Is President Pervez Musharraf trying to do a Kamal Pasha Ataturk?
Opinion among Indian Muslims is sharply divided after his historic speech where he promised to regulate madarsas and mosques in a sweeping reform to separate politics from education and religion. Conservative sections of Indian Muslims are wary, fearing that the BJP-led government may embark on a similar course, leading to a witch-hunt.
Anis Durrani, chairman of the Delhi Haj Committee, said madarsas operating in Pakistan and India were vastly different in nature. “In Pakistan, most of these institutions are commercially run. They are like shops, receiving funds from West Asia. In India, most madarsas are old and in dire need of money,” he said.
He feared that Musharraf’s remarks are likely to give credence to the campaign that many madarsas in India are breeding grounds of ISI activities.
But members of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board differ. They even see a lesson to be followed here. “We will be only too glad if efforts are made to regulate religious institutions. But there should be no discrimination. Let the government of India also check activities of the Bajrang Dal, VHP, RSS shakhas and Bal Shishu mandirs,” said Kamal Farooqui, a member of the board.
He said the Milli Council, a body of prominent Muslims, had already conducted a survey in Rajasthan to check the activities of madarsas and mosques. “I can say it with authority and satisfaction that there was nothing that could be described as suspicious or illegal. Our conscience is clean. Let there be an investigation,” he said.
G.M. Banatwalla, an MP of the Indian Union Muslim League, said there were many misconceptions about madarsas in India. He said a home ministry document had stated that thousands of madarsas had recently mushroomed along the Indo-Nepal border. “We checked and found nothing of that sort so I wrote to the home secretary. I was shocked to get a reply that said that these madarsas were on the Nepalese side.”
Other religious leaders said there were similar misunderstandings over the Deobandi sect. “In India, the Deobandi sect implies those against the worshipping of graves but in Pakistan, the Masood Azhar (Jaish leader) brand of Deobandi militancy has an altogether different connotation,” said Naeem Ur-Rahman, a scholar from the Nadwa school of Islamic learning.
Khalid Rashid, deputy imam of the Lucknow Idgah, and other leaders said Musharraf’s bid to crackdown on Islamic extremists should be seen in the Pakistani context as it has little or no relevance in India.
“India is a secular country so the government should not interfere in religious affairs. If there is a need, the community itself would take the lead to set the house in order,” said Durrani.
Khalid said that under Islam different sets of rules apply in different situations. The holy scriptures talk about codes of conduct in “Darul-Islam” (Islamic state), Darul-Aman (peaceful land) and Darul-Kufr (land of the infidel). Since India is Darul- Aman (land of peace), religious obligations such as jihad have no relevance, he said.
At another level, Musharraf’s speech
has begun a debate in the Muslim community. While a majority favours action
against extremists, some feel the Pakistani President is going the way
of Ataturk who demolished the decaying and defunct Ottoman empire to create
modern Turkey. But many conservative Muslims believe Ataturk’s experiment
failed.