There are protests in India and in Iran over the wearing of Hijab. In today’s newspaper it was reported that there have been deaths of two young women in Iran since the protests broke out.
Here is my view on this matter:
I will start by saying that I have not lived in Iran or any other Islamic country so I don’t have much to say. Islam as a way of life as a culture has survived for around 1,400 years since the life of the Prophet. Quoting Bertrand Russell’s book Sceptical Essays:
A system which has had this extraordinary power of survival must have great merits, and certainly deserves our respect and consideration.
Russell was talking about the Chinese civilization but the same applies to Islam as well.
There is no state of anarchy in Iran which means that the people running that country are reasonable, sane and balanced people. They must be having their point of view (which by the way was not reported in the newspapers).
There is a difference between Shruti and Smriti in Hindu philosophy. According to a Google search:
Shruti is “that which has been heard” and is canonical, consisting of revelation and unquestionable truth, and is considered eternal. It refers mainly to the Vedas themselves.
Smriti is “that which has been remembered” supplementary and may change over time. It is authoritative only to the extent that it conforms to the bedrock of Shruti. It’s worth note that, there is not a distinct divide between Shruti and Smriti. Both Shruti and Smriti can be represented as a continuum, with some texts more canonical than others.
Sourced from:
This is the first point I want to make. The next is that change is the only constant in life. Buddhism also lays a lot of stress on the concept if Impermanence in its teachings.
I don’t need to point out that the world has changed since the times of the Prophet when Islam originated.
I would request the Muslims elders in India and the people running Iran to try to pinpoint which teachings of Islam can be considered as unquestionable truth and which teachings are supplementary and may be allowed to change over time.
`They can perhaps consult some enlightened Islamic mystics (perhaps the Sufis) to get their point of view. These mystics will have practiced Islam and will be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. They will be able to know what is really important.
I am not sure if anyone in a position of authority in either Iran or India will read this blog but there is no harm in publishing this post. If any of my readers knows someone who will be able to influence events then please share this article with them.
Another related blog article is below:
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