Letters to the Editor

If rains are ruled out as the cause, then we are driven to claim that the cause of smudging ink could imaginably be humidity; especially in Mumbai where it is high. We Bangalorians start sweating the moment we land in Mumbai. (For other, drier places, we will have to, of course, honestly assign other reasons).

Our printing press has other answers. They say that if you rule out both rain and humidity, then do not blame the machines and the worker in the press for not aligning the paper at second colorful strike. But rather, the true cause of smudged ink could be human tears at the proud production of smudged quality, year after year. Our Ummah, they say, has not forgotten how to shed tears, if it has forgotten how to shed money.

Thus you can note the good thing about us. Either way YMD serves the Ummah. Its content forces your family to buy the magazine, (thus YMD is served) but poor presentation leads them to buy other Islamic magazines, thus they are served.

Have no time? We can understand it. You are busy, we are busy (preparing the next issue), everybody is so busy. These are busy times.

Nonetheless, a wider sampling of our magazine was not required. We maintain our good quality through and through, month after month.

Since the above does not criticize us, directly, everything you write has the possibility of being true. But, that’s our opinion. We are not sure everyone will agree.

We find that hard to accept because, if we accept that if it is in such poor quality, that: “let the graphics not there be at all,” then, (and since, according to some, paper quality is simply not all the reason) the logic could be extended to smudged black & white pages and said that “if would seem better if YMD weren’t there at all.”

After the attack on the quality of paper has been sufficiently well defended, we will have no difficulty in similarly defending the quality of articles had you cited some specific instances from other than June 06 issue.

[A side note: Please send us the addresses of the Islamic magazines that have grown from “penniless to rich”. We would like to honor them by announcing a suitable award].

This adds an element of mystery to the column. If you look into successful literature, you will discover that suspense is one element which is skillfully employed to keep the reader pegged to the pages.

That is where we part ways with every other school of thought. There are several kinds of magazines: leisure mags., pleasure mags., sports mags., informative mags., educational mags., (though few they are), and so on. Our staff has the instruction to go above all and make YMD a “reformative” mag.

Lecturing, admonishing, chiding, scolding, reproving, reproaching, blaming, disapproving, criticizing, objecting, censuring, lambasting, fault-finding, reprimanding,  reprobating, tongue-lashing, rebuking, taunting, et al to the end, are the tools of the reformists.

We are amazed at the correctness of your prediction.

It might also be obvious to you that the cutting up of the letters carries a bonus. “Divide and rule” is a wonderful tool. You can defeat the purposes of a piece of writing by shredding it to pieces.

But, seriously, you can see the advantage. A letter writer states a dozen points, each of which requires a response. Now, if we answered them point by point, below the letter, the readers will have to go back to the letter at every new paragraph to know what’s going on, that is, what’s the point, and what’s the answer? So, we break apart the letter so that a reader reads the point raised and its answer immediately below.

Earlier we tried to number the points raised, and then answer below in a continuous stretch, referring to points 1, 2, 3 and so on. But that too was cumbersome for the readers.

We are reminded of a story of a few innovative young men in Britain, not long ago, who declared that religious issues need not be so dealt with as to sound dry, serious and dreary. Lack of liveliness, not to say humor (the salt of speech) drives people away from religious materials to trendy magazines. Islamic magazines are, as they say, “so boring.” So, these young men decided to launch a new magazine to present religious material non-pontifically. Let there be fun, humor and laughter, they said.

[You might remember another story of how, after bursting into peals of laughter, first time in her life, Karen Armstrong said good-bye to the Church – ref., “Through the Narrow Gate”].

Back to our story of the young men, their fun ended on a sad note. The magazine did not prosper, despite the favorable response, especially by the youth. The young men might have learnt that bringing out a magazine requires more than the ability to crack a joke.

Your complaint against the length of our answers reminds us of another joke. A man was carrying a 6 foot tall, ancestral wall clock on his back for repairs. His clock nudged a lady in the street. She remonstrated angrily: “Why can’t you carry a wristwatch just as everybody does?”

Your pity for there not being a psychologist or psychoanalyst around us to guide, is a matter of pride for us. Although, we do see some peripheral advantage of these disciplines, God forbid we should ever consult other than the Qur’an and Sunnah for guidance. We seek the assistance of these disciplines as tools for gathering data.

We might also point out with due respect to you, that as far as psychology is concerned, i.e., the Western type of psychology, a few other people have also studied it. Their belief is that insofar as probing the mind is concerned, and bringing out the hidden, this discipline, (along with psychoanalysis), is pretty successful. But when it comes to deciding what to make of the data, the two are failed disciplines. This is a vast topic, and cannot be dismissed in a sentence. But to put it in brief, when they move from the concrete to the abstract, they begin to show signs of mental fatigue. This is because of the atheistic nature of their developers. No surprise, many psychologists and psychiatrists are themselves sick, authoring books moaning their personal mental health.

We have, in contrast, faith in the wisdom that the Qur’an and Sunnah generate.

As for your criticism, we believe it stems from a narrow perspective. Widen your scope, and you will have less to complain of the style of answers in the “Letters to the Editor” column.

Our problem is to correctly judge – through trial and error – how far our readers will go. What is the exact line at which a humorous point, an innocent jibe, a witty suggestion, is perceived as a personal attack?

How will guaranteed anonymity affect the disorganized nature?

In any case, anonymity requests are always honored.

So, you wanted to lecture, delivered with the directive: “No discussions. I am right. And so are a few with me. So, its time you learn. Don’t even answer. Just change your ways.”

Many of our readers will agree that this kind of directive is only acceptable if it involves Halal and Haram. Where policies are concerned, there can and will always be several opinions, each with its own merit.

Our own findings tell us that there can never be any way you do things that will satisfy all classes of people. There are among the people the arrogant ones educated on Western lines, those who are humble before the truth and do not mind how the truth is stated, those who are extremely sensitive, others who enjoy a good joke, even if it is at their expense, those who are rational, while others sentimental, a few who are proud who cannot hear a remark against them, while others respect authority and know that religion is the other name of Naseeha and obedience to authority. There are others who have already formed their opinions, such as, e.g., “family planning is allowable in Islam.” When they receive an answer in negative, and all their justifications are shred to pieces, they are upset.

Then there are groups, each of which wants to hear what it holds dear: Modernists, Tableeghi, Jama’ati, Deobandi, Salafi, Hanafiyy, Qubooi, Mahdawi, Shi`ah etc., etc.

There are other classes, those educated on modern lines, the traditionalists, the Western-type, the conservatives, the well educated, the so-so type, the poorly educated, and so on. Add to this, the young, old, children, men and women over several continents. To increase complexity, there are the city-men who have no time for anything and so will read headlines, the townsmen who will read a bit more, and countrymen who read from end to end (including advertisements)!

We have amongst our readers: intellectuals, professors (Indian and foreign), engineers, doctors and other professionalists, as well as humbler kind: O God, if you knew how many classes we have to keep in mind while constructing our sentences. For a magazine (and that too with a reformative ambition), each of this class requires to be given something or the other, to keep them on the line. If the communication door is open, there is some chance of a word of truth penetrating through.

Also, while selecting articles, or answering questions, we keep every class, every group in mind, giving everyone a little bit of what he or she will appreciate and enjoy. We feel there are Islamic magazines that are read (for a variety of reasons), but not one which people enjoy reading. Humor, sarcasm, witticism, tongue-in-cheek manner, some taunting, dressed with humor, with a sparkling phrase thrown in here or there, compels thousands of people to read our “Letters”, otherwise, as you know, there is no dearth of Fatwa books, in print and on-line, that offer answers in simple, straightforward manner – the kind of answers you have suggested: “Allowed” or, “Not allowed.”

Indeed, Islamic libraries boast of innumerable works that contain questions and answers to every kind of situation that one can possibly face in real life. But, how many people refer to them? If what appears in our magazine is read (by a tiny minority), it is because we do not answer in that old, cold, protocol, which, although right, sounds boorish to the modern reader.

The ultimate truth that emerges from our discussion, (we look at this column as a platform for discussion), is that we can never accept that there is anything wrong with us, our magazine, our writings, our approach, our style. The form and format you see is dictated by a well-considered policy. But there is another truth that lurks behind: you are a reader, and a reader is always right.

Have a nice day.