View Point                                                                         Abid Ullah Jan

Forsake Religious Parties

We used to call for an alliance of religious parties. Now that we have seen and experienced it in Pakistan in the form of MMA, the case has become stronger to say good-bye to religious parties once and for all. The case becomes even stronger when we witness bloody sectarian events, such as the one in Quetta on July 3, carried by different groups mushroomed under the same banners of defending Islam.

Such acts by the anti-Islam elements only help
strengthen the argument of anti-Islam forces.

Muslims in general and followers of the religious parties in particular need not be so enamoured with the Taliban's rise and fall, the MMA's win or loss or some other religious party's isolated success somewhere else, because the task ahead is far greater than winning elections or passing a Shari'ah bill.

The most serious issue that has emerged in the 21st century is the Western resolve not to let any Islamic government emerge in any country around the world - regardless of its merits and the wishes of millions of Muslims. The myths, such as Shari'ah is inhuman, Islamic governments are repressive and their totalitarian nature would undermine existence of Western societies, have deepened beyond our imagination. It is just a matter of days when individual or groups, working for the establishment of Islamic state, would be declared terrorist and subsequently banned. Very soon the powerful media will blur distinction between the sectarian groups carrying out such bloody attacks and the religious parties claiming be be working for Islamisation of the society in a peaceful manner.

With regard to Quetta incident, we need to keep in mind that Shiite are aligned with MMA, Musharraf has just returned from abroad and is in need of splitting MMA. Record of government agencies in staging such events for proving its indispensability is not hidden from anyone. Nevertheless, irrespective of all these facts and speculations, all responsibility still falls back on the shoulders of religious leadership.

As a direct result of various religious parties - every one claiming to work for the establishment of Islamic state - misunderstanding about Shari'ah has increased to the extent that it seems impossible to make two Muslims agree on a particular form of Shari'ah. Many of the Muslims are unaware of their individual and collective responsibilities and subsequently feel that they are responsible only for their individual acts on the Day of Judgment and the concept of an Islamic state is redundant and irrelevant.

Since Muslims are not fully aware of their responsibilities, they lack the sense of obligation to understand Islam. It further leads to lack of awareness about the core issues as well as the difficulty in differentiating between right and wrong. Incomplete, unplanned and above all self-centred attempts at implementing Islam have further worsened the situation. The most common fear due to the presence of multiple Islamic parties and the untutored mind of common man is that in an Islamic state someone would control if men should keep a beard, wear a particular brand of clothes and be forced to as many different thoughts as the parties there are.

Despite the so obvious lack of understanding and lack of interest to learn, most Muslims love to interpret Islam for themselves. As a result, even though most people in Muslim countries wish for an "Islamic" government, it is impossible for two people to sit down on a dinner table and not disagree over their personal interpretation of religion. The problem deepens when common man sees a coalition of religious parties but not a single religious party with a pool of capable leaders and researchers, equipped with the historical hindsight and geo-political realities of the world to truly understand the complex equation that drives various affairs in their respective countries.

Whether government agencies or sectarian outfits are responsible,
the fact remains that neither would religious leaders have established their separate
showrooms, nor would such elements had a chance to do such bloodletting.
It is thus true that Islam is a challenge to corrupted form of democracy but the present day Muslims are definitely not. Democracy will prevail, no matter how much totalitarian it may become and no matter how many holocausts it may bring upon human beings in the time to come. The present state of affairs will continue as long as Muslims do not seriously undertake the challenge they are facing. Democracy will remain unchallenged as long as Muslims do not understand that Islam does not offer a myopic view of the world.

Actually, two extremes are interpreting Islam for the majority of Muslims who are passive recipients and have refused to move out of their personal comfort zones. Interpretation of the Mullah mentality is out of synch with the present world. Interpretation of the neo-moderate mentality, on the other hand is an aberration.

The energies the religious parties are wasting in throwing out Musharraf or his LFO in Pakistan are far more than they need to utilise in merging their parties into a single party for presenting a model of Islamic state to the world. For that the basics needs to be correctly aligned. They need to understand that Shari'ah serves Islamic system. It is part of the whole. In the prevailing un-Islamic systems in Muslim countries, Shari'ah alone can do no good; rather it would strengthen the corrupt system and harm the image of Islam. Shari'ah is not the burning issue, the system is. Shari'ah is not the challenge, establishing Islamic governance mechanism as a whole is. That is, however, impossible with multiple religious parties with limited public support.

Multiple parties and is nothing more than the negation of the truth of tawheed and violation of the message of Islam.(1) Leadership of religious parties have the tendency to glorify themselves. Many of the organisations are the direct result of their leaders' looking for distinction. Supremacy of Islam is just part of the objectives of their grouping together into an Alliance. They are not ready to relinquish separate party identities because their monopoly of a seat or two in the national or provincial assembly may suffer. So, the stated objective of these religious parties, i.e., establishing the Deen, has in fact become even harder, since the means have become ends in themselves.

This factor is greatly affecting their leadership. It is not only votes that count. They need to establish and run a system as well. The only way they can attract members that are more capable is to join ranks, abandon separate identities and put forward a model of Islamic state before the public. Efforts of groups such as the MMA in NWFP, Pakistan seem an exercise in futility because there is no way they would eliminate Riba and landlordism or amend the constitution Islamically.

Integration of Islam and injustice is impossible. If Muslims failed to take the lesson the easiest way, Afghanistan and Iraq like invasions, occupations and subsequent systematic humiliation is in store for them to let them forget about their petty interests and form the much needed single party to "enjoin the right and forbid the evil." (2) Such a revolution is inevitable. It has to come either with or without a drubbing by the U.S. and its Allies. If the flag bearers of liberal and Mulla extremes in Islam did not bring down their solidified skyscrapers of personal stakes with their own hands, cruise missile will do it for them.

Muslim organizations, working in various countries for the establishment of Islamic system should co-ordinate and constitute "Islamic convergence and integration committees" at national and global level. The sole objective should be removing differences, bridging gaps and paving way for eventual integration of different groups.

The Islamic Convergence and Integration Committees will focus on sorting out the most pressing issues used by the proponents of a "war within Islam" for making the gulf between different groups, parties and so-called liberal, moderate and other kinds of divisions unbridgeable. Since there is only one Qur'an that is untarnished from the scars of time, it would reaffirm the unity of Muslims in the strongest possible terms. Various Islamic groups can re-emerge as a single party - a pressure group - not interested in seats and power, but with a set of demands, which will lead to the establishment of Islamic system, irrespective of whomever then run it.

Such a committee may take years to overcome the present hurdles, which are less conceptual and more personal, but it would be better than continuing to maintain a status quo in Muslim religious research. If the situation remains as it is, there will be no ray of light, and darkness shall prevail, as it has for three centuries - MMA and other such "blips" notwithstanding.

A "correct" implementation of Islam as a Deen, not mere Shari'ah, will only make a country Islamic. Islam will bring peace, not bloodshed. Human rights will be protected, not violated. People will become prosperous, not poorer. Children will grow up to be healthy and strong, not weaker. National wealth will not be plundered but safeguarded. People will learn to tolerate and respect other opinions, and not kill and maim in mosques. This is what must happen if Islam is practiced in letter and spirit.
What religious leaders need to understand is that their parties and alliance for establishing Islamic state do not make any sense; a single party does. There could be different parties within an Islamic state, but different parties for establishing an Islamic state make the task impossible. Blinders of self-interest may not let leadership of religious parties see this reality. It is time for their followers to see if their separate identities make any sense or serve any interest in the larger interest of their core objective.

End Notes:
1. "And be not of the Mushrikoon (unbelievers). Of those who split up their religion and became sects." Al-Qur'an 30:30. "And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them." Al-Qur'an 3:105. "And do not dispute (with one another) lest you lose courage and your strength depart." Al-Qur'an 8:46.
2. A-Qur'an, 3:110.