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.