Religious Behaviour Is Socio-Culturally Interwoven
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
14 July
2022
Why Someone's
Religion Is An Issue, And Why Someone Following A Certain Religious Ritual
Becomes A Murtad?
Main
Points:
1. Ahmadiyyas
soi disant apostasy is a matter of (religious) perceptions.
2. Faith is
always an example of Percolated Continuation in the parlance of Sociology.
3. Ritualistic
behaviour of a parental religion is deep-rooted.
----
It’s really
strange that three members of Ahmadiya sect were arrested for sacrificing
animals (in line with the Islamic tradition of Qurbani) on the occasion of
Eid-al-Azha. This happened in Pakistan, a country of moronic zealots.
Agreed,
Ahmadiyyas are not considered Muslims anymore and they're heretics. But what's
wrong if they still follow the rituals of Islam? Islam has ostracized them but
they don't see themselves as ex-Muslims. All Ahmadiyyas have great respect for
Muhammad but at the same time, they also respect their founder Ghulam Ahmad
Qadiyani. That's it. If Ahmadiyyas follow Islamic traditions and rituals, how
can that amount to hurting the sentiments of Muslims (read Sunni Muslims)? They
(Ahmadiyyas) are not making fun of Islamic rituals and customs. Their soi
disant apostasy is a matter of (religious) perceptions.
Faith is
always an example of Percolated Continuation in the parlance of Sociology. Even
if you leave a faith or are driven out of the fold of a faith, the remnants of
the erstwhile faith do stay in your consciousness and are called Indelible
Imprints of the Early Faith. British sociologist Nick MaClean worked on this
phenomenon for many years and wrote a seminal essay, now a book, “Influences,
vestiges and effects of Parental Religion “(OUP, 1989). He argued that the
ritualistic behaviour of a parental religion is deep-rooted. Simple
manifestation of this behaviour is obvious among Muslim married women, esp. in
Maharashtra, wearing a Mangalsutra or Bangladeshi Muslim women wearing a
Saree. Religion is also entwined with socio-cultural behavioural
patterns. Following each other's religious practices were seldom considered
blasphemous, though the scenario is pretty different now.
If an act
of sacrificing animals by the 'apostates' is sacrilegious, then saying Assalam
u' Alaikum W Rahmatullah W Barakatuh. السَّلاَمُ
عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ . May the peace, mercy, and
blessings of Allah be with you should also be blasphemous if used by a
non-Muslim.
I'm a
complete atheist and my Indian Muslim friends are very well aware of this, yet
when I greet them with this typical benediction, they don't take umbrage.
Rather, they feel good that a non-Muslim and an apatheist at that, says these
words so nonchalantly. I also say Khuda Hafiz (though nowadays I refrain from
it for fear of hearing Allah Hafiz, used by today's hard-core, uneducated and
misdirected Muslims) despite having no faith in Khuda or Allah. But Khuda Hafiz
is a part of my socio-cultural upbringing. How can I part with it or how can I
forget my Urdu, Persian and Arabic, which constitute my linguistic
consciousness?
Had I been
in Pakistan, I'd have been called a Kafir (infidel) and would not have been
alive to write this piece. And this happened to me in Pakistan. Years ago, my
Arabic-professor and mentor Dr Zaifa Ashraf's friend, Dr Tahira Naqqash, took
me to Pakistan. It was my maiden visit to our neighbouring country. That lady
was highly educated, having studied at Oxford, Cambridge and Berkeley
Universities.
During a
party in Lahore, one snobbish lady, looking at me, asked Dr Naqqash, “Aapki
Taareef?” (Who's he?). Dr Naqqash said, “Aap Humare Farzand Hain
“(He's my son). That lady asked me, “Beta, Aapka Ism-e-Shareef Kya Hai?”
(Son, what's your name?). When she heard, Sumit, she said, “Kafir Hain?”
Dr Tahira Naqqash became furious and said, “Why should my son have a religion
and how dare you call him a Kafir?” That snooty woman apologised but I could
never forget the uncouth behaviour of that Pakistani woman in Lahore. I also
remember the magnanimity of Dr Tahira Naqqash, who also hailed from Pakistan.
The point
is: Why someone's religion is an issue? And why someone following a certain
religious ritual becomes a Murtad (Arabic for an apostate)? A devout Muslim
like Rafi could sing Bhajans at temples and no one ever frowned upon the great
singer singing Bhajans. This is the quintessence of a composite culture. Good,
Indian Muslims are still not so fanatic like their Pakistani brethren. But
trends and tendencies are rapidly changing. At times, I shudder to think of the
bigotry of Indian Muslims and Muslims in general. But then, followers of which
religion are sane and sensible any longer?
----
A
regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative
religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to
world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/religious-behaviour-socio-culturally-/d/127474
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