A Comparative study by Zeeshan Ahmed Misbahi

Jadeed (modern) Khawarijs are akin to their predecessors in many respects. They believe in violent protests, are intolerant towards people having different opinion and divided in various groups on conceptual basis, yet agreeing on certain issues such as Takfeer-e-Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) and Muawiah (May Allah be pleased with him). Jadeed (modern) Khawarijs are extremely religious-minded, and orthodox.

Abdul Kareem Shahrastani has described them as “the people about whom the prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him) had stated – you would feel yourselves inferior to them observing their prayers”. The followers of Jadeed (modern) Khawarijs are highly impressed by the ancient Khawarijs and follow the beliefs and policies of their prededessors.

If we view all the problems in our society solely through the lens of religious affiliation, we make life harder than necessary for ourselves. We need to take a sceptical stance where all conflicts are blamed on Islam – and equally where the only solution suggested is Islam.

The same applies to a policy that calls for academic training for imams, enabling them to bring the members of their communities into line as integration pilots, spiritual guides and family advisors. This is beside the point: the vast majority of problems facing Muslim immigrants in everyday life are not of a religious nature. That has been empirically proved and repeated ad nauseam, yet the message has not yet hit home.

If we want to make integration a success, we therefore need to de-Islamicise the debate. Nor should religion play any major role in everyday integration work, in schools, kindergartens and youth centres. Instead, the focus ought to be on seeking the largest possible overlap of interests and negotiating practical compromises on this basis -- Michael Keifer

Cyber attacks worry firms more than terrorism

‘Jihad Jane’ linked to Irish arrest of Muslim plotters

'Pak poking nose, India must change Afghanistan policy'

A third of world's jailed journalists are in Iran: Committee to protect journalists

Headley chase, Lashkar conspiracy

Obama's visit is the cause of anti-terrorism raids in Indonesia

Terrorists to make Indonesia's Aceh as Southeast Asia base

Israel, Palestine to begin indirect talks

Pakistan sponsored 26/11 attack, says prosecution

“Statement of Kasab cannot be used against accused”

Interpol alert for 16 in Dubai killing of Hamas leader

IM has shifted to Nepal after Bangladesh crackdown

'Salman met Bhatkal brothers in Dubai'

Islamabad accuses New Delhi of breaching Indus Water Treaty

Bridging the gap: Pakistan and the US

India, Brazil face emerging threats from al-Qaeda

Islamic insurance execs optimistic about growth

Libya-Switzerland feud deepens as Gaddafi faces travel ban

Indonesian Police Kill Bali Bombing Suspect

Muslim quota’ gains ground, opens floodgate of problems for UPA

Bedlam in Karnataka over cow slaughter Bill

Sheikh Tantawi, Egypt's top cleric dies aged 81

M.F. Husain applies for Overseas Citizen of India card

India not to wind-up Kabul mission

Musharraf eyes President slot again

Israel, Syria aim for nuke energy

Across party lines, disquiet among Muslim MPs

Feel free, Mr M.F Husain

Bangladeshi prisoners observed fast for their release: Sharma

Plays, film festival mark Jamia Women's Day celebrations

India rubbishes charge of involvement in Lahore blast

SP leaders oppose Bareilly cleric’s arrest

US woman charged with plotting attacks in south Asia, Europe

The Camberley mosque should be stopped

Al-Azhar head dies in Saudi Arabia

Compiled by Akshay Kumar Ojha

Photo: Afghan President Hamid Karzai, right, is followed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after giving a joint press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul

Justice M. Munir commission investigated the large-scale riots against the Ahmadya sect in Pakistan in 1953. His report is an eye-opener. It shows that our ulema are not even able to agree on a definition of who a Muslim is. Justice Munir had called heads of all Islamic schools of thought and asked them the definition of a Muslim. No two ulema agreed. It also exposes the pusillaminity of our so-called scholars of Islam and their near-total disregard of the beauty and generosity of Islam. - Editor

The genesis of the controversy that led to the disturbances is to be found in what has been described in official documents as ‘the Ahrar-Ahmadiya controversy’, which had existed since long before the Partition. But this description was objected to, in fact resented, before us by all non-Ahmadi parties, on the ground that differences with the Ahmadis are not confined to the Ahrar and are common to all sects of Musalmans. Similarly the use of the word ‘ Ahmadi ’ exclusively in respect of the followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was resented by non-Ahmadis for the reason that all Musalmans are Ahmadis, being the followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, whose other name was Ahmad, and that it has been wrongly usurped by the followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. We have decided to use the word ‘ Musalman ’ to distinguish the general body of Muslims who do not believe in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from those who believe in him and the word ‘Ahmadi’, ‘Qadiani’ or ‘Mirzai’ for the Qadiani section of Ahmadis who believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a prophet (nabi).

Next: STONING TO DEATH OF AHMADIS IN AFGHANISTAN AND THE ‘ASH-SHAHAB’

By the time Obama had made it to the White House, support of America's allies in Lebanon waned since Obama was determined to appease their foes in Syria and Iran. Hariri and Jumblatt were forced to abandon their fight for Lebanon's democracy and freedom as Hariri rushed to Damascus to ask his former enemies for forgiveness, while Jumblatt is still begging for audience with Syria's dictator Bashar Assad.

In Iran, for the first time since 1979, the people revolted against their autocratic regime and took to the streets shouting death to the nation's Supreme Leader Ali Khaminei in what came to be known as the Green Revolution-- Hussain Abdul-Hussain

The Iranian Threat

Justice M. Munir commission investigated the large-scale riots against the Ahmadya sect in Pakistan in 1953. His report is an eye-opener. It shows that our ulema are not even able to agree on a definition of who a Muslim is. Justice Munir had called heads of all Islamic schools of thought and asked them the definition of a Muslim. No two ulema agreed. It also exposes the pusillaminity of our so-called scholars of Islam and their near-total disregard of the beauty and generosity of Islam. - Editor

In the beginning of March 1953, widespread disturbances broke out in the Punjab which in some places continued till the middle of April 1953. These took so alarming a turn and assumed such a menacing form that in several places the military had to be called in, and in Lahore Martial Law had to be proclaimed, which remained in force till the middle of May 1953. Before the declaration of Martial Law, the police had to resort to firing in several places and at least two persons were killed on the night of 4th March and ten on 5th March, Sixty-six persons more must have been injured in the firing because that number of wounded persons admitted to the Lahore hospitals had gunshot wounds. The number of casualties admitted by the military to have been caused in quelling the disturbances in Lahore was eleven killed and forty-nine wounded. In some other towns also there were a number of casualties caused by firing by the police or the military.

Next: From Partition to Lahore Convention

Over 500 verses in the Quran deal with nature. We are repeatedly called upon to reflect on the trees, mountains, seas, animals, birds, stars, the sun and the moon and our own hearts. “Allah has subjected to you whatever is in the skies and the earth; Behold! Therein are sure signs for those who reflect.’’ In another verse the behaviour of those who destroy crops and cattle is condemned. The Quran calls on us to recognise our own contribution to the environmental crisis: “Corruption doth appear on land and sea because of (the evil) which men’s hands have done, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return.” --Sadia Dehlvi

Why are these Internet Hindus worthy of notice at all? There are three reasons. First, a collective of the intellectually inadequate, the professionally frustrated and the plain bigoted, they represent the collapse of Hindu politico-intellectual space into a caricature of the very Talibanism it opposes.

Second, as Hindutva as an idea has contracted in real-world politics, it has become shrill and over-the-top in cyberspace. The Left has its universities, journals and institutional support system. It is a commentary on Internet Hindus that they only have multiple email accounts.

Third, there is a hard question for the BJP. How quickly can it delink itself from Internet Hindus and their offline equivalents? A party that seeks to build broad-spectrum opposition unity in Parliament on governance issues can do without such viral downloads. -- Ashok Malik

Photo: HELL IS EMPTY AND ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE

By Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani

What Muslims Need To Do To Neutralise Them

... Mainstream Islam is still mainstream. These exclusivist and warring sections are still small, though with the infusion of massive money power they have grown quite aggressive lately.

But if we want to contribute to the safeguarding of India’s composite culture, we will have to take the bull by its horns. Time for dilly-dallying is long past. We will have to go back to our roots, our Quranic roots, our philosophical roots, our greatest saints and their teachings.

WE will have to once again inculcate the broadmindedness of our saints, the generosity and forgiveness, the attitude of gratitude that was the hallmark of our prophet. It has now become a question of safeguarding not only our religion and our composite culture but also our children, our youth from being whisked away to Jihadi camps and active and sleeper cells. The very least we can do to safeguard our own youth as much as India’s composite culture is to explain the following to our community loudly and repeatedly:

1. That we are not a chosen people; Islam-supremacism is nonsense and that the ummah of all prophets are equal in the eyes of God who will judge them according to their own faith, not ours. It is nonsense to believe that only Muslims will go to Heaven.

2. That the Holy Quran is not a book that was revealed in one sitting. The war verses in the Quran were meant for wars being fought then and do not apply to situations today. These verses were revealed to the prophet as guidance for the situations he found himself in. As those situations cannot be replicated today, that particular course of action is no longer applicable to us. This is important to defeat the Jihadis who are using these verses as weapons of war to brainwash our youth and turn them into human bombs.

3. That Islam is not the exclusivist religion that the Petrodollar Islam is preaching. It is a religion of co-existence encapsulated in the verse lakum deenakum waleya deen (For you be your religion and for me mine). It is also the religion of La Ikraha fid Deen (There can be no compulsion in religion.)

4. That the Sufi saints who brought Islam to this sub-continent and to the entire South-East Asia are not, God forbid, religious deviants as Petrodollar Islam proclaims them to be. It is because of them that we are Muslim today. It is they who gave us access to the teachings of Islam. It is not wrong for Muslims to show reverence to them along with people belonging to other communities.

5. That Islam itself teaches us Ijtihad, rethinking, so that we can adjust to the newer realities of changing times. We have to rethink every postulate of Islam in the light of today’s realities.

6. That religious freedom is indivisible. If we as a minority community need freedom, it becomes our duty to also fight for the religious freedom of minorities in Muslim lands, particularly in the Indian sub-continent. It is shameful that when two Sikhs were recently beheaded in Peshawar, reportedly for refusing to convert to Islam under compulsion, our ulema remained completely silent. We have been completely unmindful of the plight of religious minorities in both Pakistan and Bangladesh while enjoying full citizenship rights in our country. This must change.

Let us pray that Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s doctrine of Wahdat-e-Deen once again gains converts. Let us try to flesh out and translate into reality Swami Vivekamad’s vision quoted before: “I see in my mind’s eye the future perfect India rising out of this chaos and strife, glorious and invincible, with Vedanta brain and Islam body.” In order to be ready to become a part of the Vivekanad project, however, the Islam body will have to rid itself of the many viruses it is harbouring in its system today. -- Sultan Shahin

"Hunar, hisab, himmat is the development agenda," says Pune-based Razia Abdur Rahim Patel who works with Muslim women across Maharashtra, having started in the early 1990s in a single slum cluster in Pune.

Now with a team of 20, Patel says skill-training, understanding basic money transactions and creating self-esteem among slum dwellers is focus. "Political leadership failed us. There's a huge gap between leaders' agenda and people's agenda. We are creating social leadership at the community level," says the 48-year-old on phone.

Politicians only engage in identity politics, she says, with no practical agenda. Her attempts are to create "the thinking required for community leadership". "I've seen Muslim women thirst for knowledge. The woman thinks for her family, men think only identity."

But it was identity that got Jameela into social work. "1992 (Babri masjid demolition) labelled me a Muslim," she says. Just an artist in a family of artists till then, Jameela says an attitude change even among friends jolted her into thinking of herself as a Muslim. "Friends treated me as the 'other'. When that happened, I had to get out, see for myself and do something for the community," she says, in Delhi to be felicitated, along with scholar-activists Gabriele Dietrich and Uma Chakravarty and Tibetan monk Rinchen Khando Choegyal by four civil society groups ahead of the International Women's Day. -- Nandita Sengupta

The 14th century mystic Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s shrine on one side of the locality represents Islam’s heterodox Sufi tradition rich in music, dance and poetry while the international headquarters of the revivalist, austere Tabligh Jamaat, on the other side represents the faith’s opposite strain that considers veneration of saints a cardinal sin.

Tablighis believe that worldly woes are a divine means to test their faith and endurance and a punishment for their sins and lack of adequate piety. They insist, rather than struggling for political power or even protesting against oppression by non-Muslims, faithful must first devote themselves to becoming good, practicing Muslims to win the God’s pleasure.

Unlike Sufis, who place music at the heart of devotion and have produced some of the most beautiful art, poetry and music, Tablighis consider hedonism as a distraction from otherworldly pursuits. Sufis say Tablighis are too ritualistic and don’t understand human weaknesses. The saint is believed to have said that rituals and fasting were for the pious, but love was everywhere and the surest route to the divine. The saint insisted that divinity could best be reached through heart and not the external ritual of the mosque or temple. -- Sameer Arshad

Photo: Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Shrine represents the heterodox Sufi tradition rich in music, dance and poetry while Tabligh Jamaat represents the faiths opposite strain

World urged to take note of Indian state terrorism

Activist takes on radical Islam into the heart of the anti-Jihad movement

Does Israel hope to spark a new wave of suicide bombing?

Iranian Speaker Urges More Efforts to Unite Muslims

Nigeria: Don't Tag All Muslims As Terrorists - Sultan

Obama signals transfer of troops from Afghanistan

Smoking is haram, says Muhammadiyah

Kuala Lumpur a world financial centre through growth in Islamic banking

Rights Group: Bangladesh Forcing Burmese Muslims into 'Starvation' Camps

Lahore bombed again kills 12 people

European Islam-bashing: The New Anti-Semitism?

MF Husain surrenders his Indian passport

Suspected US drone strike kills five in Pakistan

US Muslims challenge gender divide

SC slams India's tit-for-tat tactic on Pak prisoners

Mujib had chalked B’desh freedom plan in London: Hasina

Chhota Shakeel's younger brother arrested in Dubai

Punjabi Taliban avenge Qari Zafar’s death

Trade best option for Pakistan-India peace: business leaders

Bali bombing mastermind 'killed' in shootout

Over 500 killed in Nigeria sectarian clashes: Official

Bangladesh for ‘symbolic’ trial of 1971 war criminals

Muslims outraged at UK screening of 'Fitna' film

Young Indonesian Muslim leaders off to Australia

Pakistan says U.S.-born suspect in custody is not Gadahn

Lalu, Mulayam look to touch base with OBCs, Muslims

Congress, Muslim League broker deal

Karzai receives a mixed reception in Marjah

HuJI, Jaish wiped out in Jammu, says top cop

Gates, on Afghan visit, warns tough war ahead

Pak: Qaeda spokesman not under arrest

Gadahn confusion reaches President Obama

Congress, Muslim League broker deal

Malaysian NGO blames Anwar for betraying trust of Indians

1993 blasts suspect's huff ends with a high-end puff

Afghan Taliban seize villages from Hekmatyar’s men

Salarzai lashkar sets fire to 130 Taliban houses in Bajaur

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar loses final appeal over sacking

Falling short of solutions on pluralist sentiments.

Pak likely to offer 'deal' to Karzai over Baradar's extradition during his Islamabad visit

Biden assures Israel of U.S. security commitment

Compiled by Aman Quadri

By Ilyas Navi Rampuri

Iraqis Defy Blasts in Strong Turnout for Pivotal Election

Pakistan delivers but doubts remain

Al-Qaeda's 'treasonous' American spokesman arrested in Pakistan

Iranian president: 9/11 was 'big lie'

US arms supply to Pakistan a concern: India

LeT hand in Kabul attack, Afghanistan tells India

IM’s Salman, accused in Delhi blasts, held at Nepal border in UP

Death Toll in Nigeria Sectarian Attack Near 500

Lahore bomb unleashes school 'hell'

‘No demand by India for Saeed arrest’

Tunisian official stresses contribution of Arab world to global civilization

Suicide Bomber Rams a Pakistan Building

Coming to Israel, Biden flags U.S. support vs Iran

Afghan president visits city at center of anti-Taliban push

Gates Visits Afghanistan to Meet With Karzai

Threat to judge who upheld death for Aftab Ansari

Indian medical mission's operations suspended in Kabul

Taliban lose their `Hilton' after border battle

Ending the Bush-Obama War on the Afghani People

Armed forces still calling the shots in Balochistan: HRCP

Modern Day Implications of Shari’a Law

Mosque proposal evokes terrorism fears in Town of Wilson

Al-Qaida still targets U.S.

Pakistani intelligence sources say Californian Al Qaeda member arrested

Afghanistan to top India-Iran talks

US aiding Somalia in its battle to retake capital

Clean-up act? New Marjah chief has a criminal past

European encounters with Turkish Islam

Islamic Myths & Realities

Pakistan seeks identity of American suspect

Aligarh Muslim University to open centre in Kerala

Indonesia arrests two in Java over Aceh militants

Serbs had to battle an Islamist threat, too

3 top Pak Taliban men killed in single day

Thailand and Indonesia at 60: Democratic partners in Asean

Kadhafi's call for Jihad not linked to violence, terrorism

Ahmadiyya conventions highlight importance of Islamic ethics

Compiled by Aman Quadre

Photo: Iraqi women waited for poll workers to check their documents in the city of Falluja, where at least 20 explosions struck Sunday

The Swiss ban on minarets is having an echo in India. Abdul Sami Bubere of the Mumbai- based Sahyog Cultural Society is reported to have said: “The extremely provocative decision undermines the freedom of religion and principle of co- existence. The referendum is akin to tyranny of the majority. It will only encourage fundamentalism. The ban should be immediately lifted as it would serve the purpose of jihadis who misinterpret Islam.”

Though I won’t use such strong words, I fully agree with the sentiments and thoughts expressed in the above sentiment. The analysis that “it will only encourage fundamentalism” is also correct. It is actually happening. The fundamentalists are taking advantage of the situation created by the Swiss ban on minarets and the French ban on burqas (veils).  But then the question arises in my mind, how come we get agitated only when our own religious freedom is at stake in non-Muslim societies. We do not worry when Muslims themselves, not to speak of non-Muslims, are not allowed religious freedom in Islamic societies.

We were permitted to defend ourselves with arms (a form of Jihad, albeit a lesser form) because if we had not done so, people may not have been able to worship in temples, monasteries, churches, synagogues, etc., all those places of worship were God is remembered and God’s praises are sung.

Renowned Pakistani scholar Javed Ahmad Ghamidi writes: “The Qur’ān asserts that if the use of force would not have been allowed in such cases, the disruption and disorder caused by insurgent nations could have reached the extent that the places of worship – where the Almighty is kept in constant remembrance – would have become deserted and forsaken, not to mention the disruption of the society itself:

وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللَّهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ لَهُدِّمَتْ صَوَامِعُ وَبِيَعٌ وَصَلَوَاتٌ وَمَسَاجِدُ يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا اسْمُ اللَّهِ كَثِيرًا (٤٠:٢٢)

And had it not been that Allah checks one set of people with another, the monasteries and churches, the synagogues and the mosques, in which His praise is abundantly celebrated would have been utterly destroyed. (22:40)

Apparently we were allowed a lower form of Jihad, the Qital, that involves fighting, so that we could safeguard the human right of every individual to freely sing the praises of God in any kind of worship place he likes, be it a monastery, a temple, a church, a synagogue, or a mosque.  But how come, we feel concerned only when it is a matter concerning a mosque and do not bother if states, particularly Muslim and avowedly Islamic states do not allow temples, monasteries, churches and synagogues to function or create hurdles in the way of non-Muslims singing the praises of God in their own way. 

Not only that. We have scholars who claim that while non-Muslims have perfect freedom to practice their religion in an Islamic state, (though in practice they are not mostly allowed that freedom), Muslims do not have that freedom. Once born to a Muslim parent, you are doomed for ever to be a Muslim or else. Well, your throat will be slit, no less. Indeed, there are “revered” ulema (scholars of Islam) in various schools of thought who say that if someone is seen so much as not attending Friday prayers, his throat should be slit.

Sample the following:

Those who do not attend Friday prayers “should simply be killed. Slit their throats!”: Deoband  

“A person greatly admires Hazrat Maulana Rashid Gangohi, the outstanding scholar who was one of the founders of the Deoband madrasa. The gentleman to whom I refer is a kindly soul, who can be depended upon for help by others. However, when in the course of conversation I chanced to remark that the most basic virtue lay in kindness towards others, he contradicted me. Kindness, he contended, was reserved for “pious, practicing Muslims”. As for others, they should be given a chance to mend their ways, after which “they would be Wajibul Qatal (liable to be killed)”. Another person I chanced to meet — a finance man, no less — feels that people who do not attend Friday prayers “should simply be killed. Slit their throats!”

“Now, this kind of sanguinary verbal ferocity is very different from the traditions of quiet piety and gentle acceptance in which most Muslims were brought up. I claim no expertise to suggest whether this or the other is the ‘correct’ version of Islamic thinking. However, there are certainly many scholars who hold that this aggressive literalism, popularly but incorrectly referred to as ‘fundamentalism’, is a doctrinal innovation of relatively recent origin. It is very much a product of the linear, pseudo-logical thinking that has characterised our violent and intolerant age — an age that began with the full flowering of modern imperialism in the nineteenth century and whose baleful cultural and psychic responses have long outlived their origins. With this kind of intellectual legacy as a backdrop, what kind of political discourse is possible in Pakistan?” -- Salman Tarik Kureshi

http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1795

Also, sample the following from a supposedly enlightened scholar of Islam:

“Freedom is a neutral word. Accordingly, affixing it with religion would mean a liberty of a  person either to have or not to have a religion, either to practice or not to practise, either to propagate or not to propagate, either to embrace or not to embrace, either to change or not change one’s own religion. If he decides to do so he has the freedom to do it without any interference of others. This is the meaning of freedom as it appeared in the above examples.

“Is a Muslim allowed to enjoy such freedom? As a matter of fact, under Shariah law, a Muslim is not free to do so, no matter whether he is under Muslim rule or non-Muslim rule except with dire necessity. In fact the meaning of Islam itself, that is submission and surrender to the will of Almighty Allah (swt), is inimical to the vague meaning of freedom (cf.hurriah) in its absolute sense. Thus, a Muslim cannot enjoy freedom in respect of articles of belief (Iman) and practicing of pillars of Islam, (arkan al Islam) and observance of codes of life, because, these are essential of keep him a believer and a Muslim. He may enjoy a guided freedom with regards to those matters that do not fall under the basic and obligatory tenets and pillars of region.” – Freedom Of Religion in Shariah by Dr. ABM Mahboobul Islam of the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

The poor orphans of war known as Taliban who ruled Afghanistan for a while have been considered bizarre in thinking that if someone does not have a beard of a certain length and doesn’t wear certain length of cloth or if a woman shows even an inch of skin, they are liable for various punishments. But I find that this is actually the mainstream of conservative thinking in Islam which is not being opposed by mainstream Islam. It is to the credit of Talban that by trying to implement these outlandish ideas of our ulema they have brought this out into the open. But for them people like me who were happy with the thought of a mainstream Islam, peaceful and pluralistic, would not have thought of studying the clerical literature at some length and trying to find out the truth.  It is this obscurantist mindset that pervades the minds of a large number of Muslims. No wonder then that while some of us balk at the very thought of a Talibani Islam and just take it for granted that such an interpretation of Islam simply would not be acceptable to the mainstream, on a closer look we discover that actually the mainstream, at least in backward societies, does not have much of a problem.

I hope Mr. Abdul Sami Bubere of the Mumbai- based Sahyog Cultural Society and other people who are bothered about the Swiss ban on minarets or the French ban on burqa or India’s Hindu Right demanding the abolition of Muslim Personal Law will also express their disgust, if they feel it, over the lack of religious freedoms to non-Muslims and more so Muslims in so-called Islamic societies. So-called Islamic scholars go to great lengths to prove that Quranic dictates like “La Ikraha fid Deen” (There can be no compulsion in religion) or Lakum Deenakum waleya Deen (For you your religion and for me mine) have no meaning and relevance for the Muslims today and should be banished from our consciousness. Shame on such scholars!!!

Until we start fighting for religious freedom in our own societies (of both Muslims and non-Muslims), our struggle for religious freedom in non-Muslim societies will be rightly treated as just an instance of Muslim hypocrisy. -- Sultan Shahin, Editor, New Age Islam

Many Muslims throughout the world, both Sunni and Shia, are working towards dialogue and reconciliation between the two sects. They argue that it is just not possible to fully comprehend and much less to judge the historical figures of Islam and their motivations today, 13 or 14 centuries after the event, which led to the schism in Islam. Indeed, it is not possible to judge people even when events take place now in full view of the world media… India’s Shia and Sunni communities can serve as a beacon of hope in this process. Let us follow up on recent initiatives by Mohtarma Syeda Hamid and Maulana Kalb-e-Sadiq and keep moving in the direction of genuine, frank dialogue leading to real unity. -- Sultan Shahin, editor, New Age Islam

IS RELIGION FROM GOD OR MAN-MADE?

Fateh{puri@ believed in God, and there are various instances in his writings to prove that. However, he was not sure if God had anything to do with religion. As seen in the earlier instance, he tried to rationalize even the divine revelation, and showed that it was possible to see the Qur’an as the personal contribution of the Prophet. This was because, for Fateh{puri@, religion had a more utilitarian purpose, than spiritual. Religion, for him, was to serve as a guide for humanity, to remind them of doing good deeds, being kind to one another, and remembering God, while taking part in worldly pursuits and aiming for progress and success.

In reality, all religions of the world were made by humans and were not related to God, revelation or providence. The books that are said to be revealed, are the work of human brain only, and therefore, they have different thoughts and teachings according to different time and place. Neither does God need worship and submission, nor does He need anyone’s prayers.[ix]

Fateh{puri@’s thesis was that the reasons why some matters have either been forbidden or recommended by religion can be understood by human intellect. Therefore, it is quite possible to say that religious instructions might have been created by human intellect to serve a functional purpose.

IS THE QUR’AN REALLY GOD’S SPEECH?

As mentioned above, Fateh{puri@ believed that the only thing that could be proven was that the Qur’an came from Muh{ammad’s mouth; whether it was really God’s speech is debatable. The only justification of its divine origin generally given, according to him, was that the grammar, literary quality and style of the h{adi@th and the Qur’an differ markedly and therefore, they are speeches of different entities, the Prophet and God. Fateh{puri@ never found this rationale satisfactory enough to prove such a broad assumption. He agreed that, undoubtedly the Qur’an was truly an extraordinary book in all its aspects and that during that age, nothing like it in either length or quality was produced. However, he argued, it would be going too far to assume that nothing like it could have been produced. Arabic literature and poetry at the time was quite developed, and oral tradition was flourishing. And since Prophet Muh{ammad was related to the Quraish tribe, which was famous for its oral literature and fluency of expression, it should not be surprising that his language was extraordinarily refined.

Fateh{puri@ answered the question of the differences in style and quality of the two works by saying that one’s language and actions are determined by the emotion one is feeling, and its intensity. He gave the example of poetry. There can be quite a lot of variety in the different verses written by the same poet, some of them perhaps being of a higher literary quality than others. The reason, he thought, was that the poet reached a certain state of mind when he wrote those particular high-quality verses. Those verses that suddenly come into a poet’s mind, without any effort on his part, are even in literary circles called ilha@mi@ or revelatory.[vi]

Coming back to the Prophet and the Qur’an, his basic hypothesis was that the Prophet must have reached a certain state of mind, resulting in the revelation (wahy). He explained that, unlike his contemporaries, the Prophet was born with an acute discernment of good from evil. A person like him would naturally be upset with the situation in which he found himself. This, according to Fateh{puri@, prompted him to get out of his world, hide in caves and think. His deep thinking would lead him into such a state where he would start producing this message. Words burst forth like a spring. The words in that message were obviously his, and in the same language that was widespread during the time and in that area. The only noticeable change was in the style of presentation, which according to Fateh{puri@ was the result of his state of mind. That is what truly constitutes a revelation, according to Fateh{puri@. And this was what made the language of the Qur’an so different from that of h{adi@th.[vii]

W.C. Smith was clearly not an admirer of Fateh{puri@’s extreme logic; he did not like the fact that Fateh{puri@ attacked the very idea of divine revelation. “Accordingly, the Qur’a@n was seen as a piece of literature, the personal contribution of Muh{ammad to the thought of the world; all of authority, as well as the ritual and formalism, of the religion was rejected.”[viii]

STATUS OF THE PROPHET

Prophet Muh{ammad, according to him, was basically a reformer who was very concerned about the state of his society:­ its illiteracy, ignorance, social evils like polygamy, infanticide, drinking (etc.), its material culture and idol worship. After all, he sat meditating in a cave for weeks even before the advent of the revelation. Fateh{puri@ mused that he must have been thinking about ways to cleanse his society of its ills and it seems, Islam turned out to be a good way of doing so.

Although other modernists also made an effort to humanise the Prophet, not many would have agreed with him that the Prophet had a personal agenda in bringing about Islam. The Prophet might have been concerned about his society, and there must have been a reason why he used to go to that cave, but there is no reason why these two things should be related. Apparently Fateh{puri@ was venturing here into the realm of pure speculation.

Fateh{puri@ asked, “What is the position of the Prophet in Islam? Was he just a messenger, could anybody have become a messenger?” For him the choice of Muh{ammad as the Prophet was crucial. How Muh{ammad acted, how he lived his life, was a topic of primary importance for Fateh{puri. He considered it debatable whether the Qur’an is the speech of God or not, but it was historically proven, according to him, that it did come out of Muh{ammad’s mouth.[x] His earlier point that the Prophet might have had a reformist agenda of his own in bringing about Islam, and then his insistence that our only certain knowledge is that Qur’an came out of the Prophet’s mouth, amounted to placing a question mark on any involvement of God at all. This was one of the instances where he may have taken his logic too far, expressing views that clearly would not be acceptable to any ordinary believer. He appears an agnostic from these views, but seemingly this was not the case. He simply went wherever his logic took him and was not afraid of expressing radically different views. -- JUHI SHAHIN

Excerpts from a newly published book in Pakistan: The War Within Islam: Niyaz Fateh{puri@’s Struggle Against The Fundamentalists by Juhi Shahin

The so-called Indian Mujahedeen have used in their notorious e-mails certain Quranic verses to justify killing of innocent civilians. These are the same verses that enemies of Islam’s pacific and humane philosophy have been traditionally using for centuries to demonise Islam. Muslims who go berserk and want to simply smite all and sundry in their crazy stupor also routinely use these verses to justify their fanaticism and probably also to brainwash the still-not-so-crazy to their cause.

New Age Islam  urges Indian Ulema to come out with explicit, unequivocal statements that the Quranic verses like the following - “Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers in fight, smite at their necks"- are now obsolete: they were meant for a specific situation during the Prophet’s life and do no apply today.

Also, they must clarify that the Muslim perception and belief that they alone are worthy of going to Heaven is total bunkum, according to Muslim precepts. Muslims are no better or worse than any other community. Islam has as much failed to create a New Man or for that matter a New Woman as any other reformist religion or philosophy.

Recent terror attack at Mumbai has reminded us once again that Pakistan Army, or one of its agencies Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) at any rate, is determined to change the very character of Islam, turning it into the pre-Islamic religion of the Jahiliya (Arabia in the Dark Ages). It had indeed given us ample evidence of its anti-Islamic character during the Kargil war by reminding us of the Battle of Uhud where a woman of Jahiliya, Hinda, had mutilated the dead body of Prophet Mohammad’s uncle, Hazrat Hamza. The Prophet [peace be upon him] had not only forgiven her but had made it a point to forbid the  practice in every Muslim gathering thereafter for fear that the Muslims, too, might do something similar in retaliation. Blood feud and vengeance was rampant in the Arab world of the Jahiliya. One couldn’t help being reminded of that when reports came that one of the terrorists mentioned vendetta for Gujarat and demolition of Babri masjid by Hindutva forces as the justification for the killing of innocents at Mumbai.

 Pakistani “Islam” would indeed appear to be completely unrecognisable as Islam to a Muslim in any part of the world. Slowly but surely what appears to be a completely new religion seems to have caught the imagination of many people in Pakistan.  Its followers don’t, of course, consider it a new religion. Indeed this religion insists that it is Islam; in fact it calls itself true Islam or real Islam. But it can best be described as Jihadism, as its central belief system is based on a wilful misinterpretation of the Islamic concept of Jihad. It can also be called Talibanism, as the Taliban of Afghanistan, who studied in Pakistani madrasas run by the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan are its most avid practitioners.

 By and large, the western-educated liberal Pakistani intelligentsia, as I found out during several visits, hates this religion and is frightened of it. But as one by one all institutions of governance are succumbing to its growing power and its capacity for evil, they are getting scared to death. Some of them are simply planning to migrate to some non-Muslim majority country. No one is really fighting this malignant force, though some journalists and human rights activists still have the courage at least to express their horror and outrage at grave personal risk.  -- SULTAN SHAHIN, Editor, NewAgeIslam.com