The language you use against Zakir Naik and your allergy towards Muslims and Salafism is quite obvious in your article (“Why a Saudi award for televangelist Zakir Naik is bad news for India’s Muslims”). I would suggest that you go to the source ‒ the Quran ‒ and then compare the facts that Naik has been telling people around him. I am not a big fan of Naik, but yes, I do agree that he has been shown in a bad light especially in India, due to the lack of religious education amongst Muslims.
Unfortunately, the division of sects within the community has led to the sad state of affairs for the Indian Muslim, who has to face a dilemma of where he should go and who he should follow. It is only the Quran and sunnah that guides you.
As far as Zakir Naik is concerned, you should not have used words that show a blatant allergy and hatred towards him. As for Saudi Arabia, it is not a Salafi country, it is a country ruled by shariah and follows only the Quran and sunnah. – Mona Shamsher
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This is an excellent piece of journalism. It has dissected Zakir Naik perfectly. While I am a great admirer of his intelligence, I have also reason to question his leanings. I may not agree on certain aspects of your article, but I think he is perhaps one of the most eloquent of the so-called liberals. As far as multiple wives are concerned, there is a lot of logic and reason behind it. However, like every other religion and custom, it is also distorted.
By banning him, you are not solving him. Face him and confront his views. Perhaps, he will also see the other side of the logic, as till now obviously no one seems to have penetrated him. – AM Lalljee
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I wanted to know what your understanding of the term "Salafism" is? And why is there a negative view towards the followers of 'Salafism'? – Zainab Haque
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The author has forgotten to mention that he is equally famous among non-Muslims. – Mohammed Mujeeb
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The article is very frank and truthful. We all are from one God, called by different names by various people. Zakir Naik, keep it up! With your truthful spirit, you should not only win many awards, but also his grace. – Dayal JS
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At least don’t turn people's mindsets into a different one. Think why the Indian government did not award Zakir Naik but the Saudi king did. This is a slap for Indian Muslims. All other personalities get the Bharat Ratna, but a preacher of Islam does not. – Afreen Sayyed
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First of all, Islam is a community that has to follow some critical measures. They have to follow the hijab, fast in Ramzan, and other related things, which have been specified by Prophet Mohammad. Zakir Naik is not a Muslim, and I cannot accept him as one. – MM Abbas
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Kudos to you for hitting the hammer bang on the head of the nail. A listener of TV programmes does not have the insight into what your article uncovers. – Sunil Panat
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It seems that the Shoaib Daniyal doesn’t know anything except liberalism taught by Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. If a man claims that he is an expert of Islam, it is obvious that most of his arguments come from primary sources, which requires at least that someone knows the primary language and texts of the source. Daniyal, in one way, highlighted the modern essential ways of thought by which anyone can debate and come to a conclusion, which is an integral part of the arguments of Naik. On the other hand, he confronted his arguments by simply rejecting on the basis of the western form of liberalism without presenting his own knowledge of the Quran or hadith. Many things presented by Naik in his speeches are highly reformative in nature. – Khalid Ansari
Popular Front is a social movement, not a political party
There are multiple points that are wrong in your article about the Mangalore moral policing (“VHP meeting in Mangalore highlights the divide between city's Hindus and Muslims”). First, the Popular Front is not a political party, it's a neo-social movement aimed at creating equality and justice in India. Second, the Popular Front never supported or orchestrated any moral policing attacks.
Third, it has been organising unity marches in different places since the last seven years. The Shivamogga incident was not a communal flare-up, it was a planned attack orchestrated to bring a bad name to the Popular Front and stop further programmes.– Talha Huseyn
Nagas are indeed losing their identity
The articles take a good stoke of Nagas’ growing concern on outsiders (“As Nagaland frets about loss of identity, women's choices have come under scrutiny”). It is indeed a deep concern that their identity, besides the dance, traditional songs and native folklore, is being lost. It is, however, too early to comment on Naga identity. The main problem that I perceive is that non-locals have been gradually dominating labour work, opening small paan shops and poultry businesses and taking away the source of Naga wealth.
We have to relentlessly pursue the solution through which it becomes viable for Naga locals to find alternatives and replace the outsiders. The menace of growing migration is taking a toll on many ethnic groups, and since many of them are in deep slumber, the migration population will one day replace the voice of the indigenous ethnic group on both the political and economic fronts. The consequences have a wider impact. – Khuzuak Bonchang
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A very well written, detailed and informative article about Nagaland women. – Hopeto
Scroll has become a Modi-bashing website
I used to like Scroll.in and now it has become a Modi-bashing news website. Every third article is criticising the Prime Minister. – Ryan
Excess coverage on minorities
Why do you highlight only incidents of excesses on minorities? You report as though minorities are being continuously persecuted in this country. Why do not you highlight the rampant conversions? Why don’t you highlight the use of force on Hindus in Muslim-dominated areas? – Srikanth R Rao
Is attention being diverted from other issues?
This article is the most positive and hilarious way of treating the comical bans (“Surviving Banistan: A quick guide to avoiding anti-national activities in India”). Is the attention of the masses being diverted from the true problems at hand? I believe I saw more shares and WhatsApp messages about the beef ban and the documentary than the poor little girl who was raped.
My father was a Hindu, married to my Catholic mother, and my best friend is a Muslim. I have attended pujas with my aunt and eaten prasad, and God was not upset with me. I go to church and receive the Holy Communion, and still God was not upset. I fasted a couple of times with my friend and celebrated Eid, God was still not upset. If God is not upset with me, I don't really care how much society is upset with me. – Savio
Kejriwal accepted the lesser evil over the larger good
It is very saddening that the three top leaders of AAP have had a fall-out with each other (“Read the controversial emails by Prashant Bhushan's sister that pushed AAP to breaking point”). In their ardour to protect their viewpoints, they were ready to sabotage the party's chances to win the Delhi polls. This is unforgivable. Thank God they did not succeed, for it would have been the party's demise and the BJP's communal forces permanently ruling India for the next 15 years.
Prashant Bhushan and family should have seen the larger picture, and if Arvind Kejriwal accepted the lesser evil over the larger good, his political instinct proved sounder than all the principled ideology and political sagacity of Yogendra Yadav. And Kejriwal acted upon the Lokpal's verdict, not like a dictator. After this churning, the three must sit together and work out a strategy to sort out their differences. Each one is valuable for AAP's growth. – Chander Kanta Ojha
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I am part of the AAP Chicago team since February 2013. Shalini has never discouraged anyone to donate, whether in the past or this year, either over emails or phone or conference meetings. In fact, we had fundraisers in January and February itself for the constituency adopted by the Chicago team, and at all events, she was present to encourage donors.
It’s extremely painful to see such a perverted agenda being played out in a selfless volunteer-driven organisation. There has to be a validation of news items before taking it to the public forum. – Navendu Shirali
Logic does give better results than law
Only a sane person believes in a theory that logic gives better results than law. Logically, Masarat Alam shouldn’t have been granted bail, but the law has to take its own course (“My struggle for Kashmir’s freedom from India remains alive, says Masarat Alam”). – Umer Wani
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We see films based on such dark politics, where a person is made a criminal and then a hero and then killed by the same politicians. The same fate is expected of Masarat Alam. He is made a hero, he is released. Now he will be killed and the public will be instigated for revenge from the rulers. He must leave India at the earliest for his safety. – Srijath
The agony of Suzette Jordan
I was moved by the way Suzette Jordan was humiliated in court (“'I am not the Park Street rape victim. I am Suzette Jordan': remembering a survivor's harrowing ordeals”). I agree with you that India killed her. It is very difficult when you have to face consequences of a crime for which you were not responsible at all.
Jordan is just a normal Indian and I realised her pain when I thought of my sister or my girlfriend in her place. People will understand only when somebody in their family face such a fate.
Indeed, Jordan was a fighter. Fighting for justice in our country, that too for a woman, needs much courage. – Manish Khandelwal
The killing fields
A good article about women farmers (“India’s quiet women farmers slip into crisis”). It portrays the pathetic condition of women in the sector. I would like to get a clarification on the statistics on women labourers. The number of women in agricultural jobs is stated to be 98 million. Out of this, 58% are stated be women farm labourers. But it is stated to be 61.6 million, whereas it should be 56.84%. – VKV Ravichandran
Why can’t I photograph freely?
Photography restrictions have been my constant source of irritation with authorities, either the government or otherwise (“‘Photography strictly prohibited’: Why do we in India fear the image so much?”). When I could freely photograph just about anything (including the main Control Centre) during our conducted tour of Johnson Space Centre in the United States of America, why do I have to deposit my camera with the security when I am entering a telephone exchange to meet an engineer about my telephone? I could take any number of pictures at the ISKCON temple in Washington, why does security become hopping mad when I pull out my camera from my bag at the same ISCKON temple in Bangalore? The only restrictions are in the St Paul’s and Sistine Chapel in Rome, where one should not use a flash or a tripod.
In our temples, the most prominent board at the entrance is “Photography prohibited.” One can understand that the deity should not be photographed, but why not outside? This, I think, is because the temple authorities have given the rights of pictures to sellers of trinkets outside the temples. – NK Raghavendran
What, exactly, is elderly abuse?
Abuse of any form/kind is not acceptable, therefore I liked the article about the abuse of the elderly from the perspective of raising awareness regarding its frequency or commonplace nature (“Daughters-in-law lead, but sons are a close second in abusing the elderly in India”). However, it did not answer my question about what constitutes elderly abuse. – Taruna Agarwal
Dum Laga Ke Haisha is a gem
It has been a very long time since Yash Raj Films gave us romantic films like Dum Laga Ke Haisha (“Film review: Dum Laga Ke Haisha is a winning portrait of the heavy lifting required in a marriage”). I had minimum expectations from this film. But when I watched it, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s the story of a man who is forced to get married to an overweight girl and about how they fall in love. Ayushmann Khurrana was superb, as was the new girl Bhumi Pednekar. The supporting cast too acted very well. However, the most surprising part was its music. I have only one complaint: the change of heart of the male lead towards the leading lady is very sudden. – Devang Makwana