Click to play videoNew Delhi: When Muslim leaders exploit the execution of Saddam Hussein to whip up Muslim sentiments, then are they simply manufacturing anger and fear where there is none.
Is the quest for votes so short-sighted that the Muslim leadership is just using regressive slogans to keep the community voting on the basis of religious identity?
Saddam Hussein went to the gallows chanting Allah-O-Akbar.
Thousands of miles away from Baghdad, on the dusty plains of Bundelkhand, Muslims chant the two same words in praise of the Almighty.
These two words form an unbroken cord of faith, that runs through umma - the Islamic fraternity across the world.
In the days when India was still ruled by the British, it was the Muslims of undivided India who took a cue from the Turks.
They launched a nationwide freedom struggle, the Khilafat movement.
Their leaders, the Ali brothers, became global heroes of resistance against the mighty British empire.
But somewhere the script was rewritten and the progressive tone disappeared.
The leadership took the ordinary Muslim on a revolutionary path, but there was no real revolution to attend.
It's anybody's guess that the few who burnt copies of Satanic Verses, ever read the book.
What's even more ironic is that many among them don't even recognise English alphabets.
The skull caps might outnumber all others in a protest against America's War on Iraq, curing the state of Israel, but few will be able to locate Israel on the map.
Even though the robust Urdu press has historically been inclined towards a progressive transnational perspective, the medium is struggling to survive.
Just a few months ago, Justice Sachar told us about the sorry state of affair of the community, but leaders who claim to represent the Muslims have ignored the findings.
Fact, it seems are not enough to become a war cry.
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