Press statement:
IMSD calls upon Muslims to recall the views expressed by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan well over a century ago. In his time, he staunchly opposed Muslims who made a bonfire of books they did not like, or demanded its ban by the authorities. His advice was simple. Fight words with words if the book in question is worthy of a reasoned critique. Burning or banning such books implies that Muslims are incapable of an intellectual and moral defense of their faith. If the book (cartoon, play, film) is nothing but a gratuitous, salacious or malicious attack on Islam or its Prophet, his suggestion was: ignore it.
In 1861, an English writer William Muir had written a book in which he had made disparaging remarks against Prophet Mohammad. In response, Sir Syed travelled to London to study the books and journals that Muir had relied on and eight years later published a reasoned critique debunking Muir’s work.
Sir Syed’s advice to his fellow Muslims long ago is all the more relevant in today’s ‘new India’ where minorities are daily targets of Hindutva’s hate politics. Any ill-advised or hotheaded response to the publication of Satanic Verses – a book not Many Muslims are likely to have read earlier or will read now — will only provide more fodder to the Muslim-baiters. Besides, it will only give free publicity to the very book they want banished.
IMSD does draw the line between Free Speech, which it fully supports, and Hate Speech, which it staunchly opposes. While, the Constitution of India guarantees the right to freedom of speech, the law of the land also provides for penal action against hate speech.
Muslims, or anyone else for that matter, have the right to be offended by a book, cartoon, play or film and they have the right to protest in peaceful manner. They are also within their right to invoke existing provisions of criminal law to seek redressal of their grievance. But they do not have the right to silence the offender. A fatwa, firman or call to kill Salman Rushdie, as also the demand for a ban on Satanic Verses amounts to just that: silencing the offender.
Signatories:
- Aarefa Johari, Gender rights activist, journalist, Mumbai
- Akbar Shaikh, IMSD, Bhartiya Muslim Yuva Andolan, Solapur
- Ahmad Rashid Shervani, Educationist, Hyderabad
- A. J. Jawad, IMSD, Co-convener, Advocate, Chennai
- Amir Rizvi, IMSD, Designer, Mumbai
- Anwar Hussain, Corporate Executive
- Anwar Rajan, IMSD, Pune
- Arshad Alam, IMSD, Columnist, New Age Islam, Delhi
- Askari Zaidi, IMSD, Senior Journalist, Delhi
- Bilal Khan, IMSD, Activist, Mumbai
- Farhan Rahman, Asst. Prof., Ranchi University, Ranchi
- Feroz Abbas Khan, theatre and film director, playwright and screenwriter, Mumbai
- Feroze Mithiborwala, IMSD, Co-convener, Bharat Bachao Andolan, Mumbai
- Gauhar Raza, Anhad, Delhi
- Hasan Ibrahim Pasha, Writer, Allahabad
- A. J. Jawad, IMSD, Co-convener, Advocate, Chennai
- Irfan Engineer, IMSD Co-convener, CSSS, Mumbai
- Javed Anand, IMSD Convener, CJP, SabrangIndia Online, Mumbai
- Kasim Sait, Businessman, Philanthropist, Chennai
- Khadija Farouqui, IMSD, Gender rights activist, Delhi
- Lara Jesani, IMSD, PUCL, Mumbai
- Mansoor Sardar, IMSD, Bhiwandi
- Masooma Ranalvi, IMSD, We Speak Out, Delhi
- Mohammed Imran, PIO, USA
- Muniza Khan, IMSD, CJP, Varanasi
- Nasreen Fazelbhoy, IMSD, Mumbai
- Qaisar Sultana, Home Maker, Allahabad
- Qutub Jahan, IMSD, NEEDA, Mumbai
- (Dr) Ram Puniyani, IMSD, Author, Activist, Mumbai
- Sabah Khan, IMSD, Parcham, Mumbra/Mumbai
- Shabana Mashraki, IMSD, Consultant, Mumbai
- Shabnam Hashmi, Anhad, Delhi
- (Dr) Shahnawaz Alam, IMSD
- Shalini Dhawan, Designer, Mumbai
- Shama Zaidi, Documentary Film Maker, Mumbai
- Shamsul Islam, Author, Delhi
- Sohail Hashmi, IMSD, Sahmat, Delhi
- Sultan Shahin, Editor-in chief and publisher, New Age Islam, Delhi
- Teesta Setalvad, Secretary, CJP, IMSD, Mumbai
- Yousuf Saeed, Documentary Film Maker, Delhi
- Zakia Soman, Co-convener BMMA, Delhi
- Zeenat Shaukat Ali, IMSD, Wisdom Foundation, Mumbai