Sectarian Religious Violence Among Muslims Calls For Introspection Among Ulema: Evolve A New Theology, A Theology Of Peace, To Replace The Traditional Theology Of Violence And Conflict
By
Dr. Mohammad Ghitreef, New Age Islam
6 March
2022
Two days
ago, once again suicide bomber killed more than 60 innocent lives gathered for
Juma prayer in a Shia mosque (Imambargah) of Bazar Qissa Khani in Peshawar
Pakistan, and left hundreds injured. This is a major terror attack of this kind
in recent times. The gory scene was like a huge mass sacrifice on Baqar Eid.
Apart from
the president of the country, a demagogue prime minister Imran Khan, who has
been exploiting religious sentiments, on the pretext of establishing a welfare
state on the pattern of Medinan state, condemned the cowardly and heinous
crime, boasting once again that the criminals would be booked and be brought to
justice at all cost. Ulema and opposition leaders of different affiliations are
also ,as usual, condemning the brutal killing. Yet the society as a whole
doesn’t seem to address the main cause of these terror attacks.
(Photo: Friday Times)
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Moreover, a senior journalist working with Jeo
Newsgroup; Saleem Safi opined that this must be a handiwork of either TTP or
Daish. The TTP is a franchise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, who harshly
condemned the attack. However, the Islamic
State or Daesh has taken responsibility for the attack. Islamic State has a leaning to Salafi Islam
and thus an eternal hatred towards Shias.
People
belonging to the Shia and Hazara community in Baluchistan have been
particularly targeted in such attacks because they were adherents of Jaffaria
jurisprudence. This poison of hatred has been spreading in society since the
1980s but despite repeated promises and various action plans, the government of
Pakistan has not been able to curb sectarian fanaticism and protect the
minority sects.
What kind
of Muslims would plant bombs in their suicide vests and explode them among
hundreds of Muslims in a mosque? Surely this the result of indoctrination into
the traditional Muslim theology that doesn't consider Shias Muslim and in fact
calls them wajibul qatl, that is, deserving death.
In fact,
false interpretation of religion in the traditional theology of consensus is a
major cause of radicalism and extremism. For, religious fanaticism is indeed
potential terrorism, which can very easily change into acts of terrorism. Take
the case of Pakistan itself, wherein, for decades, Sunnis are butchering Shias
and Shias are retaliating in the same coin, why? Because Shia are reported to
have been abusing knowingly or unknowingly, holy companions especially Abu
Bakar, Umar, and Aisha (RA). Maybe they are not abusing them verbally but Shia
literature, of course, is said to have contents to this effect. So in Majalise
Iza, they poured in their aversion and hatred towards Sahaba (holy companions).
In reaction Sunnis dub them as Kafir (infidel) and regard them as
permitted to be killed, hence take on them when they get a chance, at their
mosques, graveyards, Imambaras, shrines, and processions, with bombs and
detonators hoping to be rewarded for that in the hereafter. In reaction, Shias
would attack them and this chain of killings and blood-shedding is going on
unchecked. Seemingly many such militant outfits stood abolished by the
authorities, but they have their support base in the masses of both
communities, under whose pressure, those ulema too, who realize it is wrong,
are compelled to endorse it.
In both the
sects, there are a lot of insolent, headstrong, and abusive young ulema and
audacious speakers, who are enjoying full support and endorsement of elders of
their sects. Therefore, this gory situation cannot be resolved in a political
or military way. Not only that but if so-called Islamists one day come to
power, the issue will remain as it is. To me, the only solution to this
lamentable state of affairs should come from religion itself and that is via
intra-faith dialogue.
There are
groups in Pakistan, similar to ISIS who subscribe to the brute idea that Shias,
Ahmadis and blasphemers and even liberals, who don’t buy the Islamicist’s
political views, are Kafirs and infidels who are permitted to be killed,
مباح الدم,
so shedding their blood is not a sin.
Barelvis,
Labbaikies who have a blind gigantic following among the masses and
particularly in rural Panjab, wherein fires of hatred towards not only
non-Muslims but towards Shias, Ahmadis, and Liberals alike are always
smouldering and blasphemy outrage is perpetually bringing the country on the
brink of an erupting volcano, how can these volatile and hostile environs could
be mended by dint of maintaining law and order enforcement only.
For
example, one Urdu religious journal Iqra digest has issued an especial issue
recently excommunicating Shias from the fold of Islam, containing at least 500
fatwas (religious decrees) issued from different Ifta houses and big
Sunni seminaries, not only of the Indian subcontinent but even from madrasas of
South Africa. I wonder when you have militant youth organizations in the
country whose leaders openly call indoctrinated members to shed the blood of
every Kafir on flimsy grounds like blasphemy or abusing Sahaba,
how can you dream to build a prosperous peaceful, and tolerant society?
The issue
is not confined to Pakistan. I put it as an example only because the situation
there is worse. Otherwise, the same applies to Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria,
wherein the bloody sectarian war so far has claimed more than 90 thousand
Muslim lives. And this Frankenstein’s monster has full freehand which changed
Syria in particular into a haven for killer regime's forces, snipers, Hezbollah
members, evildoer insurgents of a sordid assortment.
Thirty
years ago, such a massive bomb blast took place in the same place, the same
bazaar and the same mosque were targeted, because the bazaar is a symbol of
storytelling liberalism also. Today, religious fanatics have reiterated their
misdeed making the claims of law enforcement agencies a mockery.
Shia sect
has existed since the first century AH. Shia-Sunni differences also have always
been there in history. Mutual bloodshed and bloody wars have taken place too.
However, the general outlawing and excommunicating of the Shias is not narrated
from any great Imam or scholar of Islam throughout its checkered history. Nor
has any Sunni government ever massacred them posing them as apostates or
infidels. Rather they were considered as a Muslim sect even in Islamic
literature. The massacre of the Shia sect by usurping Islam from them is a new
phenomenon in Islamic history that needs to be thwarted at every level and the
way out of it will be through inter-sectarian or intra-faith dialogue.
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A regular contributor to New Age Islam, Dr. Mohammad
Ghitreef is Research Associate with the Centre for Promotion of Educational and
Cultural Advancement of Muslims of India, AMU Aligarh.
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