Unity among Muslims: Reality or Mirage
By Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, New
Age Islam
5 June 2023
Muslim scholars, theologians, writers and
intellectuals, when deliberating about the causes responsible for the decline
and decimation of Muslims, uphold the disunity and sectarianism as the greatest
causes responsible. Many Islamists describe the reasons for this disunity being
the creation of Muslim nation states on the basis of nationalism, as a part of
conspiracy of the European colonialists.
There may be a streak of truth in this
claim, and according to them Muslims need to throw away nationalism, and unite
once again on religious basis. However, the unity on religious basis is again
very problematic, that they try to brush aside without engaging in the critical
debate about the terms of unity on the basis of Islam.
Islam has been mired by sectarianism since
its inception. The battle of Siffin and later on Karbala were enough to
permanently divide Muslims on the political lines. Later new theological
renditions that were propounded by various jurists became a permanent source of
disunity and sectarianism. These sectarian fault lines still continue to hurt
the body of Islam and Muslims. ]
The irony of the matter is that these sects
consider each other as deviated and uphold themselves only as the sole upholder
of truth. So, when each sects plays God, so these angry Gods will downplay
others while chasing dominance, thus resulting in violence. It is such a messy
situation, and what these sectarian scholars try to downplay is the fact that
they are certainly responsible for Muslim youth turning away from Islam and
becoming apostates.
Rashid Shaz, a prolific scholar of Islam
has been espousing through his academic and general writings about the perils
of sectarianism and what steps need to be undertaken to overcome this malice.
His academic writings challenge the whole edifice of sectarian Islam that has
been dominating Islam to this day. In his small booklet Manifesto of the United
Islam, spanning over just less than one hundred pages he raises important and
sound questions about sectarianism and Muslim unity. This certainly has
frustrated the youth, “The young people have been frustrated by the thought as
to which Quranic teaching has caused the splitting of Muslims into four or five
or more sects. Be it Abu Hanifa or Shafi’I or other holy founders of different
Shia or Sunni sects or sub sects, none of them was appointed by God to their
individual task, not did any of them enjoy the companionship of the Prophet.
What could be the reason then that they enjoy the unquestionable status of holy
and infallible founders of religion and its exponents? Why do different sects
of Muslims consider it but essential to follow them? Don’t they realize that
our community and religious life was better organized in the early days of
Islam when Muslims were just one Ummah?” (P-11)
The pulpits of the mosques have been
occupied by the sectarian mullahs, so we witness them daily blaring sectarian
stuff. Mosques that are the centres of any Muslim milieu have been retrograded
to sectarian bastions wherein Takfir of other sects has become a norm. It has
even led to a dismal position of Islam, and apathy of Muslims towards mosques.
Most people do not attend mosques, except for Fridays, that too quiet late as
they are not interested in what the mullah is preaching. Shaz quite aptly
observes, “Instead of being places reserved for the worship of One God, these
have been reduced to sites exploited for upholding the banner of sectarian
faith. Sadly, very sadly, there is no escape from stating that such places are
no longer centres of monotheism, but bastions of shirk (polytheism) and
sectarianism, which have been active like the virus working against Islam and
Muslims right from within the Muslim society. Since these centres survive under
the façade of piety and righteousness, we do not normally feel the need to
raise a loud and clear voice against them even though we may be fully aware of
this alarming situation.” (P-17)
These sectarian mosques have led to the
reinforcing of Sunni verses Shia Islam. So, Shaz, deliberates how different
Hadith (Sayings of Prophet Muhammad) books appeared. The Sunnis and Shias have
different types of Hadith books, thus they have even divided the Prophetic
legacy. Such is the travesty of authentic interpretation of Islam. Hence, with
these variegated sources of Hadith books, the theology and jurisprudence that
appeared among Muslims was quite antagonistic particularly among Shias and
Sunnis. The clergy that in reality has no basis in Islam, became a permanent
feature of Islam. The clergy then for their vested interests interpreted Islam
in a sectarian manner. In this whole process the Holy Scripture, Quran got
retrograded into oblivion and was replaced by jurisprudence and theology.
In this work, Rashid Shaz again makes a
controversial claim about Sufis. His claim has been mostly neglected by the
scholars, but it needs either to be rejected or accepted. If accepted it will
change a huge narrative about Sufism in India and other places. It needs to be
quoted at length, “Tasawwuf emerged first as a cry of protest against
the political abuse of religion and rampant materialism. It was exploited later
as a movement by the Fatimids who wished to consolidate their political pursuit
thereby and so they grabbed Tasawwuf and cast it in their own political mould.
Just realize the vast influence this secret movement wielded from the fact that
during the Fatimid rule itself an Isma’ilite dominion came into being in such a
far-flung area as Multan. Right up to Mahmood Ghaznawi’s invasion, Multan
served as a busy headquarter for the Sufi movement of the Indian
subcontinent. There are quite a few evidences pointing to the fact that a
number of Sufis of the brand of Mu’inuddin Chishti, Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki
etc. frequently visited this little Ismilite city-state in North Western India.
All leading Sufi figures, such as Usman Harooni, Bahauddin Zakaria, Nizamuddin
Awliya, Ali Hujveri, Baba Farid, and Shahbaz Qalandar etc. were in truth
revered and determined Isma’ilite missionaries (da’is). Their secret mission
was to work towards strengthening and expanding the Ismilite state of Fatimid
Syeds. No doubt, by establishing the hidden caliphate the Fatimids largely
compensated for their political deficit.” (P-51)
This small booklet makes a lot of noise,
needs critical engagement as it certainly decimates the Sunni as well as the
Shia versions of Islam, along with the other sects that have not let the unity
of Muslim become a pragmatic reality. This book certainly is an eye opener,
whose contents need to be debated, critically examined and it offers a
rethinking about numerous issues that have undermined the unity Muslims, since
its inception.
----
M.H.A. Sikander is Writer-Activist based
in Srinagar, Kashmir.
URL:
https://newageislam.com/books-documents/unity-muslims-reality-mirage/d/129922
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic
Website, African
Muslim News, Arab World
News, South Asia
News, Indian Muslim
News, World Muslim
News, Women in
Islam, Islamic
Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia
in America, Muslim Women
in West, Islam Women
and Feminism