Justice Markandey Katju-
There have been demonstrations against French President Macron in Mumbai, Bhopal, Aligarh, Hyderabad, Srinagar and other Indian cities.
These fools who are demonstrating do not realize they are playing into the hands of those who wish to paint all Muslims as fanatics and terrorists, which will further increase attack on innocent Muslims by right-wing Hindu radicals.
In none of these demonstrations was there any condemnation of those bigots who beheaded Samuel Paty in Paris, and three persons in a church in Nice. All the vituperations and invectives were against insult to the ‘ shaan ‘ (honor) of the Prophet.
I had in an earlier article titled ‘ Muslims should learn how to ignore ‘ published in indicanews.com said that Muslims should not be so touchy and should not have such a short fuse. Cartoons have been made of Jesus Christ depicting him as gay. Lord Rama, who is venerated by most Hindus, has often been ridiculed by some Tamilian leaders and criticized for his treatment of Sita and Shambhook, but no one was beheaded for this. So Muslims should ignore many things which they regard offensive, instead of creating a brouhaha and ruckus over them. If they don’t like cartoons of Prophet Muhammad they need not make them or look at them, but how can they object to others doing so, particularly in a liberal country like France where there is freedom of expression under French law?
But my appeal fell on deaf ears.
In Pakistan there have been many demonstrations against Macron, but not one against the skyrocketing prices of foodstuffs and medicines, or against the mounting unemployment, which are causing terrible misery to the masses. Both Turkey and Pakistan are in a deep economic recession, with their leaders having no inkling how to resolve the crises. So Erdogan and Imran Khan, to divert attention from these real problems facing the people, take resort to gimmicks like converting Hagia Sophia into a mosque or writing a letter to the OIC.
I would not be surprised if the Muslim clerics who called upon the gullible Muslim masses to hold such demonstrations were secretly paid some money or given some other benefit by some nefarious vested interests. Agent provocateurs are nothing new in the world. Like children following the Pied Piper of Hamelin, naive, unsuspecting Muslims are often deceived and led into an abyss which causes them immense harm.
It is time Muslims see through this charade, deception, and trickery.
[Justice Markandey Katju is a former Judge, Supreme Court of India, and former Chairman, Press Council of India. The views expressed are their own].
