Wafa Sultan, the American-Syrian activist, said that no one can be a true Muslim and a true American simultaneously. This applies 100 percent to Indian Muslims also. Dr Ambedkar had said that allegiance of Muslims rested with Islamic Ummah and not with the country they lived in. Proving both Wafa Sultan and Dr Ambedkar correct once again, Indian Muslims, under the leadership of Muhammed Zubair (co-founder of an Islamist news portal called ‘Alt News’) has ignited Jihadi passion among Muslim world by peddling a statement of Nupur Sharma made in a TV debate on 26 May 2022.
What Nupur Sharma said in that debate was fact and from Islamic source. Zubair’s hero Zakir Naik had told that thing about prophet Muhammad in public forum long back. Nupur Sharma retorted back with that comment on Muhammad as a reaction when a Mullah in the debate abused Hindu ‘Lord Shiva’. But Zubair cunning dropped the Mullah’s remark and uploaded only Nupur’s statement in the Twitter, which is a Jihadi platform in India. Indian Muslims and Muslim-world started crying together for alleged blasphemy of prophet Muhammad by Nupur Sharma.
The issue of historical Muhammad, as prophet and originator of the monotheist religion of Islam, is a highly contested topic today. Barring the faith aside, we do have reference of Muhammad in some early seventh century stone inscription as a warlord of Arabs. But the name ‘Muhammad’ literally means ‘the praiseworthy one’. So, finding of name ‘Muhammad’ does not confirm the existence of prophet Muhammad of Islam. We also find coin with inscription in Arabic “In the name Allah” minted in 693 AD during the time of Umayyad king Abd al-Malik. But again, it is not clear which ‘Allah’ Abd al-Malik was referring to, as Allah was also a pre-Islamic Arab name for God?
The Standard Islamic Narrative (SIN) from which we know for the first time about prophet Muhammad and his Islam was collated, compiled and written from hearsay, folklore and unknown sources between eighth and tenth century. Biography of Muhammad (Sirat), Sayings and Doings of Muhammad (Sahih Hadith), Quran (Hafs version) and History of Early Islam (by Al Tabari) came in to existence during that period, that is, after 200 to 350 years of Muhammad’s claimed death. Abbasid dynasty was ruling Arab empire from Baghdad in that period and the kings of Abbasid dynasty were instrumental in creating and promoting the prophet and his Islam.
A few points need clarification here that there is no proof to say that Arabs under Umayyad dynasty, which came before Abbasid dynasty, practiced Islam. The much publicized and holy narrative of four Rightly Guided Caliphs before Umayyad has no historical basis and the city of Mecca was non-existence during the claimed life time of Muhammmad.
From early seventh century, Arabs started building an ever-expanding empire at the cost of Byzantine and Persian empires. Both Byzantine and Persian empires had long history of sophisticated civilizations and social system. But Arabs of the desert had none. They were cruel, violent, unruly and envious of each other. So, to serve the interests of social, political and imperialistic needs, Arabs had to develop a cult that could serve the purposes best and also could give them some pedigree. Folklore of warlord Muhammad came handy before them and rest is well known. But intolerance, regimentation, cruelty and violence remain the integral parts of the cult.
The bottom line is clear that, Muhammed Zubair and Indian Muslims and Muslim-world are integral parts of that cult even today. If Muslims are so touchy about their prophet, then they should not come to TV debate and abuse the God of Hindus and expect that Hindus should not pay them back with their own coins. Henceforth, they should stay in home or in the mosque and should not come in TV debate. What Muhammed Zubair did was a step towards Ghazwa-e-Hind through Information Technology. But Zubair Mia, be ready; there will be tens of millions of Nupur Sharma in India to payback you Jihadis appropriately.
