Agreed, terror is increasingly finding a target in the West, but let’s not ignore that it was only the US that once fostered the likes of Osama bin Laden (The Great Britain Bust, Aug 28). The absence of an alternative superpower in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union has forced the world to witness more American manoeuvres. Let the US not fool us on its real motive behind the ‘anti-terror fight’: gain perpetual control over the world economy.
Bhaskar J. Nath, Dibrugarh
George Bush may have been too harsh in his choice of words, but there’s no denying that the free world, comprising democracies with open and plural societies, is threatened by "Islamic fascism". The nightmarish plot hatched by a group of terrorists in Britain and Pakistan is an eye-opener on the extent to which 21st-century jehad has become a criminal enterprise.
Megha A., Hyderabad
Evidently, Pakistan breeds terrorists like India produces techies. Yet the US and the UK seek to ignore it. Killing innocent people around the world in the name of religion is like lying for the sake of honesty.
Chidanand Kumar, Bangalore
I object to your graphic illustration of the terror suspects. It gives the impression that all terrorists fit into a general description of a beard and skull cap as seen in your pictures. Most terrorists don’t look so. Sad that Outlook too is reinforcing such stereotypes.
Zaved Ahmed Khan, Vellore
The link between Pakistanis and jehad is historical (The Call of the Camps). Much before the Taliban emerged, madrassas in Pakistan preached the most base and violent aspects of human personality. Terror camps there are, by now, a family tradition.
Sundari, Chennai
I am one with the panic that has gripped the world after the London terror blast attempt but hasten to blame Britain’s own foreign policy for the incident. After all, how can the scars it inflicted on the Muslim world heal so easily?
Brij Bhushan Vyas, Lucknow
It’s queer Pakistan is exhibiting a bulldozing mentality towards terror even while allowing fundamentalist camps to flourish like anything on its soil.
Abhija S., Kollam
India has singularly failed to counteract dangerous minds, thanks to the indifferent approach of our leaders towards terrorist design (Tunnel Vision). Bold steps, supported by strict laws, to eliminate those involved in weakening internal security would have provided relief not only to commoners but to the security personnel now forced to live on the edge all the time. It has become a routine with our rulers to deliver contradictory statements during critical moments—either to shrewdly defend suspects in a spurious pro-minorityism or to buy time to defuse the tension.
Arvind K. Pandey, Allahabad
Despite many instances showing Pakistan’s role in abetting terrorism in India, the US and the UK have hardly been seen condemning Islamabad. One cannot but give credit to Pervez Musharraf for his astute statesmanship—one area where our leaders have failed pathetically.
P.K. Srivastava, on e-mail
When Jaya Bachchan approaches Natwar with sweet words and kind suggestions, it’s no sympathy. It’s a case of an enemy’s enemy being a friend. Isn’t it weird that two of the fiercest friends of the Family are its bitterest critics now?
Nutan Thakur, Lucknow
The efforts of Muslim women like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Taslima Nasrin (I Say, Three Cheers for Ayaan, Aug 28) have to be lauded. It’s commendable that they have found the courage to speak their mind, ask questions and demand answers from a religion which forbids it. Islam, despite all its goodness, has stagnated beyond recognition due to its closed and rigid attitude towards new ideas. Which is why we should welcome Ayaan and Taslima’s asking questions, as it is
the first prerequisite to growth. Islam will only emerge better, stronger and perhaps more forgiving.
Roopam Dubey, Patna
Taslima says "...a Musalman is prohibited from raising any questions on Islam", without realising that Islam has ample space for debate. We Muslim women don’t require radicals like Taslima to fret over issues of our emancipation; we are worried about it too, and Islam encourages us to think, question, and then believe. Taslima’s narrow understanding of Islam makes her believe that "...there is no need for Islam to live on", but really now, it’s statements like these that produce terrorists in our community. Why should a woman’s liberation be linked to her shedding her clothing and wearing the label of an iconoclast? Why should we continue to believe that a woman "cannot" choose to condemn the overly permissive ways of society by covering herself and making a statement thus? It angers me that she should call Islam "a venomous snake", though I do agree there are different realities for different people and perhaps Taslima’s stand springs from her personal experience. Yet, pray, how can you blame the car if the driver is flawed? As a young Muslim woman who believes in Islam, not out of "the accident of birth" but out of personal conviction, I’m appalled at her views of a religion that promotes equity of sexes, which, I agree, has to be understood, many a time, contextually.
B. Azmi, on e-mail
Taslima has rightly attributed the age-old problems of women to male-dominated societies, irrespective of religious influence. Medieval feudal mindsets are yet to dissolve in the Third World, though even the West can’t claim to have attained total gender equality. Massive social movements towards eradicating illiteracy along with the inculcation of a scientific temper alone can help unshackle societies mired in the grip of various irrational faiths. This can’t be achieved without a fight against the hegemony of international finance which has a vested interest in creating Taliban-like situations fanning obscurantism so that large parts of the globe remain in an abyss of ignorance in perpetuity.
Kasim Sait, Chennai
The tragedy is, for every Taslima, Irshad Manji or Ayaan Ali, there are countless Muslims who do not want their religion to change even a bit. If only Islam listens to all that its Taslimas and Ayaans say, it would be a far better religion. A male-dominant society, though, is something no religion can overcome easily. Women in other religions too have found it an uphill battle against male dominance. Taslima’s words—"In any corner of the world, women who protest their oppression will always be torn to shreds by upholders of morals, traditions, patriarchy and religion"—should be inscribed in letters of gold.
T.S.P. Raman, Coimbatore
Wow, do birds of a feather flock together! Ayaan Hirsi Ali (real name: Hirsi Magan), an Ethiopian born in a refugee camp in Somalia and married to a Muslim refugee from whom she got the ‘Ali’ in her name, she got asylum in the Netherlands in 1992. A Dutch enquiry later found that she lied about her past life when she migrated to that country. The Muslim world media has traced her past and found that she is a Fallasha-Ethiopian—a Jew impersonating as a Muslim Somalian! I’m only so much surprised to see her writing so rabidly against Islam, and to see Taslima, an avowed rabid anti-Islamist, feeling coy about her remarks on Islam. Sadly, Muslim societies the world over, whether in Bangladesh, Somalia or even here in India, have rampant un-Islamic traditions, customs and cultures which have made them a blot in the name of Islam. Your interest in publishing writings critical of Islam seems to be another aspect of Islamophobia.
A.T.M. Anwar, Hyderabad
I say, three cheers more for Ayaan than Taslima, who seems to be an opportunist.
Bharath Rama, Detroit, US
Hail Ayaan! Cheer up daughters of Islam! You have nothing to lose but your veils.
J.S. Khurmi, Muktsar, Punjab
I was pained to read the interview of Asiya Andrabi (Aug 14). I must put it plainly: these sisters are misguided. Most of them are carried away by retrograde views of some mullahs who are not conversant with the egalitarian aspects of Islam. As a Muslim woman in India, I feel alarmed by such remarks since we have to struggle just to educate our folks and earn a decent living.
Fauzia, Bangalore
When Karan Johar made K3G, you said he made candyfloss films. Now when he tries to be different, you decree his films be made of "sterner stuff" (Glitterati, Aug 28)! Give him a chance! KANK is not only a far cry from his school of moviemaking but also a new take on extramarital love in Bollywood.
Ameet Bhuvan, Bhubaneswar
Bibliofile (Aug 28) quotes Salman Rushdie as saying, "The difference between Delhi and Calcutta is that in Calcutta they drop the names of books and in Delhi they drop the names of authors." In Bombay? They just drop the books.
Anil Chakradar, Hyderabad
Apropos your column What India is Reading, is any Indian reading a book in any Indian language? Do let me know.
Jaleel Khan, Lucknow
Saeed Naqvi (Mauritius Diary, Aug 28) is always great to read. Love his pieces.
Salim Raza, New York
The hullabaloo over the treatment meted out to 12 Indian passengers of a Northwest Airlines flight seems to have been blown out of proportion. The whole world is in the grip of terrorism and it doesn’t hurt to be a little careful or for passengers to conform to flight rules in the larger interests of safety. India should, in fact, take lessons from this and demonstrate like preparedness in the event of an extraordinary situation like a hijack. A bit of inconvenience is far better than a compromise in security. We should stop raising such a hue and cry about it.
Dr Lalit Kishore Prasad, Patna
In our cover story, Hip, Hyper, Hollow (April 20, 1998), some derogatory remarks were made against Jatin Kochhar. Any misunderstanding, inconvenience or loss of reputation is deeply regretted. We hold Mr Kochhar in high esteem.
