Abstract
In the poem ‘Shikwah’ (‘Complaint’) from a collection published in 1908, the great Urdu poet Muhammad Iqbal once accused God of infidelity. That fact is interesting to consider in the aftermath of The Satanic Verses scandal. The rage of Islam against the book, and the consequent rage against Islam fuelled by the scandal itself, make it hard to understand how a poet generally taken to be the spiritual founder of Pakistan could say this and live.2 For he catalogues in that poem all that Muslims have done for God over the centuries, and points out that God has nevertheless neglected them, and allowed the Muslim world to be destroyed. In one of its more startling passages, Iqbal exlaims: ‘At times You have pleased us, at other times / (it is not to be said), You are a whore.’
Keywords
Black Community Personal Brand Muslim World Islamic Tradition Alien ImmigrantPreview
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Notes
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