10/12/2002

no assets to freeze

Want to see an example of a thriving embrace of Islam and the Internet? Take a look at the alt.muslim website, especially their Islamic Thought section. It has an ecellent collection of analyses and interesting stories, including this short account of Badshah Khan, a leading advicate of non-violence and contemporary of Ghandi:


Working alongside Gandhi to liberate South Asia from British colonial rule, Badshah Khan (affectionately known as the "Frontier Gandhi") spent his 98-year life proving that the highest religious values of Islam are deeply compatible with nonviolent conflict resolution, even against heavy odds. From the tribal Pushtuns, Khan assembled the world's first and largest non-violent army in the 1930s, the 100,000-strong Khudai Hidmatgars ("servants of God"). "That such men, who would have killed a human being with no more thought than they would kill a sheep," recounted Gandhi, "should at the bidding of one man have laid down their arms and accepted nonviolence as the superior weapon sounds almost like a fairy tale." "I cited chapter and verse from the Koran to show the great emphasis that Islam had laid on peace," said Khan of his discussion with a skeptical Muslim. "I also showed to him how the greatest figures in Islamic history were known more for their forbearance and self-restraint than for their fierceness. The reply rendered him speechless."


There is a great collection of articles and intellectual opinion on the Islamic Thought page. And, the site is humorous and witty - including randomly-changing bylines like 'Your mysterious neighbors', 'No compulsion in opinion', 'Detained indefinitely', and my personal favorite, 'no assets to freeze" :)

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