Once in the US, it so happened that a lady was being chased by a dog. She ran until the dog was stopped and made to run for its life by a brave young man. Looking in awe, among the spectators, was a young journalist. ‘You are a brave guy. You must be featured in the newspaper. ‘Brave young American saves lady from dog’, is the headline I am planning on. Hearing this, the lad said ‘Sorry, but I am not an American.’ ‘Oh is it?’, Where are you from?’ asked the journo. ‘I am from the Middle East,’ replied the man. ‘Oh… so, are you a Muslim?’ ‘Yes, very much’, he admitted. ‘Oh, nice to see you. Please read tomorrow’s edition of my newspaper’, said the journo handing over his card. The next day, however, the young man was flabbergasted to see the headline which read, ‘A terrorist terrorizes a dog!’
That was a joke, of course. But the way the world is looking at Muslims today is not much different from the perspective of the imaginative journalist in the joke. ‘Not all Muslims are terrorists,’ admit supporters of Islam. This is countered by its critics who say ‘But most, if not all, of the terrorists are Muslims!’
Islam is at the height of unpopularity today. Muslims are regarded with great skepticism and the credibility of Islam seems to be at stake. Recently, my distinguished friend M J Akbar answered this with a lot of vitality in his article, ‘Is credibility of Islam at stake’? But not many were moved by it. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by indiamahesh 
