Why the Muslims Are a Persecuted Community?

Today there are a quite few numbers of absorbing discussions concerning the Muslim community. I first tell you that I am a Muslim by birth but not by faith or practice, I am a non-believer to say the least. Nonetheless I too feel some sort of uncanny ditherings about the community as a whole and I don't have much respect for the community.

Why so?

I have noticed that the Muslims are very much Muslims in their overall attitude which is to some extent sickening. Why do they always carry their religion on their shoulder with all too ostensible bag and baggage? Why do this baggage always so ostensible? People belonging to other communities are also religious and god-fearing. They also regularly perform rituals of their own even sometimes more than the Muslims have to do. In spite of all this, they are too afraid to call themselves by names. Generally they don't give a damn to it.

Why do the Muslim community always suffer from identity crisis? Why can't they save themselves? Why do they always suffer from the self-inflicted ethnic minority syndrome? Why do they always uphold religion above everything else? Why are they so wary of imbibibing scientific and rational mentality and temperament? Why their terms and conditions are dictated from extraneous pre-conditions and by some self-styled Ulemas? Why do they fear of modernity? Why do they not come out to address their grievances politically? Why are their community and society so regimented and why not so liberal? And so on so forth.

These sorts of vexing questions should be the talking points of the day. Yes, behind all of these vexing issues, there are socio-political and historical backlashes. No one can deny this and there is every reason to accept this. But to come out this rut and to gain a strong foothold in the socio-political culture of the world politics, the Muslims themselves have to come forward to ward off the barriers facing the Muslim community. No one is going to spare an inch of space for them. They have to gain it for themselves. They have to be the lord of themselves.

To this effect, the Muslim community has got to keep shy of religious dogmatism and fanaticism and embrace modern education, scientific and rational culture. They should bear in mind that they are human beings first and they are Muslims after then, only being there as Muslims will not hold water for them in the long run in this conflicting and competiting universe.

It is often told that the Muslims are a persecuted community. Yes, they are persecuted more often than not by other communities and by the present political setup. But have they ever been prompted to rally themselves against this persecution? It is their own world vision that has kept them down and it is their own frailty that has allowed themselves to fall a victim to persecution by others. If it is to blame anybody, they have to first blame it on themselves. They are persecuted by their own fanatical laxity. Ulemas' fatwas will not save them, Ulemas' fatwas will drag them in mediaeval obscurantism only.