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Islam and Pakistan’s Political Culture

Page 18

by Farhan Mujahid Chak

us to offer our loyal testimony. This means that the attributes necessary for

  tolerance lie in the inherent ‘connectedness’ of every individual towards one

  another. The momentous significance of this Qur’anic verse is, precisely, in

  laying the foundation for understanding a key component in human nature

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  and human beings’ intrinsic relationship towards one another.

  From that point onwards, the Qur’an further develops the preceding philo-

  sophical outlook by declaring, first, that every nation was sent a guide in their

  own language;16 second, by stating: ‘And certainly We raised in every nation a messenger saying: Serve Allah and shun the Satan’; 17 and, third, in the manner in which the Qur’an refers to itself as the ‘Reminder’. 18 Collectively, these Qur’anic verses develop a narrative of an ‘interconnected’ humanity and

  also share two implicit assumptions: the inherent togetherness in the human

  family and a gradual, evolutionary process towards the perfection of faith. In

  support of this, the Qur’an states: ‘This day have I perfected for you your

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  religion and completed My favour on you and chosen for you Islam as a

  religion … surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful’.19 Upon closer examination, one can only perfect something already created or already set in motion. This setting

  in motion began with the spark of divinity from which every human soul began,

  which planted the seed of spirituality in each one of us. That seed, then, was

  watered and nurtured, through the ages, by a series of Prophets and Messengers,

  ending, according to Islamic theology, with Prophet Muhammad.

  From the beginnings of human life on earth this gradual development of faith

  was initiated by Prophet Adam and would end with Prophet Muhammad. This

  assertion, too, is an indispensable characteristic for nurturing tolerance and

  mandating peaceful coexistence. It does so by pointing to the ‘unity of truth’

  by declaring that all nations and their divinely ordained messengers were

  essentially saying the same thing in different times and to different degrees.

  This is clear when considering the importance of the Qur’an referring to itself

  as the ‘Reminder’. After all, one can only remind someone of something they

  have previously been told.

  To put this in perspective, an Islamic theological articulation of this

  dynamic process of faith could be understood in the following instance: Imagine

  being in a room of complete darkness with your vision having become

  accustomed to the obscurity. In that pitch darkness, you sit with your eyes

  wide open but see nothing. Then, all of a sudden, bright lights are turned on.

  Startled, your most natural instinct is to close your eyes. The intrusive light,

  the conqueror of the shadows, leaves you sightless. You attempt to open your

  eyes but find it difficult, though you persist. It takes time to adjust to the

  light. Slowly, your eyes begin to adjust to the light, but only if you keep

  trying. You could very well just turn away and keep your eyes closed, securing

  the darkness. However, your instinct chooses to confront the intruding light,

  refocus its energy, and eventually become accustomed to it. Clearly, too much

  light at once blinds you. Similarly, too much information at once is over-

  whelming. A sudden illumination of knowledge – without time to refocus and

  adjust, makes one want to run for the security of ignorance. Confronted with

  things that will remain forever, one needs to embrace them slowly.

  The Qur’anic history of religion follows a certain pattern that is based on the

  dynamic process of faith. First, Prophet Adam was given divinely sanctioned

  knowledge. Then, this spiritual process of enlightenment slowly continued

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  throughout the ages with the Prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus until it

  reached its climax with Prophet Muhammad. This continuous development of

  faith, beginning with Prophet Adam and culminating with Prophet Muhammad,

  included numerous other Messengers, Prophets and guides. In total, according

  to Prophetic sayings, there were 124,000 Prophets and messengers who were

  chosen to remind humanity of their purpose and were unanimously revealing the

  unity of God, humanity, and truth.20 From this, it is plausible to extrapolate that Confucius, Buddha, Socrates, Zoroaster, and a host of others could be included

  in this category of Messengers, as long as they came before Prophet Muhammad.

  This is evidence of the inherent inclusive vision in Islamic sources of legitimacy.

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  Islam and Pakistan’s Political Culture

  Granted, many Muslims may or may not accept this. However, the evidence is

  striking and one may argue persuasively for this inherent ethic in Muslim

  theology.

  While the Qur’an recognizes the legitimacy of other faiths, it reserves for itself

  the designation of the ‘perfection of faith’. Still, as Khaled Abou El Fadl affirms, this does not exclude the possibility of other frames of thought.21 Throughout the Qur’anic discourse, the people of Judaic and Christian religious backgrounds

  are granted a special rank: ‘People of the Book’ – ‘ahl al-kitab’. Others, too,

  were accepted in this tolerant vision, with particular titles of being ‘protected

  people’ – ‘dhimmi’.22 In addition, the Qur’an clearly accepts the reality of diversity and peaceful coexistence by stating, ‘O humankind, God has created

  you from a male and a female and made you into diverse nations and tribes so

  that you may know each other. Verily, the most honoured of you in the Sight of

  God is he who is the most righteous’. 23 From this verse, the Qur’an asserts diversity as part of the Divine intent and purpose of creation. Supporting that,

  the Qur’an further declares: ‘If the Lord had willed, He would have made

  humankind into a single nation but they will not cease to be diverse … And for

  this God created humanity’.24

  That obvious endorsement of human diversity is further strengthened by the

  following verse specifying the notion of plurality of religious beliefs and laws: ‘To each of you God has prescribed a Law and a Way. If God would have willed, He

  would have made you a single people. But God’s purpose is to test you in

  what He has given each of you. So strive in the pursuit of virtue and know

  that you will all return to God in the hereafter, and He will resolve all the

  matters in which you disagree’.25 Here is an explicit endorsement of human diversity – racial, cultural and religious. The emphasis is on ‘the pursuit of

  virtue’ – deeds, not verbal professions, or in other words, you are what you do,

  not what you say. Then, to further reinforce this embracing perspective, the

  Qur’an declares: ‘Those who believe, those who follow the Jewish Scriptures,

  the Christians, the Sabians, and any who believe in God and the final Day,

  and do good, all shall have their reward with their Lord and they will not come

  to fear or grief ’.26 Taken together, these sacred verses indisputably indicate tolerance, plurality, peaceful coexistence and acceptance of the existence of

  other faiths as a reality. Granted, the Qur’an clearly claims that Islam is the

  perfection of faith, though
in my view this does not necessarily exclude the

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  possibility that God would accept other paths to salvation. The Qur’an insists

  on God’s absolute right to bestow His Mercy on whomever He wishes. 27

  The myth of the ‘Other’

  At variance with an interconnected humanity, with each individual being innately

  good, is the prevalent idea of self-image being a dissociative construction of an

  opposing alter-image. In simpler words, ‘I am who I am, precisely because

  I am not you’. Whether in social anthropology or social psychology, analysis

  is on uniqueness vis-à-vis others, or group identification leading to a sense of

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  ‘belonging’, which then leads to objectifying the ‘Other’. 28 Be it a narcissistic cult of authenticity, which, in its quest for uniqueness, develops exclusion, or

  analyzing others prior to distinct formation of self-identity, it is clear; there

  is always the ‘Other’ – those who exist outside the realm of all-inclusive

  acceptability. This propensity to define ourselves in opposition to something

  else is a fearful phenomenon in the social sciences. G.W.F. Hegel (d. 1831)

  states: ‘On approaching the other it has lost its own self, since it finds itself as another being; secondly, it has thereby subdued that other, for it does not

  regard the other as essentially real, but sees its own self in the other’. 29 Here, Hegel argues that identity formation results in a clash of self-consciousness,

  between two or more people, that often requires debasing the other. Similarly,

  the pioneering literary masterworks of Simone de Beauvoir took the idea of

  the ‘Other’ and applied it to the manner in which men made women the

  ‘Other’ in order to establish patriarchy.30 Edward Said (d. 2003), too, in his monumental and impacting work Orientalism, eloquently articulates the

  manner in which Arabs and Muslims are denigrated in the construction of a

  European self-identity.31 Collectively, these reputable scholars, while diverging on what constitutes the ‘Other’, converge in describing a tendency to craft

  self-identity by denying, debasing or, in its most menacing manifestation,

  demonizing the ‘Other’.

  Quite the opposite, this article argues that Islamic civic culture, even while

  acknowledging diversity, does not endorse the concept of the ‘Other’ as a

  dialectical clash between ‘in’ and ‘out’ individuals or groups premised on race,

  culture or religion. Plainly, Islam encourages the development of ‘identity’ on

  love of God, through the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad – manifested

  through faith and adherence to principles – and opposes identity premised on

  hatred of a concrete, tangible other. Rather, it emphasizes commonality and

  ‘interconnectedness’. It is noted that there needs to be a contextual analysis of

  why some Muslims, both of the past and in the present, may articulate a

  sharply different viewpoint. However, my aim here is to establish from the main

  Islamic sources a clear and coherent picture of coexistence. Hence, self-identity

  in Islam does not require the construction of a heathen alter-image in a

  sweeping tangible form – be it race, culture or religious persuasion. Granted,

  the Qur’an and the Prophetic sayings arguably mention the oppression,

  ignorance and insulting ‘mocking’ behavior of the ‘disbelievers’. 32 Yet they Downloaded by [University of Connecticut] at 18:26 09 January 2017

  remain an abstraction without form; the emphasis is on what one does. For

  instance, the Qur’an mentions that there are ‘disbelievers’ from ‘among the

  People of the Book’ but it does not lay a sweeping indictment on all of them. 33 It specifies. Disbelievers are described as such based on their behavior of duplicity, 34

  spreading corruption and mischief throughout the earth35 and usurping the rights of orphans,36 not simply because they happen to be non-Muslims.

  More importantly, the Qur’an refers to disbelievers as those who ‘reject faith’37

  and ‘faith’ may be translated in the Qur’anic lexicon as ‘din’ – which, interestingly enough, means ‘binding-together’ or ‘that which binds’.38 In other words, those that are characterized as disbelievers are rejecting that which binds

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  Islam and Pakistan’s Political Culture

  humanity together – those who wish to unbind, separate, exclude or isolate

  people from one another. There is profound symbolism in the word din itself,

  in that it is meant to bring people together with the aspiration of cohesion.

  Note that the Qur’anic emphasis on the ‘interconnectedness’ or ‘unity’ of

  God, truth and humanity is consistent with this definition of ‘din’ as binding

  together. Granted, some may argue that defining ‘din’ as binding is imaginative;

  nevertheless, this definition does correspond with the overall Qur’anic message

  that aims to establish justice, peace and togetherness on earth, which can only

  be accomplished with a corresponding vision.

  Further emphasizing that, the ‘Pact of the Virtuous’ – a historic event in

  which Prophet Muhammad participated – is singled out for its importance in

  dismissing the conflicting concept of the ‘Other’. This alliance, known in Arabic

  as ‘Hilf al-Fudul’ or, simply, the ‘Pact of the Virtuous’ [Hilf al-muhayyibin],

  was the result of ‘Abd Allah ibn Jud’an, chief of the Taym tribe, who decided to

  invite to his home all those seeking an end to chronic conflicts and the con-

  sequent oppression’. 39 Tariq Ramadan, commenting on this monumental pact, states: ‘Chiefs and members of numerous tribes thus pledged their collective

  duty to intervene in conflicts and side with the oppressed against the oppressors,

  whoever they might be and whatever alliances might link them to other tribes.

  This alliance … was special in that it placed respect for the principles of justice

  and support of the oppressed above all other considerations of kinship or

  power’.40 From it, Ramadan, rightly, deduces a primary lesson and quotes Prophet Muhammad, who recalls the incident: ‘I was present in Abd Allah

  ibn Judan’s house when a pact was concluded, so excellent that I would not

  exchange my part in it even for a herd of red camels; and, if now, in Islam, I was

  asked to take part in it, I would be glad to accept it’.41 Here it is striking to note the manner in which Prophet Muhammad acknowledges the legitimacy of

  principles, specifically those of justice and ending oppression, above and beyond

  where they are initiated. Emphasis is on whether the act is in accordance with

  the overall Islamic vision, as it is, in this case, to ending oppression. After all, Prophet Muhammad was praising the motivation and outcome of an alliance

  that had begun prior to him receiving Divine revelation. Ramadan elaborates

  further by suggesting that:

  the message of Islam is by no means a closed value system at variance or

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  conflicting with other value systems. From the very start, the Prophet did

  not conceive the content of his message as the expression of pure otherness

  versus what the Arabs or the other societies of his time were producing.

  Islam does not establish a closed universe of reference but rather relies on

  a set of univers
al principles that can coincide with the fundamentals and

  values of other beliefs and religious traditions (even those produced by a

  polytheistic society such as that of Makkah at the time).42

  This, too, is a clear and outright rejection of an exclusivist and isolationist

  philosophy.

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  To further emphasize the Islamic spirit of peaceful coexistence and pluralism,

  which naturally delegitimizes the concept of the ‘Other’, the following seven

  examples will be offered. First, when Muslims were being persecuted in the

  early days of the Prophet’s mission, he was informed by God to tell his

  Companions to seek refuge with a pious Christian king in Abyssinia. Upon

  arriving in Abyssinia, this small, weak, and persecuted group of Muslims was

  granted asylum. This historical event, well documented in Muslim history,

  remarkably displays the ability of Muslims of the time to positively interact

  with others. It offers a powerful and approving symbol for interreligious

  interaction. More importantly, this incident took place in the formative phase

  of Islam’s growth and development. At this juncture, the Christian King of

  Abyssinia, by providing sanctuary to the Muslims, saved them from imminent

  annihilation. As a consequence one may reasonably presume that racial, religious

  and cultural interaction is normal for Muslims, both on a theoretical and

  on a practical level. Likewise, Prophet Muhammad, solely by virtue of sending

  the persecuted Muslims to Abyssinia, establishes a premise of not viewing

  Christians as the ‘Other’. Conversely, where a particular Muslim society feels

  the pressures of intimidation and threat, then that would naturally lead to

  inwardness and isolation.

  Second, inclusiveness was displayed by Prophet Muhammad when he entered

  Makkah under the protection of a pagan Arab, al-Mut’im ibn ‘Udayy: “Finally,

  the Prophet sent a man from the tribe of Khuza’ah to al-Mut’im ibn Udayy, the

  leader of the Banu Nawfal ibn Abd Manaf, asking for his protection. Al-Mut’im

  agreed, immediately called his people and told them to put on their armour

  and place themselves at the corners of the Ka’bah to provide protection to

 

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