Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Now we are coming to the observations made by the world famous Nobel laureate Bengali poet and sage Rabindranath Tagore, who is considered to be one of the all time greatest poet, philosopher, thinker and humanist. His secular credentials are established beyond doubt. Furthermore, Tagore is often projected as a messiah of unity between the Muslims and the non-Muslims. So it is extremely important to highlight what Tagore personally thought and felt about the creed of Islam and it’s followers called Muslims.
“There are two religions on the earth, which have distinct enmity against all other religions. These two are Christianity and Islam. They are not satisfied with just observing their own religions, but are determined to destroy all other religions. That’s why the only way to make peace with them is to embrace their religion.”
[The above is a part of a letter written by Rabindranath Tagore to Sri Kalidas Nag on 7th Asar, 1329 Bangabda, compiled in the article ‘Hindu-Muslim’ in the book ‘Kalantar’ and compiled in the Complete Works of Rabindranath (in Bengali), published by Viswabharati University, 1982, Vol. 24, p – 375 (tr – the author)]
One thing we must keep in mind in this respect. The poets may have different types of emotions at different times and often express contradictory ideas in their different writings. But the above statement was made in a private letter and hence reflects Rabindranath’s personal experience and view point and surely can be considered as his own intrinsic feelings about Islam. Somebody may argue that this feeling may be his momentary or just one time expression of his frustration, evoked by some particular incident at a given time and does not reflect his true or permanent conception about Islam. But please note the dates of his subsequent quotations about Islam, which were made during a wide span of time spreading several years and even decades. This clearly proves the Rabindranath’s above mentioned comments on Islam and Muslim psyche were not the expressions of his momentary frustration but his deep realization and grave concerns about the Islamic menace and security of the Hindu society.
Similarly the quotations of Swami Vivekananda, Rishi Aurobinda, Great Ambedkar and other great men, presented in this book were made during several years of their life span and hence are not their temporary or momentary emotions but their core realizations from the bottom of their hearts. These great men tried to warn us about the true nature of Islam but we did not pay heed to them. Now in twenty – first century when Islamic terrorism is being intensified every day to engulf the human civilization, it is high time for mankind to remember the warnings of these great men and also to understand why they said so.
After all, these great men were not communal fanatics or politically motivated. On the contrary, they are considered by the whole world as “philanthropists” and “apostles of communal harmony.” So, now, it is our duty to try to understand their concerns and read the Koran itself to corroborate their views. The compilers and editors of this presentation have no intension to spread hatred towards and religious groups but to make people aware of a hard core reality and think about a peaceful solution through reasoning, justification and without unrealistic emotions. Not problem can be solved if the hard core reality is not acknowledged and accepted. The Muslim Community also should think deeply about this problem. They also should realize that riots are not the solutions to suppress the criticism of their theology, but they should present counter-logic, if they have any.
Another thing we like to mention here that although Rabindranath criticized Christianity for being non-friendly to others but presently the Christians are not conducting any suicide bombing or violent activities any where in the in the world in name of their religion. So, we can safely ignore what Rabindranath had commented on Christianity.
So please go through the following quotations of those all time great thinkers and famous leaders with a special note to the dates of their comments. Also please understand that their comments are not time-bound or applicable to their time only. The circumstances have not been changed at all and their warnings are still fully valid in the present day situations also. So we can’t afford to ignore them with vain salutes and throwing garland on their statues without paying heed to their warnings (Aaji durdine firanu tader bartho namaskare or in this period of crisis, we should not ignore them through insincere saluting.)
Rabindranath also observed,
“A very important factor which is making it almost impossible for Hindu-Muslim unity to become an accomplished fact is that the Muslim can not confine their patriotism to any one country. I had frankly asked the Muslims whether in the event of any Mohammedan power invading India, would they (Muslims) stand side by side with their Hindu neighbors to defend their common land or join the invaders. I was not satisfied with the reply I have obtained from them….. Even such a man as Mr. Mohammed Ali (one of the famous Ali brothers, the leaders of the Khilafat Movement) has declared that under no circumstances is it permissible for any Mohammedan, whatever be his country, to stand against any Mohammedan”.
While commenting on the post-Khilafat Hindu Muslim riots, Rabindranath said,[Appeared as Interview of Rabindranath in English daily the ‘Times of India’ April 18, 1924 in the column - “Through Indian Eyes.” It has also been quoted by Ambedkar and others in their writings.]
- “Whenever a Muslim calls upon the Muslim society, he never faces any resistance – he calls in the name of one God ‘Allah-hu-Akbar.’ On the other hand, when we (Hindus) call, ‘come on Hindus,’ who will respond? We, the divided in numerous small communities, may barriers – provincialism – who will respond overcoming all these obstacles?”
- “We were endangered by many invasions, but we could never be united. When Muhammad Ghouri brought the first blow from outside, the Hindus could not be united, even in those days of imminent danger. When the Muslims started to demolish the temples one after another, and to break the idols of Gods and Goddesses, the Hindus fought and died in small groups but they could not be united. It has been proved that we the Hindus were killed in different epochs of history due to our internal discord.”
- “Weakness harbors sin. So, if the Muslims beat us and we, the Hindus, tolerate this without resistance – then, we will know that it is made possible only by our weakness. For the sake of ourselves and our neighbour Muslims also, we have to discard our weakness. We can appeal to our neighbour Muslims, ‘Please don’t be cruel to us. No religion should be based on genocide’ – but this kind of appeal is nothing but the weeping of the weak persons. When the low pressure is created in the air, storm comes spontaneously’ nobody can stop it for sake of religion. Similarly, if weakness is cherished and is allowed to exit, torture comes automatically – nobody can stop it. Possible, the Hindus and the Muslims can make a fake friendship to each other for a while, but that can not last for ever. As long as you don’t purify the soil, which grows only thorny shrubs, you can not expect any fruit.”
[“Letter to Swami Shraddhananda, ‘by Rabindranath, Magh, 1333 Bangabda’ complied in the book “Kalantar”]
Rabindranath Elaborated further in the context of the extremely brutal Hindu massacre and mass rape of the Hindu women by the Mopla Muslims in Kerala as given below:
“Dr. Munje said in another part of his report that, eight hundred years ago, the Hindu king of Malabar (now Kerala) on the advice of his Brahmin ministers, made big favor to the Arab Muslim to settle in his kingdom. Even he appeased the Arab Muslims by converting the Hindus to Islam to an extent to making law for compulsory conversion of a member of each Hindu fisherman family in to Islam. Those, whose nature is to practice idiocy rather than common sense, never can enjoy freedom even if they are in the throne. They turn the hour of action in to a night of merriment. That’s why they are always struck by the ghost at the middle of the day.”
Rabindranath continues,
“The king of Malabar once gave away his throne to idiocy. That idiocy is still ruling Malabar from a Hindu throne. That’s why the Hindus are still being beaten and saying that God is there, turning the faces towards the sky. Throughout India we allowed idiocy to rule and surrender ourselves to it. That kingdom of idiocy – the fatal lack of commonsense – was continuously invaded by the Pathans, sometimes by the Mughols and sometimes by the British. From outside we can only see the torture done by them, but they are only the tools of torture, not really the cause. The real reason of the torture is our lack of common sense and our idiocy, which is responsible for our sufferings. So we have to fight this idiocy that divided the Hindus and imposed slavery on us……..If we only think about the torture we will not find any solution. But if we can get rid of our idiocy, the tyrants will surrender to us.”
[’Samasya,’ (The Problem), Agrahayan, 1330 Bangabda, in “Kalantar”.]
RABINDRANATH FURTHER COMMENTED ON ISLAM:
“When two or three different religions claim that only their own religions are true and all other religions are false and their religions are only way to Heaven, conflicts can not be avoided. Thus, fundamentalism tries to abolish all other religions. This is called Bolshevism in religion. Only the path shown by the Hinduism can relieve the world from this meanness.”
[Atmaparichay’ (The Self-realization) in the book ‘Parichay.’]
ON HINDU-MUSLIM RELATION RABINDRANATH WROTE:
“The terrible situation of the country makes my mind restless and I can not keep silent. Meaningless rituals keep the Hindus divided in hundreds of sects. So we are suffering from series of defeats. We are tired and worn-out by the tortures by the internal and external enemies. The Muslims are united in religion and rituals. The Bengali Muslims, the South Indian Muslims and even the Muslims outside India – all are united. They always stand united in face of danger. The broken and divided Hindus will not be able to combat them. Days are coming when the Hindus will be again humiliated by the Muslims.”
“You are a mother of children, one day you will die, passing the future of Hindu society on the weak shoulders of your children, but think about their future”.
[A letter to Hemantabala Sarkar, 16th Oct. 1933, quoted in Bengali weekly “Swastika”. June 21, 1999]
Sir Winston Marie Spencer-Charchill (1874-1965)
“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet (Mohammed) rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property – either as a child , a wife, or a concubine – must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.”
Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen: all know how to die; but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science-the science against which it had vainly struggled – the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.”
[‘The River Was, Vol.II, by Winstone Churchill, Longmans, Green & Co.London,. First Edition, 1899, p248-250, also quoted in http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/read.churchill%20islam.html]
Sri Vidiadhar Suraiprasad Naipaul (1932):
Nobel Laureate in literature (2001), Booker Prize (1971) and Jerusalem Prize (1983) winner world famous author, thinker and philosopher, Trinidad born British citizen, ethnically Indian, married to a Muslim woman. Sir V.S. Naipaul observed about Islam after extensive travel in Islamic countries:
“Islam is in its origin an Arab religion. Everyone not an Arab who is a Muslim is a convert. Islam is not simply a matter of conscience or private belief. It makes imperial demands. A convert’s world – view alters. His Holy places are in Arab lands; his sacred language is Arabic. His idea of history alters. He rejects his own; he becomes, whether he likes it or not, a part of the Arab story. The convert has to turn away from everything that is his. The disturbance for societies is immense, and even after a thousand years can remain unresolved; the turning away has to be done again and again. People (Muslims) develop fantasies about who and what they are; and in the Islam of converted countries there is an element of neurosis and nihilism. These countries can be easily set on the boil”.
[In the prologue of ‘Beyond Belief—Islamic Excursion Among the Converted People,’ by Sir V.S.Naipaul, Little Brown & Co, London, 1998, p-1].
Bertrand Russel (1872-1970)
Bertrand Arthur William Russel was a British Philosopher, historian, logician, mathematician, advocate for social reform prominent rationalist and Nobel Prize winner in literature (1950), in recognition for his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought.
- “Bolshevism combines the characteristics of the French Revolution with those of the rise of Islam.”
- “Marx has taught that Communism is fatally predestined to come about; this produces a state of mind not unlike that of the early successors of Mahommet.”
- “Among religions, Bolshevism is to be reckoned with Mohammedanism rather than with Christianity and Buddhism. Christianity and Buddhism are primarily personal religions, with mystical doctrines and a love of contemplation. Mohammedanism and Bolshevism are practical, social, unspiritual, concerned to win the empire of this world.”
[Practice and Theory of Bolshevism, Allen & Unwin, London, 1921, P-5,.29,114, quoted by Ibn Warraq in Leaving Islam, Prometheus Books, New York, 2003, p-136].
Source : http://www.islam-watch.org/Others/Great-Thinkers-on-Islam.htm
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