WE THE PEOPLE
Celebration of Milad reinforces necessity for introspection/ self- assessment to reform our society and arrest declining values
Hence Religious Scholars, Intellectuals and Social Activists must rise and launch drive against all evils
By: Ahlam Masoodi
Srinagar: With prevailing social evils in Kashmir society, it becomes manifestly clear that we have consigned all teachings of the Benefactor of Humanity-- the Holy Prophet of Islam (SAW)—to flames and hence celebrating Milad tantamount to double standards and negation of Islamic principles. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) took birth in such a land, which had all vices and where humanism was devoid of its inherent attributes and above all where daughters of the Eve had no place to live. But He transformed not only the land of his birth but spread the message of Allah throughout the length and breadth of our planet.
But after a lapse of fourteen centuries, humans living on this planet in general and Kashmir valley in particular are face to face with a gruesome situation today. More than one million people are murdered every year and more than two million people commit suicides. More than five million people die of sex related diseases and more than 100 million suffer from sex transmitted diseases. More than 2.2 million die of alcohol related problems and more than 5 million die of smoking related problems. More than 70 million children are not allowed to take birth and are aborted and hundreds of millions indulge in gambling. Besides 500 million are now using Internet alone for gambling. More than 1.2 million of children are exploited annually in prostitution and other sex trades and more than 800 million-watch pornography. Millions of homes are broken every year and drug addiction is also persistent and tens of millions of people are addicted to harmful drugs
Islam does not rule the present world with the result chaos prevails, as is evident from the figures cited above. Muslims of the current world have adopted Islam partially. This partial application has deprived them of the peace in its entirety. Jammu and Kashmir State is no exception, where majority of people have forgotten saints like Shahi Hamdan(RA), Sheikh-ul-Alam(RA) and other Reshis/Munies, who had propagated and presented Islam in its proper perspective. Their teachings stand ignored as is evident from horrible tales of juvenile delinquents, who commit crimes of heinous nature, which cast dark shadows on our future generations. The youths of today are the citizens of tomorrow and as such they should be capable of shouldering responsibilities with high sense of dedication and devotion. Hence they need to be educated and trained in such a manner that they play their role well and not get swayed away by materialistic considerations.
Be it drugs addiction, moral turpitude, dowry demands or revolt against elders, all these put together have wrought havoc and tarnished our traditional values. The social scientists attribute it to lack of religious and moral education while economists call it the fallout of economic disparities. Whatever the cause, one thing is clear that narcotics and other evils have taken strong roots at the global level and such phenomena has to be co-related with the situation prevailing in Kashmir Valley today.
Why our youths have been going astray and are not guided and governed by religious and moral teachings is a question, which should tax each one of us. Islam being a scientific religion has much to offer, irrespective of age and sex. Besides the teachings of the Holy Prophet (SAW) of Islam have become more relevant and more applicable today. When we are celebrating the BirthDay of the Benefactor of humanity, so it is the most appropriate occasion for the religious Scholars, Preachers and Intellectuals to launch a drive against all social evils, which have pushed our society to the brink of a precipice. The earlier this is done the better!
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