http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=89170

“I also claim that the problem is addressable given the precedent of Christianity successfully (if uneasily) adjusting to new political realities (as you pointed out).”

I will say “uneasily” is understatement.

/*Warning general rant*/

Since Indians, irrespective of political persuasion, are indifferent to study of history, they forget to realize that present liberal and secular west is a product of one of most violent period in human history. Renainassance and history on both sides of it is marked by inquisition, catholic-protestant struggle and a bloody wars between European Kings and Church for exercise temporal and spritual power, not to mention crusades.

The problem now is even if one were to accept that much of bloodshed as a price for Muslim reform, now the world has nukes.

Islam as an abstraction is arguably an abomination. But if it were merely an abstraction which has no bearing on my life, say like the philosophy of some aliens living 40 million light-years away, I would not care how malignant it was. As it happens, Islam is more than an abstract evil; its effects are manifested by those who follow its dictates faithfully.

I have no problem with people practicing their faith — however deluded they may be. But if they step on my toes in their following of their faith, I will do my best to defend my life and liberty.

Yes, all the three Abrahamic religions are odious to me. But Judaism does not have a billion adherents and besides the few million that exist are willing to live and let live. The practice of Christianity used to be fairly horrific but now most of its followers are sensible enough to just ignore it for the most part. Most Christians are also willing to live and let live. If the fringe in either of those two get out of line, the mainstream does take care of the loonies. I think it is not even a close contest when you compare the three monotheistic faiths.

But Islamic fringes weild sufficient power that everyone falls in line with their demands. Cartoons? Sure, off with the heads and not a peep out of the mainstream. The mainstream would not dare.

YMMV.

Also, Christianity and Judaism are “organized monotheistic religions”. Since they (presumably also) “have done too much harm for so long” why not sharpen the knives for them too while you are at it with Islam?

I have an antipathy towards Islam which can only be compared to the antipathy that Islam has towards infidels like me.

The UGC funded Banaras Hindu University has a Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vijnan Faculty .
Banasthali Vidyapeeth has a Department of Sanskrit, Philosophy and Vedic Studies .
You can look for details on thier official websites.

Realism may be that you propose a half-way house hoping that the final destination will be different. I think that once you embark upon the path that Islam proposes, the slope is slippery. No region of the world which has ever had any contact with Islam has escaped the final destination. There is no going back. Turkey is a prime example. Kamal Ataturk tried and failed.

Realism is the hope that one will pull out in time. But even if one fails only occasionally, given sufficient attempts, the probability of pregnancy approach certainty.

I don’t wish it on humanity, but I think humanity will only wake up when the first couple of nuclear bombs go off. My suspicion is that India will be the staging ground. Mumbai seems like a likely test site. Like the Kandahar hijacking was the beta test for Sept 11th. When the bomb does go off in Mumbai, the Western world will not wake up of course. They will wake up when the bomb goes off in LA or SF.

I hope to settle down in Sydney or in NZ. I think they are low value targets. Mumbai is very very dangerous. Delhi not that much.

Nitin, here’s something I had written a little while ago with essentially the same end in mind.

I am also very vehement in my insistence that the government must not even utter the word religion — leave alone dabble in any way either to promote or suppress it. A person’s religion must be his private affair and if the observance of a person’s religion conflicts with any civil laws, then the government has to step in and use force if needed to suppress it.

So, for example, you can pray to whatever imaginary deity you bloody well please in the privacy of your own home but if you pray over a loudspeaker and I hear it, the government must stop that.

Organized monotheistic religions have done too much harm for so long that it is criminal not to oppose them with all the resources one has at one’s disposal. Claiming that “Indian Islam” (whatever that is) is a better alternative to “Wahhabism” and that the former should be promoted to check the excesses of the latter is deluded at best. Islam is Islam. One has to read the Koran and the Traditions to realise that anything other than the total eradication of the meme is meaningless and may even lead to even worse excesses.

Smallpox is smallpox. It has to be eradicated in its entirety. In an age of global travel, you cannot say that it is alright to have some regions of the world where smallpox can be tolerated.

Or take malaria. If possible it is better to aim to eradicate the mosquito than to use the strategy of engineering sickle-cell anemia in the entire global population and thus gain a degree of immunity from the malarial parasite.

I didn’t get that at all from Rational Fool – only because he used my OT as an example for slippery slope, which had nothing to do with your interpretation of him.

In any case, as far as the “how”, it’s fairly standard operating procedure among universities for this – ie exchanging ideas, profs, and students all over the world. Even if other Islamic nations were interested – one has to go west to go east, and I am sure at least west will be open, to get any academic traction, I hardly think our RBI and UGC, which doesn’t even allow science profs to travel for sabbatical, will promote religious sabbatical. But then the two organizations are slaves to politicians.