Revisiting ‘Syncretic Islam’ in Kashmir: New Age Islam Columnist Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi’s Address at the Book Launch of “The Two Kashmirs”

Main Points: 1. Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Manoj Sinha recently released Sheikh Khalid Jehangir’s book “The Two Kashmirs”—a comparative analysis of Jammu & Kashmir and the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). 2. “Days of separatism, terrorism, corruption, and dynastic politics are over. Now it’s a new dawn of peace and progress in Jammu & Kashmir, which has set new trends in development, he said. 3. Authored by Kashmiri journalist Sheikh Khalid Jehangir, the book offers a comparative study of the recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). 4. On this occasion, New Age Islam columnist and Indo-Islamic scholar Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi spoke on: “Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370: Is there a turn towards Radical Islam in Kashmir?” 5. Mr. Dehlvi traced the roots of Syncretic Islam in Kashmir, delineating its features and the major causes behind its consequent decline in the valley; the rise of radicalism and the fresh spurt in pan-Islamism and faith-based militancy in J&K, suggesting some measures for mitigation! By New Age Islam Staff Writer 4 Novembar 2022 “Days of separatism, terrorism, corruption, and dynastic politics are over. Now it’s a new dawn of peace and progress in Jammu & Kashmir, which has set new trends in development. Today, common people have become a partner in J&K's developmental journey…..” These were the opening remarks of Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Manoj Sinha who recently released Sheikh Khalid Jehangir’s book “The Two Kashmirs”—a comparative analysis of Jammu & Kashmir and the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Commending the author for candidly exposing and refuting the false propaganda of Pakistan, the LG further said: “This book sheds light on the harsh realities of PoK, where people are deprived of basic amenities, infrastructure, investment, and welfare schemes. It has been kept in complete darkness for the last 75 years”. The Lt. Governor urged the people of Kashmir to join hands and work together for peace and greater development of the valley. The book's author, Sheikh Khalid Jehangir, provided insights into the contents of the book which offers a comparative study of the recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir and PoK. Organized by International Centre for Peace Studies at New Delhi's India International Centre, the Book Launch was followed by a session on “Jammu Kashmir: 75-Glorious Years and Looking Ahead.” The participants included Prof. Nilofar Khan, vice chancellor of the University of Kashmir, and Mr. Ashish Sood, a senior politician, Sh. Rana Banerji, a distinguished fellow at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, and Ms. Renu Kaul Verma, CEO of Vitasta Publishing Limited. On this occasion, New Age Islam columnist and Indo-Islamic scholar Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi was invited to speak on the topic: “Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370: Is there a turn towards Radical Islam in Kashmir?” The full text of Mr Dehlvi’s speech is reproduced as follows: Mr. Sheikh Khalid Jahangir, the Kashmiri writer and author of this book, has come out with yet another interesting, dispassionate, and insightful study of Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370. I hope Mr. Jahangir in this latest book, like in his earlier works, has brought out the truth following his inner voice as an experienced Kashmiri writer and human rights activist. Here, I would like to draw attention to the Islamisation of political narratives in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 37. Competing schools of Islamist extremism have had a sway in Kashmir with the local political leaders, intellectuals, media, and social and cultural activists spearheading the political Islamist movement. This has caused the steep decline of the syncretic Kashmiri culture. I think the book should come out as a clarion call for the silent majority of Kashmiri Muslims not to be carried away by the frenzies of the extremist Islamists who have, over a period of time, tried to systematically attack and run down their unique identity of Kashmirityat. What is Kashmirityat? A philosophy of pluralism and peaceful coexistence! Kashmir has been the land of Mystics—from Rishimunis to the Rishi Sufis. A 5,000-year-old civilisation, Kashmir is an inherent part and parcel of the idea of India. It is Kashmir where various faith traditions of India including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sufi Islam converged in a spiritual synergy. In the 1st millennium BC, Kashmir was the centre of Buddhism and Shaivism. It was in Kashmir where the 4th Buddhist Council was held and great scholars like Vasumitra, Ashwaghosha, and Nagarjuna participated. It was in Kashmir where India’s first original work on history titled “Rajatarangani” by Kalhan was written. And it was in Kashmir where the Persianate and pluralistic version of Islam emerged with the coming of Sufi saints from Central Asia. The Muslim phase of Kashmir began in 1300 AD with the Buddhist ruler Rinchana’s conversion to Islam. Now let me explain what I mean by Syncretic Islam in Kashmir. It stands in complete contrast to the present-day extremist strains of Islamic theology sprouted by the Wahhabi, Salafi (or Ahl-e-Hadithi), Deobandi, Barelwi, and other Takfiri groups or sectarian cults. The Kashmiri Islam was an inclusivist and non-Takfiri Islam which was never seen as exclusivist, totalitarian, supremacist, or puritanical idealogy, unlike the radical Islam of the extremists who have consistently tried to propagate a dry and desiccated religion among the new generation of Kashmiri Muslims. In fact, Kashmiri Islam emanated from an amalgamation of the Shaivite-Buddhist mysticism imbued with Sufism. Central Asian Sufi saints such as Nund Rishi and local Kashmiri Sufi-Shaivite mystics like Lallded or Lalla Arifa propounded this beautiful spiritual tradition based on religious harmony, tolerance, and acceptance. This was the syncretic culture of Kashmiriyat that symbolized the unity of religious ideals creating a spiritual symbiosis of all faith traditions in the valley of Kashmir. As a result, Kashmiri Pundits, Muslims, and Sikhs, all lived so peacefully in the valley for centuries. Now it is not difficult to understand what catapulted Kashmir from being a bastion of pluralism into a breeding ground for exclusivism, radicalism, and Islamist militancy and insurgency. Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs conducted a case study on it. Highlighting the valley’s shift from religious pluralism to puritanicalism and separatism, it concluded that religion has become increasingly important as a central marker of identity and a flashpoint for conflict in Kashmir. Islam as an identity has existed for around seven centuries in Kashmir. But like I said earlier, Kashmiri Islam has always been diametrically different from the various strains of Islam in other parts of India. The Kashmiri version of Islam has comparatively been quite tolerant, progressive, pluralistic, and Persianate in nature. The Arabisation or Wahhabisation of Islam as rampant in other parts of India was alien to the Kashmiri Muslims. Therefore, the Hindu-Muslim relations in the valley have been far more cordial. The syncretic traditions of religious pluralism have been so deep in the valley that even when the entire country was afflicted with the partition on religious lines, the Kashmiris were basking in the glory of its communal harmony and religious diversity. So much so that Mahatma Gandhi saw a ray of hope only in Kashmir when India was burning in the post-partition communal riots in 1947. Even in the 1970s when Islamist nationalism was on the march in Pakistan and in the 1980s when Hindu nationalism was taking root in India, it was Kashmir where the syncretic culture still flourished. Until the late 1980s, both Kashmiri Pundits and Muslims have jointly participated in festivals like Kheer Bhawani, Amarnath Yatra, and shrine visitation of Charar-e-Sharif. Although a few extremists in the valley tried to sabotage the valley’s distinct syncretic culture, the common Kashmiris have been imbued with the pluralist Rishi-Sufi tradition. Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir have been known for their wide embrace of the Hindu and Buddhist cultural practices. This is why their version of Sufism is distinctly known as Rishi-Sufism. Lal Ded—the celebrated Sufi-Shaivite saint— has been venerated both by Hindus and Muslims of Kashmir and is still seen in the valley as a major proponent of a plural society. While Muslims call her “Lalla Arifa”, Hindus recall her as Laleshwari. For around seven centuries, Lalded has been popularly known for the Kashmiri legacy of religious pluralism. Similarly, the 14th-century Kashmiri mystic — Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali —who is widely known as Nund Rishi, is revered by Muslims as Sheikh-ul-Alam (mentor of all), while Hindus revere him Sahaj Anand (affectionate soul). Thus, Kashmir Valley has been the bastion of religious pluralism, which merged the two Indian Oceans of mysticism — Rishimat and Sufism — thus introducing “Rishi-Sufis” as harbingers of mutual respect, understanding, spiritual acceptance, and non-violence. But what keeps today’s Kashmir away from its deep roots of religious pluralism? This question is still in its place. Even after the abrogation of Article 37 and the bifurcation of the state into two UTs, the practical solution to the valley’s gravest historical tragedy is yet to be explored. As a matter of fact, the pan-Islamist movements—right from Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to its ilk in India like Jam’at-e-Islami—have been a major source of instability and militancy in Kashmir. Radical Islamist groups believe that political power is indispensable to the establishment of an Islamic caliphate. The doctrine of pan-Islamism, based on the Ummatic concept of Hakimiyat and Khilafat transcending national boundaries, has led to violence and turmoil in almost all parts of South Asia, particularly in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Jammu & Kashmir. Now the type of Islam that Kashmiris have accepted for centuries as a variant of Sufism is totally different from the political Islam which seeks to purge the Kashmiri society of its indigenous characteristics. Various Islamist groups like Jamaat-e-Islami and its militant wing, Hizbul Mujahidin, Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Jamiat ul-Mujahideen, Allah Tigers, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Al-Badr, Al Jihad Force, al Umar Mujahideen, Muslim Mujahideen, Islamic Students League, Zia Tigers, and many such organizations decreed the objective of their struggle as Islamization of the socio-political and economic set-up of Jammu & Kashmir. Thus, the Pakistan-sponsored radical and militant Islam which made deep inroads into the land of Rishi-Sufism is still active in the Valley in misleading the gullible people in Kashmir. Even after the abrogation of Article 370, this pan-Islamism is still a grave threat to the pluralistic social order, interfaith harmony, and peaceful coexistence among various communities in Jammu & Kashmir. As far as the Article 370 revocation, the international community has by and large viewed this decision as India’s internal affair, with the exception of Pakistan and its traditional supporters. However, there has been a systematic attempt to propel pan-Islamism in Kashmir. The recent geopolitical events in the Islamic world especially in Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, and Syria have wielded a significant influence among the Kashmiri youth. There is a trend in the new generation of Kashmiri students to go for International Law, International Relations and Human Rights, etc. with an aim to internationalize the Kashmir issue as part of the global Islamic movement. The motive is to defend violent extremism and militancy in the name of self-determination. Thus, pan-Islamism has adversely impacted the educated youth in Kashmir who tends to believe that political Islam has great relevance in determining their future. Many scholars of political science, sociology, and humanities hold the view that Islamic law should be introduced in the valley. This can be gauged from the ground reality that those who join the militant ranks today include not just misguided and less educated youth in Kashmir but also scholars, Ph.D. students, medical doctors, professionals, and engineers. I think the government has to take cognizance of this changing dynamic in Kashmir which is an outcome of increased pan-Islamic movement leading to faith-based militancy in the valley. In fact, in my understanding, it was the increasing Islamisation of the Kashmiri narrative that had impelled the Indian government to abrogate Article 370. As regards the impact of Article 370 abrogation, the majority of Kashmiris are happy that the political class, which exploited them emotionally, economically, and politically for decades, is finally made to pay the price for it. The common people abhor these corrupt leaders on charges of corruption, misappropriation, embezzlement, nepotism, and favouritism. During my recent interaction with a cross-section of Kashmiri Muslims, I also heard the same views. Now that Article 370 is history, new tasks for the government are to restore the confidence of the people through integration, de-radicalization through engagement and due representation of deprived sections both in the Jammu and Kashmiri regions. The new narrative of the GOI revolving around empowerment, investment, and development (EID) has found resonance among the people in rural Kashmir, Gujjars, Bakarwals, Paharis, Kupwara, Handwara, Gurez, and most of the Jammu region. However, in South Kashmir, Jamaat-e-Islami has been influential, as usual, in Kulgam, Tral, Pulwama, Bijbehara, Anantnag, Kokernag, Doru, and Pahalgam and that gets reflected in the different political responses and incidents of violence there. In central Kashmir, Srinagar remains the hotbed of political Islamism, separatism, and the Pakistani narrative being parroted by the political elite, intelligentsia, academia, journalists, and civil society. It cannot be denied that the separatist leaders have cunningly propelled their political ambition into a religiously inspired and ideologically motivated cause. What was known earlier as an ‘independence movement’, is now being shaped and intensified as a religious conflict. This is precisely why the militant ideologues have successfully swayed a vulnerable section of the Kashmiri Muslim youth. The worst time in the valley’s history came when the religious antagonists played into local politics. However, one must not lose hope in the syncretic Kashmiriyat which has been the main deterrent against the conquest of the Kashmiri militants for the past three decades. Remember the attacks on Kashmiri pundits on one hand, and the militant-led siege of the Sufi shrine Charar-e-Sharif in 1995, on the other. Both were viciously planned to wipe out the syncretic traditions of Kashmir. But the valley's Hindus and Muslims in general and the Rishi-Sufi followers, in particular, responded with great sagacity. They did not react with any violent outbursts even though they were deeply disturbed by the destruction of the most sacred Sufi shrine. Their aim was to fail the religious fanatics in their ferocious designs to fan the fire of communal disturbance and thus destabilize the valley. But later, separatist ideologies thrived in the fanatic religious indoctrination catching the imagination of the gullible Kashmiri youth, students, and children with impressionable minds. Pakistani jihadist ideologues preached the narrative of political Islamism which disassociated the Kashmiri Muslims from their local harmonious practices and syncretic culture. They emboldened the separatist leaders and strengthened their political appeals among the gullible Kashmiri youths. The most precarious thing that the religious zealots seem to have spread in Kashmir is the narrative of victimhood among the Kashmiri youths. Now the government’s job is to address this ideological predicament. This may be too gigantic a task to be achieved, but it should be given paramount importance. Merely making plans to create education and employment opportunities for the Kashmiri youths will not hamper the ideological onslaught on them. A coherent and consistent program of de-radicalization needs to be scaled up with the cooperation of moderate Islamic thinkers in restoring peace and religious pluralism in Kashmir. Mosques and religious seminaries of the valley have to be approached with progressive Islamic literature. I have visited Jammu and Kashmir almost seven times studying how the extremist religious rhetoric is catching the imagination of the new Kashmiri generation. During most of my visits, I encountered the widespread phenomenon of how separatism and radicalism are being fed through Salafism into the minds of the misguided Kashmiri youth. For most separatists, the "first and foremost" enemy of Islam is the valley’s age-old Rishi-Sufi tradition or Kashmiriyat (the philosophy of coexistence). When I asked a few of them as to why they castigate the Rishi-Sufi tradition of the valley, they straightforwardly answered: "because it is contaminated with mushrikana tahzib (polytheistic culture) and mubtadi’ana rusoom (deviant customs)". Clearly, the reason why all separatist groups abhor Rishi-Sufism is its call for religious pluralism and peaceful coexistence of different faith traditions instead of Islam supremacism in the valley. Therefore, all the hardcore adherents and apologists of radical Islamism in the guise of various Islamic sects are antithetical to Rishi-Sufism. While the Salafist/Ahl-e-Hadithi ideologues have openly decried and overtly attacked the syncretic traditions of Kashmir, Deobandis, Barelwis, and the so-called E’tiqadis have worked out a completely misguiding Islamic theology of exclusivism in the valley. Therefore, as measures for mitigation, I propose five actionable points, which are long-term but practical and result-oriented solutions to the weaponization of Islamism in Kashmir: First, after an ethnographic study and survey of the Kashmiri people and their changing religious ethos and cultural practices, outreach to the people should be initiated with an all-round campaign to restore the declining Rishi-Sufism. Second, dargahs and khanqahs as well as mosques should be handed over to the followers of syncretic Islam in Kashmir. It should be ensured that imams of the Kashmiri mosques and khadims (custodians) of the shrines are not sympathizers of radical Islamism. Rather, they ought to be well-trained to tackle the ideological onslaughts against Kashmiriyat. Third, Sufi study centres should be established in all the Kashmiri universities and colleges which have Islamic and Arabic departments. They could be also envisaged as independent study centres in Kashmir. Fourth, Kashmiri students largely enrolled in Indian universities and madrasas should be prepared to counter the extremist narratives of jihadists, militants, and separatists. Fifth, there's a need for increased vigilance about the literature being propagated in the vulnerable Kashmiri society. Youths continue to fall prey to the twisted interpretations of Islamic texts, mostly available in the Kashmiri and Urdu literature and online spaces. The government should set up tech-savvy centres to regularly monitor extremist propaganda, news feeds, and the jihadist rhetoric of the Pakistani social media handlers. These five action points, I believe, will greatly help us in restoring and rescuing the Kashmiriyat from the clutches of radical pan-Islamism. .. 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. ------------- URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-pluralism/syncretic-islam-kashmir-book-launch/d/128336 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism