TNN Jan 4, 2014, 06.57AM IST
CHENNAI: Jihad normally evokes images of bearded men shaking their fists, smoke bellowing from two towers and hooded men wielding grenade launchers. "So ingrained is the fear of the word that my lecture in Chennai almost got cancelled after some people raised concerns over jihad being the topic," historian S Irfan Habib said on Friday.
In the city to deliver a lecture organised by the Islamic Forum for the Promotion of Moderate Thought, Habib, a historian of science and political history who holds the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad chair at Delhi's National University of Educational Planning and Administration, questioned the stereotypes and the propaganda shrouding Islam.
"Believers have started taking religion so seriously that it has become an obsession," said Habib. The 60-year-old who has authored several books on the history of science quoted from the Quran, saying the text primarily promoted independent thinking. "Ijtihad — independent thinking and reasoning — was given priority, but over the years radicals have conveniently buried this term and pushed for collective thinking, which continues to be the way of life for many who follow the religion."
Ruing that Islam had moved from being a religion to a ritual of sorts for many, he blamed leaders who interpreted the scriptures based on their convenience. "It is sad that many Muslims in the country don't know Arabic and hence the real meaning of the texts eludes them. The Quran must be translated into local languages, that way the scriptures won't be an enclave of the select few," said Habib.
"The problem is people are too scared to question. That should not be the case. By not questioning negativity shrouds Islam," he said.
"Everything is a jihad — pursuit of education, earning a living and fighting your egos. But, now, it is the most misunderstood concept of Islam," Habib said.
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