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This isn’t really about the
shrines and their desecration by
a lunatic fringe. The issue here
is about a very tiny, extremist
minority trying to hijack the
glorious message of a great
faith that came as a blessing
for the whole world
AIJAZ ZAKA SYED
If it were possible for Islam to
sue anyone for defamation and
constant assaults on its image,
many of its so-called followers
would perpetually find
themselves in the dock. All the
combined efforts of the enemies
of the faith may not have
visited as much damage on its
pristine image as caused by its
own misguided, overzealous
followers.
As if we didn’t have enough of
the madness and havoc wreaked by
Al-Qaeda and assorted fellow
travelers in the name of Islam
over the past decade and half,
we now have to contend with the
lunatics of Mali’s Ansar Dine,
the so-called defenders of
faith, and Nigeria’s Boko Haram.
Ansar Dine, a group comprising
Tuareg rebels and Al-Qaeda
extremists, has outraged
everyone including Muslims
everywhere by destroying several
centuries-old shrines, including
a 15th century mosque in
Timbuktu.
The vandalism has provoked
scathing denunciation by UNESCO
and the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation with the latter
describing the mosques and Sufi
mausoleums as part of “Islamic
heritage.” The International
Criminal Court has rightly
described the wanton destruction
of the monuments — on UNESCO’s
list of world heritage sites —
as “war crimes” and has
threatened legal action.
Sometimes called the City of 333
Saints, Timbuktu is or was home
to a large number of mausoleums
and mosques, celebrated for
their unique style of
architecture. Once known as
Cairo’s African daughter, the
city was the cradle of Islamic
learning and civilization in
Africa during the golden age of
Islam.
For centuries Timbuktu has
proudly stood at the crossroads
of Africa, Europe and the Arab
world as a symbol of Muslim
quest for excellence and putting
the lie to colonial fiction that
history and progress in the
continent began only with the
arrival of Europeans. For more
than a thousand years, it had
been a trading hub and the place
where the camel met the canoe,
as the old legend would put it.
Goods from the Mediterranean
coast and salt from the north
were traded for gold from the
south. The ancient city’s
libraries are home to thousands
of rare Islamic manuscripts and
books.
All that is now under assault by
people who call themselves
Muslims. Since Saturday some
seven ancient monuments have
been demolished by the men
wielding pickaxes and shovels,
literally pulverizing a rich
legacy. The destruction began
with the attack on Timbuktu's
independence monument. The
militants have vowed to destroy
all 16 of the city’s major
shrines, including three ancient
mosques — one of them dating
back to 1327.
The brigands are now in control
of the northern Mali, including
its fabled city of Timbuktu. A
spokesman for Ansar Dine
justified the action saying the
group was acting “in the name of
God” and would destroy every
mausoleum in the city. “God is
unique. All of this (visiting
shrines) is haram (forbidden),”
insisted the spokesman, Sanda
Ould Boumama, reminding one
chillingly of the destruction of
the Buddha statues in
Afghanistan.
The 6th century twin Buddha
statues, standing at an altitude
of 2,500 meters (8,202 ft) were
razed to the ground by the
Taliban in 2001 defying appeals
by a horrified world, months
before the regime itself came
tumbling down in the wake of
9/11.
Doubtless, the student militia
had done some good things for
Afghanistan, including putting
an end to the internecine
bloodletting, restoring law and
order and cracking down on the
curse of opium. Today, however,
the Taleban are only remembered
for the Bamiyan, their absurd
curbs on women’s education and
of course for hosting a certain
Sheikh. That’s how it is. No one
remembers your good deeds; only
bad ones.
So we have been here before. Of
course, there’s no argument with
the fact that Islam strongly
believes in and preaches the
unity of God and frowns on all
iconography and idolatry
practices. Since many of these
mausoleums, especially in South
Asia, have ended up becoming
places of worship with visitors
praying and prostrating before
the grave and seeking the
particular saint’s intercession
with God, visits to shines are
looked down upon by many.
Islam is a very simple and
democratic faith, if you will.
It brooks no go-betweens and
their intercession. This is why
we don’t have a clergy. No one
comes between the man and his
Creator.
This is apparently why Al-Qaeda
and its affiliates have targeted
the popular Sufi shrines in
Pakistan, including that of
Lahore’s legendary Data Gang
Bakhsh, in the past and this is
why the brigands seem to be
going after the prized monuments
in Timbuktu. But this can only
explain, not justify in anyway
the outrage in Mali.
No one has a license to go about
destroying mausoleums and graves
of pious men who spent their
life time in propagating Islam’s
liberating message of unity of
God and oneness of humanity. The
destruction of graves is the
ultimate desecration of the dead
and our faith urges us to
respect the dead. Even worst
criminals and enemies of the
religion were accorded this
respect. Would it sanction such
appalling crimes against holy
men who spent all their lives
serving humanity?
But this isn’t really about the
shrines and their desecration by
a lunatic fringe. The issue here
really is about a very tiny,
extremist minority — it can’t be
even called a minority; it’s
more like a small, deadly cult —
trying to hijack the glorious
message of a great faith that
came as a blessing for the whole
world. The Quran repeatedly
describes the Prophet as a
blessing for the mankind, not
just for the Arabs or Muslims.
He forgave his worst enemies,
including those who tried to
kill him, following the fall of
Makkah.
Would the Prophet, peace be upon
him, be pleased with Boko
Haram’s targeting of Christians
in Nigeria? During the past year
or so, hundreds of innocents
have been killed in the Boko
Haram attacks, all in the name
of jihad. Would the Last
Messenger approve of the
continuing attacks in Pakistan
that do not spare even those
quietly praying to their God in
mosques? With defenders of faith
like these, does Islam need any
enemies?
This is not the first time these
questions have been raised by
Muslim and non-Muslim
commentators. Over the years,
Muslim countries have taken
several measures to rein in the
extremists but nothing seems to
work. Groups like Al-Qaeda, born
out of impotent Muslim anger and
frustration against the West,
have mushroomed all over the
world largely because those
policies remain unchanged.
Although Al-Qaeda itself has
been considerably weakened, its
terror franchise and brand value
is far from diluted.
What is clearly needed is a more
proactive approach to take on
this unprecedented challenge to
Islam. The Islamic history is
full of peaks and valleys and
great crises and struggles. But
it has never faced such a
challenge from within, from
people who pretend to be from
amongst us and wreak havoc in
the name of our faith.
Muslim scholars, intellectuals
and nations must come together
to confront the scourge of
extremism. For this ideological
onslaught is deadlier and more
catastrophic than the offensive
the Islamic world once faced
from the Mongol armies or from
Western forces in more recent
times. It’s time to stand and
fight. And all of us, wherever
or whoever we are, must speak up
against these attempts to hijack
our faith and its message. If we
do not speak, the terrorists
will.
Aijaz Z. Syed is a Gulf-based
commentator.
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