Jehad and fanaticism

M.J.Akbar is well known as a leading South Asian journalist and writer. He is also the founder and editor in chief of the prestigious publication The Asian Age. He was instrumental in launching and establishing the weekly magazine Sunday and the daily newspaper, The Telegraph. He has written a number of best selling books the most recent of these being THE SHADE OF SWORDS and KASHMIR -- BEHIND THE VALE (Pub: Roli Books 2002).

The first of his books that I read, way back in 1989, was NEHRU -- THE MAKING OF INDIA (pub: Viking Press 1988) and I took an instant dislike, not to his writing which was brilliant but, to his opinions. I found his hero worship for the Nehrus obsequious while his remarks about certain Muslim stalwarts such as Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan appeared to be biased, superficial and dismissive. For example he denounced Sir Sayyid's adoption of western ways as "caricature" but was extravagantly admiring of the westernised lifestyle and the Nehru home in Allahbad complete with electricity, running water and swimming pool, all rarities in that era for most people.

Thus it was with some trepidation that I began to read The Shade of Swords and my apprehensions were not completely unjustified. Akbar in his typical racy and compelling journalese tells the story of the birth of Islam and its immediate success in conquest but his scholarship is shaky and his conclusions often facile. He writes that peace is the avowed aim of Islam but that faith also demands "from time to time, in a holy war defined by specific circumstances, the blood of the faithful in defense of their faith. This is Jehad".

He maintains that Jehad in the militant armed sense has been central to Islam since the Battle of Badr in 624 A.D. when the young armies of Islam faced the numerically superior Quraysh on the field of Badr and won a decisive victory. He says that it is at this point that the spirit of Jehad entered Islam. "It is a spirit that inspires among believers a heroism beyond the bounds of reason; equally it inspires dread among those outside the fold of Allah".

Building on this premise he argues that Islam recognises war as a reality and sets its moral and ethical guidelines.

But this definition of Jehad is certainly not complete because while the point of view of the West may be only that Jehad is the war fought on a battlefield; most educated Muslims are aware that this definition of Jehad is merely the "Jehad al Asghar" that is Jehad in its second and minor role whereas its first and most important meaning for Muslims is "Jehad al Akbar", that is the struggle to know God -- the war fought internally to cleanse oneself of impurities on the path to true submission to the Will of Allah.

Akbar's history too, which gathers together facts and sequences, may be illuminating for non-Muslims (albeit difficult for the uninitiated to follow), but for South Asian Muslims it is disappointing in its lack of depth not to mention some transliteration, spelling and factual errors -- Jesus is translated as Yahya when it should be Isa and so on.

What is more acutely felt is the lack of a dimension explaining and exposing the larger historical ironies which have bred the paradoxes of today. For instance -- Iraq governed by a secular party founded by a Christian nationalist became, for the US and its allies, the symbol of terrorism in Islam while the Saudis, the champions of Wahhabi fundamentalism, have become their allies and friends.

Akbar has the obvious preoccupation with, and bias against, Pakistan that is displayed by most Indian Muslims. He comments on how Pakistan, the homeland for Muslims, turned Jehad into an instrument of state policy from its inception and became "the breeding ground for the first international Islamic brigade in the modern era". This simplification is disappointing because it ignores the larger political question of the role of the army and its intelligence services in Pakistani politics and the paradox Pakistan faces now, trapped by the realisation that discouraging Jehad is self destructive while fomenting it is suicide!

The book leaves one with the overwhelming impression -- one that makes me acutely uncomfortable -- that Islam is a militant faith and perhaps even inherently fundamentalist and intolerant of other world faiths.

If my readings in history have taught me anything at all it is that there is little to choose between the religions in terms of fanaticism, be it in the literal and radical interpretation of scripture or in the propensity for extremism and violence which appears to be a primeval impulse born in Man and little affected by the sobering influence of spirituality or even morality. The impulsive fury of Jehad has become a commonplace topic in recent times but it is too often forgotten that other religions, among them Christianity too, have throughout much of history displayed no less a militant zeal and warrior mentality in furthering their claim over conquered territories.

I find it easiest though to agree with Akbar's conclusion that in an age of despair the need for a hero -- a Saladin -- who can inspire pan-Islamic victories has become acute. It is undoubtedly correct to say as he does that, "There is no such hero on the horizon now and despair can become a breeding ground for mavericks who believe in themselves and their vision of faith."

In "Kashmir -- Behind the Vale" Akbar examines the roots of the identity and culture of the region that has defined conflict for India and Pakistan since the early days of their birth. He says, "Kashmir lies at the edge of India's borders and at the heart of India's consciousness. It is not geography that is the issue; Kashmir also guards the frontiers of ideology. Kashmir was a stabilising force for India. Why has that harmony disintegrated? Why has that promise been stained by the blood of rebellion."

In trying to arrive at credible answers to these troubling questions Akbar concludes that "Kashmir and the mother country are inextricably linked. India cannot afford to be defeated in her Kashmir." A recipe for continued confrontation if ever there was one!

Yasmeen Murshed is a full-time bookworn and a part-time educationist. She is also the founder of Scholastica School.