Muhammed Shah Aga Kahn III Quotes
We are undertaking a formidable task when we attempt to correct and remodel the ideals of our people. But for the task before us, we Indian Musalmans possess many advantages; we have the advantage of living under a Government which administers justice evenly between rich and poor and between persons of different creeds and classes; in the second place, we enjoy complete freedom to devise plans for the amelioration of our people. We have no reason to fear that our deliberations will be abruptly closed if we propose schemes of education other than those approved by Government. We know that no book and no branch of knowledge will be forbidden to us by official command; and, lastly, we know that, under the protection of British rule, we shall be allowed to work out to the end any plans for social and economic salvation which we may devise. Our wealth will not excite rapacity, nor our advancement in learning awaken the jealousy of our rulers.
“Musalmans” was then another English term for Muslims. At the time, the Hindus and Muslims of India were both under the rule of the British. As bad as Colonial Rule was, it had some advantages for the subjects and their desire to reform government and education. Ironically, there is no Islamic nation today, with the exception of Turkey, where Muslims have the rights, freedom and privileges as they had at the turn of the century in Colonial India.
Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III, 1877-1957, 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Moslems, President of the League of Nations, First president of the All-India Muslim League, Presidential Address to the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference, Delhi, India,1902
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The major complaints of Muslim fundamentalists then was that “non believers” should never be in government positions of authority over Muslims and that Islamic Law—Sharia—was not the law of the land. The modern and reformist Muslims tried to change the vision of their co-religionists but progress was slow. Over a century later, the same complaints are made by Islamic fundamentalists today and the Muslim reformers are still trying to persuade them that what they want is not desirable.
The 1964 Civil Rights Bill had as one of its greatest supporters Republican Minority Leader, Senator Everett Dirksen. His reasoning was:. The first sentence was Dirksen quoting Victor Hugo.
This famous quotation, from this important address, at such a critical time in history has been admired for years. Despite his great oratory, the next months were to see almost 2 million Indians of all faiths killed in what was probably the worst internecine violence in human history. Ironically, the politically motivated terrorism had stopped since all the decisions had been made. The motivation for the frightful atrocities that took place from then on was vengeance and fear of more vengeance." 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Even into the 21st century, the problem was not solved and Muslims from Pakistan continue their futile but tragic terrorist tactics to try and acquire more territory from India." 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
The power structure of England and the English administrators of South Africa were strong advocates of racial equality at the beginning of the 19th century. They insisted on equal administration of law. However the Boer white population could think of nothing more absurd. In a sense the Boers were much like the Southern Whites at the same time. The South African government however could not enforce its equality policies in the rural area – the majority of South Africa at the time. When democracy and self rule came to South Africa, the racially moderating force of the English was minimized and the majority of South Africans wanted a racially segregated society. Apartheid resulted.
Cochrane became the Admiral in Chief of 2 Different South American Nations—Peru and Brazil—fighting for their independence. Incredibly enough, he was able to form idealistic freedom fighters with no naval experience into navies which defeated both the Spanish and Portuguese fleets at a time when those countries had world class navies. His achievements on behalf of the South Americans are often regarded as the most remarkable naval achievements in history.
1st Baron Macaulay
Traditional Islamic education of the time only dealt with the Koran but the skills of modern life, medicine, law, science were taught in the British secular schools, which Muslims generally would not attend. Kahn urged all is fellow Muslims to benefit from all forms of education.
The Diggers were a religious-economic movement that even today would be considered very radical. They advocated the right of the poor to go onto public lands and farm them—thus the name “Diggers.” Beyond their opposition to the private ownership of land to the exclusion of the poor, Winstanley and the Diggers promulgated another very modern doctrine: That the poor should take the responsibility and have the right to determine how the society should provide for the poor. A version of this became one of the Mottos of the Poverty Program of 1964. See {616966}.
One of the noteworthy aspects of this quote is a fundamental intellectual clash. Al-Quaeda and other Islamic fundamentalists are genuinely very concerned that the West will interfere with their religion and their desire to unite all the Muslims in the world. Ironically, the West prides itself on the tolerance of religion and the freedom for anyone to practice any religion. The West does not see where it is interfering at all with the Muslim religion or its moral precepts. The problem lies in the different perception of ideas. Since about 1100 there has been a closing of Islamic intellectual growth and change. Any idea which is contrary to the orthodox view of Islam is perceived as hurtful or at least dangerous to the Muslim. Individuals in the West question Islamic relation no more than different sects of Christianity, Judaism and other religions. Allowing freedom is not sufficient for this Islamic notion; there must be no exposure to different ideas or examples. For us, no exposure means no freedom. While there are many Muslims which agree with this position, there are also many who disagree completely and believe that Islam is strengthened by exposing Muslims to all the ideas in the world. He was killed by an American air strike that had targeted him.
“Mahomedans” was a term at the time that was used to describe Muslims. This is one of the first serious analyses of why there was very differential achievement levels between Hindus and Muslims in Colonial India which have led to schisms that exist even now.
