TNN, 24 Dec 2010
Contemporary Islam as practised and propagated by the radicals — the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, al-Qaida and Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI),an erstwhile wing of Jamat-e-Islami (Hind) — is part of political Islam. Political organisations whose aim is to establish an Islamic state operate under the garb of missionary and reformist outfits. The adherents of political Islam believe that Muslims must strive for an Islamic state. Scholars say that political Islam, to give religious legitimacy to violent activities, has misused the Quranic injunctions about jihad. The word jihad appears 44 times in the Quran. Nowhere has it been used in the sense of war. For war, the Quran has words like qatal and harb. The founding fathers of political Islam are: Hasan al-Banna (1906-49 ) who founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt; Syed Qutb(1906-66 ) who succeeded him after al-Bannah's assassination in 1949; and Maulana Abul-Ala Maududi (1903-70 ) who founded the Jamaat-e-Islami in Lahore in 1941.
WAHABISM
Founded by Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab (1703-1792 ), the movement flourished in the Arabian Peninsula and was later exported to other parts of the world. Wahab made a pact with the House of Saud and received patronage from the Saudi kings. Also called Salafism, Wahabism also uses works of Ibn Taymiyyah, a 14th century Syrian scholar, as guidance.
AHLE HADEES
The Ahle Hadees are ardent practioners of Wahabism. In India, Salafi scholars attended an annual function of Madrassa Ahmedia in Arrah (Bihar), and founded Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadees on December 22, 1906. Headquartered near Jama Masjid in Delhi, Ahle Hadees practises pristine Islam.
DEOBANDIS
Deobandis are one of the major divisions of the Hanafi school. After the British brutally crushed the 1857 rising, some clerics saw the Raj as an extension of the Christian missionaries . They established the Islamic seminary, Darul Uloom, at Deoband in UP in 1867. The products of the Deoband madrassa were called Deobandis . The Deobandis advocate a return to the early days of Islam . However, many prominent Deobandi ulema, including Maulana Hussain Ahmed Madni , opposed the two nation theory of the Muslim League and preferred a multicultural India to a monotheistic Pakistan.
TABLIGHI JAMAAT
Founded by Maulana Mohammed Ilyas, in the 1920s, the Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) aims to popularise the teachings of Islamic reforms among poor Muslims. Ilyas began his teachings first among the poor Meos (Muslims in Mewat of Haryana). The Tablighis leave home and hearth in groups for three days, a month and chillah (40 days) and tour hamlets of Muslims. It is headquartered at Nizamuddin in New Delhi,
BARELVIS
Another division of the Hanafi school, the Barelvis are mostly based in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Founded by Ahmed Raza Khan of Bareilly in UP (hence the name), the
Barelvis believe in seeking Allah's blessings through the medium of sacred souls (pirs). While the Ahle Hadees and Deobandis consider visiting the graves of saints innovations, Barelvis see it as part of faith.
WAHABISM
Founded by Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab (1703-1792 ), the movement flourished in the Arabian Peninsula and was later exported to other parts of the world. Wahab made a pact with the House of Saud and received patronage from the Saudi kings. Also called Salafism, Wahabism also uses works of Ibn Taymiyyah, a 14th century Syrian scholar, as guidance.
AHLE HADEES
The Ahle Hadees are ardent practioners of Wahabism. In India, Salafi scholars attended an annual function of Madrassa Ahmedia in Arrah (Bihar), and founded Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadees on December 22, 1906. Headquartered near Jama Masjid in Delhi, Ahle Hadees practises pristine Islam.
DEOBANDIS
Deobandis are one of the major divisions of the Hanafi school. After the British brutally crushed the 1857 rising, some clerics saw the Raj as an extension of the Christian missionaries . They established the Islamic seminary, Darul Uloom, at Deoband in UP in 1867. The products of the Deoband madrassa were called Deobandis . The Deobandis advocate a return to the early days of Islam . However, many prominent Deobandi ulema, including Maulana Hussain Ahmed Madni , opposed the two nation theory of the Muslim League and preferred a multicultural India to a monotheistic Pakistan.
TABLIGHI JAMAAT
Founded by Maulana Mohammed Ilyas, in the 1920s, the Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) aims to popularise the teachings of Islamic reforms among poor Muslims. Ilyas began his teachings first among the poor Meos (Muslims in Mewat of Haryana). The Tablighis leave home and hearth in groups for three days, a month and chillah (40 days) and tour hamlets of Muslims. It is headquartered at Nizamuddin in New Delhi,
BARELVIS
Another division of the Hanafi school, the Barelvis are mostly based in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Founded by Ahmed Raza Khan of Bareilly in UP (hence the name), the
Barelvis believe in seeking Allah's blessings through the medium of sacred souls (pirs). While the Ahle Hadees and Deobandis consider visiting the graves of saints innovations, Barelvis see it as part of faith.
