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The Role of Muslim Scholars (‘ulema) and Prayer Leaders (imams)

inFormulation of Public Religious Policy towards S

ectarian Conflict in Pakistan.

By Syed Akif and Kafeel Ahmed

Abstract

Religion is increasingly an important constituent of public policy discourse inPakistan. While numerous factors, most particularly the complicated geo-politicsof the region, have further convoluted the already complex relationships betweenthe sacred and the secular in Pakistan, it is important to make sense of the thought processes of leading players in both realms, which come together at least fivetimes a day when police guards take up positions outside most mosques to protectworshippers. An important aspect of the religious discourse in Pakistan is sectarianconflict between the two main Muslim faith streams.As apparent from the title, the principal objective for undertaking this study was todetermine the public perceptions about the status of and actual role(s) played byMuslim scholars and prayer leaders (

‘ulema

and

imams

) in the formulation of public policy. While these two groups of public opinion leaders are undoubtedlyimportant in terms of the influence they exert on the thoughts and actions of common Pakistanis through their very regular interactions, especially the formalsermons on Fridays and in special congregations, it is important to determine whatexactly is the extent of their persuasive power. Given the fact that the publiccanvas is a very large one, it was felt necessary to limit the scope of this study to a particular area of focus. For this we chose the sectarian conflict between the twomajor faith streams, the Shia and Sunni, in Pakistan which in spite of havingreceded after peaking in the early part of this decade is never too far from the public domain. It is certainly a weighty factor in the national religious and politicaldiscourses, especially in places like Parachinar and the annual Muharramcommemorations.The study is a primarily a quantitative one and employed a questionnaire to elicitresponses. Keeping in view the theme of the research, the generally perceivedawareness and intellectual level and linguistic skills of

‘ulema

and

imams

, their division on sectarian lines, a detailed questionnaire was developed in Urdu tofacilitate responses by members of these groups who are generally not well versedin English.

Although the correct Arabic plural of

imam

aimma

, this study uses the Anglicized plural ‘imams’ asthe word has now come to be incorporated in English and is found in most contemporary Englishdictionaries. However, the term

‘ulema

- the plural of

‘alim

– has been retained on account of its not being so widely used in English.

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The questionnaire was administered through a random sampling process inKarachi to 10

‘ulema

and over 50

imams

in Karachi; the respondents wererandomly selected from lists of

‘ulema

and mosques made available to the authors by a national security agency in confidence. While no amount of care can ever be perceived to be totally unbiased when it comes to religious issues in Pakistanwhich is highly fragmented between various “sects” and sub-denominations, anattempt was made to maintain a balance in the representation of various groups andsub-groups on the basis of what is arguably the best available official list (eventhough the same may not conform to “generally held perceptions.”)From findings of a pre-administration piloting, the form required between 30 and40 minutes to fill out. As with any research study, there were constraints andlimitations. Some of the respondents were skeptical about the aims and objectivesof the survey and apprehended the involvement of some government securityagency working behind the scene for some hidden agenda under the prevailing political circumstances. A number of them were hesitant to return thequestionnaire, in all likeliness on account of their perceived apprehensions.Accordingly, only the voluntarily/freely responded replies have been analyzed for this study.

Introduction

Historically, the

‘ulema

have considered themselves to be the successors of Prophets

and by association a group tasked by the Qur’an (3:104) and ProphetMuhammad to propagate Islam throughout mankind’s stay on this planet. Theyhave taken on as one of their prime responsibilities, partly self-assumed and partlysocio-culturally mandated, to advise not only common Muslims but morespecifically Muslim rulers and governments on Islamic tenets and issuesdemanding contemporary solutions. From the earliest days of Islam,

‘ulema

haveheld important positions in various governments and tasked with overseeing thedispensation of justice. For instance Imam Abu Yousuf (d. ), the lead discipleof Imam Abu Hanifa [Noman ibn Thabit], who provided the foundationalinterpretation and documentation of one of the four Sunni schools of religious jurisprudence, the Hanafi Fiqh, was the Chief Justice of Abbaside government of Haroon Rashid (786-809 CE).In South Asia,

‘ulema

like Bahauddin Zakaria (d. ) and Qazi Abu Mansoor (d.)occupied important positions like those of

Qadi-al-Quda

(Chief Justice),

Sheikhul Islam

(Chief Scholar), and

Sadar-ul-Sadoor

(Chief Court Advisor) during variousMuslim dynasties that ruled parts of South Asia ever since the Muslims first venturedthere under Muhammad Bin Qasim (711-12 CE) and up to the Mughal Empire (1526-1857). Burhanuddin Balkhi, a well known

faqih

(expert in Islamic jurisprudence) of the 13

century C.E. impressed Sultan Ghayauddin Balbun (d. )so much that he

This belief is based upon the Islamic tenet that Prophet Muhammad was the last of the Divinelyordained messengers and owes its origin to a

hadith

– a saying of the Holy Prophet – appearing in achapter of the most widely acclaimed book of the Prophet’s sayings,

Sahih Bukhari

(Kitabul Islam)

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was made an advisor of the court. As late as the mid-19

century C.E. the

Sultan-ul-’ulema

of the Shia state of Awadh (19

century) used to crown the new ruler.On the other hand,

‘ulema

were never wanting of taking principled stands againstkings who naturally displayed extreme arrogance towards all persons and things theyconsidered to be hindrances in their political ascendancy. Some scholars like ShaikhShahabuddin and Chiragh Delhvi (d. 757 Hijra; c. 1350) annoyed Muhammad BinTughlaq and earned his wrath. Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi, who challenged

Din-e-Ilahi,

the religious aberration of Mughal emperor Akbar (ruled 1556-1606 CE) wasimprisoned for a very long period. Not shy of intervening in political matters, scholarslike Shah Waliullah ( ) took on a very active role and invited foreign Muslim forceslike those of Ahmed Shah Durrani ( )to help stabilize the enfeebled Muslim rulequell Hindu Marhatas who were on the verge of over-running the capital at Delhi( C.E.). Still others took up militant uprising themselves: Syed Ahmed Barelvi (d.1831 CE) tried to establish an Islamic state in the Pashtun area of the Kaghan Velley(now in Pakistan) in the early 19

century. Maulvi Liaquat Ali, Maulana MehmoodulHassan and others participated in 1857 War of Independence (a.k.a. as “IndianMutiny”) and were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Andaman Islands (called

kala pani

or “dark waters”). Mufti Barkatullah tried to seek Afghan and Russian helpagainst British occupation.For their part, the British also used “the religious card” by establishing and proppingup pro-government religious personages from amongst the Sufic orders who presidedover as administrators of tombs and shrines as

Gaddi Nasheens

. These “officialmolvis” were used by colonial authorities to condemn the

‘ulema

who did not tow theofficial line by branding them as

‘Wahabis’ –

a very convenient ploy to discreditanyone by ascribing them a connection with the austere Islamic interpretation of 19

century religious leader and ideologue of the Saudi Arabian regime. Official reverencewas accorded to the graves of scholars and religious leaders from British times by thevisit of important officials and political leaders. Owing to their delicate position which has demanded arbitration betweencontrasting demands of orthodox religious doctrine and real-politik of rulers, veryoften genuine religious scholars (as opposed to the official or “market-players”)have also faced the wraths of governments for speaking truth or not towing andsupporting the official line.

The

`ulema

have also played an important role in knowledge-propagation byestablishing major Islamic educational institutions like Jamia Al-Azhar in Egypt,Madarsa-e-Nizamia in Baghdad, Houza-e-Ilmia at Najaf, Islamic University inMadina and India’s great seminary at Deoband.

Such examples are many and include the case of execution of Ahmed Bin Naser on the orders of theAbbaside ruler Wasiq, torture of Imam Ahmed Bin Humbal on the orders of Abbaside ruler Mamoonand imprisonment of Imam Abu Hanifa on the orders of the Abbaside ruler Mansoor. In recent timesalso Muslim religious scholars have faced not just torture and imprisonment (Maulana Mawdudi inPakistan) but also death (Sayyid Qutub in Egypt); throughout Muslim lands.

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