Rushdie calls for an Islamic Renaissance

When I read the above news item, I couldn't help but appreciate the insight Salman Rushdie has of the Islam world. In just a few words he summarized all that is going wrong and things that need to be done to make it right.I think in a way his ideas will save and protect Islam.

Rushdie said that the “deeper alienations” that lead to terrorism might be more to do with the “closed communities” of the traditional Muslims in western countries rather than to the events taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan, adding that governments and community leaders inside the Muslim world should support reformation in the Muslim world, reports the Daily Times.

"Jihad", "Martyrdom" and "Terrorism" are now so commonly associated with Islam,that the religon itself is wrapped in a bloodied shroud. The sad part we're losing out on the essence of the religon. Governments (especially Blair and Bush) are trying to understand Islam to understand terrorism and I think trying to understand Islam to understand an anti-religious acts of violence is plain associating violence with Islam.

I agree with Hanif Kureishi and Salman Rushdie that it is alienation that is leading to more Muslim immigrants taking to the bomb. In turn Muslim communites seem to be moving into a closer tight-knit circle that leads a closure of ideas, culture and civic privileges.

With a vast Muslim diaspora traversing the globe, they need to understand that they have given the world a lot of "Culture" and "Economy" and we need more. That will be a good starting point for a reconciliation.