[Reader-list] Fwd: Myth Called the 'Indian Muslim'

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear All, Dear Sukla and  Dear Venu,

Thank you for your posts.

-Sukla.

I do not think that I questioned the intent of Sujovit. I am sure he must
have the best of intentions in mind while writing this story. The point of
the post was more on lines of representation and portrayal, a 'Covering
Islam' argument, if you may, tinged with South Asian context.

Particularly in this regard, my question was, while reporting or
representing-  How do our learned journalists justify the use of hackneyed
cliches like 'Islamic Community' , 'Muslim world' and 'Muslim vote'? Why is
it that a distinction is not made when such a distinction exists in everyday
practice of 'Islam'?

When I am sure members of the same tribe, who are in the business of
representation, will be quick to decry a similarly overarching term like
'Hindutva' and churn out acres of pulp to signify not only, the various
historical, cultural or religious distinctions but also variances in
everyday practice.

-Venu

I do not disagree with you Venu, but at the same time, I think, on a
platform like this, we can at least talk about the ludicrousness of such
portrayals. The model remains the same in case of reporting not only about
Islam per se but about any social grouping which is regarded as 'the other'.
First there is an incorrect representation. Which either consists of gross
generalizations or distortions or hyped up imaginations. Which is followed
by constant repetition and looping wherein certain words are used again and
again and again and again so much so that after a lapse of time, they
acquire an aura of 'normality'. Which then becomes a marker to view and
judge an entire community. In case of 'Islam' in a 'South Asian' context, I
think the two most abused words, which immediately come to my mind, are-
Jihad and Taliban. And by that, of course, I am not just referring to that
salwar brigade of breaded lunatics, rather, my ishara is also on how the
meaning of these words changed, in popularly ascribed and prescribed terms,
in last one hundred and eighty years.

Regards

Taha