As I tossed and turned in bed trying to catch an afternoon nap, I still felt shaken..
I had just come back from watching the film Aamir.
At an extreme loss of words to type and thoughts overflowing in my head.. All my worries and problems seemed so extremely trivial and so very stupid... There is this constant ringing voice in my head telling me to do something.. The voice, which on normal days is quiet is screaming today.. I feel terribly guilty of not being of any significant use to all those who are suffering across the world..
The movies I have seen recently namely Khuda Kay Liye, Shaurya and Aamir and a book I finished reading just a few days ago- A thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled HosseinI has made me think more and more deeply about Islam. About people who have misunderstood all Muslims to be evil, about Muslims who are questioned and tortured time and time again by authorities suspecting them to be terrorists, about staunch Mullahs who have made life hell for Muslim women and turned innocent children to terrorists, the list just goes on and on and on.. It’s amazing how every crime committed by the staunch Muslims is in the name of religion.. In the name of the Prophet, the Koran, Jihad etc..
The Middle Eastern countries have not seen days of peace for centuries now.. Generations of Palestinians have shed their blood for a land which is not yet their country. Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and so many more nations where people have grown up midst war, some have fled to far away countries, some have fought, some have become mentally unstable and some have just survived it all.. Billions have been spent by the UN in peace-keeping efforts.. All in vain.. In "A thousand splendid suns" you can feel the beauty of the religion in sentences quoted from the Koran and from the poems of Muslim poets. But at the same time you cry along as you learn about the strife of the people who die, become homeless or become crippled by the war.. The women who are tortured beyond imagination and not allowed any individual growth in the name of Islam.. The soviets, the Mujahedeen, gunfire, bombing, martyrs, rapes, beatings, Taliban, 9/11, executions,... It was undoubtedly the most painful book I have ever read and gave me one of my worst nightmares ever.
Shaurya, where a dedicated army man who is a Muslim working under an anti-Muslim Major and Brigadier is made a blamed for helping terrorists when he actually saves the lives of innocent people.
Khuda Kay liye, where a humble Pakistani Musician is tortured to Mental instability because he is suspected to be involved in the 9/11 crash.
Aamir, where a Hard-working Muslim man gets badly caught in terrorism..
All these movies made by Brilliant people where the actors have given stellar performances had one thing in common- How Muslims who are good people become victims of circumstances and how those committing irrational crimes are roaming scot-free and continue making the world a hell for so many.
And it’s not just Muslims, every society, every community , every region, every country is faced with this problem..
But how do we find out who is to blame? How do we prove what is the right interpretation and what is the wrong interpretation of Islam? How do we make the guilty pay? How we the people of India help in such cases are the questions that keep coming in my mind and I stay as confused as ever about what will happen..
