Dr Muhammad Maroof Shah

Rival Truths or Points of View in Religions and Sects To the less informed the conflicting claims of religions and sects of religions or philosophy and religion appear as real battles over conflicting truths. The situation has been captured thus by Mark Twain: “Man is the Religious Animal. . . . He is the only animal that has the True Religion—several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself, and cuts his throat if his theology isn’t straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother’s path to happiness and heaven.” Umberto Eco has pointed out that we should fear “those prepared to die for the truth, for as a rule they make many others die with them, often before them, at times instead of them.” Could it be the case that apparently or obviously conflicting claims are not conflicts between rival saving truth claims but mostly political conflicts or reflect our situatedness and it is indeed impossible to avoid presup...

Who can vow that he has seen ten people he knows intimately and none had significant behavioural problems. Swift’s idea in his satirical masterpiece A Modest Proposal which proposed that the poor Irish may consider easing their economic troubles by selling their children as food for rich people was to shock people out of complacency and insensitivity towards issues that they pass by. I think in Kashmir it is impossible to shock people perhaps for the reasons karwan kae dil sae ehsas-i- ziyaan jata raha . Or is it because we have converted life into an object of art? Or we are Nietzschean Zarathustras not vulnerable to pity and sons of the soil of saints who are said to be “beyond good and evil" ?  Humane Slaughter of New Generation “Papa, would you please slaughter me?” a five year old child asked.   “Why?” asked the shocked father. “Then I will join God and willn’t have to go the school.”   I heard this dialogue few days back and can assert that something simila...

I propose a few measures that appear to me best solutions to some nagging problems we all suffer from. Treating Professional Hazards We have many State appointed bakers, operating with tax money of the poor, who spoil over 80% precious cakes after months of toil and throw them to the dogs. Or many State sponsored car manufacturing units that throw into the sea over 80% of its finished products as they either don’t find roads for them or necessary oil to grease them. Professional colleges are, for the majority of students, animal farms where students are not made into productive beings but fattened for slaughter but their meet, unfortunately, is unacceptable to the public and they die like abandoned horses and old cows slow painful deaths thanks to frustration, ostracization and drudgery of applying and preparing for interviews for all kinds of posts. Therefore it is proposed that after completing degree of professional colleges, 80% of graduates should be hanged in a public ceremon...

Sufism might have theological critiques but literature provides its strongest support and in a way helps dissolve much of now mostly outdated theological critiques of Sufism. Thanks to Urdu Department CUK and Sahityya Academy we had, after much time, a seminar on Sufism and Urdu Literature. Some points that emerged in the papers and discussions may be summed up in the following propositions: Urdu literature from Khusrow till date is informed by Sufi sensibility. No great name in Urdu literature is anti-Sufi and all are to certain extent indebted to Sufism. The world could be saved by better engagement with the mystical or Sufi and especially what is called Quranic Sufism or Ihsan centric narrative. Sufism should be taken as synonymous with spirituality and that is the essence or core of religions. If Sufism becomes philosophy divested from practice and indulges in anti-social and ideologically complicit actions, it should be resisted. Sufism needs to be purged of ...

Let us not be angry, but debate and discuss and apologize for being angry. Let us believe, for one day at least, that no man is willfully bad and that people listen to well formulated and well-meaning arguments. Let us not condemn even the devil, unheard. Let us hope, for an hour at least, that dialogue does help if is not for solving Kashmir problem but when education is an issue. All education is dialogue. Not slogans. No name calling. I am reminded of a movie Twelve Angry Men that demonstrates a key idea from one of the most influential and respected modern philosophers, Jungen Hebermas. The idea is that it is possible to communicate in a democratic set up and resolve violent conflicting opinions. I wish this film were shown in every school and to all ambassadors and politicians who are involved in communication and dialogue. Even seemingly eternally irresolvable hash-nosh conflicts could be greatly helped if we learn how to dialogue. Incidentally it has no action, no acroba...

Choosing the short story writer is like choosing architecture of one’s house Life is a story or has to be lived as a work of art for getting meaning from it. All of us tell stories. The choice – a vital and fateful choice indeed – is what kind of stories we chose to tell ourselves and our children. Great short stories constitute the staple diet  of great education. We do spend a lot of time daily – six hours on average – day dreaming or what amounts to the same – telling ourselves stories with oneself as a hero. Jataka tales, tales in Rumi’s Masnavi and Saadi’s Gulistan, Panchtantra and fables of Aesop have been so central to education across cultures. Even scriptures have to make use of tales and the Quran asserts that the greatest tale – an odyssey of soul searching in fact – is that of Joseph (this tale is retold in many volumes by Thomas Mann in modern times- in fact our challenge is to retell great archetypal stories in a language postmodern man can relate to). In the mo...

Here systematic explication of postmodernism is not possible so a few points will be made though I risk certain oversimplification. It must be borne in mind that there are divergent interpretations of and approaches to understand postmodernism. Muslims are required to appreciate the spirit of the times and recognize the signs of the Lord in change, in history, in new unfolding events.  A   Mujaddid   or reviver of religion is born after every 100 years to help cope up with the new challenges. Today we try to appreciate the challenge from postmodern thought currents are posing and opportunities they are providing for exploitation on our part. First it is to be noted that ours is, willy-nilly, the postmodern age. Living in a globalised world, a multicultural world we might suffer cultural shock or pathologically reaction to the cultural or religious other. Salafi-Sufi polarisation or Shia Sunni skirmishes that have intensified recently for reasons we know can be better un...