What do you understand by the word jihad? In all probability, the word would evoke an image of a radical (possibly bearded) 'Islamist' terrorist out on a mission to plant a bomb or two. Now, think about the word 'kafir'. A word the terrorist uses for his 'non-Muslim' victims? Wrong. You are not the only one succumbing to such easy assumptions.
Days after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, a news channel went about the streets of Mumbai asking people if they felt safe. A young girl candidly admitted that she didn’t feel the police was doing its job. Why? Because the other day, she saw 'Muslim-looking' people get on a bus and the cops nearby didn’t bother to interrogate them!
Indeed, just minutes after the serial bombings at Bodh Gaya earlier this month, social media sites were buzzing with speculation that Islamist terrorists had a hand in it, even before the police got to the blast scene.
It is precisely these notions that link terror activities to religion and ethnicity that cartoonist Sharad Sharma and writer-activist Ram Puniyani are hoping to fight with a 'graphic account' through their comic book, Terrorism Explained.
Chapter 3 (War of Lies) of the 107-page comic book explains: “Jihad…means utmost effort, not violence…” The word has occurred in the Koran 42 times, none of the times it stands for war. Similarly, the word 'kafir' means one who hides the truth.
This is book number two of an 'explained series', the first of which focused on the basics of communalism. “The definition of terrorism changed radically after 9/11, when we saw it being linked to Islam. Mainstream media with its selective reporting didn’t help. The comic is really an attempt to provide an alternative narrative to terror,” says Sharma, who is also the founder of World Comics India that uses comics for grassroots advocacy. The book goes on to elaborate the role the US’ foreign policy and careful propaganda has played in linking terrorism to a religion.
Sharma says that in India we lost two prime ministers and the Father of the Nation to acts of terror. “The interesting thing is none of these terrorists were inspired by fundamentalist Islamist ideology, yet we perceive the religion as one that promotes violence,” he says.
Terrorism Explained evolved after 18 months of painstaking research. The comic has a professorial character who looks a lot like Puniyani and who explains how we have come to accept certain myths about communities as truths. Like in the comic, Mumbai-based Puniyani is a champion of liberal values in real life too. He is associated with various secular initiatives like Anhad (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy). After the Babri Masjid demolition, he retired from his job as a professor at IIT-B, to work full-time for communal harmony. Puniyani agrees that there has been a rise in right-wing attitude over the past 15 years. This means a lot of hate mail comes his way. “Some even conjecture that I am a Muslim who has taken on a false Hindu name,” he says adding that he ignores the abuse and engages with arguments. The comic is his reply to hatemongers.
But are there any takers for comics on such serious issues, and more importantly, are there publishers? “It has been tough getting publishers on board. This comic was supported by Interfaith Coalition for Peace,” says Sharma, who insists that comics can be a powerful medium to reach out to people.
Sharma and Puniyani plan to release the book in five cities, including Mumbai, by next month. They also plan to conduct workshops and get people to talk about their understanding of terrorism and have it evolve into comic strips. A comic book on is also on the cards.
Days after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, a news channel went about the streets of Mumbai asking people if they felt safe. A young girl candidly admitted that she didn’t feel the police was doing its job. Why? Because the other day, she saw 'Muslim-looking' people get on a bus and the cops nearby didn’t bother to interrogate them!
Indeed, just minutes after the serial bombings at Bodh Gaya earlier this month, social media sites were buzzing with speculation that Islamist terrorists had a hand in it, even before the police got to the blast scene.
It is precisely these notions that link terror activities to religion and ethnicity that cartoonist Sharad Sharma and writer-activist Ram Puniyani are hoping to fight with a 'graphic account' through their comic book, Terrorism Explained.
Chapter 3 (War of Lies) of the 107-page comic book explains: “Jihad…means utmost effort, not violence…” The word has occurred in the Koran 42 times, none of the times it stands for war. Similarly, the word 'kafir' means one who hides the truth.
This is book number two of an 'explained series', the first of which focused on the basics of communalism. “The definition of terrorism changed radically after 9/11, when we saw it being linked to Islam. Mainstream media with its selective reporting didn’t help. The comic is really an attempt to provide an alternative narrative to terror,” says Sharma, who is also the founder of World Comics India that uses comics for grassroots advocacy. The book goes on to elaborate the role the US’ foreign policy and careful propaganda has played in linking terrorism to a religion.
Sharma says that in India we lost two prime ministers and the Father of the Nation to acts of terror. “The interesting thing is none of these terrorists were inspired by fundamentalist Islamist ideology, yet we perceive the religion as one that promotes violence,” he says.
Terrorism Explained evolved after 18 months of painstaking research. The comic has a professorial character who looks a lot like Puniyani and who explains how we have come to accept certain myths about communities as truths. Like in the comic, Mumbai-based Puniyani is a champion of liberal values in real life too. He is associated with various secular initiatives like Anhad (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy). After the Babri Masjid demolition, he retired from his job as a professor at IIT-B, to work full-time for communal harmony. Puniyani agrees that there has been a rise in right-wing attitude over the past 15 years. This means a lot of hate mail comes his way. “Some even conjecture that I am a Muslim who has taken on a false Hindu name,” he says adding that he ignores the abuse and engages with arguments. The comic is his reply to hatemongers.
But are there any takers for comics on such serious issues, and more importantly, are there publishers? “It has been tough getting publishers on board. This comic was supported by Interfaith Coalition for Peace,” says Sharma, who insists that comics can be a powerful medium to reach out to people.
Sharma and Puniyani plan to release the book in five cities, including Mumbai, by next month. They also plan to conduct workshops and get people to talk about their understanding of terrorism and have it evolve into comic strips. A comic book on is also on the cards.
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