OPINION: ‘I told my Arab friend, Muslims in India have freedom to practice religion’
by Omer Khan
The truth is that the life of a Muslim in Bharat is far better than those poor Muslims living in western so-called liberal countries.
An Arab friend, I know Whatsapped me this and said he’s delighted that India (Bharat’s name in the Arabic language) supported the motion against the Quran burning.
I told this Arab friend that Bharat is the only non-Muslim country where Muslims not only have the total freedom to practice their religion but also enjoy so many benefits you can’t imagine compared to in any other non-Muslim country (or even in some so-called Muslim countries like Turkey, Iran, etc).
He was taken a back when I told him that:
- Bharat is the only official non-Muslim country where Muslims living in the country can practice religious laws in their matters, that is, matters related to birth, marriages, death and inheritance – and don’t need to follow the law of the country in their personal matters – and it is part of the constitution.
- Bharat is the only non-Muslim country where the central government pays for the maintenance of religious places and also to the people who manage such places like Imam and Mauzin under the Waqf act (Waqf means the permanent dedication by any person of any movable or immovable property for any purpose recognized by the Muslim law as pious, religious or charitable. In simple words, waqf is a property which is used for religious and charitable purposes).
- Bharat is the only non-Muslim country where it’s an official Holiday on both Eids.
- Bharat is the only non-Muslim country where Adhan is allowed on loudspeakers.
- Bharat is the only non-Muslim country where Muslim Women can do full hijab/niqab without worrying about anything.
- Bharat is the only non-Muslim country with the largest number of Masajid (more than any Muslim country) – as well as some of the oldest Masajid.
- Bharat is the only Non-Muslim country with one of the top Muslim academies and Madaris like Jamia Salafiyah Banaras, Jamia Sanabil, Deoband, Nadwah and others – some of these academies are centuries old and produced some great Muslim Scholars.
- Bharat is the only non-Muslim country with the highest number of Muslim politicians and government officials – that includes three Muslim presidents, army and intelligence chiefs, first education minister to a man involved in Bharat’s civilian space programme and military missile development efforts aka missile man Dr Abdul Kalam – also, Muslims dominate the film industry.
And this is not the first time that Bharat supported Muslim causes on an international platform – Bharat has a record of supporting Muslims and Muslim causes, whether it’s about voicing for Bengalis in 1971 or supporting Muslim countries like Indonesia, Egypt, KSA and others in the UN or other International platforms.
The truth is that the life of a Muslim in Bharat is far better than those poor Muslims living in western so-called liberal countries.
But then western media, after all the discrimination against Muslims in the west, dares to criticise the world’s largest democracy, Bharat.
Many people here, like my Arab friend will be shocked after discovering these facts as they’ve been told otherwise by the biased western media.
