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18/07/08

Knowledge, Ideology and Modernity

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Rise of violence in the Muslim world is the biggest challenge that Muslims are

facing today. In this post 9/11 world when terrorism is considered the biggest threat to

humanity, Islam itself is coming under fire in the west. In addition and what is even more

disturbing is that more and more Muslims are starting to believe that religious fanaticism

has its roots in religion and are thus becoming increasingly secular in the name of

modernity. On the flip side there are Muslims who think that Islam is under threat from

the west while the modernists and liberals are twisting their religion just to please their

western masters. This paper will try to discuss in detail some of the reasons behind rising

violence among Muslims and the part played by the west, the liberal and the so called

fundamentalist in the rise of terrorism.

The first and foremost reason is ignorance. Muslim scholars have been grappling

with the problem of renunciation of the Islamic intellectual tradition since the start of the

20th century. According to Joseph E. B. Lumbard, the rise of violence in the Muslim

world is a symptom of what he calls a cancer of the decay of intellectual thought1. Lack

of knowledge gives rise to ideology. Both the modernists and the doctrinal literalists2

have forsaken knowledge and in turn taken up their respective ideologies. On one hand

the literalists have twisted Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) to promote violence and suicide

killings while on the other the modernists have completely discarded it believing it is an

obsolete way of life, impractical in this modern age. The modernists try to correspond

Islam with Western principles through an apologetic approach. Both of them have been

1
See Islam, fundamentalism and the betrayal of tradition: 39.
2

A term used by Lumbard in place of fundamentalist. Agreeing with his philosophy behind the replacement
I shall use the same term.

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indoctrinated. Both are guilty of ignorance, of abandoning Islamic intellectual tradition

and thought. This ignorance is also causing the gulf between these two extremes to

increase unceasingly.

Having lived all my life in Pakistan, I have experienced first hand the broadening

of this gap between Musharraf’s ‘Enlightened Moderated’ Muslim and the so called

‘Fundamentalist’. I myself have been stuck for too long now at a crossroad, a junction,

confused as to which path to follow. I have even reverberated between the two, only to

find myself back in the same dilemma. The enlightened moderated Muslim thinks Islam

is medieval; a code of life that is no longer applicable. Surely in the three major cities of

Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi western culture is rampant. Musical evenings and dance

parties are not only organised but also promoted and advertised openly. On such

gatherings you can easily find non practicing Muslims and if you are lucky you might

just run into someone who out rightly denies the existence of God. Just one conversation

will be enough to make it obvious to you that such people are absolutely ignorant and are

indoctrinated to western philosophy without research or knowledge. On the other

extreme, the ‘Maulvi sahib’ of a common mosque in Peshawar will be arousing the

Muslims for direct action in his Friday sermon. In his supplication, pleading to Allah to

destroy and annihilate the infidels, the non Muslims and his favourite enemy, America.

His ignorance is starkly evident as well.

Having said all this it must also be recognised that it is not easy for every person

to educate himself about Islam, its teachings, its roots, its philosophies, its tradition,

Islamic jurisprudence, the roots to Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic history and the works of

prominent Muslim scholars and philosophers in history. The ‘Maulvi sahib’ in the

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mosque has not done that and certainly the atheist at the party hasn’t either. Therefore it

is easy for people to bind themselves to an ideology which ever their intelligence (aql)

thinks is right. It is the easy way out in face of the daunting task of seeking knowledge

(ilm) about all those fields in Islam. However the Islamic education given in the secular

schools of Pakistan and other Muslim countries is clearly insufficient, inadequate and

sometimes even misleading. The Islamic intellectual tradition is not only absent in the

curricula, it is not even mentioned that it exists. A typical student of such a school would

not even know that Islam has an intellectual tradition. He wouldn’t even have heard the

names, Hasan Al-Basri, Al-Ghazali, Al-Shafi, Imam Malik as of course none of us in the

class had. And therefore it is only logical that he will follow the western ideals because

that is the only intellectual thought he has ever been exposed to. The ‘Maulvi sahib’ was

educated in a madrassa where he was taught a narrow literal Islam3. In a small,

windowless room he crammed Quran without knowing what it means and what the great

Muslims in history interpreted it to be. How then can the Maulvi sahib be a guide to a

person studying in a secular school when they stand on two extremes? The secular school

students or at least most of them do not even consider the Maulvi sahib to be educated

enough or wise enough to guide them. How can the Maulvi sahib become a guide to a

nation with whom he has absolutely nothing in common?4

3
Mohammad Akram Nadawi in his book “Madrasah Life” has painted a beautiful picture of Dar al-Ulum
Nadwat al-Ulama in Lakhnow. The madrasah he got educated from. This institution is one of the few
distinguished madrasahs in India and Pakistan combined. The majority of madarasahs are quite contrary to
this institution. Of course exceptions like Dar al-Ulum exist but they are like shinning stars in an overcast
dark night.
4

This line was said by Mufti Kamalluddin in class.

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Now we come to the part played by the West in the rise of violence

amongst the Muslims. Lumbard equates religious extremism with a hydra5.

Cutting one or two heads of the beast will only bread more of the same. He says

that the solution sought by the American led coalition does nothing more than

beget the same violence from whence it was begotten. I absolutely agree with him

and the facts and figures do too. Since the start of the war on terror, terrorism has

increased many folds. Attacks, acts of violence and suicide bombings happen on a

much more regular basis in 2008 than they did in 2001. Suicide bombing is a

household term now while back in 2001 people would have been flabbergasted at

the idea of a person killing himself just to murder a few others. Now suicide

bombings are so common that few even wonder what caused the suicide bomber

to take such a drastic step. The reason for this in my opinion is that the coalition

forces have failed to win the hearts and minds of Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan

and the rest of the world. They are seen as invaders rather than liberators.

Incidents like those in Abu Ghuraib have further stained their reputation.

However, I think this is only the secondary reason. The primary is still the

Muslim abandonment of Islamic intellectual tradition.

Another Islamic tradition that has been forsaken by the modern Muslim is

spirituality (ihsan). The love for Allah has changed into His fear in the heart of

the modern Muslim. This has caused him to become much more proactive and

violent in his stance. Sufis were the most influential in bringing Islam to India,

black Africa and Southeast Asia. But their tradition has now been abandoned. T.

See Islam, fundamentalism and the betrayal of tradition: 39.

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J. Winters writes about the legacy of Sufism6. He says it is based on mercy and

justice, forbidding the targeting of civilians and conforming to the ethical ideals

of a just war. Sufism forms no part of modern terroristic radicalism. The modern

version of Sufi tradition is twisted and very different from its origins. At Sufi

shrines today you will only find music, dance and people trying to achieve ecstasy

through drug use. That mysticism, the inner development that characterised a Sufi

is no more. That purity of heart is lacking. The freedom from the self (nfs) is no

more. Imam Mohammad al-Mawlud writes about how people might think they are

free but in reality they are slaves to their inner selfs7. They may claim to be free

yet they cannot control themselves of gluttony in the presence of food or from

illicit sexual relations when the opportunity presents itself. Such an idea of

freedom, he says, is devoid of content. Such is the plight of the modern Muslim.

He is running after material things, after worldly affairs, not realising that this

world is but a moment8.

So what is the solution to this predicament that the modern Muslim faces?

According to Maulana Thanvi it lies in the revival of traditional Islam9 and I agree

with him. The modernist instead of following the West blindly and trying to

conform his religion to Western ideals, should find the essence of Islam which is

in wisdom and spirituality. The literalist who believes in reforming Muslims

forcefully should instead rectify and reform his inner self first and strengthen his

6
See the poverty of Fanaticism in Islam, fundamentalism and the betrayal of tradition :290
7

See Purification of the heart by Hamza Yusuf :16

8

Words of Imam al-Shafi taken from Knowledge and Wisdom: 99

9

See Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition:111/112

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intellectual and moral soundness10. Both of them must abandon their respective

ideologies. Throw their ideologies out of the window and start from scratch.

Unlearn and relearn. They must re-educate themselves of the Islamic tradition and

Islamic intellectual thought. While for the generations to come the reform of the

education sector is immensely important. The gap between a madrassa student

and a secular school student must be bridged or at least narrowed to what ever

extent possible. Madrassas must be aided financially and otherwise so that this

institution can return to its former glory. Islamic tradition must be taught at

secular schools so that the flame of faith might be rekindled in hearts of the

students of such institutions. The West must also recognize and engage with the

Islamic tradition because it is still the voice of the majority of Muslims.

Furthermore, as according to Maulana Thanvi the Muslims themselves must

reclaim their heritage from the modernist and the literalist. The salvation of the

modern Muslim lies in the revival of Islamic intellectual and spiritual tradition

which is the true face of Islam.

10
Maulana Thanvi’s ideas in Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition: 112