The enemy within

A Syrian poet Abul 'Ala al Ma'arri writes:
‘We mortals are composed of two great schools
Enlightened knaves or else religious fools.’

It is the religiously ignorant ‘fools’ that have plagued Islam for a long time. They are the real enemies of Islam because it is always easier to crush an outsider, but to banish the enemy within is a different task altogether. There are many radical elements in the Islamic world, and they have only managed to alienate the faithful from the righteous path. It is the duty of a Muslim to speak out against such voices because otherwise the world would continue to point fingers at us. If we don’t stand up against these radicals and what they stand for, they will keep destroying the beauty of Islam. One rotten apple spoils the whole basket — and we are letting it happen. The primary impetus for change must come from Muslims themselves.

So-called religious leaders, scholars and clerics continue to exploit the masses in the name of religion for their own vested interests. One of the greatest misconceptions about Islam is the false propaganda that Islam is synonymous with war, in that it urges its adherents to fight against non-Muslims in order to convert them to the faith. Unfortunately, this slander is circulated not only by non-Muslims, who may be honestly or wilfully ignorant, but also by so-called Muslim scholars, clerics and religious leaders who ought to know better than to bring unwarranted calumny on their own religion. Jihad, in its truest and purest form, the form to which all Muslims aspire, is the determination to do ‘right’, to provide ‘justice’, even against your own interests. It is an individual struggle for personal moral behaviour. Especially today, it is a struggle that exists on many levels: self-purification and awareness, public service and social justice. A mujahid is one who is sincerely devoted to his or her cause; who uses all physical, intellectual, and spiritual resources to serve it; one who confronts any power that stands in the way; and, when necessary, dies for this cause. When the Quran itself says that “there is no compulsion in religion” (2:256), then who are we to go against the teachings of Islam? Jihad is certainly not a ‘licence to kill’. Organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba (now known as Jamatud Dawa), Hizbul Tehreer, Jaish-e-Mohammad, etc., are all Pakistan-based militant organisations promoting Jihad in the name of religion.

Killing in the name of Allah is not only restricted in Jihad, but also in the case of sectarianism. Labelling other sects as non-Muslims and killing innocents in the name of God not only disgraces my religion but infuriates me personally. Islam did not teach us to slit each other’s throats. Islam is a religion of peace but over time, the word ‘peace’ has been lost in ignorance and hatemongering.

The menace of sectarian violence is one such outcome. It is something that Islam abhors, but people have exploited the masses to fulfil their own nefarious agendas. Since the 80s, Pakistan has experienced an enormous growth of religious fanaticism and extremism, the likes of which Islam has not seen in all of its 1,400 years. In the past 20 years, the struggle that essentially began between Shia and Sunni groups as a result of Ziaul Haq’s drive for ‘Islamization’, has transformed from a theological to a political battle. The frequency of sectarian violence has increased enormously. Before Zia, the Shia and Sunni sects lived in harmony throughout the country. But Zia brought extremist elements into the country during the Soviet-Afghan war. These elements resultantly spewed the venom of hate inside the country, enabling the roots of sectarian violence to germinate. Extremists believe in an ideology called political Islam. The notion of an Islamic state has become something of a touchstone for movements that promote Islam as central to political identity, such as Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, or the Ayatollah Khomeini’s adherents in Iran. The basis of political Islam is the rejection of secularism and the belief that the mosque and the state should be completely intertwined. Yet much of the new and exclusivist Islamist discourse rests on tenuous grounds. History has shown that when politics and religion are intertwined, the inevitable result is disaster. Religion is then used as a weapon in the hands of those who rule.

“And once again wars of religions are ready to devastate Europe. (A) Bohemian leader and agent of a new sect of ‘purified’ Christianity, has just been arrested in Sweden, and the most disastrous plans were found among his papers. The sect to which he belonged is said to want nothing less than to render itself master of all the potentates of Europe and their subjects. In Arabia new sectarians are emerging and want to purify the religion of Mahomet. In China even worse troubles, still and always motivated by religion, are tearing apart the inside of that vast empire. As always it is gods that are the cause of all ills” — Diary of the Marquis de Sade.

Sectarian violence is a religious war. The religio-political factions use it to achieve their own goals. It only takes a handful of dedicated extremists to wreak wide-scale carnage and destruction. Bellowing fatwas left, right, and centre, has done no good to Islam. They have only brought shame to the religion. Statistics show that from 1989 till March 2006, more than 4,100 people were injured and around 1,880 people killed due to sectarian violence in Pakistan in 1,842 incidents (statistics courtesy: satp.org). There is considerable dismay within Pakistan about the law and order situation. Organisations like Sipah-e-Sahaba, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, etc, are the top names in spreading sectarian violence. Not only have these hatemongering organisations used this menace, but now other people have begun to exploit it for their own nefarious designs.

Last Muharram, a Sunni cleric convinced his wife that Shias are kafir and a suicide bombing at a Shia majlis would ensure a place in heaven for the couple. The wife went to the females’ side of the majlis while her husband told her he would follow suit on the males’ side. Somehow security agents intercepted the wife before she could blow herself up, and found out that her husband was going to do the same on the other side. They looked for him but when couldn’t find him at the majlis; they went to his house where they found him. After some investigation it was found that the husband was having an extramarital affair and wanted his wife out of the way without divorcing her, thus the plan. The government must find a way to deal with these exploiters or else the threat of sectarian violence will continue to cast a dark shadow over Pakistani society.

“The worst enemies of Islam are from within,” writes American convert scholar of Islam, Hamza Yusuf, and he could not have been more right. There are many moderate Muslims out there that shun radicals. Unfortunately though, the only voices that can be heard in Pakistan are those of the radicals because moderate Muslims have become silent spectators, while the radicals are out there to give a bad name to our religion. Peace loving Muslims, let’s show the world that Islam’s message of peace is much louder than the extremists’ call for violence. It is time that the moderates take off their passive cloaks and put on their armour. The war is on!

Comments

Dadoji said…
You and other like-minded people of Pakistan indeed have an up-hill task. All the best.

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