Where is the moderate’s jihad? The Statesman 06 Dec 2014 Mohammed Nasimul Ghani Muslim extremists have virtually snatched the flag of Islam from the moderates, despite the latter’s overwhelming majority. Moderates have been reduced to silent onlookers. As a result the extremists, who call themselves Islamic fighters, have got a free run. Running rampant, they have made the sword and gun the symbols of Islam! Thanks to these jihadi proponents, Islam no longer stands for peace and tranquillity, it has become a religion of murder, violence, cruelty and terrorism! American and British journalists and aid workers have had to pay the price for the flawed foreign policy of their countries. The American and British policymakers are too selfish to lead the world or to resolve any problem. They have never been peace-makers, they have always been peace-breakers, be it in Palestine or Iraq or Afghanistan or Vietnam. But that is their part of the story and the world knows it. More importantly, extremists are exploiting these anti-American and anti-British sentiments among Muslims and indoctrinating the youth to take revenge in the name of Islam. This is plain politics, which may be nationalistic in nature and spirit but it is not jihad. In jihad the innocents, the non-combatants are spared but now they are being specifically targeted and mercilessly executed and the blood-curdling acts are aired through the Internet to terrorise the world, and all these devilish acts are done in the name of Islam. Are they glorifying Islam or vilifying it? Why journalists and aid workers? Because they are soft targets! They cannot retaliate. Is this the Islam propounded and spread by the Holy Prophet and his holy companions? Islam always protects the weak and the infirm, even if they belong to the opposite camp. This just and upright image of Islam and its proponents popularised the religion down the centuries and people have embraced it worldwide without any coercion. The jihadists are forcibly converting Yazidis and Shia Muslims to their own school of thought. They are tarnishing the image of Islam. They have not just kidnapped innocent journalists and aid workers and executed them, they have adopted the holy dress and appearances of the Prophet and his companions and defiled them. Muslims should respond to the need of the hour, forgetting their Deobandi-Barelvi conflict. These are hard times, not fit for indulging in petty squabbling. Muslim youth are falling prey to Internet-spread jihadi indoctrination. They need proper guidance and inspiration. Their elders can easily and effectively guide them by spreading the true message of Islam (contradicting the false one spread by the so called jihadists), through the well-knit network of Masjid-maktab-madrassa, millions in number, spread throughout the length and breadth of the country. They can begin with the address given before the Friday prayer. It can have a magical effect on the masses. They can spread it house to house on the holy occasion of ‘milad-mehfil’. It is their sacred duty; they are duty-bound to shoulder this responsibility. It is strange that we protest and shout slogans denouncing the cartoonist who painted a distorted image of the Prophet. but when our self-styled jihadists distort and defile his image by their cruel and violent activities, we remain criminally silent and indifferent! When Israelites bombard Gaza and kill civilian Palestinians, we justly condemn them, but when Al Qaida or Taliban or the newly sprouted ‘ISIS’ kill fellow Muslims and other innocents, is it justice? We must make our stand clear that we are against injustice and oppression, even if the perpetrators are bearded, jubba-clad turbaned Muslims. It’s a pity that these kidnappers and hijackers of Islam are equally callous about the fate of the millions of common Muslims who are victimised and targeted for no fault of their own. Many devout and practising Muslims are mentally tortured, many are put into prison, many lose their jobs simply because they resemble the jihadists in their appearance. The fanatics are blissfully ignorant of these sad consequences of their actions. They need to be reminded that ‘jihad’ literally means good efforts and that there are two types of jihad ~ jihad-e-akbar (greater jihad) and jihad-e-asgar (lesser jehad) and that what they are practising is jihad-e-asgar which is equivalent to qital (fighting). Now, qital is an emergency requirement in the process of tabligh (preaching) and it is the last resort, when there is no other option left. Whereas jihad-e-akbar is a life-long process, a regular constant and conscious effort to establish Islamic values in one’s personal life. The Prophet preached and practised this type of jihad till the end of his life, though, ocassionally, he had to resort to qital in trying circumstances to save his life and mission. Do the so called jihadists fulfil these preconditions of qital? Do they follow the holy Quran and Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet) in letter and spirit? If not, (and definitely not) then why must we follow their dictates and passively support them by maintaining silence? If we cannot stop them, then at least we must denounce them and protect our youth from their negative, distorted and destructive concept of jihad. Let this be our jihad ~ peaceful, non-violent jihad. The writer, a freelancer, is based in Raniganj, West Bengal Niladrinath Mohanty • 21 hours ago Many past Muslim rulers in India followed qital.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 19:50:22 +0000
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