Let us call the giant with its real name

Submitted by Prashant (India), Jan 27, 2023 at 19:06

Dear Readers, Correspondent Jens introduced me to the acronym SWANA. Before I checked its full form, I reassured myself that it had no I (as in Islamic) and no M (as in Muslim). So, I was reasonably sure that the acronym would stand for something good. Little did I know that it stood for a huge part of the Islamic World. For the uninitiated, SWANA stands for South West Asian and North African. I am wondering if Israel likes to be called a SWANA country. I was relieved that the boundaries of SWANA end at Afghanistan AND Morocco and my two countries (India and USA) did not have to be a part of SWANA.

Even the best of the Islamic nations do things that do not measure up to the standards of the free world. Recently I came to know of an incidence where a Muslim Malaysian field hockey fan fell in love with a Sikh Indian hockey player and chose to marry him. Believe it or not, dear people, a governmental inquiry was launched in moderate Muslim Malaysia as to why it happened. All Muslim nations protect and promote Islam and we all think that it cannot be any other way. And, the Islamic machinery keeps churning.

Islam is the problem. It is refusing to change. It is refusing to accept others as innocent. Why do we create new acronyms? Why do we create new smoke screens. "Islamic and Muslim Societies" will be a good name. IMS will cover all people who unapologetically shout morning prayers on loudspeakers whether they live in Turkey, or Malaysia, or Pakistan or in regions inside India and Israel or elsewhere.

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