| Defending Indefensible Cultural Practices | |||
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By: Kishan Bhatia December 31, 2006 Views expressed here are author’s own and not of this website. Full disclaimer is at the bottom. 
FeedbackIf God created universe then it makes Him responsible for creation of all faiths. I suppose if God were ever to speak to the last prophet who maintains that his is the only “true” faith; to such a prophet God may say, “To continue with creation I need my space.” Muslim elites, especially those including overseas Pakistanis (OPs) settled in adopted secular nations in the West vigorously propagate a preferred image of Islam with “peace and justice,” the classically liberal idea. The other facet of Islam is orthodoxy and a culture of hate, intolerance and abuse of women. The propagators of the “peace and just” Islam cannot just wish away the vast majority of orthodox Muslims who culturally harbor hate and intolerance for non-Islamic faith and following Koran, Shariah and Hudood ordinances subjugate and abuse women, etc. The existing unacceptable state of culture will continue to dominate as long as 57 Muslim majority members of OIC are devoid of a critical mass of critical thinkers capable of instituting a renaissance in the Um’mah, which represents the sphere of active Muslim believers. The policy makers in Muslim majority nations are handicapped due to a lack of a body of trained critical thinkers. For example, according to a World Bank (WB) expert the nuclear weapon’s capable Pakistan’s colleges and universities don’t teach economics, political science, sociology and anthropology the way they should be taught. I add math, sciences, logic and philosophy to this short list of subjects. Just as such graduates in politics, government and bureaucracy are poorly equipped to handle social and economic issues so are elites outside government equally ill-equipped to correctly analyze events or situations of national significance. Globally, more than a billion believers practice Islam in Muslim majority members of OIC, the Um’mah. To counter tarred image as a result of global jihad – terrorism - and issues associated with women, a liberal view - Islam stands for peace and justice - is emphasized by elites residing in secular Western lands. It is an effort to defend indefensible Muslim social and cultural practices by diverting attention away from globally observed abuse of women, hate and intolerance of non-Islamic social, cultural and political norms, which includes freedom of expression to publish commentaries and cartoons critical of a select set of Muslim beliefs that are unpalatable in the secular liberal nations. They argue that practices of freedom of expression does not entitle secularist to be critical of Muslim beliefs. Bah, humbug! Globally, defenders of orthodoxy in Islam indulge in terrorism - call for jihad – by asking for settlement of international disputes to their sense of justice, by denying women basic individual freedoms, by demanding women must wear some form of veil in public to display modesty, etc and by setting up parallel societies to practice medieval Arabic Islamic culture in adopted secular lands ignoring local established social, cultural, economic and political norms. Granted women have been ill-treated by followers of other faith; in South Asia one only has to review the history of British India and Muslim rule starting with 10th century. Professor Urvashi Butalia in her book, “The Other Side of Silence,” (Duke University Press, Durham, 2000) has recorded voices from the partition. Within the space of two months in 1947 more than 12 million people were displaced. A million died. More than 75,000 women were abducted and raped. Countless children disappeared. Homes, villages, communities, families, and relationships were destroyed. Judging from the continued abuse of women and religious minorities in South Asia, very little appears to have been learned from the human dimension of this tragedy. The politicians of soon to be India and Pakistan were guilty of not making adequate preparations for averting carnage and migrations that followed the partition of British India. In eyes of Punjabis, Sikhs, Sindhis, Biharis, Uttar-Pradeshis, and Bengalis, etc who suffered enormously, in addition to the British envoy Sir Cyril Radcliff entrusted with drawing the borders dividing India and Pakistan, the notable villains were Chaudhry Rahmat Ali, poet Mohammed Iqbal, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Liaquat Ali Khan and Husayn Shaheed Surhaworthy among Muslim leaders and Lala Lajpat Rai, Pundit Nehru and his many Hindu and Muslim (e.g., Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad) associates in the Congress Party. During pre-independence planning negotiations, the leaders displayed a disregard for safety and security of all those who had to flee. They were determined for immediate independence from more than a century old British occupation of India; some claim they were blinded by a test of immediate independence at any and all costs. To rationalize continued excesses by Muslims, many Islamic elites claim that extremists are a minority of Muslims. Sometimes they present history not as it is but highlight some Muslim traditions or practices, for example, Sufi that are consistent with a preferred view of peace and just Islam. They quote Koran, which like its precursors old (Jewish) and new (Christian) testaments is a collection of Surahs, verses, that cover divergent subjects including social and cultural practices prevailing in tribal Arabia of medieval period, particularly that of 6th and 7th century. Original Koran is in fourteen hundred years old Arabic and that offers opportunities for current translators of Arabic Surahs some leeway to incorporate interpretations consistent with temper of the translators. In South Asia context, according to an understanding of Allama Iqbal’s poetry quoted by a Muslim American resident scholar – an emeritus professor with knowledge of Western philosophy, referring to Iqbal, he stated that, “(Iqbal) might add that there is no need to call upon reason to discover the moral order for us, for God has already spelled it out.” For believers Koran is the word of God - a declarative disclosure that it is the revealed truth – to place it beyond logical examinations. If you have good critical thinking skills but for some reason are not motivated to deploy them you will reach conclusions and make decisions no more rationally than someone without those skills. For those with blind faith the notion of reason based faith is unacceptable. Often Arabic Surahs are quoted along with current interpretations to propagate the preferred view ignoring the orthodoxy embedded in Koran. The Muslim American professor offered a rebuttal to a view published in the Washington Post by Ms Asra Nomani that abuse of women by Muslims is based on a set of Koranic Surahs. The professor quoted another set of Surahs with his “new and improved” interpretations to counter her views. As a critical thinker, using a “stealth” mode, the resident American scholar is unwittingly defending indefensible view - globally noted Muslim practices of abuse of women. The elites settled in the West know or should know that it is the globally observed Muslim social, cultural and political practices that define global image of Islam, not a proclamation that it is a religion of peace and justice. The irrational orthodox-radical-fundamentalists have instituted global jihad by coupling their ideology of jihadi terrorism against the will of those targeted for attacks. If ishq, “passion” guided propagators of Islam ignoring aql (reason) and without confronting the radicals believe that insisting - Islam is peace and justice - outside the Um’mah and specifically in the West will somehow change from tarred to acceptable global image of Muslim culture, they need to reflect on, “God is not pleased by blood and not acting reasonably is contrary to God’s nature.” At least that’s what we of non-Islamic faith in tune with rationality and reason believe. Rational and reasonable people know that the “just” society requires freedom of religion and protection of individual property rights. Arab socialistic political Islam is for state ownership of all property and the authority for interpretations of Koran and Shariah is centralized with Muslim clerics. The radical-fundamentalist clerics among orthodox Muslims follow traditional Arab tribal practices of medieval period, not the modern day secular and liberal practice of peace and justice for all irregardless of individual religious beliefs. Pakistan government in 1970s incorporated Shariah and Hudood ordinances in its legal system, which not only provided legal cover for the abuse of women but also for clerics who systematically forced conversions of non-Islamic faith followers to Islam. Over a period of 59 years of its existence the percentages of non-Islamic followers in Pakistan has been reduced from more than 20% to less than 5%. Consistent with sectarian biases of ruling elites, Nobel Laureate Prof. Abdus Salam, an Ahmediya was branded non-Muslim along with all Ahmediya Muslims for social and political persecution. Contrary to wide spread abuse of women and non-Islamic minorities by orthodox Muslims who practice the Shariah in many Muslim majority states of the Um’mah, many elite propagators of Islam for peace and justice argue for “social justice” and “global justice” for Muslims. The political opportunist, orthodox Muslims, fundamentalist radical clerics and power-hungry autocrats dominating the governments of most Muslim majority states ignore fundamentals such as government is to protect individual rights of all citizens of any faith and provide for common defense. Instead, the rulers and forces dominating Muslim majority follow practices that are fascism with a face of Islam, such as jihadi terrorism demanding settlement of international disputes to suit their version of justice, abuse of women to their sense of morality, and hate and intolerance of non-Islamic minorities by justifying their sense of Koranic teachings. The sectarian violence is now claiming up to 200 murders per day following installation of a democratically elected Iraqi government under supervision of occupying American and NATO forces. Is it just me or has anyone noticed an outcry by the Um’mah or even by the propagators of the “peace and just” Islam to initiate political settlement of rivalries among Iraqi Shias and Sunnis to neutralize the raging sectarian war in Iraq? It is for such reasons, I maintain that the Islamic Um’mah is fissiparous and the concept of the Um’mah ignores age-old sectarian practices by Muslims to settle political disputes instigated by undemocratic political opportunists among radical and fundamentalist clerics, orthodox-power-hungry autocrats and elites obsessed with inferiority of Muslim political power. Repression of masses is a wide spread cultural practice in the Um’mah. An excellent example of repression in the Ayatollah dominated Iran by an Islamic jurist who acted as the judge, jury and executioner of a group of Kurds in Iran (1979) and the journalists who photographed and his bosses who published it was documented (WSJ, Dec. 2-3, 2006) exposing the hidden history of chilling photographs. The propagators of Arab social political Islam, who use terms such as “social justice” and “global justice” for Muslims apparently don’t realize that these terms are not only nonsensical conceptions-superstitions produced by “sloppy thinking,” but worse - pretext for coercion and thus beliefs threatening “free civilization.” Then again, it is oxymoron to connect two concepts, the radical-orthodox Islam and “free civilization” that empowers all its citizens’ with basic individual human rights and protections! Among many weaknesses of Muslim practices, in addition to abuse of women, repression of masses and discrimination of non-Islamic faiths is their aversion to modern education designed to cultivate critical-thinking by study of math, sciences, philosophy and any other subject that promotes reason, the basis for modern scholarship. Arab and Turkic invaders of India starting with 10th century, the Sultanate period, systematically destroyed Hindu India’s well-established educational infrastructure for higher education – universities at Taxila (near Rawalpindi, Pakistan), Nalanda (Bihar, India), Ujjain (Rajasthan, India), etc. Not a single Sultan or Mughal king who ruled parts of India for nearly 900 years established even one school of higher learning to replace what they destroyed in Hindu India. Lacking tools of modern scholarship about 40 successive generations of South Asians lost opportunity to develop critical mass of critical thinkers necessary to empower disadvantaged population with modern scholarship to inhibit backwardness and blind faith, dominant since the medieval period. In recent times, the Deobandi Muslim thought germinated in India originally to promote scholarship until it fell under the spell of Muslim orthodoxy, under the sway of Shah Waliullah’s rigid views. Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) educated thousands of Muslims, and tried to equip Muslims with the tools of reason and logic so Muslims could compete in a rapidly changing world. The AMU founder Sir Syed Ahmad Khan tried but failed to develop a critical mass of critical thinkers to modernize thinking of all except a small minority of Muslims of South Asia. By examining influences of passion the Muslim culture of hate and intolerance propagated by orthodox-radical-fundamentalist clerics of Taliban and al Qaeda variety may be rationalized. A typical example is quoting a verse by poet Allama Iqbal on ishq (passion). One only needs to consider aql (reason) to dispute intolerable influence of ishq responsible for rigid attitude and irrational behavior associated with the orthodoxy. Is there a credible Muslim philosophy linking ishq and aql? Western philosophy of David Hume and others may offer a link between ishq and aql. A rational examination using the Western philosophy suggests that it is time for Muslims to consider notion of finding strength in the aql to temper ishq guided Islamic faith. Europeans mastered and exploited modern scholarship to build a second-to-none military power to pursue economic power through commerce to dominate the world after the renaissance period in Europe. The Um’mah has yet to experience the renaissance period, which in Europe signified the rapprochement between Biblical faith and Greek philosophical inquiry (reason). Unless the Muslim scholars bring about the renaissance of the Um’mah by engaging in the rapprochement between the Islamic faith (the blind ishq) and reason (aql) the radical-fundamentalist repressive Islamic culture, not the liberal Islam of “peace and justice” is most likely to continue to dominate. On the subject of the repression of Muslims, the UN Commission on Human Rights for 2005 provides an interesting insight. Looking at the last century of political turmoil in the 57 Muslim majority members of OIC, I wondered if the UN data supported claims of the “peace and just” Islam? The UN data shows that outside of Iraq and Afghanistan, Muslims of the Um’mah are repressed by fellow Muslims. Islamic or not, a culture represented by the political Islam that systematically promotes repression of a vast majority of its society can’t be just and the repressed population can hardly be at peace and harmony with itself. The OPs and governments practicing political Islam ignore the “Pottery Barn Rule” that state “you break it, you own it.” Having chosen to make a comfortable life in secular liberal West, the OPs regurgitate a view that is inconsistent with and are in denial of existing social reality in the Um’mah as they defend indefensible. Out of a billion people in the Um’mah, 25% of the population lives in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Of 800 million illiterate Muslims in the Um’mah more than 200 million illiterate Muslim men and women live in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The female illiteracy rate in Bangladesh and Pakistan is 68% and 65%, respectively. So, who is keeping 800 million Muslims illiterate? Is it ishq, aql, orthodox Islam or a lack of courage among ruling elites and leadership to promote a life-style based on liberal ideal of “peace and justice,” guided by a synergy between rational ishq and aql? Lacking adequately educated, healthy, confident and contented population living in harmony with itself a vast majority of citizens of the 57 members of OIC continues to remain in backward societies. Next time, if proponents of the liberal idea of “peace and just” Islam wish to direct attention away from the hate, intolerance, women suffrage, etc prevailing in Islamic majority nations, they should remember not only the UN Human Rights data but also a series of commentaries by Dr. Farrukh Saleem in The News ( http://thenews.jang.com.pk/ ) in his regular Sunday column for past several months on plight of women, veil, culture of abuse of women, degraded and pitiable state of education in Muslim majority lands, etc. Unlike rigid orthodox Islam the liberal faiths represent religions of joy and celebration. Rational faith and reason are two wings on which human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth. Kishan Bhatia
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