Religion, Peace, AND Conflict    

Dr. Ahmad Reza Taheri

      The partition of India did not cause by Islam. It is a very wrong perception. The causative factors for partition of India were political and economic, not religious.

On 16 April 2009, the National Center of International Security & Defense Analysis (YC-NISDA) of Pune University had invited Asghar Ali Engineer at a conference organized by the center to present his lecture on “Theories of Peace & Conflict Resolution.”

      Asghar Ali Engineer is an Indian Muslim and Islamic scholar, a reformist-writer and activist. Internationally he is known for his work on liberation theology in Islam, the leader of the Progressive Dawoodi Bohra Movement, and his work on (and action against) communalism and communal and ethnic violence in India and South East Asia. He is an advocate of culture of peace, non-violence and communal harmony. He has lectured all over the world and authored around 50 books. He is presently the head of "Institute of Islamic Studies" and "Centre for Study of Society and Secularism", both of which he founded in 1980 and 1993 respectively.

      The conference began at 9:30 a.m. and lasted till 4:30 p.m. Asghar Ali Engineer discussed over the theories of peace & conflict resolution, saying violence and conflict is perpetuated by powerful vested interests which may be local, regional, national, or inter-national. Conflict is the product of clashes of interests, not of religion or civilization. The interest can be divided into various categories i.e. economic, political, religious or social. These interested groups/individuals often invoke religion, language, nation, or ideology to legitimate their interests. Categories like religion and nation, he said, are not fundamental causes of conflict or violence; rather they are instrumental causes being used as powerful instruments by vested interest groups.   

      He opined, when one nation attacks the other or two religious groups attack each other they use emotional, national or religious rhetoric as a strategy or even outright deception to mobilize support of their respective fellow citizens or religious community.  

      On the issue of 'can one bring about peace', he cited few examples, as "you cannot establish peace in Palestine unless the question of Palestinian territory captured by Israel in 1967 is resolved to their satisfaction." Similarly, "one cannot establish peace in Sri Lanka unless the question of Tamilian people and their aspirations for autonomy is solved." The Kashmir imbroglio can never be resolved if the Kashmiri people feel justice is not being done to them. The communal conflict in India is again a provocative question. It is not the creation of Islam and Hinduism but it is the creation of conflict of interests between Hindu and Muslim elites, he said. Engineer further remarked that even partition of our country (India) did not cause by Islam. It is a very wrong perception. The causative factors for partition of our country were political and economic, not religious, though rhetoric was religious. Jinnah was a liberal constitutionalist, not a religious fanatic. Yet, it was Jinnah who led the partition movement, not religious leaders and scholars like Molana Hussain Ahmad Madani or Molana Abdul Kalam Azad; they opposed the partition. This shows that the conflict was political and not religious. Thus, all these examples indicate that interest plays a major role in promoting conflict and violence; religions or ideologies play merely an instrumental role.

      On ‘how to establish peace', he commented that peace cannot be established without understanding the role of these deep-rooted interests. Every conflict is of different nature so all conflicts are not the same; therefore, different approaches must be taken depending on different natures. Conflict resolution is an extremely challenging job and it requires not only correct understanding of the causes of conflict but also inexhaustible degree of patience.

***

      At the end of the seminar, several questions exchanged between audience and the speaker. On the issue of Islamic fundamentalism, I asked Engineer, “Don’t you think that Islamic fundamentalism has been inspired by the Quaranic verses, where Quran prescribes Jihad?”

      He rejected my question, reasoning “though we have terms such as Jihad in Quran, the statement has been misinterpreted by those who do not have sufficient knowledge of Islam and Quran”, referring to Taliban and Muslim fundamentalists all over the world.

***

     Anyway, I partly disagree with Asghar Ali Engineer. Otherwise, what turns a moderate Muslim into a fundamentalist? What motivates a Muslim to commit suicide bombing? The lack of knowledge about Islam while relying on the misinterpretation of others whom we trust fully can blindly lead us towards fundamentalism. However, what causes a fundamental Muslim cleric to defend the concept of Jihad in an aggressive manner? What is the source of such decree?

      What Engineer said is correct. He had deeply gone into the problem. He said that it is only clash of interest, which brings violence. I think "interest" is "interest" and we (human beings) cannot get rid of that simply because it is in our nature. He is quite right in saying that “religion has nothing to do with terrorism.” But, what is the solution? Religion continues to exist as long as we exist, and our existence depends on our interests. The ideologies such as nationalism and religion will expire when we as "human being" expire.

      Contrary to what Engineer said, the reality is that Quran does support Jihad and therefore the concept exists in this holy book of Muslims. Although interpretations may differ, the potentiality does exist. That is why many Muslim clerics in general and many fundamental clerics in particular, defend the practice of jihad and generally accept its aggressive form. Thus, Quran itself is a source of inspiration.

      On the other hand, If we follow the idea (misinterpretation of Jihad by Muslim fundamentalists) of Engineer, who has tried to moderate Islam, then, how many of Muslims (do you think) will be ready to follow him and accept a moderate form of Islam, especially when powers like US (for whatever reason) target Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan?

      Based on such a foreign policy of Western powers like US, as a reaction towards these policies, Jihad becomes aggressive and vital for every Muslim, as hold by Taliban or other like-minded groups.

      To me, to preach peace and to project a peaceful Islam works only if two factors go side by side.

      First, moderate Muslim scholars, apart of being expert in Islamic teachings, must have some general knowledge of science and art. The reason is that the better we are equipped with more fields of knowledge, better we can realize the God. A religious narrow-minded sees a different God, a geologist sees a different God, a philosopher sees a different God, a chemist sees a different God, and an artist sees a different God. Therefore, the more one gains knowledge of the entire sciences more one gets closer to the realities of the world.

      Second, the fist theory is not sufficient, because if succeeded it can be regarded as a one sided achievement only. Equally important for the completion of our work towards peace is the idea of universal interest. What we (nations and states) need is to minimize our interest, minimize our exploitation, and work on universal society and universal interest rather than sticking at national interest.

Notes

The seminar organized by Yashwantrao Chavan National Center of International Security & Defense Analysis, University of Pune, on 16 April 2009, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information about Asghar Ali Engineer, see, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asghar_Ali_Engineer

 Taheri Ahmad Reza, Towards Mental Reforms, (Lulu online Publication, printed in Pune, 2009), pp. 108 - 114.