ISLAM, A BOON OR A BANE?
The worse of these reasons appears to me the alienation/disconnect of the better off Muslims from the masses. In any society reform must be ushered in by the leadership of the better endowed ones. Amongst the Muslims this brain drain is legendary. And this results from bilateral prejudices.
If communism could unite illiterate masses we should ponder what would it take to unite Muslims across the vast spectrum. I wonder if Ataturk succeeded by the force of his gun or by the sincerity of his reformist zeal. Are Indian/sub-continental Muslims ready for their Ataturk today?
The more I study the more it seems to me that Islam as being practised now has become the bane of the community. Hence one finds it very difficult to introduce any such reformist move without being cornered as heretic, apostolic or infidel.
In a scenario where the saffron brigade is running after your blood you need some safe sanctuary somewhere. That stands denied to such community reformists. It is so easy, after all, to excite and provoke ordinary Muslims against such reformists. I am one example of belonging to this delicate ‘no-man’s land’.
Pardon me saying this but AMU has never appeared to me as representing excellence in any branch of academics. It appears more as a tool of minority appeasement. I am yet to be impressed by its alumni in general. And exceptions would stand on their own footing, anyway.
