Muharram and Tussle Over Colours

By Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, New Age Islam 6 August 2024 Shias and Sunnis Divide the Rainbow Of Colours While Reinforcing Sects Main Points: 1. This year (2024) during the month of Muharram the sectarianism and hatred against Shia’s became evident 2. Some prominent mullahs of Barelwi sect like Abdul Rashid Dawoodi and Ahle Hadith Mushtaq Ahmad Veeri, outrightly stated that wearing any black clothes is not allowed and recommended by the Ulema of Ahle Sunnat. 3. Naming mosques after sects was not prevalent during Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)s time, or that of his three succeeding generations. The claim of Ahle Hadith, that they are following Salaf e Saliheen falls flat on face when they have adopted this modern Bida’h. 4. Local Police would not have intervened, if the sectarian brats would have stopped name calling each other and destroying the harmony ------ Bida’h is an innovation in religion. Any more addition to the already defined religious duties, particularly prayers and rituals do constitute Bida’h. However, this is a general term implying Bida’h, which is contentious and subjective too, depending upon the school of thought one subscribes. For every other sect, that originally branched out from a school of thought or is an amalgamation of number of school of thoughts, but later reinforced as a sect. The example of the same is four juristic schools of thought and later Ahle Hadith movement, that tried to amalgamate all, but retrograded into a sect. These all are part of broad Sunni sect. These sects prefer to call themselves as schools of thought to downplay their sectarian fangs and camouflage their divisive politics, while at the same time trying to portray themselves as custodians of the unity of Ummah. They also do organize themselves in united groups, to give a false impression to the masses that they are united, whereas in reality they are always a divided lot and if their sect is threatened, they are ready to decimate Islam and save their sect. These all sectarian mullahs form united organizations, to safeguard their sectarian interests instead of being a vanguard for pristine Islam. These united groups and conglomerates are being presented and promoted that have representation of mullahs of all sects. The purpose is not to lose grip over the interpretation of Islam and to downplay any real intellectual progressive representation of Islam. This year (2024) during the month of Muharram the sectarianism and hatred against Shia’s became evident from the speeches of few mullahs belonging to Barelwi and Ahle Hadith Sect. Earlier also the mullahs indulged in sectarianism against each other, but that was restricted to few folks only. But thanks to social media, the sectarian filth has been spread among the masses. The same mullahs who are strong in their opposition against everything Western, justify the selective use of the Western tools like social media to perpetuate and reinforce sectarianism. The hypocrisy is evident by the selective acceptance and rejection of West. The new generation is least interested in the polemics of sectarianism, but they have an emotional attachment with Islam. Having a little time at hand, to deeply understand and analyse Islam, they are consuming the social media Islam, spread by these mullahs. There is nothing wrong in this consumption if this was spread by genuine scholars of Islam. However, these mullahs condemn the genuine Ulema as deviated, agents of West and enemies of Islam, while furthering their sectarian agenda. This is a broad battle for the soul of Islam against sectarianism. Some prominent mullahs of Barelwi sect like Abdul Rashid Dawoodi and Ahle Hadith Mushtaq Ahmad Veeri, outrightly stated that wearing any black clothes is not allowed and recommended by the Ulema of Ahle Sunnat. Ahle Sunnat for them comprises the whole gamut of sects except Shias. However, Barelwis claim themselves to be the only true representatives of Ahle Sunnah as they describe others as deviated. To add insult to injury they also take out Meelad processions during Rabi ul Awwal. They have also appropriated the green colour and most of them use Green to depict Islam. If someone sane was to ask them, is taking out Meelad processions not a Bida’h because we do not find Sahabas, Tabieen and Tabi' al-Tabi'in (the first three generations succeeding Prophet Muhammad) taking out Meelad processions or wearing green coloured outfits and attires. Similar is the case with Ahle Hadith who are the most vocal about calling everything Bida’h except if it comes from them. Earlier some of them like Mushtaq Veeri, described the rise of ISIS as the zenith of Ahle Hadith ideology before retracting his statement. They certainly do not believe in taking out any religious processions except when they feel their interests are under threat. If the State will stop their foreign funding, they too will hit the streets without bothering about the fact whether street protests are Bida’h or not? They will decry the stoppage of funding as intervention in Deen and evolve it to a movement of Islam being in danger. It is something similar to the fact as they name their masjids Ahle Hadith mosques, but they do not consider it as a Bida’h. Naming mosques after sects was not prevalent during Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)s time, or that of his three succeeding generations. The claim of Ahle Hadith, that they are following Salaf e Saliheen falls flat on face when they have adopted this modern Bida’h. All these sects have retrograded, communalized and divided colours making it as a mark of distinction. It is something similar to Shias, where colours distinguish between Syeds and Non Syeds. White turban is for non Syeds and black for Syeds. Some Sufis too are not behind this trend as they too have utilized colours to distinguish themselves among the variegated Sufi sects. This tussle over colours has weaponized them driving the fact home, that colours can be used for division instead of promoting unity and diversity. The tussle was going on, when the intervention of police through FIRs further escalated the issue. Police warned the preachers that they were responsible for disturbing peace and tranquillity in Kashmir and promoting hatred. It is correct, but Police would not have intervened, if the sectarian brats would have stopped name calling each other and destroying the harmony. Unless Muslims do not stop the sectarian rants against each other, the state institutions certainly will intervene to stop this escalation from turning into violence. The Kashmiri syncretic culture and society is just a step away from being turned into a morass of violence, if concrete steps are not taken to curb it. ----- M.H.A. Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-sectarianism/muharram-tussle-colours/d/132872 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