Title: The Calcutta Quran Petition
Author: Sita Ram Goel
Publisher: Voice of India, New Delhi, 2012 (First published 1966)
ISBN: 9788185990583
Pages: 325
This is my 600th book review in this blog.
India was conceived as a secular republic right from independence. This envisaged a system of government that does not interfere in religious affairs of its citizens. People were free to follow the religion that pleased them and were guaranteed the freedom to propagate it. But practice of this exalted principle of governance often differed widely from theory as soon as elections began to take place. The ruling party found it expedient to appease religious minorities, especially Muslims, and receive votes in return as consolidated vote banks. This shameless cozying up reached the lowest depth in the 1980s. In a case that later became famous as Shah Bano, the Supreme Court granted alimony to an aged Muslim woman who was divorced by her husband. The Muslim fundamentalists erupted in violent protests across the nation demanding that the court verdict ran counter to their religious law that made divorce a right of the husband without any burden of providing financial support to his erstwhile wife. Bending under pressure from the ultra-religious, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi brought in a constitutional amendment that nullified the court verdict and specifically permitted Muslim men to divorce their wives at will, without any monetary provisions. This did lasting damage to Indian secularism. Hindu forces originated in retaliation and took strong roots following this incident. Other aspects of Muslim jurisprudence were also disputed at this time. Chandmal Chopra of Calcutta filed a writ petition in the Calcutta High Court on Mar 29, 1985, stating that publication of the Quran attracts sections 153A and 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) because it ‘incites violence, disturbs public tranquility, promotes on grounds of religion, feelings of enmity, hatred and ill-will between different religious communities and insults other religions or religious beliefs of other communities in India’. This book expounds the events that followed a critical evaluation of the Muslim holy book in view of the allegations made. Sita Ram Goel (1921 – 2003) was an Indian political activist, writer, historian and publisher. He had Marxist leanings in his early life but later became an outspoken anti-communist and also wrote extensively on the damage to Indian culture and heritage wrought by expansionist Islam. He was a staunch follower of Hindu nationalism.
The petition placed before the court 85 ayats (verses of the Quran) which command Muslims to practice violent, genocidal behavior towards non-Muslims. The book contains detailed descriptions of each of them. Judge Padma Khastgir allowed the petition and directed to issue notices to the state and union governments. The case was later transferred to Judge Bimal Chandra Basak who pronounced the verdict. The petition prayed for a direction from the court to the state government to confiscate all extant copies of the Quran under the relevant provisions of the IPC. The petition ruffled the feathers of the establishment. Weak-kneed central and state governments tried to scuttle the case at first. The communist-led state government’s sleuths trailed the petitioners to find something incriminating. He was later arrested, just for filing a plea in a court of law on an issue in which he believed justice was being denied. Muslim mobs went on the rampage across many parts of the nation. Justice Basak finally made an anti-climactic judgment which rejected the petition outright, Justice Basak started by accepting the Muslim claim that the Quran was the word of God. By that logic, if the ayats sounded obnoxious, they must have been torn out of their original context. Without examining the merits of the case, he dismissed the plea.
The Quran was a source of litigation on other occasions too. In another case in Delhi in 1986, the Metropolitan Magistrate judged that the 24 ayats which are said to cause communal riots are harmful and teach hatred and are likely to create differences between Muslims and other communities. Here we see two courts taking diametrically opposite positions on the same issue. While one court preferred to stay away from any evaluation of a book on the reason that it was revealed directly by God, the other persuaded to do just the same irrespective of the threats and intimidations directed against him. Goel argues that the coincidence between the prophet’s convenience on the one hand and Allah’s commands on the other makes it obvious that Allah of the Quran is none other than the prophet himself (p.32). Eighteen points are listed out and narrated in support of this claim (p.20-32).
The book provides an exhaustive view of the importance Quran assigns to waging war against the infidels (jihad). A full chapter is devoted to enumerate the battles fought by the prophet (p.77-136). Killing infidels in battle is an act that returns immense merit to the believers. Even if one gets killed in such a skirmish, his afterlife becomes very rewarding. Such persons go directly to paradise without waiting till the Day of Judgment. There are different grades of believers in heaven. An ordinary believer is entitled to paradise, but a mujahid (one who took part in jihad) is hundred times more deserving. A ghazi (one who killed infidels in jihads) is still higher in merit. A shahid (one who got killed in jihad) gets instant paradise. The incentive scheme is clearly tilted towards extracting maximum valour from Muslim soldiers in their fight against infidels.
The book contains many quotes from the Quran and other sacred Islamic books. Goel expertly uses them to analyse the real status of non-Muslims in a country governed according to Sharia law. Imam Abu Hanifa, who lived in the eighth century CE, systematized Muslim law. He is highly regarded by Indian Muslims, almost all of them belonging to his Hanafi School. The ‘Hidayah’ is the most important treatise of this school and our book quotes from this the relevant portions pertaining to recommended treatment of outsiders in an Islamic society. The law books refer to such people as zimmis who are denied all rights otherwise granted to Muslim citizens. They are grudgingly conceded the right to life and property upon payment of a crippling poll tax. When Muslims conquer an infidel country, the inhabitants, together with their wives and children are all plunder and the property of the state, as it is lawful to reduce all infidels to slavery. Idolaters should be immediately killed, but kitabis (people of the book – Jews and Christians) can buy their life by payment of jizyah. They are not allowed to build any new place of worship. Zimmis are also required to look different in attire from Muslims. They should not be allowed to ride on horses or use armour. They must be made to wear a woolen cord or belt round their waists or outside of their garments. Zimmis should put some distinctive sign on their houses so that ‘beggars who come to their door may not pray for them’!
There is a long line of scholars, especially belonging to the Left, who deliberately play down the threat posed by Islamic fundamentalism. They argue that these are one-off events which have no place in the modern world. This is a pious lie. We have seen what the Islamic State had done to non-Muslims in the territories they conquered and ruled for a short time. Modern times or not, they faithfully put in action all the Quranic injunctions to the letter, by killing off idolatrous Yazidi men and making their women sex slaves. Goel of course did not know this as he died many years back, but his warnings are so prescient as to make us wonder whether he anticipated the ISIS takeover. The author argues that though the mujahids lived in many different centuries who belonged to different races and spoke different languages, yet their actions followed the same pattern. It looks as if the Muslim historians have only filled in the blanks in a prescribed pro forma. The dramatis personae of the drama continued to change, but the script remained loyal to what the Quran taught. The key to all this behavior is held by the Quran which is the only thing which all jihadis and their historians share in common. This is an ominous pointer to India. Jihad cannot be regarded as something which happened only in the past. It is an ever present threat to India as the Quranic verses would provide the basis and motivation for a jihad wherever and whenever the infidels provide an opportunity. Pious Muslims in every place and at all times are taught to see, or seek, or provoke situations in which solutions prescribed by the Quran can be practiced (p.209).
This book is not recommended for faint-hearted Muslims as it seeks to present a lesser known facet of their religion. They may better avoid this book. It has quoted extensively from Islamic texts, which make the reading cumbersome on many occasions. A long reproduction from Tuhfat ul-Mujahideen on jihad has a single paragraph that spans across nine pages of the book! The author declares that it is high time for Hindu scholarship to come forward and make a serious study of the Quran with the help of Islamic theology and history. It is time for them to have a close look at the character of Allah which is the seed from which everything in Islam has sprouted. The results will be very rewarding. Goel has included references from medieval Muslim historians such as al-Utbi, Hasan Nizami, Abdullah Wassaf, Amir Khusrau and Muhammad Qasim Ferishta. We do not find a trace of pity or sorrow or sympathy in these historians while they expound stories of slaughter, pillage and the plight of zimmi men, women and children.
The petition placed before the court 85 ayats (verses of the Quran) which command Muslims to practice violent, genocidal behavior towards non-Muslims. The book contains detailed descriptions of each of them. Judge Padma Khastgir allowed the petition and directed to issue notices to the state and union governments. The case was later transferred to Judge Bimal Chandra Basak who pronounced the verdict. The petition prayed for a direction from the court to the state government to confiscate all extant copies of the Quran under the relevant provisions of the IPC. The petition ruffled the feathers of the establishment. Weak-kneed central and state governments tried to scuttle the case at first. The communist-led state government’s sleuths trailed the petitioners to find something incriminating. He was later arrested, just for filing a plea in a court of law on an issue in which he believed justice was being denied. Muslim mobs went on the rampage across many parts of the nation. Justice Basak finally made an anti-climactic judgment which rejected the petition outright, Justice Basak started by accepting the Muslim claim that the Quran was the word of God. By that logic, if the ayats sounded obnoxious, they must have been torn out of their original context. Without examining the merits of the case, he dismissed the plea.
The Quran was a source of litigation on other occasions too. In another case in Delhi in 1986, the Metropolitan Magistrate judged that the 24 ayats which are said to cause communal riots are harmful and teach hatred and are likely to create differences between Muslims and other communities. Here we see two courts taking diametrically opposite positions on the same issue. While one court preferred to stay away from any evaluation of a book on the reason that it was revealed directly by God, the other persuaded to do just the same irrespective of the threats and intimidations directed against him. Goel argues that the coincidence between the prophet’s convenience on the one hand and Allah’s commands on the other makes it obvious that Allah of the Quran is none other than the prophet himself (p.32). Eighteen points are listed out and narrated in support of this claim (p.20-32).
The book provides an exhaustive view of the importance Quran assigns to waging war against the infidels (jihad). A full chapter is devoted to enumerate the battles fought by the prophet (p.77-136). Killing infidels in battle is an act that returns immense merit to the believers. Even if one gets killed in such a skirmish, his afterlife becomes very rewarding. Such persons go directly to paradise without waiting till the Day of Judgment. There are different grades of believers in heaven. An ordinary believer is entitled to paradise, but a mujahid (one who took part in jihad) is hundred times more deserving. A ghazi (one who killed infidels in jihads) is still higher in merit. A shahid (one who got killed in jihad) gets instant paradise. The incentive scheme is clearly tilted towards extracting maximum valour from Muslim soldiers in their fight against infidels.
The book contains many quotes from the Quran and other sacred Islamic books. Goel expertly uses them to analyse the real status of non-Muslims in a country governed according to Sharia law. Imam Abu Hanifa, who lived in the eighth century CE, systematized Muslim law. He is highly regarded by Indian Muslims, almost all of them belonging to his Hanafi School. The ‘Hidayah’ is the most important treatise of this school and our book quotes from this the relevant portions pertaining to recommended treatment of outsiders in an Islamic society. The law books refer to such people as zimmis who are denied all rights otherwise granted to Muslim citizens. They are grudgingly conceded the right to life and property upon payment of a crippling poll tax. When Muslims conquer an infidel country, the inhabitants, together with their wives and children are all plunder and the property of the state, as it is lawful to reduce all infidels to slavery. Idolaters should be immediately killed, but kitabis (people of the book – Jews and Christians) can buy their life by payment of jizyah. They are not allowed to build any new place of worship. Zimmis are also required to look different in attire from Muslims. They should not be allowed to ride on horses or use armour. They must be made to wear a woolen cord or belt round their waists or outside of their garments. Zimmis should put some distinctive sign on their houses so that ‘beggars who come to their door may not pray for them’!
There is a long line of scholars, especially belonging to the Left, who deliberately play down the threat posed by Islamic fundamentalism. They argue that these are one-off events which have no place in the modern world. This is a pious lie. We have seen what the Islamic State had done to non-Muslims in the territories they conquered and ruled for a short time. Modern times or not, they faithfully put in action all the Quranic injunctions to the letter, by killing off idolatrous Yazidi men and making their women sex slaves. Goel of course did not know this as he died many years back, but his warnings are so prescient as to make us wonder whether he anticipated the ISIS takeover. The author argues that though the mujahids lived in many different centuries who belonged to different races and spoke different languages, yet their actions followed the same pattern. It looks as if the Muslim historians have only filled in the blanks in a prescribed pro forma. The dramatis personae of the drama continued to change, but the script remained loyal to what the Quran taught. The key to all this behavior is held by the Quran which is the only thing which all jihadis and their historians share in common. This is an ominous pointer to India. Jihad cannot be regarded as something which happened only in the past. It is an ever present threat to India as the Quranic verses would provide the basis and motivation for a jihad wherever and whenever the infidels provide an opportunity. Pious Muslims in every place and at all times are taught to see, or seek, or provoke situations in which solutions prescribed by the Quran can be practiced (p.209).
This book is not recommended for faint-hearted Muslims as it seeks to present a lesser known facet of their religion. They may better avoid this book. It has quoted extensively from Islamic texts, which make the reading cumbersome on many occasions. A long reproduction from Tuhfat ul-Mujahideen on jihad has a single paragraph that spans across nine pages of the book! The author declares that it is high time for Hindu scholarship to come forward and make a serious study of the Quran with the help of Islamic theology and history. It is time for them to have a close look at the character of Allah which is the seed from which everything in Islam has sprouted. The results will be very rewarding. Goel has included references from medieval Muslim historians such as al-Utbi, Hasan Nizami, Abdullah Wassaf, Amir Khusrau and Muhammad Qasim Ferishta. We do not find a trace of pity or sorrow or sympathy in these historians while they expound stories of slaughter, pillage and the plight of zimmi men, women and children.
The book is highly recommended.
Rating: 3 Star
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