SRK in a muddle trying to explain Shoaib
In the middle of an otherwise fine interview with IBN, SRK appears to have got into a bit of a muddle trying to explain Shoaib Malik’s remarks (and here) after the recent T20. Excerpt:
Bhupendra Chaubey: “Then how do you respond to what had happened at the T20 World Cup finals? You were there. The Pakistani team lost the match to India, and the Pakistani captain, Shoaib Malik, at the podium said “My apologies to the entire Muslim community across the world”. You think he went out of line there?”
Shah Rukh Khan: No, I don’t think so. I think, you know, because he comes from a nation which is Islamic, in a large sense, and I think he meant a lot of people must have given him duas, and when somebody gives you dua, he assumes they must be Muslims, and he must have said it as a way of speaking.
I don’t think he meant to segregate Muslims and Christians and Hindus and say this was a match between Islam and Hinduism. I don’t think that.
Bhupendra Chaubey: Because it created a lot of controversy…
Shah Rukh Khan: I know, and I think the way he spoke it out, he just meant the people who prayed. A lot of people must have prayed, we all prayed. I’m a Muslim, I also do dua, and I don’t think he meant it as a rift between the Hindu and the Muslim thing.
Bhupendra Chaubey: I mean, the irony couldn’t have been completed better, because the Man of the Match of that match was Irfan Pathan, someone who came from Baroda, and here was Shoaib Malik who was talking about how the Muslim community must have been affected.
Shah Rukh Khan: I think more than the irony we should recognise the fact that these differences are no differences. You play the game, you win it and you lose it; it’s got nothing to do with any religion. I think it was misconstrued what he said. I think it was just meant to be that a lot of people have given you duas when you are coming here, so I’m sorry all the Muslim guys. I think he just meant it in the general sense.
.
Might it not have been just easier to say: “It was a dumb remark and Shoaib was wrong“?
Just wondering.
Related Post: SRK: “Jihad…a small little word”
Tangential Post: Why Abu Salem spared SRK
A shame to Indians for making such a person a national icon. Now we all know where his heart is. I bet he will have some words in defence of Bin Laden too.
I think it is unfair of the interviewer to put SRK on the spot.
It is all very good for us all to sit here in judgement, considering not many of the commenters here have faced a real live radio or TV interview.
In hindsight, it is easy to pontificate that he should have said this or that. I am sure he is going over it wondering may be he should have said this or that.
Like most human beings, who watched Shoaib, it was a WTF moment over which much ink and letters in the blogosphere have already been wasted. I am sure at some level that WTF also struck SRK.
Why do we expect a Muslim to explain a random Muslim’s explanations? Are we prepared to explain Uma Bharti who at the height of the mad cow crisis in the UK said: “lets bring the cows to India to save them from slaughter”?
Stupidity has no religion, no nationality. It is a pretty universal phenomenon, and we should just let this rest now.
–>Might it not have been just easier to say: “It was a dumb remark and Shoaib was wrong“?
No. I don’t think so. See he is coming from a Secular Nation, in a large sense, and when lot of people are listening (dancing) to him, they must be “secular”, and he must have said it as a way of showbiz.
Just wondering….
This incident has torn the mask out of our heros’ face. All these Khans are pakistani sympathisers and the only thing they need from India is Money.
Do you think these people consider the nation as ‘Mother’. Everybody know their ‘secret’ relationship with Pakistani goondas and underworld.
He says he did dua…unless he duas for the victory of pakistanis, why would malik apologize to him. So, SRK openly declares that all muslims dua for the victory of pakistanis.
@ An only mouse:
You said: “It is all very good for us all to sit here in judgement, considering not many of the commenters here have faced a real live radio or TV interview…”
Yes, but then neither are many of us celebrities and/or national icons. Having to face “hard questions” goes with the territory, I guess.
I agree that it is easy to pontificate but SRK was aware of the controversy (he did not plead ignorance) and he must have reacted in some way when he heard that remark.
Besides he did have time to frame his response (in the sense that he was not responding on the spot, as soon as the remark was made).
In my humble opinion, Shoaib’s remark may have well been a WTF moment but it was also symptomatic of the deep influence of religion in Pakistani cricket (see also: https://satyameva-jayate.org/2007/05/02/just-not-cricket/)
Finally, re. “Why do we expect a Muslim to explain a random Muslim’s explanations?”
SRK is not just a Muslim – As I said above, he is a national icon and therefore bears some responsibility to his constituency (and masses of admirers)…neither is Shoaib a “random Muslim”.
But I agree with your last point: “Stupidity has no religion, no nationality“!
I think it was not fair of the interviewer to ask that question to SRK. We all saw him on the TV. We could all see how happy he was about our victory.
Muslims as a whole have are loyal to their community. We don’t like it when the secular Hindus do not support Hindu causes- Do we? It is uncharitable on our part to want him to behave like a member of the (Pseudo)-secular mafia. SRK was just explaining Shoaib’s remark. Let’s not make a controversy out of it.
SRK may be a super star and a fine actor. But he has proved he is not a dipomat.
With regards,
Nandan
Hi, I’m a ‘Khan’ from Lahore. I think the Khans of Bollywood are all pretty patriotic, Nanda. I dont know why Muslims in India have to prove that they are patriotic and loyalists. and I do agree with Nandan that i dont think the interviewer should have asked SRK the question in teh first place. think about it, why shud SRK be answerable for something or defend something stupid that shoaib malik said.
i’m a pakistani and I’m a great fan of Irfan Pathan, Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar and teh list goes on. so just as someone said cricket has no religion.( or stupidity i guess)
i’ll tell u what the prob is, most of the younger players in the cricket team dont really come from well-educated backgrounds hence a massive problem in expressing themselves. shoaib probably meant ‘teh pple back home’, of course lack of education results in lack of sensitivity.
anyways congrats to teh Indian team on winning and that too the first twenty20!
‘most of the younger players in the cricket team’…. i meant in the pakistani team
Shantanuji, remeber how sharply many of our secular readers reacted when I pointed out the inevitable islamist shadow over our film industry !
If you are willing to accept a man calling himself a muslim, then you also have to accept the fact that he is bound to have a soft-corner for Pakistan !
We have to change our values and learn to live with these cold realities that cannot be over-looked anymore in this darkage of intelligence failure.
@ Maria: welcome to the blog and thanks for sharing your thoughts here.
I am a bit tied up over the next few days but will respond to all the comments on my return.
Thanks.
Hi , B Shantanu (sorry havent come across ur first name yet). Thank you for welcoming me on ur blog. i’ve never written on a blog before but the interesting discussion compelled me to write and hope to make friends. as i tell all my friends Delhi is so much like Lahore its like a second home.
note for Jagmohan Singh: I’ve met quite a few Muslims in India who are very patriotic. the soft-corner for Pakistan has nothing to do with the political differences we have but more to do with the cultural affinity we have. lots of muslims have relatives across the border, so there’s history. in fact not only Muslims, but i meet a lot of Sikhs who have an affinity for Pakistan too-once again not for political reasons but because they have so many religious sites here and many come to visit their homes in Lahore.
Hi, maria, welcome.
I know you are right. I myself have many muslim friends here who are very close to me. So close that we never even feel any difference among us. So any prejudice or any bias against any person is out of question, at least as far a I am concerned.
My point was somewhere else. What I wanted to say was that : has anyone, Hindu or Sikh, a moral right to question an Indian muslim about his loyalty ? Does’nt it look absurd and childish when they catch a muslim going by and start testing how loudly he can yell “Vande Matram” ! You must have seen the indecent and shameful scenes in our bollywood masala flicks when they try to teach the muslims in India about where to place his commitment. Are these tests necessary ?
You may not understand this because this kind of problem is not there in Pakistan, today Pakistan, insha-Allaha, has almost no Hindu population, but in India the population of muslims have increased since 1947. We are proud to say that presently India has a strength of muslim population that is almost equal to total population of Pakistan ! considering the continuous infiltration across from Bangladesh ( or you guys still like to call it “East Pakistan”?) you can guess what will happen in a decade or two….
Pakistan came into being because of Islam. The connection between a good muslim and Pakistan is the most natural thing, it is bound to exist. Denying this will only lead to more ill-will at all levels. What I am trying to say was that Hindus should stop living in
their Gandhian dreamland, and accept the muslims as what they really are, not as what the secular-addened Hindu wishes them to be.
Hi! Jagmohan I’m trying to say exactly teh same thing, however i was responding to ur statement “If you are willing to accept a man calling himself a muslim, then you also have to accept the fact that he is bound to have a soft-corner for Pakistan ! ”
i guess i failed to read between the lines. But yes i completely second what u’ve said. in fact if pple in india are continuously going to question Muslim’s loyalty, it will only increase the sectarian divide.
in pakistan, by teh way we do have a Hindu minority in Sindh- ofcourse ‘numbers’ and ‘size’ will always be smaller comparable to India. 🙂 also we recognized Bangladesh right after its inception under Zulfiqar Bhutto’s govt so we’ve gotten over it long time back.
Secular ideals are not only important today in countries as diverse as India. Even within Pakistan, an Islamic country, the struggle between ‘moderate’ and ‘extremists’ forces within the nation and amongst people of one religion has incurred a similar debate.
Also Pakistan was not created for islam, it was created for muslims. there is a difference. islam was not the only reason Pakistan was created and ofcourse you could read zillions of books for alternative perspectives.
but it worried me when i read teh initial comments (and i’m saying this completely objectively with complete respect to all indians) , and its that attitude (for instance in this case of the journalist who was questioning) that could create further differences between nations within a state.
sorry for the misinterpretation though. may be it was never my place to say since ur talking in teh context of india.
Is SRK a muslim to start of with??? The answer to that is a BIG NO!!! He is no muslim!!
When you have idols in your house for worship you are NOT a muslim!!
There was a time when SRK actually said he does not beleive in GOD. This remark was later changed to, I DO BELEIVE IN GOD, but DONT BELEIVE IN RELIGION.
Please dont call this man a muslim as he is NO muslim!
You have raised a very ingenious issue here.
Are you sure there are idols at his home ? If they are then for what purpose they are there ? It is highly unlikely that he (a muslim) does worship them, if so then it is clearly kufr.
But a momin can have other, highly pious and islamic uses for Hindu idols ! For example many agazi, ( Ghaznavi, Baaber, Aurangzeb to name a few ) who conquered this infidel land of ours, had hindu idols buried at entrance steps of the masjids they raised for the faithful to pray – so that the momin can walk upon them and earn sabaab before the Allah.
So please don’t disappoint the faithful by marking your icon as a kafir ! After all your SRK is the modern version of the medieval islamic conqueror ! Go and see for yourself, he may be putting Hindu idols (and gullible hindu girls, he has lot of fans ) to earn merit the holy koran hath appointed on the judgment day !
Amazing storm in a tea-cup!!!!
*** COMMEMT EDITED ***
Read my Comment Policy
Make your point but do so in a civil way. Being rude and abusive may win the argument but it will never help you win souls ***
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Well said jagmohanji.
*** COMMENT MODERATION BACK in place ***
I had taken comment moderation off some weeks ago but it looks like I was too optimistic.
I will try and clear comments several times a day but if you do not see your comment even after a few hours, please bear with me (I need some sleep too!).
I am also trying to see if regular commentators can have their comments automatically approved (I still have strong faith in most people being sensible). Thanks for your patience and support.
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How can you give a place for a blog writer like Jagmohan Singh Khurmi.
All of his comments and arguments are irrelevent and bogus (and obviously inti-social)…..
I hereby request to editor ..plz dont allow him to put his rotten thoughts on ur bolgs
Akbar: No personal insults please.
Please be specific in your remarks. Various readers have responded to Jagmohan’s comment(s) – on this post – as well as others. So they may not be entirely irrelevant and bogus
Secondly be careful about putting labels on people you may not know (I am referring to your remark that I deleted).
I would like to maintain a civil dialogue here. You can of course disagree but please avoid personal insults or broad, sweeping accusations.
Thank you.
Hats off to Shantanu ji…! Now we can be sure that our society will, in spite of all, will be able to carry on with its ancient traditions of broadmindedness, academic tolerance and freedom of expression. And these internet blogs, in the hands of level headed and upright people like Shantanuji, will play a mighty and historical role by telling the world the much needed truths our mainstream media finds too uncomfortable to bring to mouth.
Now we know how right they are when they say that the pen is mightier than the sword !
Hi Shantanu saab!!!!!!! Acquisitions and remarks posted by Khurmi are targeting not only a film actor( I personally , will never bother what is being told to SRK ) but the all muslims who think they have all rights to be called an Indian and a good Momin. Correlating each incident of independent India to the atrocities done by Mughals (even if Khurmi thinks so)is like backstabbing our nation which has sure potential to reckon itself as a major international power.
@ Akbar: Thanks for your follow-up comment and I appreciate that you are willing to engage in a dialogue.
I am little rushed for time just now but I will review all the comments once again – hopefully by the weekend.
Separately, the way to counter any remarks/comments is by putting forward your own views and thoughts. Please feel free to do that – it will further help a reasoned debate and discussion.
Removing any remarks that offend you from this blog is not a solution – it is a patch that hides the need for a real debate and discussion.
One reason why I allow so much leeway in comments here is I really want all of us to “talk” rather than retreat in our shells and let the prejudices and frustration to continue building up.
I hope you understand this positon and I am sure you do realise that I do not necessarily agree with everything that is expressed here (in comments) but in the interest of free speech , I let it remain (most of the time) unless it crosses a certain boundary.
P.S. Just to be sure,
1. I do not believe there is any necessary contradiction between being a good Muslim amd a proud Indian.
2. I agree that it is not fair to correlate all the wrongs of independent India to the atrocities done by Mughals.
Akbar: “Correlating each incident of independent India to the atrocities done by Mughals …. is like backstabbing our nation”
Well said! And, agree in toto.
“…it is not fair to correlate all the wrongs of independent India to the atrocities done by Mughals…” but it is fair, for a considerable chunk of descendents of these Mughals living among us, to draw inspiration and encouragement from the havoc their ancestors did cause !
@ Jagmohan: Please be specific.
If you have any known instances of Indians drawing “inspiration and encouragement from the havoc” that Mughals caused, then please share them with us…otherwise such remarks tend to distract from the discussion.
I would also suggest that let us consider this particular line of argument as closed.
There are other posts here which are deserving of a more serious discussion than this one.
SRK, in defending Shoaib, has dishonoured the loyalty of millions of Indian Muslims to the Indian team.
India has a comparable number of Muslims to Pak. When Shoaib apologised to the “entire Muslim community accross the world”, he was doing what a good Paki is expected to do: think of themselves as the great torch bearer of the “entire Muslim world”. He assumed that the “entire muslim world” was cheering for Pak. Could not have expected any thing better from Shoaib, but I do expect better things from SRK.
Either SRK is not as smart as he looks, and genuinely cannot analyze things before he opens his mouth, OR he is a real “I love the sands of Arabia much more than any Dar-ul-Harb” type gaddar.
Look, it does not require an IQ test to become a film actor ….. quite the reverse I would think on evidence! So, to expect SRK to become a political analyst and give suave replies on something not concerning movies is probably expecting a bit much ……. In fact, I agree with a commentator above, that SRK was gratuitously ambushed by the interviewer here ….. after all, I sure the interview was not about cricket or shoaib malik.
The first part probably holds for a Pakistani cricketer, too!
Having said the above, I also think that SRK could have simply said that “Yes, Shoaib Malik went over the top, but he probably meant the people of Pakistan”
Clearly, thinking on his feet is not his forte.
Storm in a tea cup.
..India have come ages but still Ravan descendents are somewhere cornered…. The descendents of Mughals !!!!…this is reality and I accept it with some sense of pride … If any personal comment is unwelcome on this blog then its definitely Khurmi who should think about this .
Relinquishing the perception that India belongs to a particular community is the answer of many problems raised here by self-called Rakshak of nation. Else they will find a delusion of a Gaddar label stick on the head of many Indians more patriotic than them.
I am thinking how a India-cheering Muslim (or Hindu) would have answered about Shoaib. He would be full of indignation, and say: “what was Mallik thinking when he did that?” This reaction would be spontaneous. Only one who brings in the Muslim Ummah of something like that in between before answering any questions can answer like SRK did..
@ Ashish has finally caught the game…SRK’s mentality can be explained by a look at the most cheered-up verse of Allama Iqbal :
???? ????? ?? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ????…!
( Hijaz is that part of Arabia in which Mecca and Medina are situated )
@akbar “…How can you give a place for a blog writer like Jagmohan Singh Khurmi.
All of his comments and arguments are irrelevent and bogus (and obviously inti-social)…..
I hereby request to editor ..plz dont allow him to put his rotten thoughts on ur bolgs…
Which comment or argument I gave is bogus or irrelevent, prove it. I challange you. What do you mean by “rotten thoughts”?
Be careful about what you say
@Khurmi… You saw that writings very late. I accept ur challange and will prove how ur arguments are bogus and anti-social…
1. IDOLS IN SRK HOME…
this is world-known that SRK wife is a Hindu and people have seen her worshiping with his children in Mannat in videos . SRK has never told her to convert in Islam… Your remark was that SRK has put these hindu idols in his home for insulting them. This is completely ur assumed declaration and nothing to do with reality. Here ur argument goes irrelevant and nothing materialistic (that is bogus). Blaming an Indian who has done so much for his country (SRK is biggest among of the stars who have given Bollywood a real global recognition .More foreign currency coming to Indai) proves that your argument (you) is anti-social and somewhat anti-nation. Does these all not define a rotten thoughts ????
2. SRK IS THE MODERN VERSION OF THE MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC CONQUEROR……. SRK is the conqueror of the hearts of millions of people who are not Muslims..( Even in his entire Career SRK has played a Muslim- Kabir Khan- only once) . His stage shows across the world pull tremendous responses from masses. He has done shows in almost all cities in USA , UK and CANADA.. Were Medieval Islamic Conquerors of this type ??? I request you to ask this question to your soul. Again this is irrelevent and bogus(and more a prsonal attack on a SRK)
A big essay can be scripted against ur all remarks.
Sir , I don’t have any type of personal grudge against you but definitely don’t agree with any of ur arguments . Personally I realize I am a young but strong boy who is never ready be modest when he is true.
All: Thanks for contributing.
I would like to call time-out on this discussion now. It has run its course and we are now dangerously close to being completely off-tangent.
There are a lot of other subjects/topics here that deserve our attention. Let us focus on those.
So, no more comments here please. I hope all of you will respect this request.
First of all, it was not me but one of your co-religionists (amjad) who brought up this idol issue by saying : “…Is SRK a muslim to start of with??? The answer to that is a BIG NO!!! He is no muslim!!
When you have idols in your house for worship you are NOT a muslim!!
There was a time when SRK actually said he does not beleive in GOD. This remark was later changed to, I DO BELEIVE IN GOD, but DONT BELEIVE IN RELIGION
Please dont call this man a muslim as he is NO muslim!.
I merely answered amjad !
If you think that this idol thing is bogus and irrelevant ( which it really is ) then why did you not accuse amjad of being bogus and irrelevant instead of me… in the first place….?
You say “…Your remark was that SRK has put these hindu idols in his home for insulting them. This is completely ur assumed declaration and nothing to do with reality. Here ur argument goes irrelevant and nothing materialistic (that is bogus)…”
I never accused SRK or anyone else, for that matter. I have no such right, what I did was merely cite a possibility because destruction of idols is a religious injunction confirmed by numerous instances throughout history.
In know that this idol talk is absurd : but then it was amjad, and not myself who raised this absolutely absurd and childish issue. It was your amjad who was litmus-testing the identity of SRK as muslim by reminding us about our shameful history. At that time this comment of amjad did not seem bogus and irrelevant, though he brought it out of thin-air, without any need whatsoever…?
“…SRK is biggest among of the stars who have given Bollywood a real global recognition. More foreign currency coming to Indai) proves that your argument (you) is anti-social and somewhat anti-nation. Does these all not define a rotten thoughts ????”
That is because India is a tolerant country, that gives equal opportunity to all in spite of one’s religion etc. This also falsifies the frequent muslim allegation that muslims are discriminated against. How many hindu stars are there Paksitan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Dubai or Saudi Arab ?
Bollywood had a real global recognition without the likes of SRK.
It is not Bollywood that needs SRK, it is SRK that needs Bollywood.. Afghanistan is full of Khans of all ages, shapes and sizes but is far from having something that can remotely be called a film industry ( apart from horrible videos of women being stoned to death etc ). Your lopsided thinking that Bollywood depends on SRK for its identity tells everything….!
All blood-thirsty tyrants who exploited, tortured and misruled my country for centuries had harems full of hindu women. This is a cruel psychological tool to subordinate us !
What if I (a Hindu) go and become a superstar in Pakistan and keep a muslima for wife : all of you will be crying bloody murder and burning effigies and tearing down one or two temples.
Our biggest source of shame are these stupid Hindu girls, misusing the freedom their religion provides them, these dummies find it cool to marry a muslim (this they learn from left-leaning escapist hindi films). May be if their elite parents were a little-less secular than required i.e. not ashamed to tell them of the greatness of heritage of Hindu culture, they would be less willing to become breeding cows of these khans…
Will you tolerate a muslima marrying an infidel. Of course not ! Why these double standards ?
@ Shantanu….. i will do honour to ur request of not putting more comments…. Hope to meet Khurmi soon on some other issue 🙂 🙂
Akbar, thank you.
I want to respond to Maria’a statement where she said that if someone calls himself a Muslim he is going to be loyal to Pakistan or have some sort of soft corner for Pakistan. May I know why? Since you yourself said that Pakistan was created for Muslims and not Islam, why should an Indian Muslim have s soft corner for Pakistan. Pakistan is India’s enemy, hence it is the duty of every Indian, whatever may be his religious affiliation to take this fact as a an absolute. By saying this Maria, you are implying that non Muslims majority cannot ever expect Indian Muslims to be patriots. And as far as Hindus in Sindh are concerned, The Haris or Harijans, live off as slaves of Muslim landlords. They don’t any sorts of rights. The truth is that Pakistan is not and cannot be India’s friend as long as it exists. The very formation of Pakistan was based on what Jinnah though represented India, the Hindus. So the only way Pakistan will be India friend will be when all Hindus are to submit to Allah.
I forgot to add this, Akbar, if you are so concerned about hate mongering, its your duty go and ask Imam Bukhari why he told Muslims in his special Khutba that Muslims in India cannot pray for the soldiers. Rather than letting the truth come out, you are trying to gauge to the mouths of people who want to tell the truth. If you don’t like them for doing what they are, maybe you should examine History for yourself.
Just wanted to put the points to end the discussion.
1. Do not have hatred towards anyone.
“You can win over your enemy, but not your hatred”
2. Anybody can have the soft corner for any of our neighbour. But just remember that our home comes first.
3. Nobody has the right to ask me “How patriot I am?â€
http://www.blogs.ivarta.com/Open-letter-Mr-Shahrukh-Khan-SRK/blog-348.htm
I am not supporting anyone for asking SRK taking back his comment but shows solidarity with the Nation, love and respect for 26/11 martyrs.
Only now I know true khan who is much interested in his business and popularity not the Nation.
“I then asked a Pakistani commentator what he thought of Imran’s bowling. He replied that Imran had told him that when he played against India he thought of Kashmir and treated the encounter not as a cricket match, but as jihad.” – http://www.dailypioneer.com/286659/Sports-can’t-bridge-gap.html
That sports is a metaphor of war has long been accepted in social science circles, but not in our mombatti circles.