Islamic Secularists ?
Reader comment on item: There Are No Moderates: Dealing with Fundamentalist Islam

Submitted by SB Puri (United States), Nov 26, 2003 at 14:23

This article reminds me of a talk show on a private TV channel in India. The participants were Giriraj Kishore of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (which is branded as a Hindu fundamentalist organisation responsible for the demolition of the Babri mosque) and Syed Shahabuddin (who is considered a secular western-educated muslim and a one time civil servant). Giriraj Kishore said that secularism could succeed ONLY if the adherents of ALL religions publicly accept the validity of other religions - and then went on to declare that as a Hindu he had no problem in publicly declaring that Islam & Christianity were as valid paths to God as was Hinduism. When Shahabuddin was asked to make a similar declaration he publicly stated that his religion (Islam) did not permit him to do so.

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