Spare me the honour!

Submitted by Mahfoozur Rahman (Bangladesh), Nov 8, 2006 at 16:10

You continue to be most offensive in spite of my most polite and civil responses to you.

I have no objections to be called 'the Muslim' respondent, for example. I termed Mr Vijay as Hindu, as he is one, and in the context of what I was trying to say. He will surely not mind, as he comes from the same subcontinent as I do, and we share a common culture and tradition of mutual respect and civility. By the way, the first school that I went to as a child was a Missionay School where I was taught by our loving Brothers and Sisters whom I recall with nothing but respect and admiration. I learnt the lessons of religious tolerance early in life. Not only do I have a few Jewish friends, I have many Christian (British and American) and Hindu (Indian) friends as well, close enough to be their houseguests sometimes, as they also partake of our humble hospitality. A Christian friend presented me with a copy of The Bible last year as a Christmas gift as I presented him with a translation of the Quran. I am nurtured and thrive in a multi-theological and multi-cultural environment that you will never understand. Most of my foreign friends are devout and pious people in their own religions that I respect. We discuss comparative theology in a totally civilised ambient. You perhaps have never experienced such freedom of faith and expression. It is beyond your mental capacity.

By the way, the Civil War in our country started on March 26, 1971 and ended on 16 December of the same years as the occupation army of Pakistan surrendered to the Joint Command of Indian Forces and the Bangladesh freedom fighters. I know exactly what happened and need no history lessons from you. I personally lost 3 of my close relatives and numerous friends, as also our house was also burnt down. My father lost his business and became a pauper from a position of affluence. My family spent 9 months as destitute refugees in India. Please do not tell me how we suffered. But we recovered by the mercy of Allah. We hold no bitterness in our hearts as people everywhere suffer in wars, as many families and people we know of suffered even more.

I shall not open these old wounds, as this will serve no useful purpose. I advocate forgiveness, if not forgetfulness. We may forgive our erstwhile enemies, but will not forget our sufferings. We forgive on high and noble principles, not only on religious grounds. We wish to turn our enemies into friends, for that is real victory, as the once warring nations in Europe have done to their credit.

I reminded Mr Vijay of the massacres of the Muslims during the riots of 1947 when an estimated million Muslims were killed and 3 million became refugees. President Musharraf of Pakistan, who was born in Delhi, became a refugee in Pakistan as his family emigrated. Today, his country is armed with nuclear weapons that he as the President controls. Should he, on your suggestion, start a nuclear war with India to avenge the wrongs done to the Muslims of India almost 60 yrs. ago? Do you wish us to declare war on Pakistan for the wrongs done to us 35 yrs. ago? Perhaps you do, as you continue to spread your messages of intolerance and hatred.

Your ideas are violent and not worthy of a civilised human being. They are contrary to moral principles of any organised religion of the world.

It seems you are incorrigible and beyond remnants of human decency.

And there is a limit to my patience and my sense of decency. You have crossed both.

But I shall not stoop so low as to hurl any abuse or address you in derogatory terms. That will be downgrading myself to the level you do not seem to understand that you have lowered yourself. You deserve pity and nothing else. Yet I forgive you for all the abuse and insult you hurled at me at every breath.

But please spare me ‘the honour' of being the target of your unmitigated and uncalled for insults and indecency. Do not address me with any of your barbaric posts, for, I have no wish to communicate with you any further.

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