Sparking debate, cutting losses in Bihar: Explaining Modi's visit to Abu Dhabi's Grand Mosque
Tuesday, 18 August 2015|
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Narendra Modi’s selfie at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi has yielded the intended result for now – it has sparked a debate.
Yahya Bukhari, President of Jama Masjid United Forum has an interesting take over the subject.
“As per my understanding the singular purpose of Modi’s hasty visit to UAE was to go to that mosque and make this big news. There has to be a reason for Modi’s sudden discovery of the great importance of UAE. There must have been some reason why other Prime Ministers didn’t go there for last 34 years,” he said.
Bukhari said that he has been hearing endless debates on the subject since Sunday night.
The headline of the lead story of one of the most read Urdu dailies in north India, Dainik Shahafat, for instance said `Wazir-e-azam Modi pahli bar Masjid me dakhil’ (PM Modi in a masjid for the first time) . This was top story in almost all Urdu dailies and the most widely talked about issue in personal chats and social media messages among members of the Muslim community.
Hasan Shuja, Editor-in-chief and proprietor of Dainik Shahafat says this was a huge story. "I don’t know why the English and Hindi media didn’t pay the kind of attention this story deserved," he said.
Though he isn't enamoured by Modi, Shuja considers the gesture a positive development and said he would like to see how the Prime Minister's Muslim outreach program unfolds, if there is one planned for the future.
Shuja said the Muslim community at large has been very closely watching Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government’s moves.
"No Prime Minister can afford to ignore the community, which constitutes around one-fifth of its population. Governance and development has to be inclusive. I hope it’s time that Modi has realized this and by visiting Grand Mosque in Dubai he has given an indication that he is now willing to reach out to the community,” he said.
Interestingly, his first ever visit to a mosque, albeit in the Arab world came just two day after he spoke of the need to uproot the “poison of casteism and religious fanaticism” and resolved to have no tolerance against them. The fact he spelt it out in the very beginning of his Independence Day speech was a clear indication that he wanted to place an emphasis on the issue.
Prof Akhtarul Wasey, head of Islamic Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia provided another perspective to the issue and said the PM's visit was in keeping with Indian culture.
“Why should anyone be raising eyebrows over Modi’s visit to a mosque. What is the problem with this? After all this is part of the Indian cultural tradition. What matters most is what Modi has written in his comments on his landing at the mosque that `it is a symbol of peace, piety, harmony and inclusiveness that are inherent to faith of Islam’," Wasey said.
"By going there he has given a message to those who thought Islam was a closed region and didn’t offer space to non-believers at its places of worship. He has proved that those who claimed that Arab world was closed for non-believers were all wrong. Arab nations gave ample space for religious pluralism. That I think was a significant message,” he said.
There are also unconfirmed reports that Modi may visit another important Arab nation, Iran, in October. It’s a fact that Muslims in the subcontinent look up to Arab nations on issues of religion, and also for economic support for various educational, cultural and social activities.
Modi’s visit to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, one of the first items on his itinerary in the UAE, is unlikely to have been done purely due to protocol or his interest in tourism. A senior official who till recently was posted in Abu Dhabi said it wasn't mandatory for the heads of state to pay a visit to Grand Mosque and was a matter of individual leader’s choice, faith or interest.
Modi's decision was a well thought out move designed to send a message across to the Muslim community back home that he didn't have a closed mind when it came to faiths other than Hinduism, especially not over the second most dominant faith in India. The gesture could be mere symbolism, as many have argued. But in politics, symbolism does matter in building a public perception.
The Congress swift and sharp reaction over Modi’s move is yet another pointer of its domestic political implications. If Digvijay Singh was at his sarcastic best, then his party spokesman Meem Afzal linked Modi’s move to Bihar elections. What hurts the Congress is the fact that Modi kept repeating he was first time Indian Prime Minister to have visited UAE in last 34 years and also threw in some uncharitable remarks against the UPA regime for inheriting difficulties created by them in bilateral trade and investment.
Yahya Bukhari, President of Jama Masjid United Forum has an interesting take over the subject.
“As per my understanding the singular purpose of Modi’s hasty visit to UAE was to go to that mosque and make this big news. There has to be a reason for Modi’s sudden discovery of the great importance of UAE. There must have been some reason why other Prime Ministers didn’t go there for last 34 years,” he said.
Bukhari said that he has been hearing endless debates on the subject since Sunday night.
The headline of the lead story of one of the most read Urdu dailies in north India, Dainik Shahafat, for instance said `Wazir-e-azam Modi pahli bar Masjid me dakhil’ (PM Modi in a masjid for the first time) . This was top story in almost all Urdu dailies and the most widely talked about issue in personal chats and social media messages among members of the Muslim community.
Hasan Shuja, Editor-in-chief and proprietor of Dainik Shahafat says this was a huge story. "I don’t know why the English and Hindi media didn’t pay the kind of attention this story deserved," he said.
Though he isn't enamoured by Modi, Shuja considers the gesture a positive development and said he would like to see how the Prime Minister's Muslim outreach program unfolds, if there is one planned for the future.
Shuja said the Muslim community at large has been very closely watching Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government’s moves.
"No Prime Minister can afford to ignore the community, which constitutes around one-fifth of its population. Governance and development has to be inclusive. I hope it’s time that Modi has realized this and by visiting Grand Mosque in Dubai he has given an indication that he is now willing to reach out to the community,” he said.
Interestingly, his first ever visit to a mosque, albeit in the Arab world came just two day after he spoke of the need to uproot the “poison of casteism and religious fanaticism” and resolved to have no tolerance against them. The fact he spelt it out in the very beginning of his Independence Day speech was a clear indication that he wanted to place an emphasis on the issue.
Prof Akhtarul Wasey, head of Islamic Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia provided another perspective to the issue and said the PM's visit was in keeping with Indian culture.
“Why should anyone be raising eyebrows over Modi’s visit to a mosque. What is the problem with this? After all this is part of the Indian cultural tradition. What matters most is what Modi has written in his comments on his landing at the mosque that `it is a symbol of peace, piety, harmony and inclusiveness that are inherent to faith of Islam’," Wasey said.
"By going there he has given a message to those who thought Islam was a closed region and didn’t offer space to non-believers at its places of worship. He has proved that those who claimed that Arab world was closed for non-believers were all wrong. Arab nations gave ample space for religious pluralism. That I think was a significant message,” he said.
There are also unconfirmed reports that Modi may visit another important Arab nation, Iran, in October. It’s a fact that Muslims in the subcontinent look up to Arab nations on issues of religion, and also for economic support for various educational, cultural and social activities.
Modi’s visit to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, one of the first items on his itinerary in the UAE, is unlikely to have been done purely due to protocol or his interest in tourism. A senior official who till recently was posted in Abu Dhabi said it wasn't mandatory for the heads of state to pay a visit to Grand Mosque and was a matter of individual leader’s choice, faith or interest.
Modi's decision was a well thought out move designed to send a message across to the Muslim community back home that he didn't have a closed mind when it came to faiths other than Hinduism, especially not over the second most dominant faith in India. The gesture could be mere symbolism, as many have argued. But in politics, symbolism does matter in building a public perception.
The Congress swift and sharp reaction over Modi’s move is yet another pointer of its domestic political implications. If Digvijay Singh was at his sarcastic best, then his party spokesman Meem Afzal linked Modi’s move to Bihar elections. What hurts the Congress is the fact that Modi kept repeating he was first time Indian Prime Minister to have visited UAE in last 34 years and also threw in some uncharitable remarks against the UPA regime for inheriting difficulties created by them in bilateral trade and investment.
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