Ali Abbas
Inayatullah correctly and eloquently tells us
what
Javed I. Chaudry's
"Book Review" really is – and I agree. But I'd
rather follow
IKram Pasha:
- "Let us treat each other with respect" and
place few facts on the context of the
beginning of the "Review":-
"The single most
remarkable impact that the legacy of 9/11 has
left behind is that it has created a fertile
ground for all sorts of writers who have
emerged out of woodwork to write on Islam and
Muslims. A brand new set of meaningless and
derogatory terms and phrases has been coined
which are now in use in like no tomorrow.
Countless articles and books have been written
to chastise the Muslims and reform Islam. The
book, 'Chasing A Mirage - The tragic illusion
of an Islamic state' by Tarek Fatah is one of
the many publications that have recently hit
the shelves of the book stores. This book
will, no doubt, be a sought-after addition to
Neocon's and Zionists' book shelves".
Ignoring the self-defeating conspiracy-theory
let me tell you that it is true that number of
books on Islam / Muslims increased a lot after
9/11. Mr.
Javed I. Chaudry could bless us by
citing few such names that are
meaningless and derogatory (to whom?) so we
could discuss further. Lest we forget books
that seem so to us may not really be so –
sometimes they "fly over our heads", as is
told in Urdu. Please mention one such book
(meaningless and derogatory ) and let us
discuss it with core Islami documents, not
with hi-flying personal opinions sans docs.
Anyway, surely
books critiquing Islam has increased in
number but how many? Taslima, Rushdi, Hirsi
Ali, Wafa Sultan, Robert Spencer, Ali Sina,
Mark Gabriel, Paul Marshal, Abul Kasem, Kamran
Mirza, Ayesha…. a hundred at very stretched
best? With due respect to Mr. Javed I.
Chaudry actually "the single most remarkable
impact that the legacy of 9/11 has left
behind" is the
exponential growth of roaring mullas
who curse and at times want to kill even
constructive critics of Islam / Muslims.
Proofs are abundant from Morocco to Melbourne,
Karachi to Canada and Scarborough to
Scotland.
About "Chasing A
Mirage" I can confidently say it is not only
wonderfully written linguistically, it also
fills an important vacuum in Islamic
literature with numerous Islamic documents and
analyses. As far as I know there is hardly a
book on this important issue with such robust
documents that none can deny and analyses one
may have difference with. The whole world
including Muslims must know and realize why
the dream of Islami Khelafat (the goal of
Hijbut Taheer, Jamat-E Islami, Muslim
Brotherhood and numerous "Islamic"
organizations and millions of gentle Muslims)
is actually a nightmare in the name of
Islam. I find the book one of the most
important and most purposeful Islamic books in
today's turmoiled world. Honestly, I am
saying this not because Tarek is my friend but
because this is what I found based on my
Islamic-reading and we can discuss it further.
(Telling a friend "Yours is excellent" while
it is not is betrayal to both self and the
friend – we must not do that).
While reading Mr. Javed I. Choudry's review on
"Chasing A Mirage" little I knew I was
actually chasing a mirage of a review. No pun
intended, I have a feeling that he was doing
the same while he was writing it.
Indeed "Chasing A
Mirage" or any single book on Islam
cannot be prefect
and cannot deal with everything. One of its
major reasons is political mullas turned Islam
from SIRATUL MUSTAQIM to SIRATUL JILIBI .
Regards.
Hasan Mahmud.
MCC