Muslim catharsis

Conflict Zones by Ariful Islam At a time when we are witnessing flurry of conflicts in Islamic world, Professor Ariful Islam’s Conflict Zones, a novella, helps reminisce the catharsis a Muslim, a Alig variety, has endured over the years. He chronicles the journey of protagonist, Yamin, who confronts communal flare early in his life, witnessed and participated in how the student community responds to the problem. His discussions with his contemporaries on post-partition Muslim trauma, politics, rational and dogmatic Islam help him shape a scientific viewpoint on both his country and religion. And with such a mindset and youthful aspirations, he travels to Islamic lands. First stop is Basra, where he sees that Muslims become cannon fodder to Saddam’s arrogance and Khomeini’s over-blown Islamic ambitions. Before he could become psychic, he escapes to home to only later suffer a personal ordeal after a brief romantic sojourn in Kashmir, where a conflict, with Muslims at forefront, continues to rage. His Aligarh days come back, and so do old friends. With tea cups, come fresh arguments — mullahs still hold grip on community, political leadership brings no hope, Tablighi Jamaat will ruin Muslim youth... depression. And then again life beyond Aligarh. Cairo, circa 1990s, Arabs cheat Muslims in the name of Islam. And in Benghazi, Libya, a despot is promising salvation in the name of Islamic socialism and any dissenting voice is silenced. Though Ariful Islam’s narrative ends on a pessimistic note, his book comes at a time when there seems light at the end of tunnel and the world is transfixed at new developments in the Middle East. The book’s importance also lies in the fact that very few original works in English, fiction in particular, recounts student life at AMU, its intellectual vibrance and the campus’ penchant for taking up Muslim causes. Though Conflict Zones falls short of satiating literary perfectionist, it enlightens with new perspectives on religious and historical discourse on Muslims in India.