The Anti-Blasphemy Slogan "Sar Tan Se Juda": Where Do They Drive Theological Legitimacy From?

By Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam 11 October 2022 The Country’s Image Is Being Tarnished By Hate Speech And This Needs To Be Immediately Stopped… Fringe Elements Within The Majority And Minority Communities Are No Less Than Each Other As Hate-Mongers Main Points: 1. The slogan 'Sar Tan Se Juda' was raised during Miladun Nabi processions in different states by the radical Islamists who misused this as an opportunity to create communal tensions. 2. Prophet Muhammad's sacred birthday has traditionally been held in all parts of the country with great religious fervour in a peaceful manner… 3. Threats are looming large to the syncretic Indo-Islamic culture, a symbol of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, pluralism and toleration of Muslims in India…. 4. Theological legitimacy for beheading the blasphemers comes from the Hanbali follower and pioneer of Salafism—Ibn Taymiyyah. But the Hanafi Muslims in India wrongly act upon the Salafist injunction. --------- On Monday, the Supreme Court has rightly observed that hate speech is vitiating the nation's atmosphere, and ought to stop. Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Chief Justice U.U. Lalit were hearing an appeal on the country's increasing hate speech against minority communities. “No action was being taken by the administration to stop such comments”, said the petitioner, Harpreet Mansukhani. In reply, the bench has stated that the petitioner may be correct in asserting that the atmosphere is being sullied by hate speech and that this needs to be immediately stopped. While the usual majoritarian hate remarks before the general elections in 2024, have indeed hurt the minority sentiments especially Muslims in India, the fringe elements within the Muslim community are no less hate-mongers. On Monday, the Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested seven individuals who participated in Jashn-e-Eid Miladun Nabi (celebration of 12th Rabi ul Awwal i.e., Prophet Muhammad's birthday) for allegedly shouting the anti-blasphemy slogan: "Gustakh-e-Rasool Ki Ek Hi Saza, Sar Tan Se Juda" (Beheading is the only punishment for blasphemers of the holy Prophet). A video of the procession on 12th Rabi ul Awwal, also called Barah Wafat in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, has gone viral in which some youths could be seen shouting "Sar Tan See Juda" slogan. Two of the nine individuals who were named in a FIR that was filed, were juveniles. On Sunday, an entirely identical incident took place in Rajasthan's Jodhpur. The same slogan 'Sar Tan Se Juda' was raised in a Miladun Nabi procession. While the festival of celebrating Prophet Muhammad's sacred birthday was being held in other parts of the country with great religious fervour and in a peaceful manner, the fringe elements in the Muslim community took this as an opportunity to create communal tensions. Thus, they have brought great defamation not just to the particular Barelwi sect to which the individuals subscribe, but also to all those who celebrate the Milad-un-Nabi and take out processions (Julus) on this auspicious occasion. In Amravati, Maharashtra on Monday, the same case has been filed against 8 to 10 unidentified individuals for shouting "Sar Tan Se Juda". During the Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession (Julus-e-Muhammadi) in Amravati's rural neighbourhood, the controversial slogan was being raised which is has been widely shared in an online video. In the virtually viral footage, some participants in the Julus could be clearly heard shouting "Sar Tan Se Juda." As a result, a case was filed in the Paratwada police station of the Achalpur district of Amravati under sections 153A, 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and 135 of the Mumbai Police Act. Several complaints have now been lodged in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra in which it has been alleged that some radicalised individuals among Muslims have been trying to cause communal disharmony through such anti-blasphemy sloganeering. Some influential observers and community watchers, enraged by this fresh spate of incidents, warn of the threats looming large to the syncretic Indo-Islamic culture, something which is known as a symbol of Ganga-Jamuni Tahzeeb, pluralism and toleration of Muslims in India. Every year, a peaceful and multicultural celebration of Milad-un-Nabi takes place across the country. But what has now changed that we have seen with horror that some miscreants in the name of Jashn-e-Eid Milad-un-Nabi were giving the nefarious war cry. Amethi which is historically known for the shrine of famous Indian Sufi poet and Pir Malik Muhammad Jaisi (1477– 1542) who penned down the first-known narrative of Rani Padmavati in the Awadhi language, was never defamed like this. But this year, a procession of Julus which was taken out to mark the holy Prophet's birthday drawing hundreds of people together at the Sufi saint Jayasi's shrine had a portion of the gathering which seemed to be in an aggressive mood. Slogan of 'Sir Tan Se Juda' was spelt out by a few in the procession. This comes as a big surprise in the wake of media reports telling us that a day before the Prophet Muhammad's birthday, i.e. October 8, it was instructed by Muslim organizations that the slogan of 'Sir Tan Se Juda' should not be raised in the Milad-un-Nabi processions or any other programs related to 12th Rabi ul Awwal. In fact, the All India Muslim Jamaat, a socio-religious Indian organization led by Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi of Bareilly, issued a timely instruction which was, by and large, followed in most processions. But why was it wilfully ignored in Jodhpur, Amethi and Amravati? Why was this communally sensitive slogan was raised especially when the procession was passing through Nayapura Subhash Colony, a Hindu dominated area in Rajasthan? Having become aware of the situation and its repercussions, it becomes incumbent on us Muslims to call spade a spade. Aggressive social media posts, hate speech along with communally sensitive content and comments are underfoot to disturb the volatile socio-religious atmosphere of harmony and inclusivity in India. The reason? The Pakistan-origin slogan of "Sar Tan Se Juda" coined by the extremist political-Islamist organisation, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) which emerged out of the Barelwi variant of South Asian Sunni Islam. Khadim Hussain Rizvi—the late charismatic Barelwi cleric and TLP leader--was the brain behind the growing popularity and ideology of the notorious slogan. Rizvi made the slogan his key tactic for recruiting the young gullible Barelwi youths mainly volunteering with the global Sunni Islamic outfit, Dawat-e-Islami founded by Maulvi Ilyas Attar Qadri in 1981, in Karachi, Pakistan. Now Rizvi is no more. But his ideology is on the rampage. Not just in Pakistan but also in India. The slogan of "Sar Tan Se Juda" has snowballed from across the border into the mainland India, particularly in the northern part, which has recently wreaked havoc in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Now again it is gaining momentum in a section of the misguided Barelwi youth, from Uttar Pradesh to Rajasthan to Maharashtra. Rizvi's blind fathers and Barelwi supporters like Mumtaz Qadri--who assassinated Punjab Governor Salman Taseer for calling for a review of Pakistan's draconian blasphemy laws--have made their presence felt in different states across the country. This widespread phenomenon should make it patently clear that Barelwis are not a homogenous or monolith sect within Sunni Islam. The long-held perception that the self-styled quasi-Sufi sect is inherently peaceful ought to have been disabused. The Barelwi clergy, who are otherwise tolerant and accommodative of various Indian cultural practices like shrine visitation (Dargah Hazri) and Fatiha-O-Durud (traditional Sufi salutations), are no less obscurantist and fundamentalist in many ways. But when it comes to "defence of the Prophet's honour", they go haywire and make the slogan of "Sar Tan Se Juda" a war cry. These erratic and provocative clerical rants have adversely impacted the common mindset of Sunni Muslim youth in India who look up to the Barelwi Ulema as their legitimate leaders adhering to the Aqaid (beliefs) of "Ahl-i Sunnat wa Jamàat". They wrongly derive their textual or theological legitimacy from the treatises and books like Husām al-Haramayn written by A'ala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Raza Khan (1856–1921) which declared the blasphemers of the holy Prophet (pbuh) as heretics. But as for beheading them in a secular and democratic country like India, he has not taken a violent extremist position neither did he justify it in any way of his writings. However, A'ala Hazrat was not soft on the founders and followers of the Wahhabi, Salafi [aka Ahl-e-Hadith], Deobandi, Shia and Ahmadiyya sects. His staunchly sectarian and anti-pluralistic theological stand is an open secret now. It is not difficult to understand through the prism of his Fatwas against forging alliance with the non-Muslims or non-Sunnis. In his eyes, Christians in the British India were better than the Hindus as they are considered People of the Book. Nevertheless, having been viewed as the Mujaddid or Reviver of the 21st Century, A'ala Hazrat has been venerated as an established Islamic reformer in north India. Since he wrote extensively in defence of the Prophet and popular Sufi practices, he remains the chieftain of the Sunni-Sufi Muslims popularly known as Barelwis. Tellingly, but the calls for beheading blasphemers of the Prophet were first given in Islamic theology by the puritanical Salafist Islamist ideologue Taqiuddin Ibn Taymiyyah in his book on Islamic creed "As-Sarim al-Maslul 'Ala Shatim ar-Rasool" (The Sword Against the One Who Insults the Messenger). Ibn Taymiyyah in this book discusses in detail his jurisprudential or Fiqhi position on those who slur or insult Prophet Muhammad. "The one who insults the prophet whether Muslim or disbeliever is to be killed.... They are to be killed even if they pay a protective tax in a Muslim State", he enunciates in his book which he wrote in response to the following incident: In 1293, Ibn Taymiyyah was called by his state authorities to issue a fatwa on Assaf al-Nasrani, a member of the Christian clergy accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Only after the state's intervention, Ibn Taymiyyah issued his fatwa ordering the execution of the Christian cleric. However, the Governor of Syria persuaded Assaf to convert to Islam in exchange for his life. It was in 1294 that Ibn Taymiyyah wrote his detailed book in response to that incident. This background of the book gives a rider for his followers that even Ibn Taymiyyah would not have been in favour of non-state actors indulging in the killing of blasphemers. Surprisingly enough, the theological legitimacy for beheading the blasphemers comes from the Hanbali follower and pioneer of Salafism—Ibn Taymiyyah. So, what has happened to the Hanafi Muslims in India [read 'Barelwis' here] who have taken it upon themselves to act upon the Salafist injunction? Even the Salafis in India (Ahl-e-Hadith) do not indulge in acts of anti-blasphemy sloganeering or killing in India in the crazy bid that has been lately shown by a few fanatics from the Barelwis. Despite the fact that the Barelwi clergymen generally oppose and sometimes abhor Ibn Taymiyyah, their stand on beheading someone for blasphemy and taking the law in one’s hand is more erroneous and dangerous, as it derives its inspiration from the organizations like the TLP and its leaders like Khadim Razvi, Pir Afzal Qadri, Inayat Haq Shah and Farooqul Hassan who were all booked on charges of sedition and terrorism in Pakistan. ------ Regular Columnist with Newageislam.com, Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is an Indo-Islamic scholar and English-Arabic-Urdu writer. He has graduated from a leading Islamic seminary in India, and acquired Diploma in Qur'anic sciences and a Certificate in Uloom ul Hadith from Al-Azhar Institute of Islamic Studies. He has also participated in the 3-year “Madrasa Discourses” program initiated by the University of Notre Dame, USA. Presently, he is pursuing his PhD in Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. 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