Sareshwala: Agitation and confrontation doesn’t get Muslims anywhere

Indian businessman Zafar Sareshwala is seen in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad in this April 15 photo. (Photo: Reuters)
Indian businessman Zafar Sareshwala is seen in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad in this April 15 photo. (Photo: Reuters)


Date posted: December 3, 2014

Zafar Yunus Sareshwala, CEO of the Mumbai-based Parsoli Corporation Ltd. and a close associate of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, says it is important for the Muslims of the world, particularly Indian Muslims, to leave agitation and confrontation behind as miscommunication creates false impressions, resulting in their alienation and isolation.
Sareshwala was a victim of the 2002 Gujarat riots, a three-day period of inter-communal Hindu-Muslim violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat followed by further outbreaks of mass killings against the minority Muslim population for three months. He explained how he became a supporter of Prime Minister Modi, who was then the chief minister of Gujarat, during an interview with Today’s Zaman.

As his business was crippled by the deadly riots in the state of Gujarat, at the time Sareshwala fought against Modi, whose government was accused of initiating and condoning the violence against Muslims by considering taking Modi to the International Court of Justice. Frustrated with the agitational and confrontational moves Modi had made, Sareshwala decided to meet him in Gujarat’s city of Ahmadabad in 2003. “The perceptions which I had against Modi have changed as I had an illusion due to miscommunication,” Sareshwala said. Suggesting a consensus be reached among the Muslim communities before they reacted, Sareshwala said the demands of the community might be answered easily if they were presented in the framework of constructive dialogue.

Speaking on the increasing popularity of the Indian prime minister among Muslims, Sareshwala says 15 percent of the nearly 200 million Indian Muslims, mostly youth, voted for Modi in the 2014 elections. Sareshwala says he predicted Modi’s victory in 2012 because he saw the support Modi has among the country’s youth, which composes 65 percent of the 815 million-strong Indian electorate.

However, a large number of Indian Muslims are still hesitant in their approach to Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, says Sareshwala. Hopeful about the changing of prejudices toward Modi, Sareshwala says the Modi government’s practices improving the education level of the Muslim minority and providing direct access for Muslims to reach government funds will prove the sincerity of the BJP government.

Kimse Yok Mu charity gives dignity to the poor

Impressed by the works of Kimse Yok Mu, a charity inspired by the views of the Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen which holds official UN consultative status, Sareshwala says the way Kimse Yok Mu conveys aid to people in need gives dignity back to the poor. That is what Muslims need to follow, even when they give zakah (alms) to the poor, Sareshwala added.

Sareshwala says Kimse Yok Mu plays an important role in social harmony by involving small, medium and large-sized corporations in charity work and bringing all sections of the community together to help each other.
After visiting the Kimse Yok Mu headquarters and Fatih University in İstanbul, Sareshwala noted that Fethullah Gülen, being one of the most important Islamic scholars not only in Turkey but also in the world, is important to Muslims by his example in educating youth and engaging in dialogue with people from different communities all over the world.

Source: Today's Zaman , November 30, 2014


Related News

Pacifica Institute Utah hosts ‘Love is a Verb’ screening for interfaith season

Pacifica Institute Utah sponsored a screening of the film “Love is a Verb” on Monday, Feb. 23, at the Salt Lake City Library as part of Interfaith Season sponsored by the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable.

A Year After Hurricane Sandy: Climate Change & Disaster Management

The Peace Islands Institute (PII) held a discussion panel on October 28, titled “A Year After Hurricane Sandy: Climate Change and Disaster Management” in order to raise awareness on climate change and disaster management, to highlight disaster management planning, to explore effective ways to respond to natural disasters during and after emergency and to handle the emergency situations.

Pak-Turk Schools react to baseless claims

Turkish Schools in Pakistan reacted to the recent claims that the schools will be nationalized. “The claims are entirely baseless without any merit,” the schools’ officials said.

Erdogan presses Kyrgyzstan for action against Gulen group

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday urged Kyrgyzstan to take stronger action against the group blamed for a failed 2016 coup, as new President Sooronbai Jeenbekov visited Ankara in a bid to ease tense ties.

International Conference on Hizmet Movement in Taiwan

Formosa Institute and Taiwan Association of Islamic Studies (TAIS) are organizing a conference titled “Hizmet Movement and the Thought and Teachings of Fethullah Gülen: Contributions to Multiculturalism and Global Peace” to be held on December 8-9 2012 and calling for papers. Objective The need for peaceful coexistence among the people of various cultures has long been […]

Kimse Yok Mu extends help to refugees trying to reach Europe

International charity organization Kimse Yok Mu delivered aid boxes to the Syrian refugees who are waiting on Edirne border through which they plan to reach European countries.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Kimse Yok Mu distributes meat with foreign volunteers in Indonesia

Afghans collect 1 million signatures to prevent seizure of Turkish schools by Erdoğan regime

Turkey’s Corruption Probe, And One Question For Erdogan

Turkish Cultural Center reaches out to Syracuse community to share its unique culture

Turkish parents worried about gov’t plan to shut down study centers

Gülen calls for peaceful coexistence, warns about deceit and oppression

Turkish Syriac Catholic patriarch launches ‘Fruits of Dialogue’

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News