poll tax from every non-Muslim tribe that submitted to Muslim sovereignty
and, in fact, in the case of a large number of non-Muslim tribes that were
impoverished, the Prophet paid them a periodic sum of money or goods. 71
These tribes were known as ‘those whose hearts have been reconciled’. 72 In short, there are numerous indicators that the poll tax is not a theologically
mandated practice, but a functional solution that was adopted in response to
a specific set of historical circumstances. Only a fragmentary, superficial or
ahistorical reading of the Qur’an could conclude otherwise.
Conclusion
This chapter aimed to securely anchor the spirit of coexistence and pluralism
as espoused in the Qur’an, the sayings of Prophet Muhammad and the
Rashidun Era. This was not undertaken to explain isolated actions of
people – irrespective of how they justify their actions. Nor was it intended to
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discuss the reasons for behavioural change in minority or majority settings.
Actually, this chapter makes it clear that the normative principles as espoused
by a complete reading of the Qur’an and the Sunnah leave little room to deny
a strong ethic of acceptance of diversity, tolerance of differing beliefs and
upholding the spirit of coexistence. By doing so, this chapter attempts
to articulate an ideal civic culture towards which Muslims are encouraged to
develop. Included in explaining an Islamic civic culture is the ‘myth’ of the
‘Other’, which mandates a comprehensive reading of the Qur’anic text, since
that is greater than the sum of its individual verses. Overall, the Qur’anic
verses cited above establish a coherent philosophical outlook towards the
Islamic civic culture
91
interconnectedness of humanity, life and truth – all of which is established on
the Islamic concept of ‘Tawhid ’ – or the oneness of God.
The current state of geopolitical and socio-economic affairs, along with
perceived injustices, is promoting non-normative frameworks that exacerbate
existing tensions and result in abnormal behaviour. Hence, the spirit of coex-
istence and the ideal of tolerance in Islam cannot be dismissed dogmatically
by uncritical, ahistorical and fragmentary readings of the Qur’an. Tolerance
is not, as suggested uncharitably by glib Western critics, something alien to
the spirit of Islam.73 After all, the lasting historical legacy of civilizational concord and the development of the concept of ‘La Convivencia’ itself, arose
out of Islamic Spain, Portugal and Sicily. Clearly, the principles associated
with ‘La Convivencia’ emanate from the Qur’an and the Sunnah and are
conceptual, mandatory and normative. Therefore, not less but rather greater
understanding and adherence to the entirety of the Islamic message will lead
to individual and societal stability.
With respect to the non-normative framework, discussions of Islam need to
be carried out with a full understanding that the real issue is not about doctrine
or theology, but is primarily about Muslim people and their political life,
which is defined by a legacy of colonial rule and contemporary political
exclusion, with consequent oppression, that continues to this day – disguised
in multiple ways and denied only by those who wish to maintain the current
international status quo. Paolo Friere, in his inspiring work Pedagogy of the
Oppressed, writes:
Never in history has violence been initiated by the oppressed. How could
they be the initiators, if they themselves are the result of violence? How
could they be the sponsors of something whose objective inauguration
called forth from their existence as oppressed? There would be no
oppressed had there been no prior situation of violence to establish their
subjugation. Violence is initiated by those who oppress, exploit, who fail
to recognize others as persons – not by those who are oppressed, exploited,
or unrecognized.74
By focusing on Islam, vested interests have distracted attention from the real
geopolitical and socio-economical struggle. 75 By dismissing analyses of the root Downloaded by [University of Connecticut] at 18:26 09 January 2017
causes, and aggressively dismissing links between foreign policies and corporate
economic strangulation, or ignoring the fact that beyond the poverty, illiteracy
and chronic injustices is the profound impact of political exclusion, great
violence is being perpetrated to portray the hunted as the hunter. This is often
conveyed by the political cost–benefit analysis that characterizes children’s
lives throughout the Middle East as expendable. 76 Granted, ‘[t]he world’s most pressing problems do not result from either excessive or insufficient tolerance
in Islam’; neither are they a result of a caricatured portrait of Islam in the
West.77 Instead, the problem is the perpetuation of tyranny and an international system of oppression. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, oppression
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Islam and Pakistan’s Political Culture
is a ‘prolonged, harsh, and cruel treatment or control’. Also, oppression has the
following characteristics: ‘mistreatment, systematic, institutionalized, socially
condoned, elite sanctioned, of a group, by a group or people acting on behalf
of society as a whole’. 78 And purely economic interests no longer drive the current gulf between the rich and poor – a gulf which is unparalleled in
human history. Instead, it seems to be more a question of power: ‘power to
control and suppress; power to annihilate challenging ideas and provocative
perspectives, especially those that might expose the grave injustices that shape
the world. We are witnessing an age of monumental oppression in which
institutions and mass media play a strategic role in marginalizing opposition’
and manufacturing the consent necessary to sustain global political domination
and economic pillage. 79 We are witnessing greater and ever more restrictions placed on our liberty, masquerading in the name of freedom.
Overall, this chapter shows that the principles of mutual acceptance, respect
for diversity and sincere recognition of different paths to God are verified by the
Qur’anic verses and Prophetic sayings. Clearly, this study posits that those
ideals should be adapted to the present political context of Muslim polities,
which, in turn, would lead to stability. Islam is an idealistic faith – in that it gives its followers ideals to try to attain and live by, both socially and politically. The real world exists in a specific context. Henceforth, a believer must look towards
those ideals and work for their concretization into society. This, precisely, is a
motivating drive for conscientious Muslims today – to move from the real,
where they are, to the ‘ideal’, where they wish to be.
Notes
1 Chak, Farhan Mujahid. ‘La Convivencia: The Spirit of Tolerance in Islam’, in Islamic Studies, 48, (2009): 567–90. This chapter has been significantly revised from the author’s previous article.
2 Kaya, Ayhan. Europeanization and Tolerance in Turkey, (London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2013) p. 11.
3 Marcuse, Herbert. ‘Repressive Tolerance’, in Robert Paul Wolff, Barrington Moore Jr and Herbert Marcuse, A Critique o
f Pure Tolerance, (Boston, MA:
Beacon Press, 1969) p. 95.
4 See, Ismail Raji Al-Faruqi, Trialogue of Abrahamic Faiths (Baltimore, MD: Al-Sadawi Publications, 1991) pp. 2–9.
5 See, John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Downloaded by [University of Connecticut] at 18:26 09 January 2017
Muslims Really Think (New York: Gallup Press, 2007) pp. 3–13.
6 See, Anthony Giddens, Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping our World (New York: Routledge, 2007) p. 3.
7 See, Jeffrey D. Sachs, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (New York: Penguin Press, 2005) p. 1.
8 See, Mohammed M. Hafeez, Why Muslims Rebel? (Boulder, CO: Lynne Reinner Publishers, 2003) pp. 203–10.
9 On 4 September 2005, a BBC panel discussion elaborated on ‘the battle for the soul of Islam’, which avoided any analysis of the root causes of instability.
10 See, Noam Chomsky, Necessary Illusions (Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 1989). See also Edward Said, Covering Islam (New York: Random House, 1981).
Islamic civic culture
93
11 Chomsky, Noam. Pirates and Emperors: International Terrorism in the Real World (Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2002) p. 16.
12 Esposito, John L. ‘Islam and Secularism in the Twenty-First Century’, in John L.
Esposito and Azzam Tamimi (eds), Islam and Secularism in the Middle East
(London: Hurst and Company Publishing, 2000) p. 1.
13 Al-Faruqi, Ismail Raji. Al-Tawhid: Its Implications for Thought and Life, 2nd edition, (Herndon, VA: Amana Publishers, 1994) p. 43.
14 See Qur’an 49: 13.
15 Qur’an: 7: 172. See, Hamid, Eltigani. The Qur’an and Politics, pp. 33–35.
16 See, Qur’an 14: 4.
17 See, Qur’an 16: 36.
18 This reference to the Qur’an also being called the ‘Reminder’ is mentioned in 68
verses throughout the Qur’an. For instance, see Qur’an 3: 58.
19 Qur’an 5: 03.
20 Hadith no. 21257 in the Musnad Ibn Hanbal. http://islamic-replies.ucoz.com/
Number_Prophets_and_Messengers.html.
21 See, Khaled Abou El Fadl, The Place of Tolerance in Islam (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2002) p. 15.
22 Ibid., p. 16.
23 Qur’an 49: 13
24 Qur’an 11: 118–19.
25 Qur’an 5: 49.
26 Qur’an 2: 63.
27 Abou El Fadl, Khaled. The Place of Tolerance in Islam, p. 17.
28 See M.R. Leary and J.P. Tangney, Handbook of Self and Identity (New York: Guilford Press, 2003) p. 3. See also, James E. Cote and Charles Levin, Identity
Formation, Agency, and Culture (New York: Psychology Press, 2002) pp. 19–24.
29 G.W.F. Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit, trans. A.V. Miller (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977) p. 12.
30 See Simone de Beauvoir, ‘Women: Myth and Reality’, in Althea Prince and Susan Silva Wayne, Feminisms and Womanisms: A Women’s Studies Reader
(Toronto: Women’s Press, 2004) pp. 59–65.
31 Said, Edward. Orientalism, (New York: Random House, 1979) pp. 8–18.
32 Qur’an 4: 140.
33 Qur’an 2: 105.
34 Qur’an 5: 61.
35 Qur’an 11: 116.
36 Qur’an 4: 2.
37 Qur’an 5: 57.
38 Ramadan, Tariq. To Be a European Muslim, (Leicester: Islamic Foundation Publishers, 1999) p. 13.
39 See, for details, Abu Bakr Ahmad b. al-Husayn al-Bayhaqi. Sunan al-Bayhaqi al-Kubri, Muhammad ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata’ (ed.), 10 vols, (Makkah al-Makarramah:
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Maktabah Dar al-Baz, 1414/1994) 6: 365–67.
40 Ramadan, Tariq. In the Footsteps of the Prophet, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007) pp. 20–21.
41 Hadith reported by Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Hisham and as authentic by al-Humaidi, and partly by Imam Ahmad.
42 Ramadan, In the Footsteps of the Prophet, p. 22.
43 Ibid., p. 70.
44 Abdul Wahid Hamid, Islam the Natural Way (Kent: Muslim Education and Literary Services, 2004) p. 11.
45 www.tariqramadan.com/An-Open-Letter-A-Call-to-Peace,1369.html.
Sahih
al-
Bukhari, a collection of statements and traditions by and about the Prophet
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Islam and Pakistan’s Political Culture
Muhammad in the Book on Funeral Procession, section on ‘Standing up in
respect of a Jewish Funeral’.
46 www.muhammad.net/morals-and-manners-mainmenu-66/225-rights-of-neighbors-
in-islam.html.
47 Eltigani, Hamid, The Quran and Politics (Herndon, VA: IIIT Publishers, 2004) p. 59.
48 See, Hamid, The Quran and Politics, p. 60.
49 Ibid., p. 61.
50 Qur’an 10: 83.
51 Maalouf, Amin. In the Name of Identity, (New York: Arcade Publishing, 2000) p. 2.
52 See G. Yule. The Study of Language, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996) p. 52.
53 See Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, Foreign Words? 1, available at www.hamzatzortzis.
blogspot.com.
54 Mir, Mustansir. Coherence in the Qur’an, (Indianapolis, IN: American Trust Publications, 1986) p. 10.
55 Jalal al-Din, ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Abu Bakr al-Suyuti. al-Itqan fi ‘Ulum al-Qur’an, (Beirut: Dar Ihya’ al-’Ulum, 1996) 1: 367. Cited in Tzortzis, Foreign Words?
available at: www.hamzatzortzis.blogspot.com.
56 Ibid., p. 4.
57 Ibid., p. 5.
58 See, Abou El Fadl, The Place of Tolerance in Islam, p. 18.
59 See, John Esposito, Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam, paperback edition, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003) pp. 4–12.
60 See Qur’an: 2: 256, 10: 99 and 18: 29.
61 See Fethullah M. Gulen, Towards a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance, (Clifton, NJ: Light Inc. Publishers, 2004) pp. 58–63.
62 See Ahmed Thomson, Islam in Andalus, Part Two, (London: Ta-Ha Publishers, 1996) pp. 3–16.
63 Sunan Abu Dawud. Vol. 34: 4330.
64 Abou El Fadl, The Place of Tolerance in Islam, p. 19.
65 Ibid.
66 See Ramadan, To Be a European Muslim, pp. 125–27.
67 See Qur’an. 4: 90–94.
68 Abou El Fadl, Khaled. The Place of Tolerance in Islam, p. 21.
69 Ramadan, Tariq. To Be A European Muslim, p. 19.
70 Abou El Fadl, Khaled. The Place of Tolerance in Islam, p. 22.
71 See Abu Zackary Yahya b. Sharf al-Nawawi. Rawdat Al-Talibin, 316, quoted in Abou Fadl, The Place of Tolerance in Islam, p. 22.
72 Ibid., p. 23.
73 See, Akeel Bilgrami, ‘The Importance of Democracy’, in Abou El Fadl, The Place of Tolerance in Islam, p. 65.
74 Friere, Paolo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 30th edition, (London: Continuum Downloaded by [University of Connecticut] at 18:26 09 January 2017
Press, 2000) p. 7.
75 See Said, Covering Islam, pp. 2–7.
76 See, Abid Ullah Jan, ‘Limits of Tolerance’, in Abou El Fadl, The Place of Tolerance in Islam, p. 43.
77 Tariq Ali, ‘Theological Distractions’, in Abou El Fadl, The Place of Tolerance in Islam, p. 41.
78 Stanford University Department of Social Sciences, website www.stanford.edu.
79 See Mashood Rizvi, ‘Intolerable Injustices’, in Abou El Fadl, The Place of Tolerance in Islam, p. 69.
Part 2
Contextual and individual
spheres of inquiry
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6
The Pakistan movement and
competing ideologies1
Introduction
This chapter discusses the relationship betwe
en the ‘foundational’ political
values of Islam and its impact on the Muslims residing in the British Raj,
eventually culminating in the Pakistan movement. By doing so, it reveals how
a dialectical relationship between the ‘foundational’ and ‘contextual’ led to
the eventual formation of the Pakistan movement and a quest for a separate
homeland for Muslims residing in the British Empire in South Asia.2 To be clear, in 1947 the British Empire was partitioned; it was not ‘India’ per se, as is
commonly and inaccurately believed. The territory that became Pakistan was, by
and large, culturally, linguistically and racially different to that which became
India. Herein, as well, resides an inherent source of disagreement based on these
very interpretations. It is here, then, that the source of political instability arises, which Malik classifies as a clash of ideologies.3 Actually, Malik uses the term
‘ideology’ as signifying the ‘enduring conflict between the traditionalists and
modernists characterized by mutual negation and denigration rather than
dialogue’.4 This chapter then examines that mutual negation and ideological tussle – a tussle between the ‘foundational’ and the ‘contextual’, with its origins
in diverse understandings of the sacred and the secular.
The relationship between the sacred and the secular is often multifaceted and
perplexing. Religion and the formation of society, including the politicization of
religion into formal institutions, have been, quite often, intricately intertwined.
The ‘divinity’ of the ruler and his unique closeness to a ‘higher power’ was often
explicit, and considerable attempts were made to legitimize authority based
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on such a rationalization. This was particularly true for the Middle East. 5
Consequently, laws governing the temporal life of society were indistinguishable
from laws pertaining to the ‘afterlife’.6 There existed a clear, rational link between ‘where people are’ – this world – and ‘where they will eventually
go’ – the hereafter. Evidently, laws pertaining to religion and society were
integrated to reflect this unanimity in thought. With the advent of Islam, in
this geographical area, that premise did not alter. Rather, it built upon extant
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