Rahul's speeches may be short on flamboyance, but they are direct:
"UP has fallen behind in the race for development. Only youth power
will change it—and I see that youth power standing in front of me,"
he said to cries of "Rahul Gandhi zindabad".
It
was also brave: in current folklore, the Deoband School is seen as
being the inspiration for the Taliban and Islamic terrorism. It is
the breeding ground for the Students Islamic Movement of India
(SIMI). Little wonder then that no Congress leader has visited the
seminary after Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Indira
Gandhi, the last in 1980. A fact Rahul pointed to: "Don't forget, I
am Indira Gandhi's grandson."
The Tablighi
Jamat
Some famous
people who propagate Islam by joining the Tablighi Jamaat (a
movement started by a student of the Islamic University, Deoband,
Maulana Muhammad Ilyas) are Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi,
Inzamam ul Haq, Mohammad Yousuf (a recent revert/convert),
Saqlain Mushtaq and many others, also, former Pakistani cricketers
including Saeed Anwar and Salim Malik. A very famous pop star
Junaid Jamshaid is also a visible personality, propagating Islam to
the masses amongst many others
Opinion of the
cricketors on Religion in Pakistani Cricket
(1) Former
Pakistani captain, Asif Iqbal, has mystery given a more perceptive
reason for the downfall of the team: over emphasis on religion.
Today, the Pakistani team looks like a band of religious zealots.
There is nothing wrong with flaunting one’s religious identity, but
not if it overwhelms every other aspect of a person. In the process,
somewhere, the Pakistani team, which has no dearth of talented
players, has lost its way.
(2) " Pakistan
coach Bob Woolmer's authority was undermined by captain
Inzamam-ul-Haq's ‘spiritual hold of the team’ ..The more serious
issue was that Inzamam was not only the cricketing leader but the
spiritual talisman of the team who expected - and was mostly given -
total obeisance by his team-mates… Inzamam would go into a "brooding
silence" for days after disagreements with Briton Woolmer. " the
former Pakistan Cricket Board chairperson Shaharyar Khan said.
Shahryar Khan has
been quoted as telling Sportsweek on BBC Radio Five Live after the
murder of Woolmer as follows: ""Bob told me about six months ago
that he was very frustrated because the team was always at prayer at
lunchtime, tea and after play.He was not able to get through to them
on cricketing issues. He felt frustrated about that and asked me
what to do.
(3) Sarfraz
Nawazopenly claimed that captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, along with Rana
Naved-ul-Hasan, Mushtaq Ahmed, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik were
involved in betting.
(4) 4. These
sources also say that Inzimam, who is otherwise a likable and
mild-mannered person, used to turn mad with fury when anybody
criticised Islam or the TJ.
(5) B.Raman,
Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai suggested in his
article: “It would be useful for the Jamaican Police to enquire
whether any TJ cleric from Pakistan had accompanied the team, if so,
his role, whether the TJ has a branch in the West Indies, whether
its local leaders used to visit the hotel, whether Woolmer raised
the issue of the negative influence of the TJ on the performance of
the players against Ireland and whether it led to any quarrel with
Inzimam and other members of the TJ group in the team. The TJ group
in the team should be an important focus of the investigation.”
(6)
The
Woolmer Murder
[Iain Murray]
As
I mentioned, the UK papers are devoting a lot of space to the
story. The Daily Telegraph even has its United States Editor Toby
Harnden (a truly excellent journalist and a fine man to boot -
ex-Royal Navy himself) in Jamaica for the story. One thing that has
not been mentioned much is what one correspondent calls a "holier
than thou religiosity" that has prevaded Pakistani cricket, even as
it has become embroiled in allegations of match-fixing, steroid
abuse and ball-tampering. Mohammad Yousuf, for example, attributed
his good form last year to his conversion from Christianity to Islam
and performs the sidjah every time he scores a century. The
Tablighi Jamaat is very influential in the team.
Now
I want to make it clear that I am not suggesting that Islamism had
any role in the murder of Bob Woolmer, which seems at the moment
most likely connected with match-fixing, but as Osman Samiuddin
suggests, it has played a role in a talented team becoming
disfunctional and helped to cover up what might be charitably
described as moral failings.
For
the benefit of Pakistan and cricket, the shambles of the Pakistani
team need to be cleared up. If solving the murder of Bob Woolmer
helps in that process, it will be a tribute to a great coach.
Meanwhile, leave it to a Guardian columnist to drag the US into a
cricket scandal.
(7)
While
"factionalism" is often cited as a source of the malaise of
Pakistani cricket, little is said about the bugbear of
authoritarianism. The US-backed military dictatorship - which
controls all the cricket structures - is treated by the cricket
media as a natural state of affairs.
(6)
Dominic Whiteman on March 22, 2007 has written:
…….Apparently, the conspicuous Islamicisation of the Pakistani
cricket team recently prompted even Pakistan’s President - General
Pervez Musharraf - to advise the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket
Board Dr Naseem Ashraf to ask the players to strike a balance
between religion and cricket. One imagines his prompts sounded more
like orders this morning.
Whether it’s religion and politics or, more importantly, religion
and cricket – religion just doesn’t mix.
Tablighi Jamaat should not be banned in Britain. But someone should
tell it to focus its ambitions less on unattainable erections and
more on bringing its subjugated womenfolk into modernity.
Dominic Whiteman is spokesperson for the London-based VIGIL
anti-terrorist organization – an international network of terror
trackers, including former intelligence officers, military personnel
and experts ranging from linguistic to banking experts.
The
Pakistani Newspaper notes, “The 3-4 months in a year that the
Pakistani team members such as Imran Khan, Majid Khan, Asif Iqbal,
Sarfraz Nawaz, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Mohsin Khan, Rameez
Raja, etc, used to spend in England playing county cricket, would
make them adopt the lifestyle of any other English cricketer:
liquor, nightclubs, girlfriends and everything else that comes with
the package. However, those days of cricketing casualness are now
memory, as are so many aspects of secular life in Jinnah's Pakistan.
The Pakistani cricketers have never pursued their religious beliefs
as devoutly as they do nowadays. "Bismillah" (In the name of Allah)
or "Inshallah" (God willing) stud their every utterance, no matter
whether they are on the field or elsewhere. The team members huddle
together to pray on the ground during pre-match preparations;
'Islamic beards' are sported as an advertisement of their faith;
batsmen have known to cramp because they fast and play during the
holy month of Ramadan. “
The
newspaper notes further added: “This religiosity has come about
because a clutch of players -- Inzimam, Mushtaq Ahmed (bowling
coach), Mohammad Yousaf, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib
Malik and Yasser Hameed - have become members of the Tablighi Jamaat
(TJ), participating in public gatherings organized to propagate
Islam and stress the virtue of an 'authentic Islamic lifestyle'. The
TJ has invaded the dressing room of the Pakistani cricket team -
they can be seen praying with players and reciting the Holy Quran
for the team's success (never mind that it has been performing
poorly). As TJ membership makes it incumbent upon a person to
preach, most of the Tablighi cricketers, especially Inzimam, often
conduct preaching tours across Pakistan. Inzimam's penchant to mix
religion with cricket has already sparked accusations that he
favours Tablighi players over those who are either secular or prefer
to confine religion to their private lives. The non-Tablighi group
is reportedly led by Vice-Captain Younas Khan and includes Shoaib
Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Danish Kaneria, Imran Nazir, Abdul Razzaq,
etc. This divide often shadows differences between players. This
shrinking of the secular space is perhaps already happening in the
cricket team. But for those persevering in the way of Allah
Almighty, these are minor matters.”
On March 20, I have given following facts in my article titled “Was
Bob Woolmer poisoned? Police confirmed ‘death threats from Pak
fans’”
The
above agle is now more studying by the detectives and police of
jamaica.
A
gofer or go-fer is an employee who is often sent on
errands.
Middle-aged Pakistani nationals Hamid Malik, Jundie Khan and Efran
Chaudhray checked out of the team hotel soon after Woolmer was
found.
They
appeared at several press conferences and were seen with players and
carrying Pakistani flags in the foyer of the team hotel in Kingston,
Jamaica.
They
are described as gofers who brought players halal food and drove
them around Jamaica.
They
are believed to have had access to the 12th floor, where Woolmer's
room was.
Jamaican deputy police commissioner Mark Shields said yesterday he
was seeking to eliminate the three from inquiries.
Police to test Woolmer's last meal for drugs
"He was 6ft 1 in
(185cm) and a big man, and unless he was drugged or impaired it
would perhaps have been difficult to restrain him. We are looking at
whether his food was drugged. The meal was thrown away after he put
the tray outside his room, but we are conducting toxicology and
tissue tests," Mark Shields said.
Police have still to interview a fourth Pakistani, a local
businessman, who is a friend of some Pakistan players.
After banned SIMI, now the activities of some members of JuH and
Tablighi jamaat are also under ATS scanning. Neither the leaders of
Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind (JuH) nor Tablighi jamaat (TJ) are nationalists.
Fact is that the mullahs are losing political control over their
community, and these are devises to control them. Now, they act as
powerbrokers. They have linked with the International terrorists
organizations.
At
least 20 people were picked up by police in Tripura overnight for
interrogation, even as a team from Mumbai began questioning 11
Muslim youths from Maharasthra for any links with the serial
bombings in the country's financial hub. All belongs to SIMI have
been detained for questioning in the state for holding public
meetings at Kamalpura near India's border with Bangaldesh.
The
detainees have reportedly told the police that they are members of
the Tabligh-i-Jamaat, based in Mumbra area Maharashtra's Thane
District near Mumbai. Mumbra is a terrorist hub.
Detention of these youths shows nexus between SIMI, JuH and
Tabligh-i-Jamaat.
A
giant mosque for 2012 Olympic
A giant mosque a
£300 million project of Tablighi Jamaat that will hold 40,000
worshippers is being proposed beside the 2012 Olympic complex in
Newham, London. Terrorist linked group wants to use it permanent HQ.
Tablighi suspected for Godhra train burning
Indian
investigators suspect influential Tablighi leader, Maulana Umarji,
and a group of his followers in the February 27, 2002 fire bombing
of a train carrying ‘Karsewaks’ from Ayodhya. Maulana
By Premendra Agrawal
agrawalpremendra@hotmail.com