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From: linda@amdcad.UUCP (Linda Seltzer)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.religion
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Islamic Mystics - The Sufi
Message-ID: <3830@amdcad.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 11-Sep-85 23:42:24 EDT
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Posted: Wed Sep 11 23:42:24 1985
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Summary: Islam's cultural history in India

> > > > What I mean to say is that ALL religions have their weak points
> > > > and strong points. But some religions are, on the whole,
> > > > obviously better than others and, from the present day world events,
> > > > it appears that Islam is certainly not one of them.
> > > >              Comments?
> > > >                                                murali.
> > > 	
> > *************************************************
> > > 
> > >  Don Steiny writes:
> > >
> > > 	There are 500 million Muslims in the world.  Many of them
> > > are peaceful.   I most certainly agree that it would be as foolish
> > > to judge Islam by its most enlightened members as it is to 
> > > judge it by its least.  


In looking at the whole picture concerning Islam, we should look at
its cultural contributions in India.  Under the patronage of the
Mughals in India, music was patronized, and much of North Indian
music as we know it today developed during this period.  Many
of the greatest 20th century musicians, very spiritual and
peaceful people without fanaticism or terrorism of any sort, are
Muslims.  These include Ali Akbar Khan, who directs a college in
California, and the Dagar brothers.  The younger of the older
generation of Dagar brothers heads an ashram devoted to dhrupad
singing, which is a beautiful and exacting old style of rendering
the ragas.   For many years the Moslem musicians lived in harmony
with the Hindu musicians; often they sang texts which are quite
clearly Hindu, and Hindu musicians often sing taranas, a genre
of songs which is of Persian origin.  I can't think of Islam
without remembering this tradition.
With regard to Hindu and Muslim musicians today, I have heard that
some of the Hindus have been snobbish towards the Muslim musicians,
and I hope that this is not true.