In a recent Facebook Post, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M A Baby has compared the ideals of Islam with those of Communism. The CPI(M) Politburo member was seen elaborating in a Facebook post the egalitarianism in Islam over the practice of fasting during the ongoing month of Ramzan. He further claimed that Marx, Engles, Lenin and other Communist mavens were the prophets of modern times.
On fasting and Islam
M A Baby started off talking about the concept of fasting which is observed in the Muslim society during the month of Ramzan. He compared religious fasting in Islam with (Vrata) fasting among Hindus and fasting among Christians before Easter. “There are some very humane ideas behind most of the religious traditions. In my view, fasting rituals are mainly purifying the mind and body. Most religions have this kind of fasting. This is the time when Navaratri Vratham is happening in North India. And the time when Christians are looking to fast before Easter. Those who fast during Ramzan are reminded of crores of people around the world who are starving by the extreme circumstances that created social and economic inequality,” he wrote on Facebook.
“The Holy Prophet’s lesson is that after making sure that no one is hungry in the surrounding area, you can eat. It is the idea of a kind of equal society that is what is being shared by man,” said Baby, suggesting that by remaining hungry, one expresses his solidarity with the unfortunate others who are left without consuming an ounce of food. Postulating that ‘many of the Prophet’s ideas are close to Communist Ideals’, Baby wrote, “The days of fasting are bringing that hunger to the centre of our thinking. That is the greatest meaning of fasting.”
MA Baby reminded that the lesson of the Prophet is that one should eat only after making sure that no one around is hungry. Baby wrote that when Indian Marxist leaders like K Damodaran and C. Shekhar framed slogans for labour organisations, they included “Sallallahu Alaihivasallam” ((peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in them.
Prophets, Jesus Christ and Karl Marx
M A Baby wrote that all the ‘Prophets’, in a way, stood for humanity and human equality during their time. He suggested that the ‘revolutionaries’ like ‘Marx, Engels, Lenin, Rosalaxburg, Mao, Hochim, Antonio Gramsci, Fidal and Che Guevara’ were prophets of modern times. “They are the ones who fought to create an equal society in their lands. These are the ideas that populate my mind every Ramadan fast,” M A Baby wrote while concluding his Facebook Post.