ties that bind - sep 11

Ties that Bind
159 Punjabi Mahomedan. From --,
Supply Agent, Supply and
Transport Corps, to the Editor,
Continental Daily Mail, 36, Rue de
Sentier, Paris (undated), Censor of
Indian Mails, 1914-1918,
L/MIL/5/828/147, IOR, BL,
London
38 | policyexchange.org.uk
Muslims reacted with greater calm to the news that Turkey had backed
Germany than most officials in Whitehall could have anticipated. Crucially, they
won Muslim support by allaying their concerns about maintaining the sanctity of
religious sites in Makkah and Madinah. But their strategy went far beyond simply
reacting to Muslim fears. The government demonstrated its track record of
guaranteeing religious liberties for Muslims – and Indians listened. A Punjabi
soldier in the trenches wrote to the Continental Daily Mail newspaper explaining:
The Mussalmans are fighting against the Turks. Why? Because they love British Empire, they
value the blessings of the British rule. India has not spared money nor anything required for
this war and is putting forth all her resources to help to win the war. But what a pity that
while the loyal sons and subjects of British Empire in India are doing their best to win the just
and right cause, the pacifists in England strives [sic] to ruin the ideal. 159
Silk Letters: dissent and mutiny
Dissent and mutiny is an aspect of Indian Muslim history which has caught the
attention of al-Qaeda – and their leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is keen to project an
image of Muslim rebellion under the Raj to Pakistani Muslims today.
In August 2008, when instability in Pakistan was at its peak and President
Musharraf was preparing to stand down, the US Army discovered a document
written by the then deputy leader of al-Qaeda, entitled ‘A Message from Sheikh
Ayman al-Zawahiri to Pakistan Army and the People of Pakistan’. The document
argues that Pakistan’s armed forces have become a proxy of the United States
government and that American influence in the region is comparable to British
imperial power during the Raj.
I request each Muslim in Pakistan to remember the glorious history of their noble scholars who
resisted fiercely any and all cooperation with or support for the British Indian Army.
Sheikh ul Hind Maulana Mehmood ul Hasan said in his fatwa to the students of Aligarh
University: ‘You have no choice but to abandon supporting and championing Islam's enemies
whether in practice or in belief And the religious basis of this matter is undeniable’. And he
wrote in his letter to the Jamiat-i-Ulamaa meeting in Amritsar: ‘The fiercest enemies of Islam
and Muslims are the British so it is mandatory to stop supporting them’.
And his student Sayyed Hussain Ahmad Madni stood up in court to say: ‘Joining the British
army; helping another to join it or advising him to join; and supporting the British army or
giving it loans for war: all are haram'.
[...]
Don't you see how the Indian armies which were killing Muslims yesterday at the orders of
the British, are themselves the forces of [Musharraf] what are today killing Muslims in
Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan at the orders of the Americans? Don't
[Musharraf’s] forces provide the Crusaders with information, bases, airports, and even detention
and torture centers? Don't they supply them with food and fuel to kill, detain, torture, and
humiliate Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan?
Don't you notice how when Sayyed Hussain Ahmad Madni quoted the statements of past British
politicians about their crusade, he was quoting word for word Bush, when he declared his new
crusade against Muslims? Isn't is clear that the Malta detention centre, in which Sheikh-ul-Hind
and Sayyed Hussain Ahmad Madni were jailed, is comparable to the Guantanamo camp? Isn't it