1.
It may be possible in the next 100 years or so to add Jesus Christ as one
of the many Gods (33 crore Hindu gods and goddesses) as Jesus is a Godhead
for Christians and Christians have no objection for portraying Jesus and
his disciples in the form of idols and pictures just as Hindus have added
Buddha as one of the Avataras.
However,
since Muhammad is not considered a godhead by Muslims but only as the God’s
messenger and since Islam does not permit idolatry, painting or portrait
of Prophet Muhammad, it may not be possible to add Muhammad to the Hindu
pantheon of Gods. Moreover, Allah is formless, rather rightly, and therefore
no image of either Allah or Muhammad is found in mosques and are strictly
prohibited.
2. What
is true of all religions is the belief of its followers that religion alone
can lead to God, and so it is also true of Islam. It is against human nature,
no matter to which religion one belongs, not to criticise a religion when
one feels that such criticism is just according to one’s wisdom and understanding.
After all, the very concept of God has its birth in the emotion of FEAR
(of ageing, disease and death) and in front of nature even God, no matter
of which religion, is powerless. Buddha seems to have understood this fundamental
truth about nature more than any Prophet or Scripture.
3. I would
say Muslims are good but Islam is misinterpreted, like no other religion,
by the vested interests for seeking power, position and wealth.
4. It
is wrong to think that if Muslims are told of their common ancestry they
will unite with Hindus The words “unite with”, I hope, are not used
here to mean “convert to”.
Here,
we must understand that all those who subscribe to any religion are all
converts, including Hindus. After all in the beginning there was only animism
and nature worship, call it Paganism. Later Prophets and Scriptures, some
of them by Rishis and wise men like Confucius, came to influence the people
who became their followers. Jesus was a Jew, remember. Basavanna was a
Brahmin. Therefore, the common ancestry has nothing to do here;
it is only the belief that matters. A Hindu may become a renegade, disgusted
with crores of gods, funny rituals couched in superstition. The common
ancestry has nothing to do in uniting them with Hindus, rather the Common
Law (Common Civil Code) will.
5. It
is hypocrisy to say that the BJP will treat Muslims as human beings. They
too will want their votes to capture power. There is nothing wrong if Congress
used Muslims. What is important is that nobody should misuse Muslims
for votes.
6. I do
not think Sufis are tolerant Muslims. In fact, they are as fanatical
as the conservative Brahmins of the Hindu religion. They are more subtle,
clever rather than vocal and violent.
7. I think
Muslim mullahs are responsible, rather than Muslim political leaders, for
the ghetto mentality of the Muslims. Don’t we have Brahmin Agrahars and
Brahmin Vellys where they live away from others?
8. I do
not think it is right to say that Namaz offered on a disputed site like
Ayodhya is not acceptable to Allah. We must remember that a devout Muslim
offers his prayers even in the battlefield, which is often a disputed site,
and we have any number of instances of Muslim kings and warriors offering
prayers in the middle of a war.