Press council of India Chairman Justice Markandey Katju observes :I am strongly opposed to religious extremism. That is why I highly respect the Sufis, and I do not approve of the religious extremism and intolerance of the Wahabis. Sufis were the liberals among the Muslims. They spread the message of love of God and love of all humanity ( not merely Muslims). While they were Muslims, they were of the view that there are other ways of approaching god, and not merely Islam.Sufis were often persecuted by the extremist Muslims for their belief in tasawwuf or mysticism, and were opposed by the Wahabis, who are fundamentalists among the Muslims.Dargahs are shrines having the graves of sufi saints. HIndus do not go to mosques, Muslims do not go to temples, but both go to dargahs. Thus dargahs unite all communities, and I love whatever unites. The Wahabi type Muslims regard dargahs as places of butparasti, or idol worship, which is forbidden by Islam. They believe that going to a dargah is worshipping the grave of the sufi saint, whereas Islam permits worship of only Allah. This only shows the foolishness and religious extremism of such people. By going to a dargah one only shows respect to the sufi saint, and it does not amount to worshipping his grave. In Saudi Arabia dargahs will be immediately destroyed if built. In Pakistan many dargahs have been bombed, and many people going there killed. This shows the intolerance of such fanatics, and that is why Pakistan has become a Jurassic Park. In a subcontinent of such diversity such as ours, religious tolerance is essential if we want our country to remain united and progress.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 07:24:11 +0000
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