Asaduddin Owaisi, the chief of the Majlis Ittehade Muslimeen(MIM) of Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), is a Member of the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) who never tires of swearing by the Indian Constitution and the secular, multi-religious, multi-cultural character of India. But, if you probe him a little, you will find this England-educated, affluent Hyderabadi who speaks English fluently, as a most bigoted, inflexible, closed mind who is an arch-enemy of the right of freedom of expression of writers like Taslima Nasreen of Bangladesh and London-based, India-born, novelist Salman Rushdie whom he perceives as anti-Islam.
One can understand Owaisi's anger against Rushdie's work of fiction:The Satanic Verses which had unfairly treated Prophet Mohammed's wives by giving their names to some prostitutes in his book. Even I-a non-Muslim-was appalled on reading it. I understand that following a wide-spread protests in the Muslim world and Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa of death on Rushdie, the author had apologised for his objectionable act. The fatwa was subsequently revoked following Khomeini's death. Recently, in a TV interview (NDTV), Rushdie disclosed that the Satanic Verses has been translated in at least three Muslim countries-Egypt, Turkey and now Libya.
But, Owaisi will have none of it. For him, Salman Rushdie is an anti-Islam devil, a blasphemer who cannot be forgiven although the opening verse of the Quran describes the Allah as "the most compassionate and merciful-ever forgiving"! Owaisi even does not like Rushdie's Booker Award winning work:The Midnight's Children". However, the most objectionable and undemocratic aspect of Owaisi's opposition to the writer, is his denial of the latter's right to travel to his mother country-India-on his PIO card which requires no visa. He was in the forefront in opposing Rushdie's participation in the Jaipur Literature Festival recently. From all accounts, Rushdie is proud of his Muslim faith, its humane and moderate face and not an Owaisi-style intolerant Islam. Owaisi, similarly, hates Taslima Nasreen. In her case, his younger brother Akbar Owaisi, an AP MLA, a few years ago, had physically attacked Nasreen during a book function in Hyderabad, along with a group of his followers. The MP Owaisi, who supposedly believes in non-violence, never expressed any regret; in fact, he reportedly defended his brother's violent assault on her. He reiterated his opposition to her recently when some Muslim fanatics scuttled her new book launch-a volume of her autobigraphical series, called "Nirbasan"(Exile), in Kolkata during the literary fair in the city.
In a TV debate on Times Now news channel, Owaisi justified his pernicious and illegal act when he was asked by the anchor how could he know about the contents of the book without reading it. His contention was that knowing Taslima's anti-Islamic bent of mind, he had the sense of what it would contain-a most ridiculous argument. Yet, Asaduddin Owaisi continues to remain an elected member of our august temple of democracy (Parliament) who is an ally of a secular, supposedly liberal Congress party that heads the UPA government! On his part, Owaisi may be relatively coy and reasonable inside the Lok Sabha to keep the pretence of democratic traditions, but, outside, he merrily spews his communal, Islamist venom in TV debates. His tone and postures are predictable but nontheless obnoxious and shocking, unworthy of a member of Indian Parliament.
One can understand Owaisi's anger against Rushdie's work of fiction:The Satanic Verses which had unfairly treated Prophet Mohammed's wives by giving their names to some prostitutes in his book. Even I-a non-Muslim-was appalled on reading it. I understand that following a wide-spread protests in the Muslim world and Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa of death on Rushdie, the author had apologised for his objectionable act. The fatwa was subsequently revoked following Khomeini's death. Recently, in a TV interview (NDTV), Rushdie disclosed that the Satanic Verses has been translated in at least three Muslim countries-Egypt, Turkey and now Libya.
But, Owaisi will have none of it. For him, Salman Rushdie is an anti-Islam devil, a blasphemer who cannot be forgiven although the opening verse of the Quran describes the Allah as "the most compassionate and merciful-ever forgiving"! Owaisi even does not like Rushdie's Booker Award winning work:The Midnight's Children". However, the most objectionable and undemocratic aspect of Owaisi's opposition to the writer, is his denial of the latter's right to travel to his mother country-India-on his PIO card which requires no visa. He was in the forefront in opposing Rushdie's participation in the Jaipur Literature Festival recently. From all accounts, Rushdie is proud of his Muslim faith, its humane and moderate face and not an Owaisi-style intolerant Islam. Owaisi, similarly, hates Taslima Nasreen. In her case, his younger brother Akbar Owaisi, an AP MLA, a few years ago, had physically attacked Nasreen during a book function in Hyderabad, along with a group of his followers. The MP Owaisi, who supposedly believes in non-violence, never expressed any regret; in fact, he reportedly defended his brother's violent assault on her. He reiterated his opposition to her recently when some Muslim fanatics scuttled her new book launch-a volume of her autobigraphical series, called "Nirbasan"(Exile), in Kolkata during the literary fair in the city.
In a TV debate on Times Now news channel, Owaisi justified his pernicious and illegal act when he was asked by the anchor how could he know about the contents of the book without reading it. His contention was that knowing Taslima's anti-Islamic bent of mind, he had the sense of what it would contain-a most ridiculous argument. Yet, Asaduddin Owaisi continues to remain an elected member of our august temple of democracy (Parliament) who is an ally of a secular, supposedly liberal Congress party that heads the UPA government! On his part, Owaisi may be relatively coy and reasonable inside the Lok Sabha to keep the pretence of democratic traditions, but, outside, he merrily spews his communal, Islamist venom in TV debates. His tone and postures are predictable but nontheless obnoxious and shocking, unworthy of a member of Indian Parliament.
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