Dear Mr. Yoginder Sikand
I am really grateful to you for enriching my knowledge on use of God
for terrorist activities. I don't know how God is feeling after
Mumbai carnage. There is no doubt that extreme hatred was active
behind this carnage. The terrorists were well known that in their
mission they would either be caught or killed. The hatred in their
hearts was so much severe that such a certain possibility could not
stop them from taking away of innocent lives. Therefore, there is no
scope to consider this incident lightly. Mere pious words are not
any solution. We know very well that majority of the people of this
sub continent are peace loving. I am thankful to the Indian people
for their patience and I am hopeful that they will pass such ordeals
successfully in future too. It will certainly weaken the evil plots
of the conspirators. Side by side, I urge the incumbent governments
of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to deal with this problem in a
pragmatic way. As long as we indulge in committing sin we have no
moral right to blame outsiders for our own miseries. We are urgently
in need of self-criticism and self-evaluation.
Regards
Pintu Kanungoe
Professional
--- In mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com, "yogi sikand" wrote:
>
> Terror in the Name of God
>
>
> By Yoginder Sikand
>
>
>
> "Never forget that the life of this world is only a game and
> a passing delight, a show ….the life of this world is nothing but
means of deception:.
> (The Quran, Al-Hadid: 20)
>
>
> "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" (Baba Guru Nanak
> Sahib)
>
>
>
> According to media reports, it is possible that the recent
> deadly assault on Mumbai was masterminded by the Lashkar-e
Tayyeba, a
> Pakistan-based self-styled Islamist terrorist outfit. Whether the
attacks were indeed the handiwork
> of the Lashkar, as is being alleged, or of some other agency, such
as the CIA
> and the Israseli Mossad, as others believe, remains to be fully
investigated,
> but there can be no doubt that radical Islamism, like radical
Hindutva, poses a
> major threat to peace and security in both India and Pakistan.
>
> What makes such terror-driven self-styled Islamist groups
> thrive in Pakistan?
> It would appear that the very foundational myth of Pakistan, the
so-called 'two nation
> theory' on which the country was founded, is itself conducive to
militaristic
> interpretations of Islam. In a mirror image of the thesis
propounded by the
> early ideologues of Hindutva—that the Hindus and Muslims of India
were two
> entirely different nations and that the latter could live in India
only if they
> agreed to turn Hindu or else be stripped of all civic rights—the
ideologues of
> the Pakistan movement claimed that the Hindus and Muslims of pre-
Partition India
> were two irreconcilable nations that could not live together. On
the basis of
> this specious argument, they demanded a separate state for the
Indian Muslims.
> This is how Pakistan
> came into being.
>
> Thus, the very basis of the Pakistan movement was the myth of
> undying hatred and hostility between Hindus and Muslims. This so-
called
> 'two-nation theory' remains the official ideology of the state of
Pakistan, and
> is taught to every Pakistani child in school through carefully
doctored
> textbooks. To question the theory, as many Pakistanis privately
do, is
> considered a punishable crime and as akin to sedition.
Accordingly, the
> Pakistani state has, since its inception, seen its survival as
being crucially
> dependent on actively promoting as well as indirectly abetting
anti-Indian and
> anti-Hindu sentiments. As movements for autonomy in provinces
increasingly
> restive of Punjabi domination mounted, first in the erstwhile East
Bengal, and
> then in Baluchistan and Sindh, the Pakistani
> state came to increasingly rely on an instrumental use and cynical
manipulation
> of Islam and on the bogey of Hindu or Indian domination to ensure
its survival
> and increasingly threatened legitimacy. Naturally, this expanded
the space and
> scope for groups, not just the Lashkar, but scores of others as
well, who
> claimed to speak in the name of Islam to whip up anti-Indian and
anti-Hindu
> sentiments. For them hatred of India
> and the Hindus were considered as among the defining features of
Pakistani
> nationalism.
>
> The rise of the Lashkar and similar self-styled jihadist
> groups thus cannot be understood in isolation from these broader
political
> processes. These groups received a major impetus under the
American-backed and
> hugely unpopular military dictator, General Zia ul-Haq, who
cynically backed
> radical Islamist groups to win public support as well as to pursue
the
> CIA-funded war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. It was at
around this
> time that self-styled Islamist groups began entering the political
arena in a
> major way, setting up political parties and fighting elections.
This led to all
> sorts of compromises, to widespread corruption and to rapidly
escalating
> militancy by different Islamist groups competing with each other
to prove to
> the electorate their purported claims of representing and speaking
for Islam.
> The more obscurantist a group's approach was with regard to a
whole host of
> issues—women's rights, the Kashmir question, relations with India
and so
> on—the more ardently 'Islamic' it considered itself to be and it
presented
> itself so to the public whose support it sought to win.
>
> Under Zia, several dozen radical Islamist groups were
> liberally funded by the Saudis and the Americans in the war in
Afghanistan,
> but soon these went out of control. They turned against their
American patrons
> and started dreaming of exporting their self-styled jihad to the
rest of the
> world. Some of them, including the Lashkar, even went to the
extent of calling
> for the establishment of a global so-called Islamic Caliphate and
for
> conquering the entire world under the 'Islamic flag'. Whether or
not the
> leaders of these groups actually believed all this bombastic
rhetoric no one
> can say, but it certainly appealed to vast numbers of youth,
particularly from
> impoverished families, who were fed on a steady diet of fanciful
tales about
> the luxuries they would wallow in if they died or were 'martyred'
in the cause
> of what was presented to them as a divine mission.
>
> These groups went on to serve what were seen as the strategic
> interests of the Pakistani state, as for instance in Kashmir,
where they were
> sent to battle Indian forces as well as Kashmiri nationalist
groups struggling
> for a sovereign Jammu and Kashmir, which would be independent of
both India and
> Pakistan. Since Pakistan was
> a crucial ally of the West, America
> chose to remain mute in the face of these developments. Likewise,
these groups
> were solidly backed by the Pakistani state in its desperate effort
to install
> the pro-Pakistan Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and this also
received
> American support. The Lashkar set up several training camps in
Afghanistan and
> gave the Taliban considerable military and moral support.
>
> It is thus the consistent assistance given by the Pakistani
> state to self-styled Islamist groups that has allowed them to
flourish in the
> country, so much so that now, when the Pakistani state has itself
begun to face
> an immense threat from these very groups, it finds itself
helpless. It is an
> indicator of how powerful these groups have become in Pakistan that
> even though the present government might want to clamp down on
them it cannot
> do so. Large parts of Pakistan
> are today characterized by extreme lawlessness where the writ of
the state does
> not run. Decades of cynical manipulation of Islam by the Pakistani
state for
> the narrowly construed ends of Pakistan's
> elites have now led to a situation where even if the state wants
to curb these
> self-styled Islamist groups it finds itself helpless. Powerful
sections within
> the Pakistani state apparatus, including in the ISI and the Army,
are fiercely
> averse to taking any action against these groups, and are said to
be consistently
> providing support to them.
>
> But is the Pakistani state serious in its claims of being
> determined to take on Islamist terror groups that have mushroomed
across the
> country? It appears not, just as the Indian state has not taken
any serious
> steps against Hindutva terror groups in India. The Pakistani
government
> claims to have banned the Lashkar, to have frozen all its assets
and to have
> put its leaders under arrest. But ample indications exist to
suggest that, in
> actual fact, the Lashkar is being permitted to operate freely
after being
> conveniently allowed to change its name and re-christen itself as
the Jamaat
> ud-Dawa. The Jamaat ud-Dawa's website is freely accessible on the
Internet,
> relaying incendiary, hate-driven speeches of its senior leaders,
who seem to be
> under no control whatsoever. The Markaz's magazines in English,
Arabic and Urdu
> continue to be published, with a reported circulation of several
hundred
> thousand. On a visit to Lahore three years ago I chanced upon a
bookshop in the
> very heart of the sprawling Urdu Bazaar that specializes in
Lashkar literature
> that spews venom and hatred against India and the Hindus, but also
against a
> whole host of Muslim groups that the Lashkar does not consider
genuinely
> Islamic—including the followers of the Sufis, the Barelvis, the
quietistic
> Deobandi-related Tablighi Jamaat and the Shias, all of which it
brands as
> 'enemies of Islam' or their 'agents'. And, I was told, despite the
fact that
> the Lashkar was officially 'banned', it still operated from its
headquarters in
> Muridke, not far from Lahore,
> and also managed several dozens of centres across the country
under various
> names. Is one to imagine that the Pakistani government is so weak
in the face
> of radical groups as to be unable to close all these institutions
down?
>
> In this context, the question arises as to why Pakistani
> civil society has been unable to effectively challenge the
venomous (and what
> I, as someone who has studied Islam for the past two decades,
regard as a
> wholly distorted) version of Islam that is propelled by self-
styled Islamist
> groups such as the Lashkar. This issue is particularly intriguing
given the
> fact that radical Islamist groups have consistently received only
a relatively
> small share of the vote in successive elections, indicating that
their
> hate-driven vision of Islam does not appeal to the majority of
Pakistani
> people.
>
> There are several reasons for this, among the most salient
> being the fact that the liberal, progressive middle class in
Pakistan is very
> miniscule, the country still remaining largely feudal, tribalistic
and
> extremely patriarchal in its set-up and ethos. Efforts by the few
liberal
> Islamic scholars that exist in Pakistan to articulate progressive
> interpretations of Islam on a range of issues—including women's
rights,
> relations with non-Muslims and relations between India and
Pakistan—have
> generally met with stern opposition and even violence from
Islamist outfits,
> with some of these scholars being forced to flee for safety to the
West. The
> sheer fear of being killed for publicly opposing radicals and
their perverted
> brand of Islam keeps numerous progressive thinkers in Pakistan
> silent, thus perpetuating a vicious circle in which the radicals
are allowed to
> go unchallenged. Furthermore, the state has consistently denied
space to
> progressive Islamic scholars, fearing their potential for dissent
from the
> official view, seeing the radicals as more pliable and amenable to
manipulation.
> This explains, for instance, the fact that despite its
bombastic 'Islamic'
> credentials, Pakistan
> is yet to produce any well-known Islamic intellectual who has
sought to deal
> creatively with the manifold demands and challenges that modernity
poses. The
> status of Islamic, in addition to social science, research in
Pakistan is
> woeful, and this can be explained, in part, by the fear on the
part of the establishment
> of voices of dissenting scholars that might challenge ruling
myths. The fact
> that Pakistan
> spends less than 2 per cent of its budget on education and that
numerous
> Vice-Chancellors of Pakistani universities are retired army
generals are indicators
> of this mind-set.
>
> Terrorism—and this includes terror resorted to by non-state
> actors as well as by the state—today poses a grave threat to the
peoples of
> both India and Pakistan. Islamist and Hindutva terrorism feed on
each other,
> while posing to be each other's most inveterate foes. I recall
reading some
> years ago—I cannot recall where, though—the perverse pleasure that
a senior
> Lashkar expressed when the BJP-led NDA government came to power.
Syed Maududi,
> the chief ideologue of the Jamaat-e Islami, who can be considered
the major
> architect of modern-day Islamism, is on record as having declared
that he would
> prefer India to be an officially Hindu country to being secular
because that
> would further his case for the 'Islamic state' that he dreamed of
establishing
> in Pakistan. Islamist outfits in Pakistan
> find ready fodder for whipping up anti-Indian and anti-Hindu
passions by
> pouncing on acts of terror and anti-Muslim violence spearheaded by
Hindutva
> groups in India,
> often abetted by the state. Likewise, gruesome acts of terror
committed by Pakistan-based
> Islamist groups are quickly seized upon by Hindutva forces in
India to
> further demonise Muslims and to build their Hindu vote-bank. Hindu
and Islamist
> terror thus enjoy a symbiotic or mutually beneficial relationship
while
> claiming to oppose each other. This obvious fact must be
recognized when
> conceiving responses to the challenge of terrorism in our region.
>
> There are no easy solutions to the predicament we find ourselves
> in today. But there is surely at least one thing that we must do,
and this was
> suggested to me by the noted New Delhi-based Arya Samaj scholar,
Swami
> Agnivesh, who has consistently been speaking out against all forms
of terror,
> including in the name of Islam and Hinduism as well as state
terrorism. The
> most effective way to challenge terrorism in the name of religion,
Swami
> Agnivesh suggested, is for Muslims to denounce and stiffly oppose
terror
> engaged in by self-styled Islamic groups who claim to speak in the
name of
> Islam, and for Hindus to do likewise with regard to terror spread
by militant
> Hindu groups. Sadly, today, the approach
> of many of us to the phenomenon is selective and skewed, with many
Hindus denouncing
> only the terror unleashed by self-styled Islamist groups, and many
Muslims
> denouncing only acts of terror masterminded by Hindu groups. At
the same time,
> many Hindus and Muslims continue to turn a blind eye to, or even
support, forms
> of terror being perpetrated in the name of the very religion which
they claim
> to follow.
>
> And there is something else that we need to do as individuals,
> and I have found that this simple principle works wonders even at
a very
> personal level. It might sound 'unfashionable'
> or even 'purile' for those who do not find any place for God in
their lives,
> but for millions of people in India
> and Pakistan
> who do believe in some higher force, no matter what they name it,
it would
> strike an immediate chord.
>
> This principle I owe to Rano Devi, a landless Dalit labourer
> from the Bhil tribe who had been released through the efforts of a
human
> rights' group from slavery-like conditions in the estate of a
powerful
> landlord. I Rano met while on a visit to Sindh in southern
Pakistan three
> years ago. A powerful woman she was—dark and tall, and walking
proud and erect.
> A courteous hostess, she welcomed me into her one-roomed hovel
built on a
> scrawny patch of land that a social activist friend of mine had
provided her
> and plied me with milk-less tea and a roti,
> which was all that she could afford.
>
> Rano told me her story, of how she was enslaved by a
> landlord, who happened to be a Muslim, and who kept her for four
years in
> shackles. Then, after a protracted legal
> battle, she was released through the efforts of my friend and his
comrades, all
> of who happened to be Muslims.
>
> She went on to enunciate a simple but very compelling
> principle thus:
>
> 'Live for your religion, don't die or
> kill for it. Express your religion through love and service, like
the brothers
> who rescued me did, not through oppression, murder and mayhem, for
that is a
> heinous crime in God's eyes. After all, we are all accountable for
all our
> actions to God. To Him we shall return after we die, when He will
decide our
> fate till eternity based on our deeds in this world'.
>
> 'If we were to realize that this world is temporary and that
> real, eternal life starts after death,' Rano continued softly,
tears welling up
> in her eyes, 'and if we were to constantly keep this in mind,
perhaps people
> would dread to misuse God's name for un-Godly acts'.
>
> And there was another thing that Rano said that inspires me
> as I write these lines:
>
> 'We call Him Ishwar, and Muslims call Him Allah, but He is
> one and the same', said Rano. 'There are good people in every
community, just
> as there are bad people, too. Just as that landlord who enslaved
me claimed to
> be a Muslim, the brothers who freed me were also Muslims. And
there are both
> good and bad people among Hindus as well. Remember that, brother.
It is only
> when good people in every community join hands that this Hindu-
Muslim problem
> or the problems between India
> and Pakistan
> can ever be resolved'.
>
> That sage advice from this impoverished Pakistani Dalit woman
> is, to my mind, a basic premise we need to start from in our joint
struggle
> against terror in the name of religion and national chauvinism.
>
>
>
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