Over the last couple of days when the world was occupied with unifying efforts to fight the deadly Covid19 pandemic, sections of Indian media provided viewers a familiar scapegoat – the Indian Muslims – who are often stereotyped as a community being constantly at loggerheads with the citizenry and the State. Biased media channels were quick to resort to blaming the entire Muslim community for the spread of the disease in the country, thanks to an ill-timed Tablighi Jamaat gathering at its international headquarters in Delhi’s Nizamuddin. Unsurprisingly, the opprobrium was also marked by a sudden spike in WhatsApp forwards of videos with people wearing skullcaps licking spoons and performing Sufi breathing rituals, suggesting some sort of wild conspiracy on the part of the community to spread the virus. Some media channels were quick to formulate, hypothesize and provide loose definitions of a newly discovered form of Jihad i.e. ‘Corona Jihad ’ thereby vilifying the Islamic faith and its followers.
While the investigation on the culpability of the organizers of the Nizamuddin event is still ongoing, there is enough information to suggest that the meeting was held before any lockdown was in force, and the problem began when there was no way of getting people out once the curfew was announced. Be that as it may, there is little doubt that organizing a meet of such a scale when there is a global pandemic smacks of gross misjudgment, and definitely the organizers should be held accountable if laws or public orders were defied. Attendees who attempt to defy quarantine measures must be dealt with strictly. However, what is alarming is that the focus and narrative have now shifted from the unfortunate event at Nizamuddin to the Tablighi Jamaat itself.
For those not familiar with the Tablighi Jamaat, the organization was founded in 1926 in Mewat by scholar Maulana Mohammad Ilyas. The Jamaat’s main objective was to get Muslim youth to learn and practice pristine Islam shorn of external influences. This is achieved through individuals dedicating time for moral and spiritual upliftment secluded from the rest of the world for a brief period of time. There is no formal membership process. More senior and experienced participants typically travel from one mosque to other delivering talks on religious topics, inviting local youth to attend and then volunteer for a spiritual retreat for a fixed number of days to a mosque in a nearby town or village to present the message to their co-religionists. Contrary to ongoing Islamophobic rhetoric, the movement does not actively proselytize. The focus is rather on getting Muslims to learn the teachings and practices of Islam. This grassroots India-based movement has now grown to almost all countries with substantial Muslim populations. Its annual meets, or ‘ijtemas’ are among the largest Islamic congregations in the world after the annual Haj. One of the reasons for its popularity and wide network in the subcontinent and wordwide is the fact that it has eschewed the need for scholarly intervention, focusing on peer learning of fundamental beliefs and practice rather than high-falutin ideological debates. The Tablighi Jamaat also distinguishes itself from other Islamic movements through its strictly apolitical nature, with a focus on individual self-improvement rather than political mobilization. Hardships and difficulty in the world are expected to be face through ‘sabr’ (patience) and ‘dua’ (supplication), than through quest for political power or influence. In terms of ideology, it is very much based on mainstream Sunni Islamic principles derived from the Deobandi school.
So, why is all this background important in the current context? While biased media entities have expectedly brought out their Islamophobic paraphernalia out for full display, more neutral commentators have tried to paint the Tablighi Jamaat as a fringe group and have tried to distance it from 'mainstream Muslims'. While the intent is no doubt innocent, this is a trap we must not fall into. This narrative, unfortunately, is also gaining ground due to apathy some Muslims have for the group, accusing it of being “disconnected from the realities of the world”. Unlike other Muslim organizations and movements, the Tablighi Jamat, by virtue of its political indifference, does not boast of high-profile advocates and savvy spokespersons who can defend it in mainstream or social media. The use of adjectives such as 'outdated' and 'orthodox' by liberal columnists to describe the Jamaat feeds into the malignant attempt to change the narrative from the control of the spread of the pandemic due to the Nizamuddin gathering to 'raison d'etre' of the organization itself.
A large mainstream religious group like the Tablighi Jamaat with nearly a hundred-year history, normally considered to be peaceful, apolitical and minding its own business is now suddenly being villainized owing to unfortunate circumstances. Biased media reactions filled with disgust and hate seem to feed the Indian public conscience with a danngerous misconception - to be a nominal Muslim is okay but being a practicing one is not. For those committed to the truth and fighting the spread of Islamophobia, the temptation to throw the entire Tablighi Jamaat under the bus must be resisted.
The writer is a lawyer and research scholar at Qatar University. Her research interests include Islamic law and politics.
The proposal prepared by Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shikshan Sansthan, the education wing of the RSS and submitted to the Human and Resource Development Ministry, also points out that co-education will have to be discontinued if working hours of schools are extended.
Comments
Bachelors club want to create rule for families.... First get married then U can follow this rules... and then dont stop modi to reunite his wife... U cheddis have ruined his family life...
It is RSS suggetion.. it means MAD
Learing sanskrit in schools and colleges....i dont think it is an issue at all....we learned kannada, hindi, english...sanskrit is also one of that kind....interesting...
Well, everyone understand the sanskrit, people read & understand the vedas, githas. May they turn real religion
Who are they to decide education strategy. It seems RSS is the supreme authority of governance than indian government. It shows RSS is the decision maker and indian government is simply implementing.
May Allah save our country.
Not all the suggestions are bad.
Support the idea:
- Banning co-education system.
- Relieving parents from Home works system.
- Learning Languages should be optional.
- Indianization of education is Ok, westernization has ruined the family values.
- Extra-curricular activity is good, to know the interest of children.
- Working parents can have option of having their children for long hours at schools where Hindus can study Sanskrit, Muslim can learn Arabic and Christians can have their preference.
Not supporting the idea:
- 12 hrs. is too much, most of the developed countries they limit the working hours of adults to 8 hrs. only.
- Forcing Sanskrit to all is too much.
Indian culture is good, family value is eroding which is bad for society as a whole. But forcing the ideas seems to be dangerous.
12Hrs, we don't want to tell even our enemy's children
Samskri : Nothing should be imposed. It is the people's choice.
We should see where the world is heading.
English : Now the important language is for this worldly life is English.
Arabic : Arabic is also big plus point for job seekers. 22 Countries have mother toungue as Arabic. This is the 2nd highest spoken language
DEAR FRIENDS ,
WHO COMMENTED ABOVE.. YOU PEOPLE FORGOT TO ASK WHO ARE THEY TO TELL TO GOV WHAT TO DO AND ALL..
WHAT THEY KNOW ABOUT SANSKRIT.. FIRST OF ALL THEY HAVE TO LEARN TO WEAR PROPER DRESS....NOT CHADIIES ...
RSS RSS RSS, in logo ko koi kaam nahin hain kya, indian citizens doesnt need your recommendations for education, go and teach your chaddis what to do and what not to do, hypocrites.
its a fact that children from India are spending 20~30% more time in Schools when compared to US/UK childrens..
For 8 Hours daily school times:
-> already they carry 5~6 kg school bags, this will raise to 8~9 kgs.
-> Children need to take healthy food, who will feed them during such a long period.
-> does all schools in states are eligible to keep the students for 12 hours with all such activities., if you survey our states may be hardly you can find 2~3% schools are fit with all activities...other 98% schools are hard to spend 8 hours.
-> why teachers must work for 12 hours daily (against labor law).
before, making any regulation gossips..pls just look for facts...
THE BACHELOR CLUB now wants to separate the FAMILIES ...
Wa re WA --- A clear Sign to those who think, the cheddis who are against women (Cheddis will never be successful with whatever they play with thier devilish agenda.)
Majority of their leaders arent married, hence any suggestion from them on how to raise children should be neglected!!!
None of the chaddis may know the sanskrit language before pushing others to learn
RSS is terrorising children, 12 hours schooling is too much for small children....and its inhuman....its okay if they go with discontinuing co-education....well and fine and its islamic way of thinking....However, at the end more expenses for developing country like India, will have to build more schools and colleges separately for both....
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