April-May  2005 
Year 11    No.107

Editorial


Beginning of something

The dictionary meanings of the word reform include the amendment of a faulty state of
things
and/or to renew restore or bring back…to an original state.

Reform of any kind rarely happens entirely spontaneously or in isolation. It implies serious challenges to an existing order, challenges that often threaten the continued survival of the order itself, that often carry great risks for those from within who clamour for change. It has been historically so with all belief systems, be it the reformation or renaissance within Christianity after the Dark Ages, or the voices for reform within Hinduism from the late medieval ages onwards. Buddhism and Jainism were born as new faiths in earlier times as severe critiques of the caste system. Centuries later, Sikhism surfaced as a spiritual response to the perceived rigidity of Islam and caste discrimination in practised Hinduism.

As is evident from history, reform is not a one–shot deal. It is a continuous, endless process. The Buddhism that has emerged in its hallowed avatar of "State religion" in neighbouring Sri Lanka through the latter half of the 20th century would put the intolerance of Hindutva and Islamiyat to shame. Or, take the plight of women in India today post the reforms in Hindu society. Latest Indian census figures (2001) reveal a shocking drop in the girl-boy sex ratio in India, clearly indicating the selective killing of the female foetus on a large scale. Statistics also show that these practices abound in the wealthier sections of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Western Maharashtra, which is so proud of its progressive tradition, is fast joining the list. And Jains and Sikhs are far from immune to this obnoxious practice. Therein lies the tale of the continuing contradiction between the tenets of faith and lived religion.

Our cover story this month focusses on the clearly visible winds of change blowing through the Muslim world, within Muslim predominant societies – Morocco, Malaysia, Kuwait – as much as in democracies where Muslims are a minority – USA, Canada, India. The gamut of issues being grappled with is impressive: democracy, modernity, gender justice, violence, respecting the rights of sexual minorities even if you disagree with them. What is also significant is that in most cases, the Muslims spearheading the campaign for change are practising Muslims. If activists and intellectuals are in the forefront in some situations and Islamic scholars and even the ulema are in the lead elsewhere, in Malaysia and Morocco, the State itself is the change agent.

There is promise in the air that we are happy to record and warmly welcome. But we do so with our eyes wide open. We only have to reflect on our own reality in India, or look at our immediate neighbours to recognise that the Muslim stirring is neither all-pervasive nor all-encompassing. As we go to press, the Aligarh Muslim University has chosen to violate its own tradition and introduce "communal reservations" for Muslims on its campus. Pakistan is still poised on the precipice despite its much-touted campaign against terror, while Bangladesh, which held out a secular promise at its birth in 1971, now appears to be headed the Taliban way. The Jamaat-e-Islami in India talks the language of human rights but its counterpart in Bangladesh, where it is part of the coalition government, is directly implicated in the continuing atrocities against the country’s minorities, be they Hindus, Christians or Buddhists. The Taliban are still fighting to make a comeback in Afghanistan. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and elsewhere is alive and kicking. And a moral and intellectual engagement with Saudi sponsored Wahhabism, which sows such poison in Muslim minds that some ultimately take to terror, is yet to begin in real earnest.

Not all the roadblocks to reform lie within Islam. As already stated above, even the history of religions born out of protest movements, or the history of reformed religions, is not very reassuring. The past two decades have seen a resurgence of all kinds of religious fundamentalisms across the globe, India included. And the latest revelations of abuses of the Koran in Guantanamo Bay by Bush’s Crusaders will only inflame Muslim passion, making the task of the pro-changers that much more difficult.

But the obstacles notwithstanding, and having sounded a word of caution, Communalism Combat happily welcomes the call for change and extends its solidarity to all those who are engaged in the difficult task of building bridges between Islam and the modern world.

— Editors


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