islamicate

Hindu followers of Imam Husayn

Yoginder Sikand, a scholar whose transnational work on Islamist movements is what I'm most familiar with, has an interesting article on Hindu followers of Imam Husayn. The piece is mostly historical, but the last paragraph is interesting:

The Hussaini Brahmins, along with other Hindu devotees of the Muslim Imam, are today a rapidly vanishing community. The younger generation abandoning their ancestral heritage, often now seen as embarrassingly deviant. No longer, it seems, can a comfortable liminality be sustained, and ambiguous identities seem crushed under the relentless pressure to conform to the logic of neatly demarcated ‘Hindu’ and ‘Muslim’ communities. And so, these and scores of other religious communities that once straddled the frontier between Hinduism and Islam seem destined for perdition, or else to folkloric curiosities that tell of a bygone age, when it was truly possible to be a bit of both ‘Hindu’ as well as ‘Muslim’ at the same time.

What are the processes at work in determining religious identity at the communal level? While looking specifically at Islam, and the pernicious influence of the Wahhabi belief, are there similar currents in other religious traditions (contemporary, not historical)?

Being a Muslim and an Academic

I normally hate copying whole articles into posts. However, a really good piece appeared in the LA Times by Muslim academic about what it means to teach about Islam in a post-9/11 world. Unfortunately, the piece is no longer available on-line. The complete text of the article appears below the fold.

The Mahdi

Father Jake had a question regarding the Mahdi and the use of the name "Mahdi Army" by Muqtada as-Sadr. He's gone out and done a fair amount of research, and I wanted to add my two cents.

From a theological perspective, the idea of the Mahdi is incredibly ill-defined, because the idea of the end days are ill-defined in the Qur'an. While we have a sense that the mountains will crumble, stars will fall from the sky and the sky itself will tear, there is no equivalent to the Book of Revelations in the Qur'an. (For a wonderful discussion of the lyrical and symbolic presence of the akhirat, the end day, in the Qur'an, read Michael Sells, Approaching the Qur'an.)Two figures appear in almost all Muslim understandings of the end times, Dajjal, the deceiver, and the Mahdi [the Wikipedia description is not a bad bare-bones introduction], although neither appears in the Qur'an. Dajjal appears early on in Islamic eschatology, but in various forms. I can't find evidence for him as the "anti-Christ" until several hundred years after the death of the Prophet (PBUH), but still before the colonial period. However, this is only based on a cursory search. Dajjal's purpose is to lead all muslims (not capitalized) away from the faith. Once they have been lead astray, he will create a new world order. The vision of that order varies depending on locale and community of interpretation. The Mahdi, a common figure in both Sunni and Shiah understandings of the end days, is an equally ambiguous figure. He is seen as Hazrat Isa (Jesus), Prophet Muhammad, Prophet Khidr, for the Ithna'ashari the Hidden Imam, or in some instances, simply as a unique figure presaging the appearance of any of the above. He represents either a competing pole against Dajjal, attempting to keep muslims (no caps) with their faith(s), or as an actual physical adversary to battle Dajjal. The battle is either the Final Battle between good and evil, or the necessary triumph of good over evil before a just reign by any important religious figure (as listed above) can begin. As you can see the stories are highly amorphous, and frustrating from a theological perspective. There is a lot of theology about what happens to the individual when they die, but the last days are not part of that same spectrum. Like the qissas al-anbiya, stories of the Prophets, these stories take on a highly local flavor.

Quotes

Dick Cheney on Kerry and al-Qaeda: (Apparently they can be that crass.)

"It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on Nov. 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States"

Al-Qaeda on Bush:

A statement from al-Qaeda following the Madrid bombings clarified this intent [to organize Muslims worldwide]. It said the organization hoped George Bush would win reelection, "because he acts with force rather than wisdom or shrewdness, and it is his religious fanaticism that will rouse our (Islamic) nation, as has been shown. Being targeted by an enemy is what will wake us from our slumber." Quoted on the Arabic news Web site www.elaph.com: "Bayaan lil qa'ida yuhhammal tawqi' kataib abu hafss al massri," March 17, 2004.

Russia

Clearly the event was disgusting. I was searching for a way to respond when I found this post. The section on "Sophie's Choice" is heart-breaking and I think conveys the abject hopelessness of the situation. From killing adults to making children acceptable and normal targets. How does anything justify this sort of barbarity?

Arrival Day

Jonathan of Head Heeb fame writes about a blogburst for Arrival Day, the day 350 years when Jews first came to America. Once more New York stands at the forefront of American history (sorry, needed a little bit of New York purity after being defiled by the RNC last week).

I remember growing up in a religiously diverse neighborhood, and knowing what both a menorahand christmas tree were at around the same time; wanting latkes all year-round; having a small dreidel collection. One of my friends growing up was named David, a Russian Jew who I thought was cool because he sounded like what I thought the character Colossus from the X-Men was supposed to sound like. I never put much thought into religious differences, until I became an adult, and then oddly enough it was intra-faith far more than inter-faith that I found myself thinking about.

The search for authenticity is terribly important to all communities, but for the Muslim (American) community, I found it both a source of promise and peril. Working off Rachel's post, I think there are three things that are holding back the formation of a Muslim American identity: (I have blogged, or will blog, about these issues separately.)

1. The need to define Islam as one thing, through a convenient checklist.


2. The conflation of religious identity with ethnic and racial identities.


3. The "religiousization" of political issues.

I see this, the formation of a Muslim American identity, as being important and related to Arrival Day, because I'm not sure we'll ever see a similar sense of belonging for Muslims until that time. Leila talks about an Arab-American identity, and I wonder many of the same things regarding Muslims. Aziz posts an interesting letter from friends of his about Muslim and American, and I think it is exactly the type of thing Muslims need to be doing, but don't believe that they are. It is a step.

Aziz also talks about Jews as a role-model for other immigrant communities. I agree that Muslim immigrants can learn from all other immigrant communities in the US. However, I was at a meeting of what I thought was educated and intelligent Muslims talking about trying to present a more positive vision of Islam. The discussion veered into the long-term vision for a Muslim-American community and the Jewish community was mentioned. Rather than talking about the formation of ethnic enclaves by early immigrant groups, the use of social capital to improve educational and economic opportunities, or a deep seated association with the religious community irrespective of actual religious faith what I heard disturbed me: What we needed to learn from the Jews is how to stick together to run American society. As much as I hate to say it, I am amazed at the deep-seated Judeophobia present not only amongst Muslims, but amongst the population as a whole. I also believe, that as expressed Judeophobia is frowned upon in public, Islamophobia tends to increase as a more acceptable alternative. I agree with Aziz that more needs to be done for Muslims to think beyond their parochial identities.

Seeing through the eyes of others is incredibly important if we are to live together as Americans. An event like Arrival Day gives me that hope. And for those interested, this year for Eid al-Fitr, I'm going for some cheese blintzes.

Online with Tariq Ramadan

Last month the U.S. government canceled a visa that it had granted to Tariq Ramadan, a Muslim scholar in Switzerland. The visa, which had been approved in March and would have allowed him to accept a tenured professorship at the University of Notre Dame, was revoked at the request of the Homeland Security Department. No explanation has been given, but a department spokesman cited "public-safety or national-security risks" as the usual reasons for such an action.

Tariq Ramadan, 42, is a professor of Islamic studies and philosophy at the University of Fribourg, in Switzerland. He will respond to questions and comments about these issues on Thursday, September 9, at 2 p.m., U.S. Eastern time on the Chronicle of Higher Education website

Who said that?

"America's in trouble today not because her people have failed but because her leaders have failed. And what America wants are leaders to match the greatness of her people...

"And this is their answer, and this is my answer to that question: When the strongest nation in the world can be tied up for four years in a war in Vietnam with no end in sight, when the richest nation in the world can't manage its own economy, when the nation with the greatest tradition of the rule of law is plagued by unprecedented lawlessness, when a nation that has been known for a century for equality of opportunity is torn by unprecedented racial violence, and when the President of the United States cannot travel abroad or to any major city at home without fear of a hostile demonstration - then it's time for new leadership for the United States of America."

Fear and Voting

The Church of Critical Thinking has a good piece on National Preparedness Month and it's political implications.

But this administration wouldn't be so crass to use terrorism to help their approval ratings?

A Good Essay

Unfortunately, the monography Islamic History as Global History by Richard Eaton seems to be out of print. However, if you can get a used copy, I highly recommend it a good, short (46 pages) introduction to Islamic civilizations as part of global historical processes. While not a true introduction to Islam, it is not meant for a specialized reading audience either. Two passages that leapt out at me are below. Thanks to miamvi for the introduction.