By Ajaz-Ul-Haque - Greater Kashmir
Sunday, 2 April, 2006
'Sufi Islam’ or what they conveniently call as ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is a sweet but deceptive combination of words which blends mysticism with politics such a way that we can’t decipher what is what? As if Islam alone draws a void, so paring it with Sufism widens the canvass of acceptability. Typical to Kashmir only, it has enjoyed a good reception amongst a particular class of scholars who put a history behind their argument to make it sound more philosophical than it actually is. Borrowing ingredients from what they call a Sufi past, their theory is not too beside the point. With components like communal harmony, religious tolerance and universal brotherhood, there is no scope for even a god defying atheists to deny the message. Unity in diversity has been the human quest since ages. That is an urge which transcends all belief and dogma. So once the message is bruited about, we take it unmistakably as the message of humanity which everyone is in dire need of. But in all this we miss a point that Islam comfortably houses the philosophy of Sufism as an indispensable part of it. The mere use of the term Sufi Islam takes Sufism as a separate slice which it’s not.
Islam, surpassing all dogmatic bindings, sees mysticism as a share of spirit. Those who practiced were the real beatified souls who sought bliss and blessings from one God with whom they were in communion with. Their fight against evil was from within and without both. Those mystics, whichever part of the earth they belonged to, had realized the truth of life. Leaving a lesson of self realization for us, the nobility of their mission, is above board. Holding their bodily desires subservient to the quest of their soul, they embarked on the path of salvation. So the life of Sufis itself was a practical example of what Islam exhorts us to be. May their souls rest in eternal peace.
The West worked hard to divorce politics from Islam and succeeded in coining ‘political Islam’ as the brand of religion which aspires for power and authority. Whether this can be put as a blissful ignorance on their part or a malicious intent to mislead the rest of the world about the universal message of Islam, can be debated.
A sustained intellectual and ideological attempt to denounce Islam erupted in many forms which fall a little beyond the ambit of our discussion right now.
Back home, the problem with us is of a peculiar nature. There have been attempts on intellectual plane to justify pure militarisation of a people by drumming about spirituality and other-word-liness. Well that worked sometimes as an effective sedative to lull a battered lot back to sleep. Kashmiriyat, acted an instant therapy for all abnormal behavior of a nation to have it normalised. Islam in Kashmir was presented ‘mystically different’ from Islam elsewhere. A history of pluralism and tolerance which Kashmir has been known for, was hijacked for a pure political interest. Peace has been our love, no doubt. But we weren’t allowed to be at peace. Who denies the philosophy of co-existence, but for that you need to exist first. Lessons of brotherhood are nothing new, but for that you need not take the trouble of axing it out from a bigger whole which it makes a part of. Islam is Sufism included, Kashmir or outside. Subjecting it to an enforced obedience to a geography is inimical to the very spirit which it stands for.
Iqbal’s Iblees suggests a double strength capsule of melody and mysticism which successfully takes away the joy of a real life from the one it’s practiced on.
Hai vohi shair-o-tassawuf is kay haq main khoob tar
Jo chupa dhey is ki aankhoon say tamashay-e-hayaat
The ‘noble endeavor’ of presenting ‘Sufi Islam’ or ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is directed towards the same end. We are slowly but surely losing the wealth of consciousness without which a nation is more dead than alive. Let’s believe in universal lessons of love, peace and amity, but let not those assets be allowed to count against us. Kashmir may be known for its different crop, different weather and different landscape, but Islam as a universal message of peace remains same here as it’s elsewhere in the world.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Islam is Islam here, there and everywhere
By Ajaz-Ul-Haque - Greater Kashmir
Sunday, 2 April, 2006
'Sufi Islam’ or what they conveniently call as ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is a sweet but deceptive combination of words which blends mysticism with politics such a way that we can’t decipher what is what? As if Islam alone draws a void, so paring it with Sufism widens the canvass of acceptability. Typical to Kashmir only, it has enjoyed a good reception amongst a particular class of scholars who put a history behind their argument to make it sound more philosophical than it actually is. Borrowing ingredients from what they call a Sufi past, their theory is not too beside the point. With components like communal harmony, religious tolerance and universal brotherhood, there is no scope for even a god defying atheists to deny the message. Unity in diversity has been the human quest since ages. That is an urge which transcends all belief and dogma. So once the message is bruited about, we take it unmistakably as the message of humanity which everyone is in dire need of. But in all this we miss a point that Islam comfortably houses the philosophy of Sufism as an indispensable part of it. The mere use of the term Sufi Islam takes Sufism as a separate slice which it’s not.
Islam, surpassing all dogmatic bindings, sees mysticism as a share of spirit. Those who practiced were the real beatified souls who sought bliss and blessings from one God with whom they were in communion with. Their fight against evil was from within and without both. Those mystics, whichever part of the earth they belonged to, had realized the truth of life. Leaving a lesson of self realization for us, the nobility of their mission, is above board. Holding their bodily desires subservient to the quest of their soul, they embarked on the path of salvation. So the life of Sufis itself was a practical example of what Islam exhorts us to be. May their souls rest in eternal peace.
The West worked hard to divorce politics from Islam and succeeded in coining ‘political Islam’ as the brand of religion which aspires for power and authority. Whether this can be put as a blissful ignorance on their part or a malicious intent to mislead the rest of the world about the universal message of Islam, can be debated.
A sustained intellectual and ideological attempt to denounce Islam erupted in many forms which fall a little beyond the ambit of our discussion right now.
Back home, the problem with us is of a peculiar nature. There have been attempts on intellectual plane to justify pure militarisation of a people by drumming about spirituality and other-word-liness. Well that worked sometimes as an effective sedative to lull a battered lot back to sleep. Kashmiriyat, acted an instant therapy for all abnormal behavior of a nation to have it normalised. Islam in Kashmir was presented ‘mystically different’ from Islam elsewhere. A history of pluralism and tolerance which Kashmir has been known for, was hijacked for a pure political interest. Peace has been our love, no doubt. But we weren’t allowed to be at peace. Who denies the philosophy of co-existence, but for that you need to exist first. Lessons of brotherhood are nothing new, but for that you need not take the trouble of axing it out from a bigger whole which it makes a part of. Islam is Sufism included, Kashmir or outside. Subjecting it to an enforced obedience to a geography is inimical to the very spirit which it stands for.
Iqbal’s Iblees suggests a double strength capsule of melody and mysticism which successfully takes away the joy of a real life from the one it’s practiced on.
Hai vohi shair-o-tassawuf is kay haq main khoob tar
Jo chupa dhey is ki aankhoon say tamashay-e-hayaat
The ‘noble endeavor’ of presenting ‘Sufi Islam’ or ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is directed towards the same end. We are slowly but surely losing the wealth of consciousness without which a nation is more dead than alive. Let’s believe in universal lessons of love, peace and amity, but let not those assets be allowed to count against us. Kashmir may be known for its different crop, different weather and different landscape, but Islam as a universal message of peace remains same here as it’s elsewhere in the world.
Sunday, 2 April, 2006
'Sufi Islam’ or what they conveniently call as ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is a sweet but deceptive combination of words which blends mysticism with politics such a way that we can’t decipher what is what? As if Islam alone draws a void, so paring it with Sufism widens the canvass of acceptability. Typical to Kashmir only, it has enjoyed a good reception amongst a particular class of scholars who put a history behind their argument to make it sound more philosophical than it actually is. Borrowing ingredients from what they call a Sufi past, their theory is not too beside the point. With components like communal harmony, religious tolerance and universal brotherhood, there is no scope for even a god defying atheists to deny the message. Unity in diversity has been the human quest since ages. That is an urge which transcends all belief and dogma. So once the message is bruited about, we take it unmistakably as the message of humanity which everyone is in dire need of. But in all this we miss a point that Islam comfortably houses the philosophy of Sufism as an indispensable part of it. The mere use of the term Sufi Islam takes Sufism as a separate slice which it’s not.
Islam, surpassing all dogmatic bindings, sees mysticism as a share of spirit. Those who practiced were the real beatified souls who sought bliss and blessings from one God with whom they were in communion with. Their fight against evil was from within and without both. Those mystics, whichever part of the earth they belonged to, had realized the truth of life. Leaving a lesson of self realization for us, the nobility of their mission, is above board. Holding their bodily desires subservient to the quest of their soul, they embarked on the path of salvation. So the life of Sufis itself was a practical example of what Islam exhorts us to be. May their souls rest in eternal peace.
The West worked hard to divorce politics from Islam and succeeded in coining ‘political Islam’ as the brand of religion which aspires for power and authority. Whether this can be put as a blissful ignorance on their part or a malicious intent to mislead the rest of the world about the universal message of Islam, can be debated.
A sustained intellectual and ideological attempt to denounce Islam erupted in many forms which fall a little beyond the ambit of our discussion right now.
Back home, the problem with us is of a peculiar nature. There have been attempts on intellectual plane to justify pure militarisation of a people by drumming about spirituality and other-word-liness. Well that worked sometimes as an effective sedative to lull a battered lot back to sleep. Kashmiriyat, acted an instant therapy for all abnormal behavior of a nation to have it normalised. Islam in Kashmir was presented ‘mystically different’ from Islam elsewhere. A history of pluralism and tolerance which Kashmir has been known for, was hijacked for a pure political interest. Peace has been our love, no doubt. But we weren’t allowed to be at peace. Who denies the philosophy of co-existence, but for that you need to exist first. Lessons of brotherhood are nothing new, but for that you need not take the trouble of axing it out from a bigger whole which it makes a part of. Islam is Sufism included, Kashmir or outside. Subjecting it to an enforced obedience to a geography is inimical to the very spirit which it stands for.
Iqbal’s Iblees suggests a double strength capsule of melody and mysticism which successfully takes away the joy of a real life from the one it’s practiced on.
Hai vohi shair-o-tassawuf is kay haq main khoob tar
Jo chupa dhey is ki aankhoon say tamashay-e-hayaat
The ‘noble endeavor’ of presenting ‘Sufi Islam’ or ‘Kashmiri Islam’ is directed towards the same end. We are slowly but surely losing the wealth of consciousness without which a nation is more dead than alive. Let’s believe in universal lessons of love, peace and amity, but let not those assets be allowed to count against us. Kashmir may be known for its different crop, different weather and different landscape, but Islam as a universal message of peace remains same here as it’s elsewhere in the world.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment