Some news reports in May last from
Washington indicated that the terror group ISIS had launched a new
propaganda video that showed off the Jihadists allegedly from India
fighting against the Syrian forces in the Homs province.
This report has not been challenged and it
is presumed that the Jihadi ideology of the terrrist organisation -
the ISIS has also inspired a section of Indian Muslim youths to follow
the short-cut route for a seat in Paradise.
Violent Jihad does not operate in a vacuum:
Although, the number of such Jihadist
Indians may not be much to cause any alarm, it certainly poses a
question to the community in India as to t how and why some of their
youths are motivated for joining the ISIS? This may not have been
possible without any direct or indirect support within the community as
well as without subtle infrastructure propagating the idea of Jihadi
Islamism for restoration of the institution of Caliphate. Since violent
ideology does not operate in vacuum and a fire requires oxygen to grow,
the Jihadi-ideology too has perhaps a support base within the
community. It is therefore the responsibility of the community to
identify the source of oxygen so that the Jihadi fire does not swallow
the community in the long run.
The Government of India must have
certainly taken due cognizance of this propaganda piece of the ISIS, but
in view of the increasing Islamic terror violence capturing the world
landscape in general and India in particular, the Indian Islamic
community needs to do a thorough introspection on this vital issue.
There has to be an intellectual exercise which unfortunately is
lacking. There is an urgent need for the community to redefine the
word Jihad and examine its true meaning in every sense of the word.
Salman Rushdie, a noted Muslim writer had
pointed out that "there needs to be a thorough examination by Muslims
everywhere, of why it is that the faith they love breeds so many violent
mutant strains." (Quote from 'Guardian' dated October 6, 2001 published
in Hindustan Times dated October 7).
The Concept of Jihad:
Before discussing about the Indian
Jihadists fighting for ISIS we must understand that ever since the
advent of Islam in India, common Muslims have understood the concept of
Jihad as a "holy war in the way of Allah", which for them is the
ideological root of their faith. Jihad was initially, a fight against
the idol worshippers in Arabia, but subsequently it was used as a weapon
to fulfil the imperialistic desire of the ruthless warlords in the name
of spreading Islam in other parts of the world.
Recent terrorist attacks in different
parts of the world particularly in Kashmir and its extension in other
parts of India have by and large been understood or misunderstood as
part of the Jihadi onslaught by Islam and hence there is no scope for
spiritual interpretation of the term Jihad. This is not true and there
is an urgent and an immediate need for the Indian community at least to
look for proper interpretation.
Jihadi history in India:
India has been facing the challenge of the
Jihadists ever since the first Islamist invasion in Sind (Now a
province in Pakistan) in 712 AD. The successive invasions of the jihadi
warlords which were apparently the outcome of their might is right
political system rooted in Arab tradition. This was carried forward by
the Islamist reformers like Sheikh Ahmad Sarhindi (1556-1624), Shah
Waliullah Dehlawi (1703-1762) and other Islamist mystics of Naqshbandi
Sufi order as a legacy of Islam from generation to generation whenever
they felt any challenge to the glory of Islamic political power.
After the death of Aurangzeb when the
glory of Sunni extremism started fading, the Islamist reformers launched
the movement for Islamic revivalism for which Jihad became their main
ideological weapon to mobilise the Indian Muslims against any
non-Islamic political system.
Factually the Jihadists’ had failed to
Islamise India completely despite their rule for about 500 years. They
even lost their empire to the British which too lost it to the
democratic and secular people of the country.
Jihad Redefined:
It is possible that only a few hold the
extremist Jihadist views in India but the time has come now to go into
the origins, different interpretations and beliefs of Jihad.
Ibn Rushd, a twelfth century Islamic
philosopher had divided the term Jihad into four kinds: “Jihad by heart;
Jihad by tongue; Jihad by the hand and Jihad by the sword” (http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/understanding-islam/legal-rulings/5-jih...)
but for the common people in the community, its meaning is still linked
to the historical expansion of Islam by sword in which millions of
innocent people lost their lives.
The Chamber’s Dictionary of world history
on the other hand is more specific to explain the term Jihad:
"According to Quran, Muslims have a duty to oppose those who reject
Islam, by armed struggle if necessary, and Jihad has been invoked to
justify both the expansion and defence of Islam". Even Islamic history
suggests that the Muslims fought marauding wars against the non-Muslim
countries only for fulfilment of their imperialistic desire in the name
of Islam.
According to a well known Muslim writer
Anwar Shaikh, those who believe in Allah and his Prophet have the most
sacred duty to eliminate and subdue the non-believers….. Islam calls it
'Jihad', which guarantees the Mujahid (holy warrior) salvation i.e. seat
in Paradise". (‘Islam and Human Rights’ published by A.Ghosh, Houston,
USA, page 37).
"Many interpreters of Jihad in the Muslim
world, and an equal number in the west, have explained Jihad with double
meaning. It stands for Jihad bi al saif (holy war by means of sword)
and for Jihad al nafs (literally, struggle for one's soul against one's
own base instinct). Both interpretations are true, but Islamic militants
have rejected the spiritual explanation as dangerous heresy…" (Walter
Laquer, an American expert on terrorism -Pioneer dated October 2001).
Indian Jihadi support for the Ottoman Caliphate:
In fact, it is not the first time that
some Indian Muslim youths have become Jihadis. Sultan Shahin, chief
editor of the website NewageIslam has mentioned that as far back as in
early 1920s, 18000 Indian Muslims went to Turkey to wage Jihad in
defence of the Ottoman Caliphate. Similarly, according to Pakistani Urdu
daily Roznama Express of 20 July, 2016, a Pakistani writer Abdul Qader
wrote that Muslim women in India sent jewellery for the Turkish men to
wage Jihad.
This information was disclosed by Tufail
Ahmad, a British journalist and political commentator of Indian origin
during his lecture in Hyderabad on August 13, 2016 at a launch for his
book – Jihadist Threat to India The Case for Islamic Reformation by an
Indian Muslim.( http://www.firstpost.com/india/the-tufail-ahmad-lecture-how-serious-is-t...).
He said categorically that “the IS and Al-Qaeda succeed in attracting
and recruiting Muslims from India because there already exists in India
an infrastructure of jihad-sympathetic ideas propagated by Islamic
clerics, preachers like Zakir Naik and Brother Imran as well as hidden
Islamists working as journalists of Urdu-Muslim newspapers and
magazines” (Ibid.).
The Quranic Concept of War, a book written
by Brigadier Malik of Pakistan justified the vision of Zia-ul Haq about
Pakistan as a Jihadi state. The clue to the terror doctrine according
to Brigadier Malik lies in Quran. He said, "The Quranic military
strategy thus enjoins us to prepare ourselves for war to the utmost in
order to strike terror in the heart of the enemy, known or hidden". He
observed, " Terror is not a means of imposing decision upon the enemy,
it is a decision to impose upon him." The key word here is “TERROR”.
Compare it with what General Musharraf of Pakistan had said. He defined
Jihad as a "humane" concept and its execution in Jammu and Kashmir as
"freedom struggle".
Is the majority ignorant about the true meaning of Jihad?
Surprisingly, over ninety percent of
Indian Muslims who are the descendants of the converted natives during
the Jihad waged by Persio-Arabian and Turkish warlords since the
beginning of early eighth century are found to maintain a studied
silence more perhaps due to ignorance than anything else.
A natural question arises –Will they ever
come out in the streets to challenge the jihadis effectively? Doubtful.
Will they ever come forward and isolate the small numbers within them
ideologically and politically? Again - Doubtful!
Prevailing ignorance about Islam among the
common people has become the strength of the vested interests in the
community. In the absence of any spiritual knowledge of Islamic
scriptures they are in a stage of perpetual confusion about Jihad. On
the other hand, the responsibility of the interpretation of Islamic
scriptures continues to be in the hands of Islamist scholars, who never
allow any intellectual interpretation of Jihad differently. Far away
from modern and scientific education, most of them continue to depend
upon the madrassa education, which does not allow them to develop any
scientific approach towards the society in which they live.
The Muslim intellectuals may have a valid
reason to disassociate Islam from Jihadi terrorism, but their muted view
on the issue has left the common Muslims with no option but to accept
the voices of the Mullahs and the clerics.
Outrageous statements by SIMI leaders:
For example, the Statements made by some
SIMI leaders against Indian constitution were never challenged by the
intellectuals of the community.
"The Quran is our constitution. If the
Indian constitution clashes with the Quran, we are not bound by the
constitution" (Reyaazul Mushahil, SIMI's Bihar Zone Secretary).
"Whenever we come to power, we will destroy the temple, even if it is of
gold and build a masjid there"(Sajid Mansuri, SIMI's Ahmedabad Zonal
Secretary). (Times of India, September 30, 2001)
No Muslim leader ever dared to challenge
this anti-national stand of SIMI ideologically. In fact, despite the
menace of Islamist terrorism since early nineties of the last century,
Deobandi Ulema held anti-terrorism conference only in 2008 and
criticised it. But they never took an ideological stand to counter the
theological principles which are used by the Jihadists in the name of
Islam.
What is needed is an ideological challenge to medieval interpretation of Jihad:
The rigid stand of the Islamist clerics
against any reform in the medieval interpretation of Jihadi ideology or
Shariat(Islamic laws) looks like an attempt to keep the spirit of Jihad
alive among the followers of Islam. Since there is no effective
ideological challenge against the prevailing interpretation of the word
Jihad from within the community, the masses in India are left with no
option but to accept the jihadi view of Islam of medieval India as
explained to them by the self-appointed custodians of the faith.
There may be many reasons behind the
Indian youths turning into Jihadists but failure of the Muslim
leadership to counter the Islamist clerics, the Urdu Press and the vote
baiting by the so called secularists who are responsible for the growing
radicalisation of the community youths is the most important of them.
There are a number of Muslim writers whose
books and papers are against Islamist conservatism but as they are
mostly in English, the common Muslims hardly read them. Apart from it,
Muslim intellectuals are by and large found scared of expressing
independent views on the possibility of any reform in Islam with the
changing times. They are not ready to confront the challenge of Jihadi
radicals and the common man in the community therefore is bound to
follow the dictates of the self-serving Muslim leaders, who are found
expressing the move of anti-terrorism camp as a challenge to Islam.
The Jihadist history in medieval India
has had its ups and downs, but those who have not lost their historical
memory, may be aware that radical followers of Islam have kept the
spirit of this 'holy war' alive even today as this word is still viewed
as a part of the holy duty of every Muslim for the establishment of
Darul Islam in non-Islamic countries even with a violent struggle.
Re examine, Redefine and Reinterpret the true meaning of Jihad:
With the changing times Indian Muslims may
like to raise the issue of re-defining Jihad and re-examine it through a
wide debate in the community by the Ulema and Muslim intellectuals who
are committed to their faith as a religion of peace to keep Islam away
from the shadow of terror ideology as propagated by Pakistan and its
agents and ensure that they forget the violent spirit of of this
medieval menace by accepting in principle that nation is always guided
by self-interest and not by medievalism.
They will have to launch an aggressive
ideological movement to prove that the term Jihad is a spiritual term
which means “striving with one’s self and money in the cause of God”
which could negate the prevailing scenario that justifies violence in
the name of Islam. Since the origin of Jihad in modern India is rooted
to radicalisation of Indian Muslims by direct or indirect support of the
Islamist clerics as well as Urdu media, it is the duty of the state to
identify these sources and adopt a national policy to take strong legal
action against them and counter the challenge of Jihad without
considering its political impact beneficial or otherwise.
The International Community should also help
The International community could also
build some pressure on Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran and
others for sending powerful message to their co-religionists around the
world so that the “violent” interpretation of Jihad is totally
rejected.
“There is increasing recognition from
politicians and policy makers, including by both President Barack Obama
and Prime Minister David Cameron at the UN General Assembly in September
2015, that the ideology of jihadi movements must be countered to
undermine the threat. Its combination of theology and political
objectives needs to be uprooted through rigorous scrutiny, and sustained intellectual confrontation”.
By R. Upadhyay
Courtesy: South Asia Analysis
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