries or inventions, but about their usefulness to us. We know that things are not static. Change is inbuilt in our universe in terms of learning about new divine signs every day. How to channel this change for our own good and the good of human beings based on an understanding of the self and the universe beyond time and space, is the task that we all face and this task will remain unaccomplished without the divine guidance.

IM, ISI, RSS, and R&AW

With the exception of ISI, all other groups mentioned above are India based.

R&AW is the CIA of India. It obtains and analyses information about foreign governments, corporations and persons, Indian and non-Indians and advises the policymakers. It was established in 1968 and since then it is run by professionals who are mostly drawn from India’s top caste, Brahmins.

Inter-Service Intelligence or ISI established in 1948 is R&AW’s counterpart in Pakistan. It specializes in the collection, analysis, and assessment of external intelligence, either military or non-military. Its top leadership is drawn from three main military services

The Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) was established in 1925 to unite Hindus under the leadership of Brahmins. It propagated the idea that India is for Hindus only and minorities and all those who are not part of the Hindu caste system must remain subservient to Hindus. It carried out acts of violence against minorities, especially against Muslims since its inception. Over the years, it has formed militant groups who engage in attacks on minorities.  It was banned immediately after independence, but now has become a formidable force in Indian politics.

Indian Mujahideen (IM) came to limelight in 2008. Its aim is to create Islamic Caliphate in South Asia. Experts believe that the organization was composed of lower cadres of the former Student Islamic Movement of India, a youth group, established in 1977 by Jamat-e-Islami, India. The organization is banned in India, the UK, the US, and other places.

The Hindu-Muslim politics of India and Pakistan is the story of these four major outfits. It’s a story that is buried under secrecy as no one really knows the true and inner dimensions of these groups unless leaks by former members reveal their inner functioning.

The two intelligence groups have created and supported groups in both countries to fulfill their mission and vision. They have their own politicians, public officials, journalists, celebrities and people belonging to all sectors of society serving their organizational goals. The other two have a relationship with them in matters that are useful for intelligence gatherings.

A public incident like that of the following illustrates the modus operandi of intelligence organizations and groups that work for them

Some time ago, an Indian Police officer K.V. Unnikrishnan, who was the station chief of India's R$AW between 1985-1987 was trapped by the CIA to reveal that India was providing training to Tamil freedom-seeking groups and arming them to create a Tamil State in Sri Lanka. Unnikrishnan was later arrested by the Intelligence Bureau. He was stripped of his IPS status and sent to Tihar Jail for one year for revealing the state secrets.

The revelation substantiated the suspicion that people already had that intelligence agencies were manipulating groups and individuals in the two countries to run their operation and serve their purposes.

Pakistan’s intelligence agency is primarily concerned about the stability of the country. India’s intelligence is not only concerned about the security of the country, but also about the supremacy of Hindu upper castes in India’s organizational and political structure. R&AW is not known for allowing minorities to be on its sensitive positions. Brahmans are the ones who are preferred on top and crucial positions.

RSS wants to create a Hindu state and it sincerely believes that it can. For almost 90 years, it has worked hard towards that goal. Its members are found in all branches of the government as well as in the army and organizations like R&AW and military intelligence include many RSS members.

IM aims to create an Islamic caliphate without having any sense of the demography of the country in which it is located.  Those who are often accused of being part of IM cannot carry out an intelligent discussion about Islam and its political structure. Apart from the rhetoric often used to incite mass sympathy, they offer nothing. In fact, their understanding of Islam’s basics would make a first grader in any Islamic school wonder if he was learning the same religion.

In reality, it has become an organization of unknown faces whose names appear only during terror-related blasts. No one really knows if RSS, ISI or R&AW manipulates individuals who later are dubbed as Indian Mujahideen. No one really knows if details attributed to individuals accused of being part of IM were coerced or concocted by the authorities. Everything is possible when the authorities have absolute secrecy about everything they want to discuss in public.

It serves R&AW and RSS to have an outfit, identified as an Indian Muslim, that can develop possible links with ISI. Access to individuals who have ISI connections provides a connection to ISI modus operandi in India and elsewhere. For intelligence agencies, the loss of human lives in either place is just a game of manipulation of their resources.

If IM was a real group with a cadre, like the RSS, the R&AW and RSS would have had no difficulty in tracing its activities. It should not surprise anyone that the Intelligence Bureau of India, (IB) had its mole implanted its moles in a highly disciplined organization such as the Jamat Islamic Hind during the 70s? According to IB sources, the devices were placed in the Jamat headquarters to listen to the proceeding of its Shura Council. Needless to say that the devices were placed by someone considered reliable in the Jamat. Intelligence agencies are expert in such activities.

The argument that RSS and R&AW are unaware of IM activities and membership does not make much sense. It is possible that R&AW or RSS has access to individuals in the Muslim community or other communities who could be dubbed as IM once they carried out the plan they were recruited for. Otherwise, how does one get information that is later translated into terror alerts?

Trapping individuals with a criminal record or illegal activities as possible intelligence assets and recruits is a known intelligence tactic. Intelligence agents also lookout for individuals with low IQ who could easily be manipulated into believing in their ability to change things for their group or community. Intelligence agencies are also known to use religious scriptures to motivate such individuals to commit acts of violence. 

In the case of RSS and R&AW, such tactics offer good tactics in the pursuit of their ultimate goals. RSS could always use the fear of IM and its activities to rally Hindu masses against an enemy that is out to destroy their religion and culture and R&AW can also use IM to justify its continued involvement in Pakistan.

Intelligence gathering is a very sophisticated process and an agent uses all possible, legal and illegal means to achieve the ends. The veil of secrecy makes it almost impossible for an average or even expert to precisely know the details.

The details become known only when someone blows the whistle or some other competing group traps the other agent and uses the information as political leverage.

Sometimes intelligence groups misinform the people deliberately and sometimes they cook information to get more information. Sometimes they run psychological operations to create fear in the hearts of people.

By and large a great majority of Muslims have taken a principled stand against terrorism. They believe that violence against innocent people and civilians is neither justified nor sanctioned under any interpretations of Islam. This community understands the spirit and meaning of jihad that cannot be randomly declared by anyone claiming to be a Muslim. So if anyone uses Islam to promote acts of terrorism, the community gets suspicious of that individual and group. The doubt, always lingers in the mind of many if this individual or group was working for someone else to project Islam and Muslims as a danger to the nation or a particular community.

India’s intelligence groups have not given the impression to the Indians that they are objective in matters pertaining to minorities. The absence of Muslims in the intelligence services is conspicuous and the agenda of RSS is known. Even though some Muslim leaders have toyed with the idea of outreach to RSS and its multifaceted outfits, yet the community is not convinced that a hungry lion can be trusted with the life of a goat. The RSS offers a real threat to minorities and Muslims in particular. One has to look at the literature of RSS in vernaculars that is widely distributed in India’s rural areas.

In the coming months before the next general election, it is possible that IM becomes more visible. But who knows who would be manipulating it from behind. What is certain is that neither Islam nor Muslims would be behind those individuals who might act in the name of the IM or similar outfits to serve the interests of someone else.

Blame it all on Muslim Indian masses.

Recently I wrote an article on the psychology of rapists and murderers during Hindu-Muslim riots in India. I held the hateful philosophy and propaganda of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) responsible for this behavior on the part of the so-called Hindu rioters. People act in this brutal way because they have been fed the ideas that their victims deserve rape and murder. However, I also appreciated those among Hindus who do not show this type of hatred and show kindness and humanity in their behavior.

Some of the responses that came from intelligent and educated Muslims were surprising. Many of them held the Muslims responsible for this behavior of rioters. They implied that if Muslims are being killed, raped, maimed and destroyed, it is due to their own attitude and behavior. How could they hold responsible for a nine-year girl gang-raped by the mob for the crime committed against her? How could they point their fingers at the 70-old-man who was dragged from his bed and stabbed to death and say that he deserved that?  Yet they blamed Muslims for this behavior on the part of RSS rioters. This is exactly what and how the RSS and Hindutva parties argue. “Muslims are responsible for what they are getting it.”

Not very long Muslims in Bosnia suffered the onslaught of fascist forces even though they were very educated and well-integrated in the society. They were described modern, yet when the fascist forces took their guns out, none was spared. Women were gang-raped and genocide became the norm.

The argument that Muslim poverty or illiteracy is responsible for violence against them is as absurd as anything can be.

No Muslim girl would ever wish to be gang-raped and no Muslim elder would ever desire to be stabbed to death. Those who hold Muslim masses responsible for this violent behavior on the part of RSS goons are unkind to Muslims and seem to entertain a grudge against their own people.  They fail to comprehend the weaknesses of their argument and consequently, they point their fingers at the masses with whom not many are willing to identify. Moreover, they also deny the existence of fascist forces that unfortunately have tried to usurp the dignity of a great majority of Indians in the name of their ideology of racial superiority. They are oblivious to the presence of people who have their specific agenda to destroy everything that their opponents hold dear.

Muslim masses cannot be blamed for the conditions they live in. The often-quoted verse of the Quran, “Allah does not change the condition of a people unless they change themselves,” is relevant to understand the plight of Muslims. Muslims did not choose on their own conditions in which they have been forced to live. They could have changed their conditions if given the opportunity. But, they were pushed to live in these conditions with ideas that have been promoted since long by a special group of people that identify itself as religious scholars or clergy, an obscurantist destructive force that mesmerizes the masses with its stagnation and retrogression.  One must make a distinction between scholars and pseudo-scholars. A true scholar cannot promote stagnation and the status quo.

Majority of Muslims in India are poor, illiterate, uneducated and mostly deprived of basic rights that other Indians enjoy. They live in ghettos, slums, and dirty enclaves. Unhygienic conditions are present in their homes and localities. They lack discipline and organization and a sense of identity. A vast majority of them earn less than $2.00 a day.

But, somehow, they have been convinced that it is the will of Allah to let them live conditions they live.  They have been told that poverty is the essence of their faith. We were not born with this idea. We are taught this idea by none than those clerics who claim to have the knowledge of our deen. Don’t blame Muslim masses for the faults of clergy that has often betrayed the masses and misinterpreted the faith.

It was this clergy that opposed the Muslim entry into modern education. It is this clergy that described the proponents of modern education heretics.  It is this clergy that erected walls of traditions to perpetuate the illiteracy among girls. It is this clergy that bifurcated knowledge and took a stand against science and technology. It is this clergy that opposed everything that human beings invented on the basis of divine laws embedded in everything. When the microphones were invented, it called it a satanic invention. When television was introduced, it took a stand against it. When cameras were invented, it spoke against it. At every turn of human progress, it took a stand that betrayed common sense. It is this clergy that under the pretext of serving God issued decrees that child marriages were justified and that Muslims do not have to seek this world as their reward was in the hereafter. It is this clergy that gave them short cuts for everything without even explaining their religion. It is this clergy that pushed Muslims into a world of customs and traditions that has no relevance in faith.

This clergy were brutal in the propagation of its ideas. It divided the community into sectarian and factional lines, concocted lies about God and his messenger and justified the killing of fellow Muslims in the name of God.  It did not allow the masses to grow on their own on the basis of their understanding of divine guidance. Anyone who opposed their ideas was declared heretic and was immediately consigned to hellfire.

The irony is that Islam does not justify the institution of the clergy. Yet it forced its entry and institutionalized itself by quoting the Prophet that scholars or clerics are the heirs of the Prophets.

If you have to blame anyone, blame this clergy for its most repressive and retrogressive role in the community. However, one must understand that not all clerics and members of the clergy promoted these ideas. There were exceptions.
Muslim masses do not have the education or training to verify everything that the clergy tell them. They follow leaders like sheep because this is how the leaders have told them, God, wants them to behave.

If this clergy communicate and broadcast the real message of Islam, the message of progress, equality, peace, cleanliness, love, kindness, and education for all and economic and financial excellence, rather than focusing on divisions and myths, it might have inspired people to a brighter future.  Instead, it taught the masses, not only to be stagnant but also to be content with its stagnation.  The clergy asked the masses to follow the scholars of their sects who lived a thousand years ago without empowering them with a Quranic world view, that is the essence of Muslim identity.

There were scholars who challenged the status quo and who wanted Muslims to be liberated from the shackles of outdated ideas of that clergy, yet they could not bring about changes as they were either declared non-scholars, or deviants or elevated to a position of reverence and celebrations. As long as the Muslim clergy remain in the forefront in providing leadership to Muslim masses at every level, things are less likely to change. They are in the forefront for the last 1,000 years and the results are well known to us.

Muslims with modern education, by and large, lack a clarity of their own vision of faith and they ultimately rely on the opinions of the clergy to take a position on almost every issue including the extent a girl can be exposed to modern education. On every issue such as the collection of zakat, usage of zakat, or amount of resources spent on sacrificing animals or even doing relief work, the educated Muslim class is dependent on the clergy either to approve or sanction their work. This class has lacked the ability to provide alternative leadership.

But the moment you start questioning the role of this clergy in the downfall of the Muslim community in India or elsewhere, you would be blamed as either atheists or ignorant of religion or an agent of any external entity or just a trouble maker. The clergy has elevated itself to a position of untouchability. No one can question and criticize it, a position that Brahminism imposed on Hinduism in its five-thousand-year-old history of repression in the name of knowledge and dharma.

If we really want to see a change, we have to work to create a group of people who are educated in modern sciences with a grasp of the Quranic world view and the prophetic methodologies of change. We have to create institutions that would usher Muslims in the new era with forward-thinking, relying on the divine message of the unity of humanity.

We cannot simply say that Muslim masses are responsible for their plight. They are innocents who have been exploited in the name of God, the Prophet, and religion by a class of people who claim that they are holier than all. The Quran is meant to liberate the masses from all shackles, but the clergy have chained them with ideas that deny easy access to the understanding of the Quran.

It is in this situation of vulnerability that the fascist forces us to play their game of hate and revenge propagating myths and misunderstanding against Islam and Muslims. Regardless how educated and modern we become, the fascist forces would not change their perspectives because the evil they perpetuate creates around them a thick wall of darkness that does not allow even a small ray of light to penetrate. 

So our task is to recognize these forces of darkness while simultaneously working for change. But the change that we are seeking would not come because the major obstacle of change lies in a world view that is dictated by the clergy that believes in the supremacy of its arrogance and egoism. It is a time to critically examine the practices of our so-called clergy in presenting the divine religion to the masses.

Who Owns Allah?

"The usage of the word Allah is not an integral part of the faith in Christianity. The usage of the word will cause confusion in the community," decided a Malaysian court. Only Muslims can use Allah. It's a ridiculous decision and it goes against the Quran and the teachings of Islam. The Quran introduces Allah as Lord of the Universe describes the Prophet, mercy to humankind, and declared itself guidance to humanity. Nowhere does it say that Allah is for Muslims only, or the Quran for the followers of Islam only or the Prophet was sent to Muslims only. 
Islam did not invent the word, Allah. It was in vogue in pre-Islamic Arabia. The Quran makes references to the polytheists who used the word of Allah. One of the cousins of Prophet's wife Khadeeja, used the word Allah when speaking to Prophet immediately after he had received the first revelation.
In the Middle East, Arabic-speaking Christians use the word, Allah. 
Allah is not monopolized by Muslims. Allah is neither Muslim nor Christian, now Jewish. He is Allah, the creator of the universe and everything that exists in the universe including Christians and Jews. To say that only Muslims or Malays can use this word is an offense to Islam.
What are Muslim scholars doing? Why they don't speak up at this nonsense.  Let us hope that a higher court in Malaysia turns this decision down.

Who is benefiting from her ongoing Saga?

Prophet Muhammad said: "The seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim." (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith #74) He also said: “One who treads a path in search of knowledge has his path to Paradise made easy by God…” (Riyadh us-Saleheen, hadith #245)
He further said: "A servant of God will remain standing on the Day of Judgment until he is questioned about his (time on earth) and how he used it; about his knowledge and how he utilized it; about his wealth and from where he acquired it and in what (activities) he spent it; and about his body and how he used it." (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith #148)
The Prophet also said: "Knowledge from which no benefit is derived is like a treasure out of which nothing is spent in the cause of God." (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith #108)
He also said: "God, His angels and all those in the Heavens and on Earth, even ants in their hills and fish in the water, call down blessings on those who instruct others in beneficial knowledge." (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith #422)
Then he said: "Acquire knowledge and impart it to the people." (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith #107)
In Sunan Abdu Dawood, one reads the Prophet explains, "If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, God will cause him to travel on one of the roads of paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge. The inhabitants of the heavens and the earth and (even) the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave (no monetary inheritance), they leave only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion. (Hadith #1631)

The statement that seeks knowledge, even if you have to travel to China is often attributed to the Prophet, but these are the words of Imam Ali, the fourth Caliph of Muslims.

Read these sayings of the prophet again and again. Repeat them to yourself and to others and notice something very simple that can be summarized in the following words.

“Knowledge is indivisible and regardless of one’s gender and age, it is obligatory upon everyone.”

Throughout our Islamic history, we have tried to define and redefine knowledge in our image, an image conditioned by our politics, culture, gender, ethnicity, society, economics and personal interests. We are the ones who have bifurcated it into worldly and religious sciences. We are the ones who have closed its doors whomsoever we wanted out. We are the ones who have tried to limit its acquisition whomever we wanted to exclude and we are the ones who have often tried to contaminate the purity of education with our biases and absurdities. We often presented our viewpoints like that of God because we claimed that we are created in His image.
The Prophet did not do it. His message is simple and direct.

But most of us failed to recognize that it was not the intent of God and the Prophet to limit the access of education to girls and women. It was not their intent to deprive those born in a state of bondage of knowledge. It was not their intent to dictate to others what to study and what not study as long as one understands the responsibilities that come with the knowledge.

Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan and those who are like them and have behaved like them throughout human history, have argued that they have the knowledge and authority to overrule God and the Prophet and set the limits on nature and type of education girls, women, children, and even men should acquire.

A 10-year-old child, in her innocence, stood up against this idea based on her common sense not fully aware of the true dimensions of the divine directions of education. The logic was simple. How could God be unjust to His own creation by giving one more access to education than to another of His creation on the basis of one's gender? She was critical of them. She condemned their tactics as she saw them playing it in her small village. She even called them terrorists and unjust zealots.

The mighty Taliban was upset. How could a 10-year-old child question their understanding of religion and culture? After all, this is not the role of a woman or children in their religious society. They are meant to be quiet and subservient. 
They were angry and they forgot in this anger the basic Islamic principle. They did not return to the divine to seek guidance by taking account of their own attitudes.
Rather than reviewing their own attitudes or trying to educate their perspectives to the child, they became furious. Thus, she became their target. Finally, they assaulted her and tried to kill her. This is how they had learned to deal with their opponents. Shoot those who oppose you and you would be blessed by the one in whose name you kill. But the one who gives life and death saved her. She got injured and even though she was in danger of losing her life, He inspired physicians, mostly non-Muslims, to save her.

There were several countries in the world including those with Muslim majority who could have offered medical help to her including Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, or India, but Britain took the lead to offer her the treatment. Since then, she is being projected by the so-called western media as a symbol of resistance and an icon for women's education. This gesture of Britain is seen as a symbol of white supremacy over uneducated Muslims. 
The Muslim media could also have taken up her case, but it preferred not only to ignore her but to cast doubt on her story. Some even suggested that she was not attacked and she faked her injury. Among those who questioned her integrity were those Muslim theologians who have spent their lives teaching their followers the Quranic message that says: "don't assume things."

The so-called western campaign to project her as a role model for girls regardless of their religion and ethnicity has angered many pious Muslims. After all, not many 10-year-old kids question the authority of a coercive group in a small village in a remote area of the world. How could a child's question a religious practice in a culture where even adults are not allowed to speak in front of a religious elder?
The projection of a girl in a position of prominence does not sit well with them. A woman should spend her time in the home getting ready to produce children and then rear and nurture them. She is not supposed to talk about education or to offer a leadership role. Children are not the teachers of their adults, so they are upset. 
Religion is the prerogative of men only. A woman's voice in public is unacceptable in their understanding of Islam. Since they are the defenders of Islam and its gatekeepers, how could they let her be used or abused by the West to make a mockery of genuine Islamic teachings?

They see in her rise a conspiracy on the part of the West to exploit her situation to serve their agenda secular against Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Muslim world. They suspect that the West is using her to impose upon the Muslim world its educational values, devoid of morality. They also see in her projection a well-conceived plot to strip the Muslim world of its religious identity.

Ironically, none of those, especially the ones living in the West, would agree with what the Taliban have done or have been doing. Even the most anti-Western among them have serious issues with the thinking and logic of Taliban in implementing a version of Islam that is contaminated with male-chauvinism, tribal jingoism, and feudal parochialism. Even many religious scholars are in doubt of the Taliban understanding of Islam. Many clean shaved clerics of Azhar or short, bearded religious scholars of the Americas would be treated as criminals and sinful in a Taliban run state for improperly trimming their beard. They fully understand that if they land in a Taliban run Islamic Afghanistan, they would immediately be taken into prison or given some lashes. Only a few US Muslim religious leaders can escape this wrath of the Taliban's Islamic will. Yet, these clerics and leaders have chosen to be silent on these issues.

The critics of the 16-year-old girl tend to ignore the fact that the girl they are accusing of playing in the hands of the West is echoing the ideas of their Prophet on education to the world in an atmosphere of understanding and recognition. Their logic is interesting. "Don't speak the truth if it serves the political interests of others." In other words, the truth has no value of its own and cannot stand on its own strength. She is quoting the Quran. They do not like it. After all the Quran is their monopoly. How could she or her secular father quote or use the Quran in their arguments? Her dress does not fall outside the parameters of Islamic norms. But they are still not convinced because the two inches of her hair closer to her forehead are still exposed to a male eye. Her language is soft and her style is decent, but it does not matter. She is not talking about revenge, even against those who tried to kill her and they think she cannot decide on her own whom to forgive and whom to declare an enemy. She is repeating what every sensible Muslim has repeated and would like to repeat about education, but they argue that being a woman, she has no validity to do so.

Seemingly, they can’t rejoice the rise of one of their daughters and sisters to a position of dignity in front of a world audience in a climate that is filled with admiration towards her? To them, as soon as a girl reaches the age of puberty, she is a source of test for men regardless of their age. They are so much obsessed with the sexuality of women in their own context that they are not willing to treat others as their own daughters and sisters.

Let us come to other issues in raising her case. The critics argue that the west is exploiting her situation. Even if the West is exploiting her, so what? The message she is delivering is worth repeating from every channel. She is not questioning Islam or challenging the Quran or the Prophet. She is simply following what every Muslim should have followed.

How many of those people who are critical of her were raising their voices in support of education for all when they were about her age? How many of them took the bullets for their stand? How many of them persisted in their mission even after being hit by a bullet? How many of them were seen as a symbol of hope by adults and non-Muslims when they were in their teens.

The argument that the West is hypocritical in its policies towards the Muslim world needs to be analyzed on its own merit. The West has double stand standards towards its own values. Yes, the West has used its drones to kill innocent people, yet it has played politics and havoc with the lives of the people, and yes it is not honest when it deals with Islam in general. But the same analysis can easily be applied to those countries that claim to be Muslims. 
Let us also remember, that many others, including the citizens of the Western world, have also suffered at the hands of its brutal policies. The US destroyed its own economy in indulging itself in wars that were not necessary. The tug of war between Republicans and Democrats is ruining the economy of the country. The foreign policies of the West are problematic even to its own declared principles. But those policies need to be challenged on the basis of their absurdities and not on the basis of how the 16-year-old girl is being projected.  If the critics look beyond their myopic perspectives, they would discover a new image of Islam emerging in the words of this girl, an image that none of them was able to create as most of them were busy and are still busy in infighting and destroying each other.

Modern Challenges to the Spirit of Hajj

There was a time when people would spend months and months preparing themselves financially and spiritually to live the real meaning of Hajj. However, nowadays Hajj is offered as a holiday package.
Many Hajj agencies all over the world offer value packages with super programs, deluxe programs, and short executive program. These programs offer the best and closest accommodation in Makkah and Madinah, best available food and best possible position in the House of Allah.
Depending on how much you pay, you can get the finest place in Makkah and Madinah. If you happen to be the guest of royalty, then probably, no one can ever compete with your placement in the two mosques. When the Prophet performed his only Hajj, the only a provision that he had with him was worthy of no more than four dirhams as narrated in several books of ahadith.
Hajj was meant to teach the pilgrims endurance and perseverance for higher causes, yet it has been turned into an exercise inconvenience. Hajj was meant to express the utmost humility in the presence of the rest of humanity by declaring that "Here I am, Here I am, I will not make anyone Allah's partner. Allah is the one who is in control of everything and He alone is the one who is the source of all blessings and praise." Yet, today, Hajj, for many has become, a badge, a symbol of spiritual arrogance.
Hajj is an institution that is supposed to reassure the people that ethnic, cultural, linguistic, geographical, wealth-based, race and color differences that humans have imposed upon themselves have no reality in the presence of God. All are one and the purpose of all is to follow the divine guidance to create universal humanity to the well being of everyone. Hajj is meant to be a pledge to live the example of Hajj beyond the Hajj. It is an occasion to create a personality without a dimension and space.
Yet, through social engineering and manipulation of resources, Hajj is rapidly adapting social elements that distinguish the rich from the poor, the very institution that it is supposed to demolish. Divisions among pilgrims on the basis of their ethnicity and money are visible throughout the Hajj journey.
While the pilgrims coming from poorer regions of the world may find accommodation miles away from the Haram, those who are rich can find accommodation within the vicinity of the Kaaba.
The Qur'an describes Kaaba as a center of guidance to humanity:{Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Makkah - blessed and a guidance for the worlds.} (Aal `Imran 3:96)
The place was not only a place for bringing together all the people, but it is a center for promoting peace. (Al-Baqarah 2:145). It was a place that was meant to help humanity realize its universality rather than divisions (Al-Ma'idah 5:97)
For this great purpose of helping humanity realize its dream of removing all the differences and divisions among themselves, the institution Hajj come up with a clear example of making us understand and observe that unity of humanity is possible. For this the Qur'an asked Prophet Ibrahim to invite people to Hajj, so that they may witness the beauty and magnificence of the guidance of Allah.
Hajj is like a united nation in its real sense without five elitist powers. With no hidden agenda and security council privileges, each nation and community comes to Makkah with the single purpose of serving God and reiterating their covenant with Him.
Hajj provides the opportunity for everyone to witness the common bonds among people regardless of their differences. Hajj promotes the idea of the dignity of human beings, male or female, young or old and rich and poor.
Hajj also creates space for intellectual ideas among people so that they could all remain focused on their main agenda of serving humanity through following the guidance of God.
It is this spirit of Hajj that was prevalent at the time of the Prophet and his trusted companions. It is this spirit of Hajj that is now being challenged by the modern business-dominated society and hierarchy of rich and poor culture.
However, among all this razzmatazz, still, there are people who come to the Hajj to take the inspiration to transform themselves for a better future both for them and for others. They are the ones who do not care about big hotels or better facilities. They are the ones who spend their days and nights in Mina, Arafat, Muzdalfah, Makkah, and Madinah.
Here they remember the covenant that Allah made with Prophet Abraham, the builder of Kaaba. Prophet Abraham was told by God, Almighty:

{Indeed, I will make you a leader for the people.} (Al-Baqarah 2:124).

Encouraged by this honor, the Prophet asked:

{"And of my descendants?" [ Allah ] said, "My covenant does not include the wrongdoers."} (Al-Baqarah 2:124)

In these simple words thus were described the real intent and purpose of the Hajj and all other faith-based institutions. The dignity and honor do not come with buying this or that package. It comes through dedication and commitment to the divine values and living up to them.
Someday, the Hajj will be restored to its original intent by those unknown and unrecognized faces who come from all over the world quietly without any fanfare and who spend every moment of their presence in the noble sanctuaries and the pilgrimage path with the determination to follow their real leaders: Prophets Ibrahim, Isma`il and Muhammad (peace and blessings are upon them) in every aspect of this great institution.
The re-enactment of acts performed during the Hajj is attributed to Prophets Ibrahim and Isma`il and Mother Hagar. They are primarily meant for the purpose of reminding humanity that in order to bring people together, God's guidance is received, acknowledged, accepted and followed by a small group of people who may not be present physically seeing the fruits of their efforts. Prophet Ibrahim created that nucleus for perpetual change in human behavior and for that he was honored by God who declared him as an Imam (role model) for humanity.