“It’s a pity we have to prove ourselves as Indians,” said Mohammed Siddique, a young accountant who was marching in the protest here on Sunday afternoon with his wife and mother. “But the fact is, we need to speak louder than others, to make clear that those people do not speak for our religion — and that we are not Pakistanis.” Full Story »
Posted by Kaizar Campwala
I come away from this story somewhat confused -- I'm unconvinced of this overwhelming unity among Indian Muslims in the wake of the attacks. The author injects himself and his own impressions into the story more than I'm comfortable with. This indicates to me that the evidence may be more disparate than we're led to believe. A key quote comes from the Muslim poet and lyricist -- "Indian Muslims have often suffered twice..." -- and I would have liked to see more like this. Definitely a worthwhile read, but to be taken cautiously.
Excellent reporting on Indian Muslims' challenging circumstances in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. Also gives vital background imformation on the long-standing conflict between Muslims and Hindus that led to the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, and a long-standing pattern of Hindu-Muslim violence in recent years.
The plight of peaceful Indian Muslims is a prime example of the repercussions of viewing terrorism as acts of state instead of mindless violent crimes. The Bush administration's disingenuous conflation of the 9/11 attacks with brutal-but-unrelated (and politically inconvenient) dictator Saddam Hussein destroyed America's moral standing regarding appropriate responses to terrorism. Thanks to his predecessor, President-Elect Obama has an even greater challenge as possible peacemaker ... More »
Without going into too much depth, Robert Worth gives us a look at the tenuous position Indian Muslims find themselves in. He hits on the key issues - communal and economic. Worth the read.
I come from an Indian Muslim family, and spent a year in Delhi studying communal politics in India. Robert Worth doesn't get into the religious politics of Indian democracy, understandably because of it's tortured history.
I gave this story about Indian Muslims identifying as Indians first and protesting the recent violance a perfect score for sourcing. Typically these days in downsized journalism, news reports simply quote experts and pundits speaking after the fact. This report also is difficult to write. Most print journalists just let the photographer do that. Not in this case. The New York Times has a photographer and reporter on the ground in Mumbai so the story resounds with authenticity.
The cluster of banners all around him, held aloft by marchers, seemed to bear out his point. Some read “Our Country’s Enemies are Our Enemies,” others, “Killers of ... More »
Robert Worth did a fine job bringing forward and explaining Hindu and Muslim, apparently largely unified, reactions to attacks as well as the social underpinnings of Islam in India. Well done but not much on Indian and Pakistani tensions.
I found the comment "and that we are not Pakistanis" and its context very telling as to this openness of criticism and condemnation. Many Islamic communities, including those in India have been loath to aggressively condom many terrorist acts, including many in India over the years. Consequently is India's social condemnation more aimed at the country of origin of the terrorists or the disturbing aspects of Islams general quiet acceptance of unspeakable acts.
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