In a previous opinion,
I discussed how the stars have aligned for India to take decisive
action directed at Islamist radicalism. Here, I focus on specific yet
far-reaching steps to permanently defang the Islamists.
Does India deserve to be considered a major power if it cannot slay
the demon? To be clear, this threat is existential – meaning, if not
taken down now, it will retard economic growth first and, over time,
plunge the country into violent chaos, just like Pakistan.
Let us identify the dominant power centres behind decades of radicalisation. The first is the Darul Uloom Islamic seminary situated in Deoband. It has, by far, graduated most clerics who command thousands of Indian mosques.
That these clerics have spread radicalism and violent extremism — including in Kashmir — should not be a surprise. After all, Darul Uloom’s academic curriculum
consists of the following passage: “The destruction of the sword is
incurred by infidels, although they are not the first aggressors.”
Typically, Deobandi clerics have prevented Muslims from embracing modern education and encouraged Muslim women to have more children. Moreover, these clerics are the visionaries behind the violent outfits Darul Khada, the SIMI (Student Islamic Movement of India) before, and now, the PFI (Popular Front of India).
The second is Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind – an influential council of senior clerics. Jamiat is at the forefront of defending or overturning Muslims accused or convicted of terrorist activities. Yet its leader, Mehmood Madani,
made the following proclamation in 2016: “Death penalty or life
sentences should be given to those who hurt a person’s religious values
or disrespect a religious leader.”
Due to the opposition from clerics with immense street power, moderating the minority is nearly impossible. With the minority highly susceptible to radicalisation, by some accounts, India is poised to plunge into mayhem.
Indian National Security Advisor’s recent appeal
to religious leaders that “You have bigger responsibilities to
shoulder” vis-à-vis radicalism betrays the lack of a plan to change the
status quo. Out-of-the-box solutions are needed.
Could it be that the religion of Islam, through its holy books, is not behind violent extremism, but clerical narratives or ideologies are? If so, this threat can be tackled. As discussed in my recent research,
when the Muslim community in Kosovo was part of the communist
Yugoslavia, its people hardly knew what Jihad was and was moderate. The
reason is simple: the clerics there emphasised moderation.
