* Go by the Quran, not by the Maulanas

Ram Puniyani, former professor at IIT Mumbai:

THE PAST three decades have been the worst as far as negative projection of Islam is concerned. In order to dominate West Asia’s oil, the United States designed mechanisms to demonise Islam as a cover for political control. It is in this background that Asghar Ali Engineer’s popular work, The Prophet of Non-Violence, comes as a breath of fresh air, presenting the truth of the religion as propagated by Prophet Mohammad in the war-torn tribal society of Saudi Arabia. Engineer, a multifaceted scholar-activist, has been a major contributor to the enrichment of humane values and has been elaborating the values of peace and justice in Islam.

The book is a compilation of 19 of his essays and they address a vast range of subjects from the basic teachings of the Prophet, concept of war and peace, values of justice, status of women and finally a commentary on all social issues. Engineer does well to refer to the Quran as the base of his understanding and brilliantly yet simply explains the truth behind the misconceptions popularised by motivated critics. His contention is that many a precept and misconception are because of the history of Muslims.

Muslim kings and clergy misrepresented the Quran to suit their political and social interests. In order to retrieve the reality of the Prophet from the myriad myths surrounding him, Engineer goes to the Quran in all its complexity. He places most of the teachings in their context to elaborate the contributions of the Prophet to the development of humanism.

Engineer makes a valuable point that Islam talks of building a society and not a state. It talks of consultation and the opinion of all. It is fully for democratic methods of arriving at decisions. The other essays in the book elaborate the concept of the rights of women. The plight of Muslim women, in the absence of gender justice, in the societies under the control of the Maulanas, is brought out starkly. This point, whether suppression of women is due to Islam or due to contingent reasons, has been a big bone of contention amongst the activists working for the rights of Muslim women. A clear narration-interpretation of the place of women in Islam, as presented by Engineer, should help the cause of gender justice.

ALL IN all, this book is a timely intervention in the global debate on the nature of Islam. Resorting to Quran as Islam, while apt, is not an easy method of convincing others in the current vitiated atmosphere. Engineer totally identifies Islam only with the Quran. Though this is on the dot, it leaves out other faces of Islam that prevail in the common sentiments, like the Muftis, the Maulanas, the rituals in Islam, etc. These also need to be analysed in proper perspective. However, it is a mammoth task to ensure that Islam is seen through the pages of the Quran and not through the propaganda against Islam, indulged in by vested interests all around.