By Riyaz Wani - Indian Express - New Delhi,India
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Last month an unidentified gunman hurled a grenade at a procession of worshippers in South Kashmir led by Abdur Rashid Dawoodi, a prominent cleric of the Barelvi sect. Five people—four of them children—were killed and many injured. While the prompt response from the government and the condemnations from across the state’s political divide contained any immediate fallout of the outrage, the incident brought out into the open the simmering sectarian schism, which over the past two decades has become the undertone to the Valley’s Sufi Islamic homogeneity.
The period of turmoil was crucial. For not only did Kashmir slide headlong into unremitting chaos but its social landscape also witnessed a sweeping crisscrossing of different political ideologies and a drift towards a new Islamic orthodoxy.
Most of the action came in the 1990s. Seminaries and madrassas influenced and inspired by the Deobandi thought, sprang up all over the Valley—their number, a rough estimate says, is 450-500.
Though madrassas in the Valley, in sharp contrast to their counterparts in Pakistan, steered clear of the militant struggle, the effect on the Valley’s traditional religious orientation has been far reaching. Thousands of students graduating from these institutions have started preaching the “pure, intrinsic Islam”, in line with the interpretations of Hazrat Abu Haneefa, the originator of Islam’s Hanfia school of thought followed by the Deobandis.
They look down upon the inherent Sufi leanings of the people who visit shrines and seek blessings of the saints as generally antithetical to the spirit of monotheistic Islam, which doesn’t tolerate a worshipful attitude towards even the Prophet, leave alone saints. And their message is not lost on the people and has in fact resonated in the ears of the Kashmir’s new generation bred under the shadow of a rough Kalashnikov culture.
In fact, a decade and a half on, Deobandi Islam has come to dominate the religioscape of the Valley.
Mufti Abdur Raheem, the Grand Mufti of North Kashmir, proudly admits so. “Most Muslims in Kashmir belong to the Deobandi thought,” he says. Mufti Raheem, however, disputes the fact that Deobandi philosophy owes its rise to the extraordinary circumstances of the past two decades. “Deoband influence in Kashmir has been there since the beginning of the last century. Besides, many of our major Darul Ulooms were set up before militancy started in Kashmir”.
He traces the Deobandi influence to the prominent pre-partition Muslim Conference leader of the Valley, Moulana Yousuf Shah, the granduncle of Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
HOWEVER, this resurgence in religious orthodoxy has been in conflict with the existing Kashmiri Islam, traditionally influenced by Sufism. In fact, Kashmiri Islam cannot even be equated with Sufism, which has more of a subcontinental dimension. The Kashmiri Islam, says the Valley’s prominent historian Fida Hasnain, is called Rishut—named after the indigenous saints of Kashmir who are called Rishis.
Flagbearers of Valley’s Rishut are Sheiklul Alam Sheikh Nooruddin Wali, Shiekh Hamza Makhdoomi, Hazarat Bulbul Sahib and Hazrat Naqshbandi Sahib. The Rishis preached an overwhelming devotion to God and Prophet Muhammad and insisted on the values of tolerance and harmony.So, Kashmiris, particularly women, have always been frequent visitors to the shrines where they seek the saints’ blessings and their intercession in the fulfillment of their wishes.
But Deobandi Islam generally discourages this as being violative of the basic tenets of religion. And they are not alone in doing so. Over the past two decades, the Valley has also been witness to the imperceptible rise of the Jamiat Ahle Hadith, an apolitical religious group, which believes in the supremacy of the Quran and Sunnah, unmediated by any religious scholar. Jamiat, according to its chairman Moulana Showkat, now owns about 600 mosques and five major Darul Ulooms.
On the other hand, madrassas in Kashmir are only a recent phenomenon. They set up base mostly in the Nineties when Kashmir was in the firm grip of separatist militancy. So, their coming cannot be seen in isolation from the larger geo-political situation in the sub-continent, particularly its Afghanistan component.
But over the past few years, the Valley has experienced a renewed groundswell for its Sufi roots. Large sections of the population, particularly in South Kashmir, who were once the dedicated followers of Jamaat-I-Islami, have returned to the influence of Barelvi thought propagated by Abdur Rashid Dawoodi.
Like Sufism, Barelvi Islam does not forbid its followers to seek the blessings of saints, which has been traditionally the way of life for most Kashmiris. And this is also seen as the reason for its fast spread. So the attack on the procession of worshippers — which, according to separatist organisations was the handiwork of Indian agencies—is seen as a reaction against the resurgence of Sufism, which Kashmir observers think has serious implications for the Valley’s prevailing political and religious alignments.
Friday, December 22, 2006
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Friday, December 22, 2006
Clash of Canons
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Last month an unidentified gunman hurled a grenade at a procession of worshippers in South Kashmir led by Abdur Rashid Dawoodi, a prominent cleric of the Barelvi sect. Five people—four of them children—were killed and many injured. While the prompt response from the government and the condemnations from across the state’s political divide contained any immediate fallout of the outrage, the incident brought out into the open the simmering sectarian schism, which over the past two decades has become the undertone to the Valley’s Sufi Islamic homogeneity.
The period of turmoil was crucial. For not only did Kashmir slide headlong into unremitting chaos but its social landscape also witnessed a sweeping crisscrossing of different political ideologies and a drift towards a new Islamic orthodoxy.
Most of the action came in the 1990s. Seminaries and madrassas influenced and inspired by the Deobandi thought, sprang up all over the Valley—their number, a rough estimate says, is 450-500.
Though madrassas in the Valley, in sharp contrast to their counterparts in Pakistan, steered clear of the militant struggle, the effect on the Valley’s traditional religious orientation has been far reaching. Thousands of students graduating from these institutions have started preaching the “pure, intrinsic Islam”, in line with the interpretations of Hazrat Abu Haneefa, the originator of Islam’s Hanfia school of thought followed by the Deobandis.
They look down upon the inherent Sufi leanings of the people who visit shrines and seek blessings of the saints as generally antithetical to the spirit of monotheistic Islam, which doesn’t tolerate a worshipful attitude towards even the Prophet, leave alone saints. And their message is not lost on the people and has in fact resonated in the ears of the Kashmir’s new generation bred under the shadow of a rough Kalashnikov culture.
In fact, a decade and a half on, Deobandi Islam has come to dominate the religioscape of the Valley.
Mufti Abdur Raheem, the Grand Mufti of North Kashmir, proudly admits so. “Most Muslims in Kashmir belong to the Deobandi thought,” he says. Mufti Raheem, however, disputes the fact that Deobandi philosophy owes its rise to the extraordinary circumstances of the past two decades. “Deoband influence in Kashmir has been there since the beginning of the last century. Besides, many of our major Darul Ulooms were set up before militancy started in Kashmir”.
He traces the Deobandi influence to the prominent pre-partition Muslim Conference leader of the Valley, Moulana Yousuf Shah, the granduncle of Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
HOWEVER, this resurgence in religious orthodoxy has been in conflict with the existing Kashmiri Islam, traditionally influenced by Sufism. In fact, Kashmiri Islam cannot even be equated with Sufism, which has more of a subcontinental dimension. The Kashmiri Islam, says the Valley’s prominent historian Fida Hasnain, is called Rishut—named after the indigenous saints of Kashmir who are called Rishis.
Flagbearers of Valley’s Rishut are Sheiklul Alam Sheikh Nooruddin Wali, Shiekh Hamza Makhdoomi, Hazarat Bulbul Sahib and Hazrat Naqshbandi Sahib. The Rishis preached an overwhelming devotion to God and Prophet Muhammad and insisted on the values of tolerance and harmony.So, Kashmiris, particularly women, have always been frequent visitors to the shrines where they seek the saints’ blessings and their intercession in the fulfillment of their wishes.
But Deobandi Islam generally discourages this as being violative of the basic tenets of religion. And they are not alone in doing so. Over the past two decades, the Valley has also been witness to the imperceptible rise of the Jamiat Ahle Hadith, an apolitical religious group, which believes in the supremacy of the Quran and Sunnah, unmediated by any religious scholar. Jamiat, according to its chairman Moulana Showkat, now owns about 600 mosques and five major Darul Ulooms.
On the other hand, madrassas in Kashmir are only a recent phenomenon. They set up base mostly in the Nineties when Kashmir was in the firm grip of separatist militancy. So, their coming cannot be seen in isolation from the larger geo-political situation in the sub-continent, particularly its Afghanistan component.
But over the past few years, the Valley has experienced a renewed groundswell for its Sufi roots. Large sections of the population, particularly in South Kashmir, who were once the dedicated followers of Jamaat-I-Islami, have returned to the influence of Barelvi thought propagated by Abdur Rashid Dawoodi.
Like Sufism, Barelvi Islam does not forbid its followers to seek the blessings of saints, which has been traditionally the way of life for most Kashmiris. And this is also seen as the reason for its fast spread. So the attack on the procession of worshippers — which, according to separatist organisations was the handiwork of Indian agencies—is seen as a reaction against the resurgence of Sufism, which Kashmir observers think has serious implications for the Valley’s prevailing political and religious alignments.
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politics
By Riyaz Wani - Indian Express - New Delhi,IndiaSunday, December 10, 2006
Last month an unidentified gunman hurled a grenade at a procession of worshippers in South Kashmir led by Abdur Rashid Dawoodi, a prominent cleric of the Barelvi sect. Five people—four of them children—were killed and many injured. While the prompt response from the government and the condemnations from across the state’s political divide contained any immediate fallout of the outrage, the incident brought out into the open the simmering sectarian schism, which over the past two decades has become the undertone to the Valley’s Sufi Islamic homogeneity.
The period of turmoil was crucial. For not only did Kashmir slide headlong into unremitting chaos but its social landscape also witnessed a sweeping crisscrossing of different political ideologies and a drift towards a new Islamic orthodoxy.
Most of the action came in the 1990s. Seminaries and madrassas influenced and inspired by the Deobandi thought, sprang up all over the Valley—their number, a rough estimate says, is 450-500.
Though madrassas in the Valley, in sharp contrast to their counterparts in Pakistan, steered clear of the militant struggle, the effect on the Valley’s traditional religious orientation has been far reaching. Thousands of students graduating from these institutions have started preaching the “pure, intrinsic Islam”, in line with the interpretations of Hazrat Abu Haneefa, the originator of Islam’s Hanfia school of thought followed by the Deobandis.
They look down upon the inherent Sufi leanings of the people who visit shrines and seek blessings of the saints as generally antithetical to the spirit of monotheistic Islam, which doesn’t tolerate a worshipful attitude towards even the Prophet, leave alone saints. And their message is not lost on the people and has in fact resonated in the ears of the Kashmir’s new generation bred under the shadow of a rough Kalashnikov culture.
In fact, a decade and a half on, Deobandi Islam has come to dominate the religioscape of the Valley.
Mufti Abdur Raheem, the Grand Mufti of North Kashmir, proudly admits so. “Most Muslims in Kashmir belong to the Deobandi thought,” he says. Mufti Raheem, however, disputes the fact that Deobandi philosophy owes its rise to the extraordinary circumstances of the past two decades. “Deoband influence in Kashmir has been there since the beginning of the last century. Besides, many of our major Darul Ulooms were set up before militancy started in Kashmir”.
He traces the Deobandi influence to the prominent pre-partition Muslim Conference leader of the Valley, Moulana Yousuf Shah, the granduncle of Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
HOWEVER, this resurgence in religious orthodoxy has been in conflict with the existing Kashmiri Islam, traditionally influenced by Sufism. In fact, Kashmiri Islam cannot even be equated with Sufism, which has more of a subcontinental dimension. The Kashmiri Islam, says the Valley’s prominent historian Fida Hasnain, is called Rishut—named after the indigenous saints of Kashmir who are called Rishis.
Flagbearers of Valley’s Rishut are Sheiklul Alam Sheikh Nooruddin Wali, Shiekh Hamza Makhdoomi, Hazarat Bulbul Sahib and Hazrat Naqshbandi Sahib. The Rishis preached an overwhelming devotion to God and Prophet Muhammad and insisted on the values of tolerance and harmony.So, Kashmiris, particularly women, have always been frequent visitors to the shrines where they seek the saints’ blessings and their intercession in the fulfillment of their wishes.
But Deobandi Islam generally discourages this as being violative of the basic tenets of religion. And they are not alone in doing so. Over the past two decades, the Valley has also been witness to the imperceptible rise of the Jamiat Ahle Hadith, an apolitical religious group, which believes in the supremacy of the Quran and Sunnah, unmediated by any religious scholar. Jamiat, according to its chairman Moulana Showkat, now owns about 600 mosques and five major Darul Ulooms.
On the other hand, madrassas in Kashmir are only a recent phenomenon. They set up base mostly in the Nineties when Kashmir was in the firm grip of separatist militancy. So, their coming cannot be seen in isolation from the larger geo-political situation in the sub-continent, particularly its Afghanistan component.
But over the past few years, the Valley has experienced a renewed groundswell for its Sufi roots. Large sections of the population, particularly in South Kashmir, who were once the dedicated followers of Jamaat-I-Islami, have returned to the influence of Barelvi thought propagated by Abdur Rashid Dawoodi.
Like Sufism, Barelvi Islam does not forbid its followers to seek the blessings of saints, which has been traditionally the way of life for most Kashmiris. And this is also seen as the reason for its fast spread. So the attack on the procession of worshippers — which, according to separatist organisations was the handiwork of Indian agencies—is seen as a reaction against the resurgence of Sufism, which Kashmir observers think has serious implications for the Valley’s prevailing political and religious alignments.
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