HVK Archives: Anwar Shaikh of Great Britain (Interview)
Anwar Shaikh of Great Britain (Interview) - The Hindustan Times
Dr. Ranjit Kanwar
()
Thu, 24 Sep 1998 21:53:46 +0530
Title: Anwar Shaikh of Great Britain (Interview)
Author: Dr. Ranjit Kanwar
(First published in the Chandigarh Times, India)
R. Kanwar: We have heard your name in India, yet we do not
know much about you. Will you tell me something about
yourself?
A. Shaikh: I was born in 1928 in a village near the city of
Gujrat (Pakistan). Religion has been part of my family
tradition. Naturally, I was brought up to be a scholar of
Islam. To the best of my knowledge, it was my great grand
father, who had embraced Islam. He was a Kashmiri Pandit.
After conversion, he became an Imam-i-Masjid, a fervent
preacher of Islam. My grandfather was conscious of his
Brahmin ancestry, and resented if anyone spoke ill of the
Vedas yet he could not return to his roots owing to the
psychological grounding he had received over the years.
In Pakistan, I was a teacher and then became headmaster of a
high school. Though economically life was bearable, socially
it was not. I emigrated to Great Britain in 1956. After
initial hardships, I struck lucky. At the height of business
success, I suddenly realized that I wanted to do some
reformative work instead of indulging in money-making. It
was in 1978 that I started winding up my commercial
activities and am glad that I did so because it gave me a
chance to re-educate myself, especially in philosophy and
religion.
Kanwar: I have read your book, "Islam - The Arab National
Movement" which is becoming world famous rapidly. Did you
write it to oppose Islam?
Shaikh: Its purpose is not to oppose but to expose Islam: it
is a serious work based on long research and personal
experience. There is not one word of lie, insolence or
intentional misrepresentation in this book. Since it is
based on truth and nothing but the truth, it is an open
challenge to those who use Islam as the tool for personal
gain, politically and religiously.
So great is the force and authenticity of this book that no
Muslim scholar has come forward so far to refute its
contents.
Kanwar: Are you another Rushdie?
Shaikh: I am being labelled as such. For example, the Urdu
Daily Pakistan and Weekly Maharat of Lahore, have called me
"a satan of much greater stature than Rushdie and Taslima,"
and the Daily Jang of London has described me, "a Rushdie
whose writings are infinitely more dangerous to Islam than
Rushdie and Taslima put together." The Muslim readers of the
Jang have written to that newspaper repeatedly begging the
mullahs and other scholars of Islam to answer my questions
to "save" Islam but they have deliberately kept quiet to the
utter annoyance of the believers, who are really worried by
the contents of "Islam - The Arab National Movement." They
had demonstrated against Rushdie in every country through
public meetings, processions, slogans and murders, but about
my book they have wilfully observed a conspiracy of silence
because they do not want the world to know the truth about
Islam. This clearly shows that I am the exact opposite of
Rushdie. His work is fiction based on insult to the Prophet
Muhammad and his family, whereas my book is a serious work
founded on scholarship, reason and research. At the most,
Rushdie is an artistic protestor whereas I am a challenger
to the very concept of Islam.
Kanwar: I see. But has your book any relevance to India?
Shaikh: My book has relevance to the entire mankind but it
has especial relevance to India because before the coming of
Islam, India was a prosperous, peaceful and proud country,
which has not only been reduced to extreme poverty and
ignorance by the Muslim predators and the Islamic rule, but
has also been fragmented into geographical and political
units.
The book clearly demonstrates that, as Islam seeks to impose
Arab cultural imperialism on other nations through a
doctrine of divide and murder, India and Islam cannot live
together. This book is a must for India.
Kanwar: Do you realize that this book exposes you to serious
danger? Aren't you afraid?
Shaikh: Truth has its price which I am prepared to pay. I
have not resorted to swearing or falsification simply to
uphold the dignity of truth. Fear is a part of human nature
and it will be wrong of me to deny it. However, I must add
that by making me a martyr, they will sound the death-knell
of Islam.
Kanwar: It is a revolutionary book with profound
consequences. What prompted you to write it?
Shaikh: This is an excellent question and proves your
competence as a journalist. Having lived in the West for
such a long time, one day it crossed my mind why the white
people love their countries but the Muslims of India hate
their Motherland. There is no exaggeration in it because
they think of Bharat not as their Motherland but Darul Harb
i.e. the battlefield, where people murder, plunder and
deceive out of hatred and greed. Having given this point
further thought I soon realized that Islam was based on the
doctrine of hating and murdering non-Muslims and reducing
them to the status of political slaves. It is totally false
to say that Islam is the ambassador of international
brotherhood. Again, it is completely untrue that the Muslims
of all countries are one nation. It is the law of nature
that nationality is constituted by blood ties and
geographical boundaries, that is, the homeland. A nation
being an expanded form of family, is subject to the familial
rules of identity. Of course, a person can adopt another
nationality quite legitimately but it is an exception and
therefore cannot change the basic rule. Calling Muslims of
all countries as one nation is wrong because all these
nations have their separate homelands with their independent
interests and different policies. Pakistan was soon split
into two halves, i.e. Pakistan and Bangladesh. The
government of Pakistan in 1951 stopped entry of all Indian
Muslims into Pakistan despite the fact that they were the
people who had made most sacrifices for the creation of
Pakistan; even more shameful is the treatment of Pakistanis
>from Bihar, who stood by Pakistan against the Bangladeshis.
Muslim nationality is a myth which is extremely injurious to
the non-Arab Muslims but highly beneficial to the Arabs. And
this is what leads to the inevitable conclusion that Islam
is not a religion but the Arab National Movement.
Kanwar: Good Lord! Is it what Islam is? Do you mind
explaining this point a bit further?
Shaikh: The philosophy that lies behind Islam is stunning
and proves the consummate political skill of the Prophet
Muhammad: by declaring all Muslims as one nation and the non-
Muslims as another, he created the Two Nation Theory
perpetually setting Muslims against non-Muslims. Again, he
stressed that in this struggle the Muslims would be
victorious. This is exactly the theory Karl Marx had adopted
after many centuries. Presenting his dialectical view of
history he emphasized that all material progress owed itself
to eternal social strife between the capitalists and the
proletariats, in which the latter would win the struggle.
However, Karl Marx did not show the mastery that the Prophet
Muhammad did: by creating the Two Nation Theory, he
subjected all non-Arab Muslims to the cultural imperialism
of Arabia. He achieved this purpose with a mind boggling
subtlety: he made Arab-worship the cornerstone of Islam.
Thus, those who embrace Islam naturally feel inferior to
Arabia as a devotee believes in relation to his Goddess.
Kanwar: This is an unusual explanation of Islam. Can you
tell me how the Prophet Muhammad raised the reverence of
Arabia sky-high and made it an article of faith for his non-
Arab followers?
Shaikh: Here is a small summary of steps the Prophet took to
realize his dream:
1. He declared that when Adam was evicted from paradise, he
came to Mecca where he built the first House of God. Thus he
identified Godliness with Kaaba, a Sanctuary of Mecca where
God lives! Not only that, Abraham, the Jewish patriarch,
also came to Mecca to rebuild the House of God!
2. For the purpose of imposing Arab psychological
superiority on non-Arab Muslims, he decreed that they must
prostrate five times a day facing Mecca. This is not only an
act of submission to Mecca, the capital city of Arabia, but
also proves beyond a shadow of doubt that God lives in
Mecca; otherwise why should people prostrate in that
direction?
3. A Muslim must not defecate himself or answer the call of
nature facing Mecca. It is a blasphemous act in view of the
sanctity of Mecca.
4. When Muslims die, they must be buried facing Mecca, which
is the guarantee of their salvation.
5. To make sure that the Arabs enjoy economic opulence, the
Prophet made Hajj an obligatory ritual for his followers. It
is a pilgrimage to Mecca. There are countless Indian Muslims
who sell their homes and personal belongings to undertake
this journey. I can give many examples to this effect but it
is enough to explain the real purpose of Islam.
Kanwar: It does show the Arab national tendency of Islam;
but the non-Arab followers of Islam do not have to adopt a
slavish attitude to the Arab national Institutions to prove
their Islamic faith. Do they?
Shaikh: I regret to say, Sir, like countless non-Muslims,
you do not know the master stroke of the Prophet.
Kanwar: I have never heard of this master stroke before. Can
you enlighten me in the interest of humanity?
Shaikh: I am referring to the Prophet's declaration that
Allah has made him the Model of Practice for his followers.
It has come to mean that the Muslims must copy him in
everything; they must eat, drink, walk and talk like him,
even must look like him, that is, they grow beard like his,
have a similar hair-cut and dress like him.
This is what is called following the Sunnah, i.e. the
Prophetic Model which is the guarantee of salvation. One can
easily say that Islam has been designed to induce love and
respect for Arabia. There are express commands of the
Prophet, which state that a person is not a Muslim until he
loves him more than his own father and mother. The idea is
that people must be weaned away from their own nationalities
and motherlands and attached firmly to Mecca. This is the
reason that the Muslims of India call their own homeland as
the battlefield and Arabia the fountain of peace and
celestial glory.
Now, it is perhaps, easy for you to understand why the
Muslims of India partitioned their own Motherland for
practicing the Arab cultural values in Pakistan (and
Bangladesh).
Kanwar: What is likely to happen if the non-Arab Muslims do
not follow the Prophet in loving Arabia even if it involves
unpatriotic practices against their own homelands?
Shaikh: The Muslims must love Arabia because the Prophet did
so. They must follow him as the Divine Model of Practice.
This is what Islam expects; if they don't, they are sure to
enter hell because the Prophet will not intercede on their
behalf.
Kanwar: What is intercession?
Shaikh: This is the special power of the Prophet Muhammad.
He will recommend paradise for his followers on the Day of
Judgement. His recommendation is final and Allah cannot deny
it. It is available to all murderers, rapists, arsonists,
cheats, thugs, pickpockets and pimps provided they are
followers of the Prophet.
On the contrary, all Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, Christians will be
cast into a flaming hell, no matter, how pious and God-
fearing they may have been; piety has no meaning and value
without believing Muhammad and the greatness of his
homeland.
Intercession is the climax of the Prophet's national wisdom.
It is this Muslim belief which gives them the hope of free
sex and economic abundance, and they feel obliged to kill in
the name of Islam. This is why they are ever ready to stab
their motherland. After all, caring about one's country
entails sacrifices whereas the comforts of paradise are
sweet and splendid. And it is specially so when they involve
no moral responsibility.
Kanwar: Poor India! "Islam - The Arab National Movement"
seems to be the book, not only for every Indian,
irrespective of religion, but also for every Pakistani and
Bangladeshi as well. After all, they all belong to the
Indian subcontinent. What have you done to propagate its
contents?
Shaikh: By writing this book, I have discharged my duty. Its
propagation, I believe, is a duty of everyone.
Kanwar: Will you be prepared to allow translations of this
book into various languages without expecting any financial
reward?
Shaikh: I shall be delighted to do so provided such task is
undertaken for public good and not as a trade.
Kanwar: What is the price of the book and can people get in
touch with you?
Shaikh: The book costs UK Pounds 5 only and the address is:
Anwar Shaikh, P.O. Box 918, Cardiff CF2 4YP (UK)
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