The Light English Edition December 2017 issue

ِ 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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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 

External Links 

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We welcome all scholarly contributions to 

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



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 


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



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 


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



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. 


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.



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 


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.



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. 


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)



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) 


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.



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. 


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



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. 


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).



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.” 


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



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 


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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