BANGKOK POST
Published: 10 Sep 2013 at 10.49
Secularism, good governance, and mutual dialogue are paths towards peaceful and harmonious coexistence in multi-cultural societies, a Muslim prince from Chennai in India told a university forum in Bangkok on Tuesday .
“Religion should stay at home, don’t bring it out,” His Highness
Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, as His Highness, The Prince of Arcot.
“Don’t divide us (the people) in the name of religion. Everywhere in the world it has been proven that blood and bullets cannot really solve the problems, only dialogue does.”
“Islam focuses on brotherhood and mankind, regardless of cast and religion. As a Nawab (royal) descendant, l’ve advocated peace and harmony in my own country in light of social and economic transformation,” Prince Azimjah said in an address on “The Role of Islam for Peace and Harmony in Multi-Cultural Society.”
He said Muslim people and the Islam religion have been misunderstood as terrorists and a religion of terrorism because of the actions of a handful of mischievous people.
“They should not make Islam a defendant in the acts of a group of people. Islam also condemns terrorism and it has a long tradition of compassion and tolerance. Particularly in India, a secular country with many religious sects, cultures, heritages and languages, we all acknowledge mutual peaceful coexistence,” the prince of Arcot said.
He said harmony and peace must come from the heart not from the lips.
“My faith is not flimsy…. and there are no Muslims killing Muslims in India, while in other parts of the world we see some Muslims killing Muslims,” he told university students and Thai Muslim intellectuals.
He said religion was for the home. “We should not try to bring religion out on any platform. Do not divide people in the name of religion,” he said.
When people demolish the places of worship of another faith, that is crossing the line, Prince Azimjah said.
“We must be open-minded, don’t envy anyone of any faith, mind your own business and do not cross over into another faith’s business,” said the 62-year-old prince, who was invited to Thailand by the Thai embassy in India.
He emphasised that blood and bullets could not solve problems, only mutual talks could. “We can’t solve terrorism in this world with more terrorism.”
He believed education was the key to decency and peace in public life.
The prince praised India’s resilience and secularism. “Without secularism, India will die. It is like oxygen which is important for our country since the government is for everybody not for sectoral or individual sects,” he said.
He concluded that war was unnecessary. Even after several years, it would end with negotiations. “Only peaceful dialogue can bring harmony.”
Former Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan said that as the world was becoming more multi-cultural, all religions – not just Islam – were facing challenges in cultivating resilience towards multiple identities.
“Problem is we are not quite comfortable with managing the multiple identities in our societies. So we have to adapt ourselves to feel secure and comfortable, as well as be constructive and harmonious, in our relationship with others in and between societies,” said Mr Surin.
While agreeing with the Indian prince that people need to be patient and tolerant of each other, Mr Surin said it was also necessary to address structural problems in the simmering societies whose people felt excluded economically and socially, and suffered from a lack of justice and from inequality.
Prince Azimjah agreed that societies needed to address the root causes of the violence that stemmed from the sense of being excluded.
On the global issue, the Muslim prince said the major powers should not interfere with other countries. Mind your own business should be the norm for the world, he said.
Indian ambassador Anil Wadhwa said Muslims faced problems in many countries due to failed governance. But for southern Thailand, he believed it might be more complicated with a mixture of the sense of being excluded economically and some elements exploiting religious and political narratives.