Sobhan Chowdhury, Lalmatia ,Dhaka
I read, with much pleasure, the article by Dr Liaquat Ali Khan in the DS of September 5, titled "An Islamic American History" concerning the present mullah of his mosque in Kansas. He told the story of how this black American had been born, having to endure white racism and then moved into the extremist black racism of the organisation The Nation of Islam, ie "all whites are evil and wicked." However, after 1975, the organisation changed to a more moderate stance. Through the proper study and experience of true Islam, his heart was changed and he now leads the Islamic Center of Topeka, Kansas "with an open and generous heart."
Those of us who know that much of what hits the headlines today, in the name of Islam, is but a distorted shadow of its true self, are longing for those who call themselves "real" or "moderate" Muslims, to take a higher profile and be seen to be doing more to help their co-religionists to get out of the ditch that they have dug for themselves. May I make a modest suggestion?
I am reliably informed that some of the best new thinking in Islam, including by those who urge the 'opening of the gates of reason', is going on in English. Some of the Muslims who are now living overseas, benefiting from the kind of education offered, living in an environment that encourages creative thinking and refusing to demand the life of a ghetto in order to keep their identity are becoming scholars and thinkers. They are read all over the world - except of course, very widely anyway, in Bangladesh because of the low usage of English here.
Is it not possible to hasten the translation of some of these books into Bengali and a good translation at that? I am not talking about the wilder extremes of "modern" scholarship. All religions, both major and minor, are suffering from the free-for-all of the wilder extremes of expression! But, surely, the world needs more attention given to the writings of genuine research and the kind of thinking that tries to apply all that is best in ones' religious tradition to the tough business of living, as a religious person, in the Millennium. Just focussing on the past and endlessly repeating our Good Books, can only get us so far.
It is the application of the great truths of our faiths to the wounds of the world where the great gap lies. There is a chasm between belief and behaviour that needs a lot of hard work -- and the sooner the better.