Loving Rascal

The true Jihad (Holy war) is a call to fight against the evil within us. Taking innocent lives is not Jihad; it is an act of cowardice that goes against its true spirit. Therefore, Muslims may consider reflecting on interpretations of Jihad and strive to serve all humans. “God will never want to kill all the Jews just because they are Jews.” In Mohammad's time, certain Jewish individuals had conflicts with him. In my view, any commands at that time were specific to those circumstances, not a directive for today. Reflecting on this may provide perspective on contemporary events and encourage thoughtful consideration about supporting Jihadi groups. Those who support the radical versions of Jihad need to rethink their actions. They are doing exactly what Hitler did many years ago. We must try not to become like Hitler.   Some groups –Hamas, Houthis, and Hezbollah– interpret Muhammad's teachings literally and have engaged in ongoing conflict with Israel.  Th...

Paul commands people to do everything as if they are doing it for the Lord (Col 3:23-24). N.T. Wright calls it "building for God's Kingdom." If we do everything for the Lord and in the Lord’s name, desiring our rewards from the Lord alone, we will not do evil or injustice. For it is not possible to do wickedness in the name of a Holy God. Besides, we will be grateful to God for the rewards. Similarly, Krishna tells Arjuna to fix his mind on him, renounce his actions to him, regarding him as his Supreme goal with exclusive devotion (Gita 12:6). If he cannot fix his mind on the Lord, he must practice it constantly (12:9). Otherwise, he must perform actions for Krishna's sake (12:10). If he cannot do even this, then he must renounce the fruits of all his actions taking refuge in him (12:11). Renouncing the fruits of actions seems interesting option.   However, when people interpret renouncing the fruits of action as renouncing all desire for result...

Kozhikode South: Total Voters: 1,50,000+, Hindu population: 60 percent (90,000). Still, out of the four candidates, three are Muslim candidates from Muslim communal parties, and not secular parties. The Communist parties (CPI or CPM) have no candidate. The Congress party has no candidate. The UDF is fielding IUML (Muslim League), and the LDF fields INL (Muslim League). All these parties are confident that in a sixty percent Hindu area, no Hindu candidate can win. Why? Because they know Muslims will vote in a lump sum, and those who get their vote share might win. Take a look at this classic example of vote bank politics.   In 2021, in Kozhikode South, the INL Muslim candidate received 50,000+ votes, while the IUML Muslim candidate received 40,000 votes. The Hindu candidate of the BJP got only 24,000 votes, mostly Hindus. She lost. But this time, my dear Hindu and Christian voters, think carefully. How can a community that is less than 40% of the total populat...