By AJ Philip
In the late sixties, an Islamic scholar came to Valanchuzhy at Pathanamthitta where we were staying at that time for a three-day convention. He was touted as a charismatic speaker.
I decided to go to the Valanchuzhy mosque on the first day of the convention.
All the people there knew me and I was heartily welcomed. I was also a little scared as I had never gone inside a mosque.
The speaker had a great oratorical skill. The subject of his speech that day was the concept of equality in Islam.
He said, there was no concept of priesthood in Islam. Anyone senior and capable enough to lead the prayer could do so. That is how Javed Ghulam Sheikh (born Pranesh Pillai) led the prayers in a Mumbai mosque. He was killed along with Ishrat Jahan!
He also said that when a Muslim prayed in the mosque, the person’s head would nearly touch the feet of the person praying in front of him, who could even be a beggar. In other words, Islam is nothing if it is not egalitarian.
I never understood how the Jama Masjid in Delhi had a “priest” and how how his son succeeded him when he died.
On Sunday, when the Kerala state president of the Muslim League, Syed Haiderali Shihab Thangal (74), died, I felt sad.
The death received saturation coverage in the Malayalam media. I read everything that appeared about him in the Mathrubhumi and the Malayala Manorama.
It heightened my sadness, as he was a good leader, who often rose above communitarian considerations. However, what shocked me is that his brother has succeeded him as the president of the party. Earlier, his father was the president.
Why is the post reserved for one family in Kerala? The Prophet had categorically proscribed anyone claiming special status on account of his or her birth.
It is surprising that the Muslim League seeks to perpetuate what the Prophet had discarded in his lifetime. Forget Islam, it is also against the concept of democracy!
It is these acts that have doomed the very spirit of Islam.
The clear instruction is… ” Choose the best among you as your leader”
A good article
The tragedy of this age. Most Muslim institutions suffer from this un-Islamic disease.
India’s so-called Muslim political parties do not fully represent the “Islamic ideology”.
They have issues of “Muslim minority” and career politics in mind.
The cause of “Islamic ideological politics” is not a career but a duty-fulfilling spirit.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—the center of the Muslim community—is pathetically un-Islamic. A country cannot be named after an individual. It is ironic that graves cannot be marked but pictures of the Royal family members are displayed in official documents. The ownership of the country and its resources are passed on to members of the Saudi family. In India, the Jamiatul Ulema Hind (JUH) leadership (and control) remains in the Modani family. The Mughal empire and Hyderabad’s Nizam system never followed Islamic rules. We just talk about Sharia and democracy with no intention of following them.