Ett land med en stor muslimsk begfolkning har ikke produsert rekrutter for Al Qaida eller andre terrorgrupper: India. Det er et bemerkelsesverdig faktum, og kan tyde på at hvis muslimer lever i et demokrati med frie institusjoner, deltar de i prosessen som alle andre.

Det skriver den egyptiske intellektuelle Tarek Heggy i Qatar-avisen Al-Raya:

«While [almost] every Muslim community in the world has produced jihad fighters for Al-Qaeda and [similar] organizations, there is one Muslim community that has had no part in this phenomenon. This Muslim community is the second largest in the world: the Muslim community in India.

«This community of more than 150 million people… is the only Muslim community which has not [produced] a single individual who left the country to plan and take part in violent actions that are labeled by their perpetrators as ‘jihad’ while the [rest of the] world calls them ‘terrorism.’

«The Muslim community of India is not wealthy. It is part of Indian society… in which a high percentage of the people lives a life far removed from wealth and prosperity. Nevertheless, this Muslim community has never produced a single individual who planned or carried out an action like the September 11, 2001 attack in New York, or like the later attacks in Madrid, London, Istanbul, Taba, Sharm Al-Sheikh, and other places. Moreover, the Muslim community in India (despite its minority status) produced a great scholar, who currently serves as the president of India.

«The most important point is that the Muslim community in India is the only Muslim community [in the world] which lives in a genuine national democracy.

«What can we conclude from these facts? The obvious conclusion is that inside every individual on the face of the earth there is a political being… If this being finds overt, legitimate, and effective channels by which it can carry out the natural actions of any political being, it will not look for underground political activities.

Heggy bemerker at indiske universiteter rangeres blant de beste i verden. Cairo University var ikke en gang på listen over de 500 beste i verden.

Egyptian Reformist: India’s Democracy Proves That Muslims Can Act Without Violence