Roses Among Thorns

An estimable fact about Indian Muslims is that even when the whole world has been in the grip of “Islamist radicalism”, most notably in West Asia, the community has been untainted of taking active part in transnational fanaticism. Barring a few fanatics, no one from India crossed borders to fight wars on the side of extremists, despite a regular online campaign to entice youth.

Similarly, a jihad was waged in Afghanistan, our neighbourhood, in the 1980s against the Soviet Union, and hordes of faith fighters had assembled there, and later fanned out to spread the venom in the vulnerable geography of the world. But none from 180 million Muslims in India had joined the ranks of the “holy war”.

When Al Qaeda was recruiting from across the globe, Indian Muslims spurned its call and ideology vehemently. Later, when its most vicious variant – Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS), or Daesh – raised its head and ran a fervent media campaign to win over gullible youths, very few Muslim names appeared among its cadres and they were also coerced to join the group after being kidnapped from Gulf countries.

What has worked for Indian Muslims as a protective pivot against extremist radicalisation? It’s India’s deep-rooted syncretic ethos that are not only prevalent in Indian society, but are enshrined in the country's Constitution. Despite constant challenges, the country has been a robust democracy. Plus, Indian Islam has been built on the bedrock of sufi traditions that believe in a tolerant view of other faiths and an all-encompassing living.

It however doesn’t mean that Indian Muslims are out of danger. As challenges within India and from abroad are multiplying day by day, the possibility that extremism and radical thoughts can seep into Muslims, especially youths, is visible on the horizon.

Out of the 36 terror groups proscribed in Schedule 1 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 14 are Islamic. These include Pakistani groups and indigenous Kashmir-based groups.

Alarm clock is ticking and it is incumbent upon enlightened Indian Muslims to counter radical tendencies wherever and in whichever form they are visible in the Indian milieu. In fact, they also have to open an active front against radicalism by devising counter-radicalism narratives.

Countering Extremist Text

In India, while the dominant Islamic discourse revolves around Sufism and veneration of saints, a strong strain of hardline thoughts also thrive, being disseminated through prominent seminaries. To be precise, these thoughts can be termed Salafi or Wahhabi stream of doctrinaire canons. Kitab al-Tawheed (The Book of Monotheism), authored by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the 18th century, is considered the bible of this doctrine. Its various spin-offs have been written by other scholars. All these texts interpret a particular portion of Muslim history and selective injunctions of Quran and hadiths to prove that it is duty of Muslims to convert people of other faiths to Islam and wage a battle to found a state which will have to run as per strict strictures of Shariah, or the divine law.

A milder form of Wahhabism exists in the subcontinent in the form of the Deoband theological school and a wide net of small and big madrasas that follow Deobandi revivalist canon. Similarly, a section of Indian Muslims seek guidance from somewhat more sophisticated organisations like Jamaat-e-Islami that have also followed the theory of Political Islam as propounded by its founder Maulana Abul Ala Maududi and Egyptian ideologue Syed Qutub. Maududi articulated what author Vali Reza Nasr has described as a “binary vision” that divided the world into “Islam and ‘un-Islam.’”

Even though suppressed for various reasons and aptly countered by Sufi ideals, these extremist thoughts and texts have lingered in the hard line doctrine. Even the aforementioned books continue to be printed. It thus poses a latent danger that must be nipped before it metamorphoses into a sudden demon and the whole community begins to be demonised anew behind this alibi.

The most potent way to build a case against extremist thoughts is that educated and well-informed Muslim youth should launch a wide-ranging awareness campaign. They should address the youth from multiple fora and dissect the anatomy of extremist doctrines. They should make youths aware that such doctrines in the form of the said books were smuggled from lands where some intra-peninsular battles were fought and such literature was needed to recruit fighters for military-political causes and demean sufi traditions. Even in Saudi Arabia, where such doctrine originated, there has been a public ban of literal interpretation of these books and a proper counter-radical department keeps a watch on who makes such literature popular.

Pakistan, Kashmir: Hotspots of Radicalism

No one location poses as potent a threat of throwing Indian Muslim youth into the morass of radicalism as our neighbouring state, Pakistan. The principal threat to India remains the Pakistani state coupled with its proxies, since this source can more efficiently transfer organised terrorist cells to Indian soil than any non-state formation. The networks of Pakistan-backed terrorist groups have, however, been largely dismantled in India over recent years, and it is unlikely that they can easily be restored to past capabilities. The risk of a catastrophic strike persists, however, and India's vulnerabilities are significant.

The Pahalgam attack in Kashmir in February has thus been a wake-up call. In recent years, Pakistan-China nexus has launched a coordinated digital propaganda war on India. It often disguises itself as an informative campaign and even resorts to scholarly messaging. But its sole aim is to erect an anti-India ecosystem that maligns India as a rogue state.

Fortunately, Indian youths, Muslims included, are already active to debunk propaganda of Pakistan. But Still we need sophisticated mechanisms to deal with the Information warfare, particularly Pakistani Turkish disinformation juggernaut.

Muslim youths should take a lead in starting an information blitzkrieg to make it clear that Kashmir is an independent state, well embedded into its parent country and taking part in national life as an equal. Prospering education, culture, employment and the kernel of Kashmiri philosophy – embracing all like a mother – is the most potent counter to Pakistani propaganda.

It must be a banner point of discussion among Muslim youth.

Another major concern is communalism in India. Even though now on a low scale, it has potential to trigger radicalisation. Though on the rise since the 1980s onwards, it has not been able to radicalise Indian Muslims as it was feared. Muslims kept faith in self-healing and the larger harmony in India.

Global Discourse Against Radicalisation

At international level, there is almost unanimity on destructive effects of radicalisation and the resultant terrorism on humanity at large. The United Nations makes it clear: “Terrorism, in all its forms and tactics, targets the very foundations of our societies and directly challenges our shared values of peace, justice, and human dignity. It aims to dismantle human rights, fundamental freedoms, and democracy. It threatens the territorial integrity and security of nations and seeks to destabilise legitimate governments.”

This warning and plea stand vindicated when we see countries like Libya, Sudan, Syria, Somalia, etc. in flames only because certain elements played with sentiments of gullible people and charted their way to power by using extremist religious interpretations.

Therefore, Muslim youths may turn out to be the mascot of such a harmonious model if they cling to a positive approach as taught by great sufi mystics and present their due grievances to those in power persuasively and in a therapeutic way.

The fountainhead of mystic wisdom, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, perhaps suggested this for Indian Muslim youth: “Patience expands your capacity to love and feel peace.” The patience of a rose close to a thorn keeps it fragrant. Muslim youths are the roses of India. They have to learn to live with thorns in the garden we call India, and should not let radicalism blossom.

The writer is the National Chairman of Muslim Students Organisation of India MSO, he writes on a wide range of issues, including, Sufism, Public Policy, Geopolitics and Information Warfare. Views expressed are personal