TALKING TO A JAPANESE PHILOSOPHER

The network of Christian missionaries is so meticulously organised that one wonders as to how on one hand the believers of Christian faith are so liberal and are spreading the culture of obscenity and on the other there are personalities like Mother Teresa and Father Desmund Tutu who organised large groups and did nothing else except serving humanity and preaching Christianity. In every underdeveloped area of Pakistan also we can see Christian clergymen, doctors , nurses and women dressed in the typical dress of nuns. They serve those Pakistanis day and night who pay taxes to the government of Pakistan and in return the government neither provides them clean drinking water nor any health facilities in case of sickness. In such circumstances these Christian doctors, clergymen and nurses give medical treatment to the poor, provide them free medicines and not only this but if they need to be shifted to a big hospital in a big city then their ambulance vans come into action. This does not only happen in Pakistan but in the other countries also. In an Indian city the prejudiced Hindus burnt alive an Australian clergyman and his innocent children. But in a few days time two more clergymen came in his place and re-started serving the people by giving them medical treatment or education from where the late clergyman had stopped without referring to the burning of the clergyman and his children. We never hear any scandals about these clergymen and other Christian volunteers. In their own country they are free to do what ever they like but when they go in a mission then they exhibit an exemplary and unblemished personal character.

The Christian preachers, traders and rulers wherever they went the first thing they did was to translate Bible and other Christian literature in the native languages for free distribution and found out opportunities to talk with the local people on these subjects. Every one was asked to raise critical questions. Those who speak Urdu would surely be knowing that when the British established Fort William College in Calcutta the first thing they did was to translate Bible in Persian and Urdu languages and this translation was done by well-known writers. Today when you read Bible in Urdu you have a feeling of a strong taste of language and literature. On any question related to Christianity one can find an excellent book in any language of the world. If you go to any book shop any where in the world you will find a large number of books on Christian culture and mode of life.

Let us talk about Islam now. There is a Japanese professor here who teaches philosophy in the university. He often comes to me and discusses various topics related to Islam. Whenever I go to Pakistan or India I bring with me books on Islam in Urdu and English and use them as reference material while talking with Japanese gentlemen. But the Japanese have the biggest complaint that Islam is the biggest religion of the world and more than one third of World?s territory is occupied by Muslims and among Muslims are the richest people in the world. In spite of this they do not find any literature on Islam in Japanese language. Many Muslim clergymen frequently visit this country. Many times I had the privilege to act as their interpreter but they are never prepared to take interest in the fact that basic and important literature related to Islam should be translated into Japanese language.

I am upset because of what this Japanese philosopher says. I have now decided that taking the basics and fundamentals of Islamic teachings I shall translate a book in Japanese omitting all unnecessary things. This will satisfy those who want to know something about Islam in Japanese language. I am grateful to Almighty God that I have made a start in this direction. My book will represent the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his concept of Islam. There will be nothing about any sect or religious group in it because I shall write about the real spirit of Islam.

I have experienced a lot during my travels in Japan and in different countries of the world. Here is a Japanese gentleman who is the target of an American who preaches Christianity to him all the time. That Japanese often visits me as well. He has told me that he has not embraced Christianity but he respects that American a lot because firstly he is highly educated and secondly shunning every personal business he is preaching Christianity for the last two years. He is an American but he has shown no moral aberration. He is propagating Christianity spending his own money. Whosoever he befriends or any one who comes to know him gets enormously impressed from him.

The question arises that aren?t there any rich people among Muslims who could send Muslim missionaries to Japan, Korea and its neighbouring countries and these missionaries should present an exemplary character without indulging in any activity which could discredit them. It is my conviction that if a few and learned people who have mastery over English and Japanese languages and are men of character come to Japan then in a few years they will bring a revolution in Japanese society. But in case here or in any other country they will commit any immoral thing then that will hurt the cause of Islamic movement and ideology very much. The gentleman who comes here for this purpose should be a married person without any greed or hunger of a baser nature. Can any Muslim cleric or scholar conform to this criterion? There is a dire need of teachers of Islam in Japanese and South Asian universities and colleges. Here Hindu, Sikh and Christian teachers deliver lectures on Islam. One can imagine what they would be teaching.

It is my considered opinion that at present all my Muslim brothers strongly need education in religion and faith. Islamic education should be commonly taught in all schools, colleges and universities of Pakistan. Islam and the Holy Quran are subjects to be taught and explained by researchers and scholars in international branches of knowledge. The clerics of mosques and madrassas (Islamic schools) can not deal with Islam and related philosophy. To pull Islam out of sectarianism it is imperative to promote the international appeal of Islam and the Holy Quran. Islamic knowledge should be placed at par with other world class philosophies. For this purpose learning and research should be encouraged instead of fake degrees. This will enable us to fix the position of Islam above sectarianism and pull the country out of the prejudices of religion, language, region and caste and creed and create a Pakistani nationhood.