Organ of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Association for the Propagation of Islam. Preaching Islam as taught by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s) - a tolerant, peaceful. loving, inclusive, rational and tolerant Islam.
ِ ی م م الرَّح
ن
ِ
سب ا ہللِ الرَّْحم ٰ
ْ م ِ
The Light
International Organ of the Centre for the Worldwide
Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam
2017
April
2016
December
The only Islamic organisation upholding the finality of prophethood.
Germany
Guyana
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Sweden
UK
USA
Webcasting on the world’s first real-time Islamic service at
Editors
Amir Aziz
Abd ul Muqtadir Gordon
Gowsia Saleem & Prof. Shahab
Shabbir
Kaleem Ahmed
Shahid Aziz & Mustaq Ali
Zainib Ahmad
www.virtualmosque.co.uk
Interesting external links
‣ Is Secularism a Threat to Islam?
‣ Embracing Islam in India
‣ A Star of the Abrahamic Faiths
‣ Stop Exploiting Islam to Advance Political Motives.
Contents
The Call of the Messiah 2
Jihadist Ideology in Pakistan and 5
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi’s Counter
Narrative by Abdul Rauf
How did the Muslim world fall behind 11
on science by Daniel Bardsley
Broadcasts (UK time)
1. Skype Urdu lecture: Sunday 09:00
2. Live on www.virtualmosque.co.uk
‣ Friday Sermon 13:00
‣ First Sunday of month lecture 15:00.
3. Radio Virtual Mosque
Websites
1. International HQ
2. Research and History
3. The Woking Mosque and Mission
4. The Berlin Mosque and Mission
5. Quran search
6. Blog
‣ Dating of the Jesus' Tomb
‣ Duse Mohamed Ali - An Early Missionary of Islam
in the UK
‣ Muslims can Pray in Churches and Synagoges
- Saudis.
‣ Sexual Abuse Covered up in Pakistani Religios
Schools.
‣ Robotics - A Muslim Heritage
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The Light.
I Shall Love All Mankind.
December 2017 The
Light 2
The Call of the
Messiah
by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
The Promised Messiah and Mahdi
(Translator's Note: In 1892 Hazrat Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad called on his followers to hold a
gathering at the end of December every year.
Among its stated objectives was that members
would gain in spiritual knowledge and understanding,
strengthen fraternal bonds, plan ways
and means of the propagation of Islam, and dedicate
themselves afresh to the cause of the Movement.
Some of the literalist Ulama, who had no eye
for the great objects of the Movement, denounced
the holding and organisation of such meetings as
un-Islamic. They pronounced that, according to
Islam, a journey was only allowed to one of the
three sacred mosques of Islam, or one or two
other places, all other travel being prohibited to a
Muslim. Today it is inconceivable how such absurd
rulings could have been issued, especially
given the fact that the same Ulama now travel to
all parts of the world, attending conferences and
meetings. Here we reproduce selected extracts
from the reply given by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
to these critics, published on December 17th,
1892. This translation was first published in The
Light, November-December 1992 issue. It has
been edited and expanded here.)
Last year it was decided, according to the
opinion of the majority of friends, that members
of our Jamaat should come to meet this humble
servant at least once a year, to derive benefit as
regards the needs of
the religion and to hold
consultations regarding
the propagation of
Islam. At that time of
discussion, it was also
decided as being appropriate that the best date for
coming to Qadian for this purpose would be December
27th because it is during the holidays, and
people in employment are free at this time. Also,
being in the winter, these days are suitable for
travelling. As a result, our sincere members were
pleased to agree to this view, considering it the
best course of action.
Therefore, on December 7th, 1892, I sent a
letter consisting of a printed announcement to all
members, the summary of its contents being that
one of the main aims of this gathering (Jalsa) is
I Shall Love All Mankind.
that every sincere person should get the
opportunity to benefit spiritually by a face-to-face
meeting, to increase his religious knowledge, and
to develop his understanding of matters spiritual.
Now we have heard that some person, to
prove that such work is tantamount to adding a
novelty (bid‛at) into Islam, in fact, a sin, has
requested a religious judgment from a Maulvi
Rahim Bakhsh, imam of the Cheenia-wali mosque
in Lahore, as to what is the teaching of Islam about
travelling from afar to such a meeting on an
appointed day?. . .
In reply to this request, Maulvi Rahim Bakhsh
has produced a lengthy writing referring to a
hadith which is not relevant to the subject, the
summary of which is that it is an unlawful
innovation (bid‛at), rather a sin, to go to attend
such a gathering, and that to propose the holding
of such meetings is a later invention for which
there is no basis in the Quran and Sunnah. Moreover,
the man who creates such an institution in Islam
is to be condemned (mardūd).
Reply
This journey (to the Jalsa) shall be undertaken
by every sincere one with the
intention of seeking knowledge.
Fair-minded people should now answer
truthfully whether the existence in Islam of such
maulvis and muftis is a sign of the tribulations of
the end of the world (qiyamat) or not. O good man,
do you not know that travelling for the sake of
religious knowledge is not only allowed but is
incumbent according to the Quran and the Holy
Prophet, so much so that the one who
intentionally neglects it is guilty of a serious sin,
and to insist on refusal deliberately is an act of
disbelief in some cases? Do you not know that it
has been urged with great emphasis (in Hadith)
that “the seeking of
knowledge is incumbent
upon
every Muslim male
and female”, and it
has been said:
“Seek knowledge, even though it may be in China”.
Now considering that I wrote in my
announcement, in the clearest and plainest words
possible, that this journey (to the Jalsa) shall be
undertaken by every sincere one with the
intention of seeking knowledge, just think how far
from honesty, integrity, justice, virtue and piety it
is to pronounce the ruling that the man who
institutes such a practice in Islam must be
condemned. …
Open and read the Sahih Bukhari, and see the
glad tidings given for a journey undertaken to
December 2017 The
Light 3
seek knowledge. It is as follows: “Whoever undertakes
a journey to seek knowledge, Allah eases for
him the way to paradise”.
O you unjust Maulvi,
show some fairness. And
consider that you have
called your brother a
condemned one, who,
like you, professes the
Kalima, belongs to the people of the Qibla and
believes in Allah and the Messenger, and you have
declared him as utterly deprived of the mercy of
God and the intercession of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad, . . . giving the reason that I had issued
such an announcement and invited people to the
Jalsa. Open your eyes and read what that announcement
of December 7th, 1892 says. It calls
our community together for the purposes of acquiring
knowledge, seeking solutions to the problems
faced by the religion, helping the cause of Islam,
and meeting one’s brothers. Does it mention
any festivity, entertainment, music or song? . . .
Fixing a date
If there is misgiving in someone’s heart as to
why a particular date has been fixed for this religious
gathering, and whether such practice is
traceable to the Holy Prophet or his Companions,
the reply is that you should look in Bukhari and
Muslim. Bedouins used to come to the Holy
Prophet to ask questions about religious matters
at times when they were free, and some of them
came to him in particular months when they were
free. There is a report in Bukhari that a delegation
from the tribe of Abdul Qais came to the Holy
Prophet and said that as they come from afar, they
can only attend his company during a certain
month. The Holy Prophet accepted what they said.
This hadith shows that those who wish to meet
their spiritual guide to seek knowledge or for religious
purposes can appoint a certain date in
accordance with their free time when they can attend
conveniently and without loss to themselves.
This is just the case with December 27th because
it is during the holidays and those in employment
can easily come at that time. . . .
Bukhari has included a special chapter in his
Sahih about appointing a date for holding a class
for receiving religious education. Its title is “He
who appoints certain days for those seeking
knowledge”, indicating that this practice is traceable
to some Companions. In support of this, Bukhari
quotes a report to the effect that Abdullah
(Ibn Mas‛ud) had fixed Thursday as the day on
which to give religious instruction, and on that
I Shall Love All Mankind.
day people used to attend his lecture.
Quran allows organisation and arrangement.
It must also
be remembered
that Allah has instructed
us in the
Holy Quran to
make plans and
arrangements,
and ordered us to put into action the best-devised
schemes which we consider to be expedient for
the service of Islam and to be effective in overcoming
the opponents. In this regard, He says:
“And prepare for them (the enemy) whatever
force you can” (8:60). In other words, make every
kind of preparation that you can against the
opponents of the faith, and exert all the strength
that you can for the propagation of Islam. . .
With the changing times Islam faces ever
newer types of problems, or the opponents
attack us in new types of ways, so
we have to adopt new means as well.
Modern methods must be used in new times
Those who ponder over this verse can realise
that in accordance with the hadith “Actions are
judged by intention”, to devise some suitable system
for the service of Islam is not an unlawful novelty
or evil. As with the changing times, Islam faces
ever newer types of problems, or the opponents
attack us in new types of ways, so we have to
adopt new means as well. Therefore, if we conceive
of some method or remedy to combat these
attacks which is appropriate for the present time,
that constitutes the making of a plan and has nothing
to do with bringing innovations into Islam.
It is possible that, due to the enormous
changes of the times, we may face certain new
problems of a kind which even the Holy Prophet
Muhammad did not face in the same form. For instance,
we cannot fight wars of the present day in
the earlier ways which are in the Sunnah because
the techniques of warfare have completely
changed in this age. Weapons used previously are
now ineffective, and new weapons have been
invented for fighting. Now if Muslim rulers were
to consider the taking up and deployment of these
weapons to be an unlawful novelty, and, listening
to maulvis like Rahim Bakhsh, believe it to be a sin
and evil to use these modern implements of war,
and argue that this is a manner of fighting never
undertaken by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, nor
the Companions, nor the next generation, the only
result would be that they would lose their already
decrepit kingdoms with ignominy and the enemy
would be triumphant. Therefore, wherever the
making of plans and arrangements is required, for
example, whether in case of physical or spiritual
December 2017 The
Light 4
warfare, whether the battle is by the sword or the
pen, the verse quoted above is sufficient for our
guidance. . . .
Foolish friends invite ridicule upon Islam
Every Muslim ought to pray that God rid Islam
soon of those maulvis who show such treachery.
For, this is a critical time for Islam, and these foolish
friends wish to make Islam a target of ridicule
and mockery by making statements which every
person, with his light of reason, finds to be untrue.
May Allah have mercy on Imam Bukhari! He has
also included a chapter regarding this in his book,
in which he writes: “Ali, may God be pleased with
him, said: Tell people things which they understand;
or do you like to have Allah and His Messenger
rejected?” In the commentary on Bukhari,
this is explained as follows: “Speak to people
according to the scope of their understanding”. In
other words, explain to people those injunctions
of Allah and the Messenger which they can
comprehend and which appear to them to be
reasonable; otherwise, you will needlessly have
them repudiating Allah and the Messenger.
Now it is obvious that when an opponent of
Islam hears that the maulvis have issued a ruling
declaring all travel to be unlawful (for a Muslim)
except to the Sacred Mosque, the Mosque of the
Holy Prophet, the Aqsa Mosque, and one or two
other places, he will ridicule Islam and get the
chance to find fault with the teaching of the Holy
Prophet. He will not be aware that this pronouncement
is merely the mischief of a maulvi,
out of a grudge, or his ignorance; he will directly
attack the Holy Prophet Muhammad. . . .
Many maulvis, for the sake of their livelihood,
travel all around the east and the west, ostensibly
for preaching. Yet, such journeys are not
considered objectionable, nor does anyone issue
rulings that they have added novelties into Islam,
or that they are evil-doers and sinners. But when
this humble servant, having been appointed to call
to the truth by Divine permission and command,
invites his followers to come to gain knowledge,
such travel is declared unlawful, and for this act, I
am dubbed a reprobate. Is this the way of virtue
and godliness?
Progress is not unlawful innovation
Regrettably, these unwise people do not even
know that planning and organisation do not fall in
the category of innovations. Every time and age
requires new ways of organisation. If new types of
problems arise, what can we do other than devise
new types of plans? When the true Sunnah has
I Shall Love All Mankind.
been safely preserved, and for the defence of that
very Sunnah we need to use certain means, will
they be called innovations? God forbid, certainly
not.
An innovation (bid‛at) is one which in essence
deviates from, and is contrary to, the Sunnah of
the Holy Prophet, and the doing of which has been
condemned and warned against in the teaching
left behind by the Holy Prophet. If merely modern
ways of working and new types of schemes are
called innovations, then the number of innovations
in Islam will be countless. The fields of grammar,
literature and theology, and the writing of
Hadith and its compilation, would all be innovations.
Likewise, travelling by railway train, wearing
manufactured clothing, sending letters by mail,
learning news by telegram, and fighting with guns
and cannons, would all be in the category of innovations.
In fact, to use guns and cannons will be
not only an innovation but a major sin because, according
to an authentic hadith, it is strictly forbidden
to kill anyone by means of fire.
Who could be a more strict follower of the
Sunnah than the Companions of the Holy Prophet?
Even they did not consider the Sunnah to have the
meaning which Rahim Bakhsh has given it. They
carried out many new works of planning and organisation
which were neither done by the Holy
Prophet nor mentioned in the Holy Quran. Just
consider the new institutions established by Hazrat
Umar, a list of which would fill a book. He
introduced the Hijri calendar for Islam, appointed
police constabulary for the security of cities, set
up a proper office for the public treasury, devised
rules and regulations for joining military service
and obtaining leave from that service, prescribed
codes of behaviour for the conduct of war, prepared
special instructions for dealing with
financial lawsuits, and promulgated many regulations
for the safety of the public. . . .
I did nothing new of this kind. All I did was to
propose a gathering to acquire knowledge, holding
consultations on how to support the cause of
Islam, and meeting of the brethren.
Lastly, I wish to announce that if Maulvi
Rahim Bakhsh still does not rescind his ruling, I
place him under oath in the name of Allah that if
he is a seeker after truth, he must come to see me
in Qadian for a clarification of this matter. I will
pay his travel expenses and will place books before
him, and show him the Quran and Hadith, to
December 2017 The
Light 5
prove that his ruling is entirely false and an enticement
by the devil.
(The published announcement, from which
the above extracts are translated, is dated 17 December
1892 and it was also included as an appendix
in his book Ainah Kamalat-i Islam).
(Return to contents)
FWU Journal of Social Sciences, Summer 2017,
Vol.11, No.1, 27-33
Jihadist Ideology in Pakistan
and Javed Ahmad Ghamidi’s
Counter-Narrative 1
Introduction
Abdul Rauf
University of Peshawar
Jihadist ideology
in the religious intellectual
discourse,
accelerated in the
recent years in Pakistan,
is having its
roots in an atomistic Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
approach to the
holy texts and a narrative which sanctified the
killing of non-Muslims and their Muslim collaborators
alike. Ghamidi (b. 1951), an ardent religious
scholar, challenged the Jihadists ideology
in its bases. The counter-narrative of Ghamidi
on Jihad, Muslims and non-Muslims relations,
Islamic state/relation of religion with politics
and many other issues cannot be easily ignored
intellectually. His views are ingrained in the
main Muslim religious treatise and have a profound
divergence from the contemporary exclusivist
interpretation/narrative of the Muslims.
Ghamidi’s views, embedded in Farahi-Islahi
school of South Asia, a relatively unknown religious
trend, is upholding a holistic approach to
Quran based on structural and thematic coherence
in Quran (Nazm-i-Quran) against the disjointed
and isolationist approach of the domi-
nant religious discourse that sometimes appeared
in the shape of religious militancy. Pakistani
society ridden with an armed religious
conflict cannot overwhelm the militant elements
through the use of force unless it is an
encounter with a stronger ideological counternarrative.
Ghamidi’s work is relevant to societies
elsewhere in the Muslim world also. In this
paper roots and standing of Ghamidi against the
dominant religious discourse in Pakistan is
investigated and evaluated in the light of his
publications and his presentation in electronic
media while the same was adopted for the
Jihadist ideology and added with the stories
narrated among the masses through the
interaction of the researcher with the conflictridden
areas in the north-western part of
Pakistan called Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA.
Pakistan, a geo-strategic important country
of South Asia, witnessed the worst kind of conflict
resulting in the killing of thousands of people
more than any other country including the
US since 9/11. 2 The menace has its roots in the
region since the coming of the Sour Revolution,
popularly known as the communist revolution
in Kabul in 1978, the subsequent resistance by
the people of Afghanistan and support of all major
non-Communist regimes in the world particularly
the USA during the Cold War years. 3 The
Middle Eastern Arab states were the other major
actors in the region. The Afghan resistance
movement was carried out with an ideology
emanating from the modern Islamic revivalist
thoughts in the 20 th century- a conglomeration
of thoughts of Abul Ala Mawdudi of Pakistan,
Sayyed Qutub of Egypt, Salafis (non-conformists
of Saudi Arabia) and Deobandis (originated
in India in the 1860s). The regional and international
actors also found it appealing to safeguard
their own national interests by curtailing
the Soviet expansionism in the region. For
twenty years the religious discourse was dominated
by a Jihadist ideology till the Soviet Union
unglued in 1991. The Jihadist Ideology was
thought to be wind up after the fall of Najib government
in Kabul in April 1992. But it was not
easy to uproot an ingrained militant ideology,
1 Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed
to Professor Abdul Rauf, Department of Political Science, University
of Peshawar abdulrauf@upesh.edu.pk. This paper is
based on a presentation in the International National Conference
“Narrative of Peace and Conflict” in July 1-3, 2015 in Liverpool
Hope University. The writer expresses acknowledgements
to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan
for the travel grants to attend this conference.
I Shall Love All Mankind.
2 In the last thirteen years Pakistan suffered 13,721 terrorist
incidents which left 56,156 dead and more than 200,000 critically
injured (National Counter Terrorism Authority), Dawn,
Karachi, March, 2015.
3 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President Ronald
Reagan were among those who appreciated the Afghan militant
against the Soviet Union forces in Afghanistan in early
1980s.
December 2017 The
Light 6
particularly when the global actors turned off
their attention, and Pakistan was left alone to
deal with the threat. Pakistan did not have capability
and capacity to face the after effects of
the 15-year war conflict in the region.
The overthrow of Taliban government in
Kabul by the US-led NATO coalition forces, and
installation of Karzai regime in 2001 met the
same response from the Taliban resistance
forces. Taliban and their sympathisers elsewhere
in the world, particularly in Pakistan,
launched a resistance movement using the
same religious slogans against the US and its allies
as they did against the Russians. But this
time the reaction of the third generation of the
militants in Pakistan was more brutal against
the military and civilians than their earlier ones.
They devastated the government and non-government
institutions on the one hand and annihilated
the already poor infrastructure particularly
in the north-west of Pakistan including
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The stubborn resistance of the militants to
the security forces of Pakistan is based on a particular
religious narrative which justifies all
kind of violence including the killing of innocent
people/children, lethal encounter and suicide
bombing on one hand and beheading, imputation
and display of dead bodies in public places
on the other. After analysing statements, communique
, videos and literature of the militant
groups it can be attributed to a particular approach
to the religious texts; Quran, hadith and
athar 4 and fiqh verdicts which are constantly
used to justify their ‘noble’ actions.
What is this Jihadist ideology?
The contemporary Jihadist ideology believes
in the categorisation of entire humanity
into two groups; Muslims and ‘infidels’, ‘good
and evil’, the party of God (Hizb u Rehman) and
a party of Satan (Hizb u shetan). Since the dawn
of humanity, these two groups are at perpetual
war with each other. Hence it is incumbent
upon the Muslims to continue this holy war
against the ‘infidels’. This holy war will continue
till kufr (infidelity) became subservient to
Islam everywhere on the earth as stated in the
Holy Quran (Al-Tuba, 112, 123; Al-Baqra, 190).
They uphold the opinion that the holy war is
forever and it will continue till the doomsday as
it is enunciated in the hadith (Sunan-i-Abi
Dawood, 2170; Sahih Bukhari, 2801).
The Jihadists looks all political, economic,
diplomatic and strategic events in the world
dominated by the Western/Christian world
with a perennial war prism and citing the
events in Kashmir, Palestine, Chechnya, Balkan,
East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan from the
pulpit 5 to instigate people which ultimately
helps in enlisting support for the militants and
their violent activities. Certain events happened
in the West on the pretext of freedom of thought
and expression is narrated as iconoclasm
against Prophet Muhammad (S) and Islam. If
there is any reference to the solution of problems
through the offices of UN, they term this
body as incompetent when comes to Muslims.
The Muslim countries accepted U.N. resolutions
more than any other country in the world. With
the support of US and other international
actors, the UN failed to implement its resolutions
on Israel and Kashmir. When the USA says
that Al-Qaida is in the tribal areas 6 and planning
to attack the Americans in the US, the local
people ask questions. How the Americans can
be trusted as it were the Americans who
claimed the presence of WMD in Iraq but later
on nothing was found, and one million Muslims
have been killed in Iraq (Hamid Mir, 2009,
March 30). The militants and common people
think that the Americans and other non-Muslims
cannot face us on the ground so they sent
these machines (drones) to kill the innocent
people. The Americans are ‘coward’ and do not
have the courage to face us in the war. The sympathetic
intellectuals in media frequently cited
examples of the patronage of certain figures
such as Suleiman Rushdie and Taslima Nasrin
whose writings against the holy personalities of
Islam hurts the feelings of Muslims. The caricature
episode in the West fomented the already
unreceptive feelings of the Muslims. They applauded
those Muslims who reacted violently
against the value of freedom. Newspapers,
magazines and journals and speeches from the
pulpits and public platform are full of news depicting
the West as the place where morality 7 is
4 Traditions narrated from the companions of Prophet Muhammad
(S).
5 Particularly in the Friday sermons, funeral ceremonies and
after daily prayer the dua which an imam sought.
6 It refers to the border areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan
which enjoy relative autonomy from the state institutions
I Shall Love All Mankind.
and remained safe places for the militants during the Afghan
war in 1980s.
7 When they use the term morality (Ikhlaq) they mean laxity
in opposite sex relations.
December 2017 The
Light 7
eroding day and night. A reactionary attitude
among the Muslims pushed some of them to the
extreme and thus were not ready to accept any
good in the Americans and in the West because
of their double standard in the international relations.
Writers and speakers refer that when
the Oklahoma bombing occurred, within
minutes, western media reported having a
connection with the Middle East. Investigation
afterwards proved it incorrect, and nobody
termed it Christian fundamentalism while it
had a connection to Christianity. 8 These learned
men pointed out the subjectivity of the Western
media which portray Pakistan’s Atomic Bomb
as an Islamic Bomb, but they never termed the
Indian atomic bomb as a Hindu Bomb or Jewish
or Christian Bomb elsewhere in the world. The
statements of George W. Bush referring to the
American war on terrorism as a crusade only
reinforce the Jihadists’ analogy to the crusades
(SAIS Review). The success of Mujahidin against
the Soviet forces in Afghanistan became religious
symbols of the Muslim resistance
struggle, and Jihadists use this notion in their
addresses in mosques and public gatherings. In
Pakistani society, common people are influenced
more by the clergy on the religious
knowledge and attitudes as one of the Gallup
surveys shows in its reports. According to the
report, 71 % of the people of Pakistan have been
influenced by the local cleric (imam-i-masjid) for
their religious knowledge and belief while the
same was 79 % in 1980 when the Jihadist ideology
was in the offing in the region (Murad
Javid).
Following is the narrative based on militants’
understanding of religion and explanation
of their violent actions in Pakistan. On the
question of targeting the Muslim military
whether they are in Afghanistan or Pakistan,
they blatantly declared them liable to death as
they are collaborators with the ‘infidels’ as
Quran is condemning friendship with Jews and
Christians. In terrorist actions, if civilians including
children, women and old people get
lost, the terrorists felt no excuse because such
innocent people will be awarded paradise
promised by God to the martyrs (Geo TV, 2014,
Dec 21). When asked why they are conducting
jihad in Afghanistan their answer is if jihad in
the 1980s was obligatory against the Soviet
then why it is not obligatory against the Americans
now who are occupying Afghanistan?
When it is said that attacks on the rulers of Pakistan
are un-Islamic as they are Muslims? They
reply that the then president of Afghanistan (Dr
Najibullah) was also a Muslim then why was he
targeted by the then mujahidin? When Najib
was collaborating with the Russians, so is the
case of Pakistani rulers. When it is asked: why
are you killing the policemen and military soldiers?
Who are only earning bread for their
children and thus should not be killed? The soldiers
in Afghanistan and soldiers in Kashmir are
also earning their livelihood so why were they
targeted? When it is said - due to the actions of
Taliban hundreds of civilians are killed in
Pakistan. They would say that the same civilians
are killed in Kashmir, Iraq and Afghanistan by
the ‘enemies’ of Islam (Jang, 2013, November
19). When it is said that due to suicide bombing
innocent people are killed, and thus Taliban are
responsible for their killing. Here came a unique
and interesting argument. They said if these victims
are innocent then they will go to paradise
and thus the Taliban are doing good to them by
sending them to the paradise (Geo TV, 2014,
Dec 21). When they are asked why they are targeting
the barber shops, they would reply that
it is evil and there is saying of the Prophet to
stop an evil with force. 9 When asked why they
are targeting schools particularly girls school?
They will term these schools as the centre of
spreading western values and cultures and that
girls should remain within the walls of their
houses.
Intellectual Support from Political Islam
The literature on political Islam that
emerged and spread after the end of the colonial
rule in South Asia, is considered to be the
main source of support to the Taliban’s plea to
declare Pakistan as an un-Islamic state. Unconditional
obedience to such a state is not binding
upon the Muslims. The concept of establishment
of an Islamic rule as mandatory for the
Muslims is articulated in the contemporary revivalist
literature and thus greatly supported
militants in receiving logistic, cash and human
resource assistance from the sympathisers of
this thought.
8 The episode was also mentioned by Edward Said as an example
how the media is reporting terrorism of different people
associated with different religions differently (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVC8EYd_Z_g ) visited
on November 27, 2016.
I Shall Love All Mankind.
9
“Whomever among you sees an evil, then let him stop it with
his hand. Whomever is not able, then with his tongue, and
whomever is not able, then with his heart. That is the weakest
of faith.” (Jami` at-Tirmidhi Hadith, 2172)
December 2017 The
Light 8
Increased complaints against governments,
failure of civil servants in service delivery, Pakhtun
ethnic and cultural susceptibilities and
peasants class grievances especially in Swat
also contributed to the on-going Jihadist narrative.
However, the most important factor used
by the militants is an upsurge for Islam in the
modern world. These militants effectively manipulated
the reliable religious signs and emblems
(mainly from history) that carry great appeal
to several people who accept it on the
promise of the establishment of a religious society
free from social inequality and every kind of
injustice and on the other a ‘promised’ permanent
happy life in the hereafter. They refer to the
Islamists’ failure of the peaceful political struggle
to bring a change in society, e.g. Algeria in
1991 and Ghaza in 2006, these militants
emphasise on the accuracy of their tools and
methods (militancy) for the establishment of a
‘paradise’ on earth, i.e. Islamic State. The argument
proved to be a very important mobilising
factor by the militants and its diffusion among
the apparently peaceful Islamic organisations
such as Tablighi Jamaat and particularly Jamaati-Islami
by the use of modern technology such as
the internet, mobile, social media and video
clips. Looking to the Jihadist ideology, some
scholars substantiate the opinion that Islam is
inherently violent and they brought evidence
from the texts and actions of these militant
Muslims.
The greatest target of Jihadist ideology is democracy
and freedom. In the latest video of
Mullah Fazlullah (leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban
Pakistan) ridicules western life, branding democracy
a lie and forbidden and declared it kufr
and Haram (Mirror news). They do not endorse
the concept of popular sovereignty and consider
it contrary to the supremacy of God. The
rule of democracy is the rule of disbelief, and
any call to it is a call to kufr system. They are
against all kinds of democracy and uphold the
idea of a universal caliphate. They do not
recognise the territorial demarcation of the
modern state and consider it the legacy of the
European colonialism. The ranks and file of
these militants include Chechens, Uzbeks, Arabs
(from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Palestine
and African countries), Kashmiris, Chinese, Tajiks,
and Afghanis fought against Pakistani
forces. In the Jihadists’ narrative, freedom is
restricted to the limits demarcated within the
Sharia laws. Freedom in the west is portrayed
with lewdness. Freedom of expression and faith
is selectively allowed. A person who left Islam
is an apostate and thus is liable to be put to
death as stated in the hadith. 10 In many cases
when as accused of blasphemy when attacked
by the mob, the Jihadists implicitly supported
them. The women folk were specially targeted
in society. In their dominated areas girls were
not allowed to attend schools and whenever
they were in the position they either closed
those schools or destroyed them. In the Jihadist
narrative, for women, there are only two places;
either home or grave (khaza ya da kur da ya da
gure da).
Basis of the Jihadist Ideology in the Religious
Text
The Jihadist narrative in Pakistan and elsewhere
in the world is based on an atomist approach
to the religious texts. According to this
approach, a passage is taken from the Holy
Scripture and is interpreted in the light of tradition
literature and practices of the early companions
of Prophet Muhammad (S). Applying
this method, the Jihadists concluded, for
example, Jews and Christians cannot be your
friends. 11 The Holy Prophet instructed to
eliminate all non-believers from the earth. 12
Jihad (war) is obligatory upon Muslims. 13 Those
who leave Islam (apostate) are liable to be
punished by death. 14 Non-Muslims are not
10
"Execute the person who changes his faith." (Bukhari: Kitab
Istatabatul-Murtaddeen)
11
O You who have attained to faith! Do not take the Jews and the
Christians for your allies: they are but allies of one another and
whoever of you allies himself with them becomes, verily, one of
them; behold, God does not guide people who are unjust.
(Quran 5:51)
12
Narrated Ibn ‘Umar: Allah’s Apostle said: "I have been ordered
(by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none
has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is
Allah’s Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory
charity, so if they perform all that, then they save their
lives and property from me except for Islamic laws, and then their
reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah." ( Sahih Bukhari 25, 26)
I Shall Love All Mankind.
13
“And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out
from where they have Turned you out; for tumult and oppression
are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred
Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you,
slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith (Quran,
2-191)”
14
“Those who leave their faith kill them” reported by Abdullah
bin Abbas in Sahih Bukhari. The militant in Pakistan declared
Muslims of the Pakistan military as apostate and therefore
fighting against them and killing them is lawful (Ahya-i-Khilafat
organ of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, November 2014, p.16)
https://ia601405.us.archive.org/21/items/IhyaeKhilafatUrduMagazine9/Ihyae%20Khilafat%20Urdu%20Magazine%209.pdf
visited September 6, 2015.
December 2017 The
Light 9
equal citizens; they should wear an emblem to
show that they are zimis. 15 Women are half of
the men. 16 If a married couple committed
adultery, they would receive the punishment of
rajam (put to death by stoning (‘Almi Idara-i-
Fikr-i-Islami, 1997)). It is the responsibility of
each Muslim to uphold good and suppress evil
in the society even if it requires the use of force
(June 28, 2015). Interpretation of the texts disjointedly
always led to conclusions which suit
the Jihadists narrative. Though the Jihadist narrative
dominated the present religious
discourse, there was, and there is always a divergent
opinion on all these self-claimed ‘settled
issues’ in Islam. 17
Ghamidi’s Counter-Narrative or Ideology
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (b. 1951) is one of
the religious scholars who challenge the Jihadist
narrative persistently in the last 25 years and
suffered in the hands of militants. The militants
have targeted his house in Lahore but before the
detonator went off the culprits were arrested.
The militants brutally murdered one of his very
close associates, Dr Farooq Khan, who was also
vice chancellor of the newly established Swat
University and a very multifaceted personality
in October 2010. 18 The second editor of his
monthly Ishraq, Mr Manzoor ul Hassan, was shot
outside of the office Al-Mawrid in Lahore, but he
survived the injuries. Another associate, Dr
Habib ur Rahman, was shot dead in Karachi.
Some of his associates, for example, Dr Khalid
Zaheer, was threatened and had to leave the
country for some time. His students and associates
in Pakistan are going through the same
19
Hamiddudin Farahi was important religious scholar born in
1863 in Pariha (UP), India. His stay in Aligarh College as a student,
and Sind Madrasa, Karachi and Allahabad University as faculty
member exposed him to the modern education and the orientalscared
situation. Ghamidi himself despite his
reluctance was persuaded by his colleagues and
associates to leave the country, and until this
time he is residing in Malaysia. In such a dangerous
situation Ghamidi did not stop his work
and continued to challenge the Jihadist ideology
on their religious bases.
Some Muslim groups have also encountered
jihadist ideology in Pakistan like the Berailvis,
and other non-religious political and non-political
groups on their ideological orientation are
having little relevance to sources of religion.
Ghamidi’s case is different because he encounters
them in the religious precepts which the
militants produce in their support. Ghamidi inferred
differently from the same sources with
apparently convincing arguments and thus left
little space for the exclusivist ideology of the Jihadists.
Ghamidi’s counter-narrative is humane,
pluralistic and all-inclusive. Ghamidi’s discourse
is revolving around the principles of understanding
of religion from its scriptures primarily
based on the Farah-Islahi hermeneutics.
Hamiddudin Farahi (1863-1930) 19 , an exegete
of the first quarter of the 20 th century, educated
in religious discipline from the ulama of that
time 20 and modern education from Aligarh college,
the prime modern educational institution
of the Muslims of South Asia, who later on also
became a teacher in the Allahabad University
and Sind Madrast ul Islam.
He propounded a new school among the
Muslims emphasising upon adopting a coherent
approach to the Holy Quran, very rarely referred
in the past (Ahsan, 1993). His student,
Amin Ahsan Islahi 21 forwarded the concept into
15
Obeying this opinion Taliban during their rule in Kabul asked the
non-Muslims to wear distinctive dress to be distinguished from
the Muslims in public places.
16
As stated in the Quran, “Men are in charge of women by [right
of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend
[for maintenance] from their wealth” (4-34) and that their testimony
is half of men, “And call to witness two men from among
you. If two men are not available, then one man and two women
whose testimony is acceptable to all-if one of them fails to remember,
the other would remind her (2-282)
17
In Muslim history there always existed non-popular views and
so Ghamidi is not an exception.
18
The responsibility was accepted by Al Azam Brigade, a group
of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
I Shall Love All Mankind.
ists’ scholarship and scepticism about Islam. He thus concentrated
his research on the holy Quran and recorded his findings
in books (mostly unfinished) in Arabic except one which is in
Urdu. He closely worked in the establishment of Usmania University,
Hyderabad and Dar ul Mussanifin, Luknow. In his last days
he devoted all his time in teaching Quran in the Madrsat ul Islah
in Sarai Mir. He breathed his last in 1930 (See for more details,
Dr. Sharfuddin Islahi, Zikr-i-Farahi (Lahore: Dar ul Tazkir, 2002).
20
For example, he studied religious disciplines from Mawlana Faiz
ul Hassan Seharanpuri and Mawlana Shibli Numani who was also
his cousin.
21
Amin Ahsan Islahi (1904-97) for an interval joined Jamaat-i-Islami
and emerged as the second important ideologue after Abdul
Ala Mawdudi (1903-79) but he had to quit after having differences
with Mawlana Mawdudi. Certain views of Islahi have been
incorporated in the state structure for example the status of non-
Muslims and thus got free Pakistan from the narrow approach on
the issue of the traditionalist ulama in Pakistan. During Zia ul Haq
period (1979-88) when an adultery case was decided in the light
of Islahi’s views, the traditionalists raised hue and cry throughout
December 2017 The
Light 10
Taking up of arms against the non-
Muslims to convert them to Islam is
forbidden; an armed struggle for
bringing change in state and society
is creating disorder particularly
after the coming of democracy.
a whole system and completed his nine-volume
exegesis, Tadabbur-i-Quran on the same principles.
The Farahi-Islahi religious thought was
moved forward and reinvigorated by Javed Ahmad
Ghamidi when he applied these principles
to the contemporary socio-political and economic
issues of the Muslims and thus deter the
traditionalist approach to religion demonstrated
in the shape of militancy in Pakistan.
According to Farahi-Islahi principles of understanding
the Holy Quran, the concept of
Nazm (coherence) is the fundamental principle.
According to Islahi to understand Quran the following
principles which are of two kinds must
be followed: i. internal and ii. external. In the
internal principles, he included the language of
the Quran, Nazm (coherence) and tafsir-i-Quran
bil Quran (clarification with the help of the
Quran). While the external principles include;
Sunnat-i-mutawatirah (constant practices of the
Holy Prophet), hadith and athar-I Sahaba, shani-nazul,
previous exegeses, previous Holy
Scriptures and Arab history (Islahi, Tadabbur-i-
Qur’an). Ghamidi adopted and followed Farahi
and Islahi in interpreting the text of the Quran
and other religious precepts and thus reached
to certain conclusions mostly contradictory to
the Jihadist interpretation of the Quranic verses.
Another distinctive and important point of
deviation of Ghamidi is the law of Itmam-i-Hujjat
(finality of testimony). Ghamidi extensively
applies the law originally derived by Islahi in
the socio-political realm of affairs and thus lead
not only to different but in some cases even opposite
to the common understanding of religion.
According to this law, God sent among His
prophets (anbia) a particular section, rasul
(apostle) who were not only messengers of God
but also a testimony to bestow the wrath of God
upon those who reject the message of God willingly.
Therefore, the tenents of the rasul cannot
be extended to the non rasul period in human
history. Prophet Muhammad was a rasul, and
thus many of his actions are confined to his lifetime
only. The specification of the addressee in
the Holy Quran thus drastically changes the
meaning of a verse in the Quran.
Applying the principle of coherence in
Quran (nazm-i-Quran) and the law of finality of
testimony (itmam-i-Hujjat), Ghamidi’s stance
can be narrated like this. Taking up of arms
against the non-Muslims to convert them to
Islam is forbidden (Ghamdi, Videos); an armed
struggle for bringing change in state and society
is declared Fasad fil Ardh (creating disorder on
earth) particularly after the coming of
democracy. Jihad cannot be done by private
militant groups, and Jihad is the duty of the
state and can be waged only if there is persecution
(particularly religious) of people whether
they are Muslims or non-Muslims. 22 There is no
compulsion in religion, and thus death for the
apostate was confined only to the time of
Prophet Muhammad (S) (Renaissance). Islam
and state was declared separate. It is individual
who is the addressee of Islam and not state. It is
individual who will be accountable before God.
Ghamidi declared that the modern state is having
no religion (Ghamidi, Jang 2015) and thus
the non-Muslims should have an equal footing
while deciding the nature of a state. However,
the decision of any government in ordinary
matters should be carried out on the principle
of majority (Ghamidi, Jang 2015). The role of religious
scholars in society is very much deviated
what God has inscribed for them in Quran. 23
Conclusion
Javid Ahmad Ghamidi is among those few
religious scholars in Pakistan who tried to disentangle
the domain of profane life from the religious
life and thus confront the Jihadist who
tries to intermingle religion with the worldly
matters and raise hue and cry as ‘Islam is in
danger’. He in his discourse challenged the plea
of the Jihadist in the very context of religion, i.e.
Quran and Sunnah. His ideas greatly appealed
the country and the then regime had to change the very organization
of the court, induct new judges and accept the traditionalists
understanding of religion.
22
The holy jihad can be conducted against the Muslims also if
they are persecuting non-Muslims.
I Shall Love All Mankind.
23
The main function of the ulama is Inzar i.e. reminding and
warning to the ruling and non-ruling elite as it is stated in the holy
Quran, “And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at
once. For there should separate from every division of them a
group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and
warn their people when they return to them that they might be
cautious” (9: 122).
December 2017 The
Light 11
to the modern educated
minds of Pakistan to see
Islam, not as a religion of
violence and terror but a
peaceful religion for the
entire humanity. He also
raised his voice against
the marginalized classes
in society such as women
and non-Muslims, something
very rare from a
Muslim religious scholar.
Because of his ‘innovative’ ideas he and his associates
faced irritation of the religious people
which resulted even in an attempt on his life
and his associates in Lahore, Karachi and Mardan.
However, this did not help to silence his
voice. The alternative religious narrative of Ghamidi
may provide such a ground to all those elements
who wants to end the conflict having its
roots in religion. The current Muslim religious
scholarship and Pakistan’s policy makers need
to give attention to this counter narrative
against the popular Jihadist narrative in Pakistan.
However, the acceptance of Ghamidi’s
counter narrative depends on many socio-political
and international factors as well. The geostrategic
dimension of the conflict in the region
is subsiding to a great extent the alternative
narrative in Pakistan.
(Return To Contents)
How did the Muslim world
fall behind on science –
and how can it thrive again?
Debate comes as research and development
spending rises in Gulf states
By Daniel Bardsley
It is a question that has long vexed researchers
from this region: why did the Muslim world,
which once led the way in science, fall behind?
The issue is as pertinent now as ever, with the
Middle East still lagging behind the global average
when it comes to spending on research and
development and concerns continuing over a
regional “brain drain”.
To look for answers, earlier this year a task
force on “Culture of Science in the Muslim
World” was set up, bringing together nearly a
“Baghdad was among the epicentres
of these activities and the famous
Bayt Al Hikma [House of
Wisdom, a library] was the Mecca
of scientific research and where
all the scientists from all over the
world and all faiths came to study
and contribute to that enlightenment.”
I Shall Love All Mankind.
dozen Muslim scholars,
several of them scientists,
based in countries
including the UAE, Pakistan,
Malaysia, Lebanon
and Australia. The task
force met to discuss its
findings at the World
Science Forum, held recently
at the Dead Sea in
Jordan.
A key area of interest is why the innovation
of the Islamic Golden Age, which ran from about
the eighth to the 13th centuries, was not carried
through until later periods.
“I think the Golden Age started in the seventh
century or the beginning of the eighth century
and it was energised by our theologians
taking the Greek philosophy, the rationalist philosophy
as a means to work out quarrels they
were having about the divine text, the Quran,”
said Professor Jelel Ezzine, a professor of systems
theory and control at the University of Tunis
El Manar in Tunisia and one of the task
force’s members. “Baghdad was among the epicentres
of these activities and the famous Bayt
Al Hikma [House of Wisdom, a library] was the
Mecca of scientific research and where all the
scientists from all over the world and all faiths
came to study and contribute to that enlightenment.”
Prof Ezzine feels that scientists are particularly
suited to coming up with answers about
what happened because they have “some understanding
of science and the practice of science”.
They can cast “a neutral look”.
“One has to have a reasonable methodology,
be as objective as possible, leaving biases as far
as possible, and limit ones analysis to key
events that we call bifurcation points or events
that might look at the time insignificant, but can
really help to facilitate the emergence of large
dynamics,” he said.
Such large dynamics could have had consequences
that last until the present day. Globally,
spending on research and development averaged
2.23 per cent of GDP in 2015, according to
December 2017 The
Light 12
World Bank figures, but in most of the Middle
East, it is far lower.
In the UAE, for example, the figure in 2015
was 0.87 per cent of GDP, while in Saudi Arabia,
it was 0.82 per cent in 2013, the most recent
year for which data is published. In Kuwait,
2013’s figure was just 0.30 per cent, while
Oman recorded 0.25 per cent in 2015.
Many other Arab countries, especially those
in turmoil because of conflict, have much lower
R&D spending. However, investments in R&D in
the Arab world are increasing, with the UAE’s
2015 figure almost double that of four years
earlier, while in Saudi Arabia there was a 10-
fold increase in research and development
spending between 2003 and 2013. Spending
worldwide has increased much more modestly,
from 1.97 per cent of GDP in 2015 to 2.23 per
cent in 2015.
When it comes to understanding why the
Muslim world fell behind at the end of the Islamic
Golden Age, Prof Ezzine says that three
factors should be considered. He describes
them as “the rulers, the religious and the rationalists”,
which equates to religion, politics and
science. Understanding how those in power regarded
science helps to explain trends.
Among the key historical figures is Al Ghazali,
a Persian philosopher born in the 11th century.
“He refused the existence of cause and effect
outside the divine will,” said Prof Ezzine,
who shares the view of many observers that Al
Ghazali limited scientific progress in the Islamic
world.
Although the Marrakesh-born 12th-century
polymath Averroes forcefully took a different
view in his writings, defending the philosophy
of the likes of Aristotle against attacks by Al
Ghazali, Prof Ezzine feels that the course had
been set. “It was extremely difficult to rebound
I Shall Love All Mankind.
from Al Ghazali’s spell,” he said. It was, he says,
“the interaction between the church, the scientists
and the politicians” that enabled the West
to pull ahead after a long period of trailing the
Muslim world.
While researchers will continue to have different
interpretations of why the Islamic
world’s pre-eminence in science was lost, Prof
Ezzine is clear that the achievements of the Islamic
Golden Age are often inadequately recognised.
He cites Ibn Khaldun, an Arab intellectual
born in Tunis in 1332 whose writings covered
many subjects. Prof Ezzine says that much of
what was written by Adam Smith, the Scottish
author of the highly influential The Wealth of
Nations, was influenced by Ibn Khaldun.
“The western world took a lot from that period,”
he said. “He came at the end of the Golden
Age, but he’s also a modern man. He came at the
junction between the end of the Golden Age and
the beginning of the modern age, so he’s a great
witness to this metamorphosis, a must to read.”
Prof Ezzine says that new areas of science
can offer insights into historical events and
could encourage better outcomes in the modern
world.
“It’s a very, very wide problem and there’s a
need to do something much deeper … [to] analyse
things in an objective scientific manner using
the new sciences of psycho-cognition, complex
dynamic systems and other new fields to
[develop] more relevant conclusions,” said Prof
Ezzine.
“The objective is to reignite the practice of
science in the Muslim world for the benefit of
Muslims and the rest of the world and for peace
on Earth.” (Return_to content)
Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore (UK)
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