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Time that Muslims retrospect
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Islam is a natural faith, free of all adulterations. By sheer virtue of its own strength, it can make inroads into the hearts of the people. The only barrier to its natural acceptance by others is the atmosphere of belligerence.
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TERRORISM, ESPECIALLY after Black September and the ghastly December, poses the greatest threat to bonds of Hindu-Muslim understanding and more importantly, to the human civilisation. Islam seems to have been hijacked by some demoniacal insiders cast in the mould of barbaric fascists like Halaku, Chengiz Khan, Timur the Lame and Osama bin Laden. The Muslims of this subcontinent and elsewhere certainly seem to be removed from God's path directed by Islam through the holy Quran. A handful of troublemakers in the community perpetrate atrocious acts of terrorism while the entire community suffers as a result.
Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) in this regard states in the Hadith Ibn-e-Maa'ja, "By the one who has control over my soul — Allah — it is incumbent upon you to encourage one another to do good and to restrain your own people from evil deeds."
What hurts Indian Muslims is that despite the community having repeatedly asserted their identity as Indians, they find their patriotism being suspected. About a decade ago, while in London, I reacted tremendously as an Indian to the telecast of the Babri Masjid demolition while the daily The Guardian (December 7, 1992) headlines shrieked: "Hindu terrorism." I wrote in the British papers and gave an interview to the BBC without ado arguing that the Irish terrorism be slated as Catholic terrorism. I maintained that just because a rowdy section of the Hindu community had demolished the mosque and indulged in rioting, the entire Hindu community could not be labelled as terrorists.
Pseudo-secularism
When lip-serving and self-serving politicians start indulging in pseudo-secularism, a chain reaction is triggered. Hindus are told that the increasing popularity of ghazals and shalwar-qamiz are signs of the coming social and political domination of Muslims. Muslims are told that the very use of coconut and diya on state and national ceremonies — even when no prayers or rituals are offered — is danger to their Islamic identity. But neither shalwar-qamiz nor ghazals are uniquely Muslim nor coconut or diya uniquely Hindu. All of them are the symbols of authentic composite cultural heritage of all Indians. Over the last few hundred years, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs have borrowed freely from each other's social milieus. Hindus developed fondness for the dress, ghazals, qawwalis and literature of Muslims. Muslims adopted Hindu custom of wedding, childbirth and funeral. Bhajans, qawwalis, and shabad kirtans can hardly be distinguished from each other in their basic appeal, syntax or melody.
It should be emphasised that throughout history, there has never been a separation of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs on the basis of religion. The facts of history show that, for instance, several of Shivaji's commanders in his fight against Aurangzeb were Muslims. Most of Tipu Sultan's ministers and advisers were Hindus. Even though some politicians are misleading people by saying that a large number of Hindus are disenchanted with secularism, in the election of 1991, despite the worst incitement in the name of religion, no more than 20 per cent of Hindus — and that too only in the Hindi belt in the North — were willing to accept this premise. Official statistics shows that 55 per cent of Muslims are below the poverty line as opposed to the national average of 35 per cent for all Indians. That repudiates the bogey of appeasement of the minorities by successive governments.
It is only during the elections that Muslim leaders start asking themselves exactly what it is that makes their problems different to those of other Indians? There is poverty. Vast numbers of Muslims live in poverty but so do vast numbers of Hindus. So surely this is one problem that needs to be viewed through a non-sectarian prism. There is unemployment. It is often alleged that before independence Muslims had more than 30 per cent of government jobs in Uttar Pradesh. They are now estimated to have 2 or 3 per cent. But when you investigate this you come up with the fact that often Muslims get rejected only because they tend not to be educationally qualified.
Elasticity
The responsibility to stop communalists and pseudo-secularists, who are present in equal measure in the majority and minority communities, lies with all of us. Muslims should shake up their leadership and replace it with pragmatic leaders, who are willing to solve the real problems of the community without mobilising them on emotional and religious issues — leaders who can devise solutions within the framework of India's own multicultural heritage to which all have contributed regardless of their religious creeds. And they should chase out pseudo-secularists who have exploited them for their votes with empty symbols that do nothing but generate the reaction of the majority community.
Islam as taught by the Prophet possesses sufficient elasticity to enable it to adapt itself to the social and political revolution going on around it. The Mohammedan Common Law, or Shariah — if it can be called Common Law since it does not contain any statute law — is by no means unchangeable or unalterable. The only law unalterable in Islam is essentially the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet.
The Ulema and Muslim jurists should begin to study and examine the issues plaguing the community. It will be in order to lay down a set of scientific rules by which to judge and determine the needs of the new social order. In addition the Ulema should be prompted to invite healthy dialogue. As a result, there is bound to be an agreement amongst the Ulema and the jurists regarding some traditions and disagreement regarding others. As examples of fabricated traditions, one may cite the following: "The sea is of hell", "The mouse is Jewish". Islam is a natural faith, free of all adulterations. By sheer virtue of its own strength, it can make inroads into the hearts of the people. The only barrier to its natural acceptance by others is the atmosphere of belligerence.
Universal fundamental rights
Usually religions are often judged by what their most debased, fanatical and intolerant followers do. It has been the same in the case of Islam. It tends to be judged by the vandalism of a Mahmud of Ghazni or a Mohammad bin Qasim in the past and the Taliban, with their barbaric and medieval social practices and destruction of Buddhist statues. This is as unfair as judging Christianity by the savage tortures perpetrated by the inquisitionists of Spain or the degeneration of the Catholic Church under Popes like Alexander VI or Hinduism by the vandalism of those who destroyed the Babri Masjid.
All the Muslim terrorists, be they from Kashmir, Pakistan or any other area, are to be condemned openly by all right thinking and sane Muslims all over the world for defiling Islam. There is a common command in the Quran to serve mankind, especially the handicapped, the needy, the orphan, the indigent, the unfortunate and the oppressed. Islam has laid down some universal fundamental rights for humanity as a whole that are to be observed and respected under all circumstances. To achieve these rights, Islam provides not only legal safeguards but also very effective moral system firmly grounded in its social norms and values.
Thus whatever leads to the welfare of the individual or society, is morally good in Islam and whatever injurious, is bad. It is mentioned in the Quran (Ch.2: verse: 177): "It is not righteous that you turn your faces towards East or West: but it is righteous to believe in God and the Last Day and the Angels, and the Book and the Messengers; to spend your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, to be steadfast in prayers and practise regular charity; to fulfil the contracts that you made and to be firm and patient in pain and adversity and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God fearing."
Sufism, one of the most important cultural links between Iran and India and the true form of Islam, is a synthesis of Islam and Vedantism and our great Sufis and saints have unity out of diversity through pantheism. In its own Indian brand Sufism was part of Indian milieu in the form of Vedantic and Buddhist thoughts. For the first three centuries after its rise in Islam, Sufism was practised individually or in small groups. It had no congregational features. In India, the very existence of Sufis was, so to say, a revolt against the unequal distribution of wealth and the unjust actions of the tyrants.
Violence and aggression are acts that Allah abhors. A Muslim has to follow Prophet Mohammed who always believed in peace and social justice. Once some zealous Muslims started erecting a mosque at some Jews' place. When the Prophet came to know of it, he himself dismantled it. Such was his sense of justice and propriety. He asked his people to cater to objectivity rather than getting carried by subjective anxiety. That's what the Muslims of today require!
FIROZ BAKHT AHMED
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