Political Theory and South Asian Counter-Narratives by Maidul Islam

Author:Maidul Islam [Islam, Maidul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781032048543
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2021-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

Protests and dissent: the cynic and the enlightened subject

Once, Alexander the Macedonian emperor visited Diogenes, the cynic philosopher, and had asked ‘what can I do for you my man’? In reply, Diogenes, who was taking a sunbath, said ‘stand a little out of my sun’. On hearing such a disrespectful comment, Alexander’s soldiers laughed. Legend says that some were also angry and asked Diogenes whether he knew to whom he was speaking; none other than the Great Alexander, the king of Macedonia. But Alexander was not angry. Instead, he replied, ‘if I were not Alexander the Great, I would like to be Diogenes’ (Dillon 2004: 187–188). Diogenes is a cynic philosopher and a critic of the establishment. In contrast, Alexander is an enlightened subject. In this respect, one can argue that without violently reacting to such an insulting remark, Emperor Alexander tried to accommodate such critical and oppositional voices in order to sustain his rule. However, from the story above, one can see that the enlightened power bloc or ruler, represented by Alexander, is able to ignore the disrespectful and insulting remark. The ability to ignore disrespect and insult, instead of giving in to a violent reaction shows the strength and confidence rather than the weakness of a person. On the other hand, in the case of the alleged disrespectful and insulting comments made by noted controversial authors such as Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasrin on Islam and the Prophet, one can notice how the Islamists were unable to ignore such anti-Islamic opinions. Hence the Islamists display their immense weakness and unstable nervousness rather than their strength when opposing any blasphemous writers.

On the charges of blasphemy and insult to the Prophet, Islamist political mobilisations took place against Rushdie in 1988 after the publication of his book The Satanic Verses. The book was banned in India before it could reach its intended readers. Partha Chatterjee has remarked that the ban was ‘not part of a planned authoritarian assault’ but a ‘sign of extreme insecurity, when rulers appeal to realism and practicality to cover up their weakness’ (Chatterjee 1997: 178). Similarly, Taslima Nasrin often faced Islamist protests both in India and Bangladesh after her book Lajja (Shame, 1993) was published, followed by a series of her autobiographical writings (Bose 2007). In India, a number of Muslim groups, who previously supported a ban on Rushdie’s book, argued for banning the writings of Taslima Nasrin. They demanded that she should leave the country and condemned the Indian government’s permission to issue a visa extension to her. Many Islamists describe both Rushdie and Nasrin as western agents to defame Islam. The rage against Taslima Nasrin has been witnessed among several Muslim groups and community leaders of India. There were violent street demonstrations, public property was damaged, attempts to physically assault Nasrin and threats on her life, eventually compelling her to flee the country. The state has often succumbed to the pressure of Islamists by following the logic that if the demands of the Islamists are not met then there is a threat of fomenting violence and communal disharmony.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.