By Iftikhar Gilani
Former high ranking officer of India’s secret service late M K Dhar often in private meetings narrated an incident about a conspiracy of spreading inter-sectarian hatred among Muslims. He has also indirectly hinted about it in his book Mission to Pakistan. Although this book has been written in the form of a novel, yet according to Mr Dhar its plot and characters are factual.
According to him in the 60s a meeting of the officers of secret services was called to chalk out a programme to give a befitting response to the activities of Pakistani secret services. Several proposals were put forward. But the suggestion given by a young but well experienced officer that by spreading sectarian hatred in Karachi Pakistani agencies could be brought to their senses, appealed everyone. All of the officers supported the idea. However recruitment of suitable officers for such an important and sensitive operation was a difficult task. One of the suggestions was that Indian Muslims already working in intelligence agencies be used for this operation. But the chief of the service out rightly rejected it. Even today this service does not recruit Muslims for operational tasks.
According to Dhar the chief of intelligence agency then ordered that a team of such extremist Hindu youths be created who would remain loyal to the operation entrusted to them till their last breaths. After an intensive search, arrangements were made for such an exhaustive programme under which they (the recruits) would acquaint themselves not only with even the finest aspects of Islamic theology but would also train themselves to be able to debate with seasoned Islamic scholars.
Initially they were trained at a farmhouse near Delhi by an officer named Shyam Purohit aka Maulvi Rizwan. Before joining the service Purohit was an active member of some extremist organisation and had enviable knowledge about Islam. After the initial training Purohit sent one of his pupil Gautam Ray aka Muhim Khan to Deoband for his further training.
Here at Deoband he mastered the skills in inter-sect debates and after the completion of his education and as part of the training Mr Khan went to Bareilly and threw a challenge to Barelvi ulema for a debate. However, one night before the debate Mr Ray went to a prostitute to entertain himself. The prostitute was highly perplexed why the man, who, from his appearance, looked like a maulvi, was uncircumcised. After finishing the business when she told it to the pimp who had brought Mr Ray or Mr Khan to her he too was surprised. He therefore followed Mr Khan to his residence and was even more surprised to find out that the seasoned Maulvi Saheb was part of the delegation of the ulema that had come from Deoband for a debate in Bareilly.
He went to Barelvi ulema and told them the story. The rumour that Deobandis do not get circumcised created a riotous situation in the city. Sensing the danger Mr Khan or Mr Ray took the first bus to Delhi. Whatever happened to rest of the simple-natured maulvis in the delegation, Mr Dhar did not reveal this. However, according to him, after this incidence the Chief (secret service) ordered that each recruit for such operations would first need to be circumcised.
To be precise and coming to the present day affairs, intelligence agencies all over the world are active in spreading sectarian hatred and thus shatter the unity of Muslims. Here they have bankrolled their treasures to spread Shi’a-Sunni differences and to spread hatred between Deobandi, Barelvi, Ahl-e-hadith and Salafi sects. The sad part of the story is that they succeed in finding elements from all the sects who, either because of their gullibility or because of greed provides them useful services so much so that these agencies depute their agents in Muslim areas who add fuel to the fire in an already smouldering conflict. .
Few years ago I saw a board outside a mosque in Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh with a caption, ‘Deobandis are not allowed in this mosque.’ Similarly in Basti in western Uttar Pradesh I saw a board with the message, ‘Innovators (according to them Barelvis) keep away from this mosque.’ Last year in a book fair in Delhi I saw a banner on a stall saying, ‘Only Shi’a Islam is the standard bearer of peace.’
Since coming to power Narendra Modi’s Government has been trying to create a new mischief. In the name of curbing and stalling extremism among Muslims, promoting Sufism as a particular section is being supported and pitted against all other sects. For such a purpose next month Prime Minister is also going to inaugurate a conference. Preparations are underway for this conference. How on earth can a secular country maintain security by patronising particular sects and promoting mischief and hatred? The height of it is that for this mission Government is using several serving and retired Muslim bureaucrats.
There is no doubt that sectarian hatred has become a feature of Muslim world. However, this is also a fact that to a great extent Kashmir has been immune to such an assault. About six centuries ago Mir Syed Ali Hamdani had laid down the foundations here of a non-sectarian and non-communal Islam. It is said that Syed Hamdani himself followed Shafi school of thought. But when he noticed that there were already some families in Kashmir that followed Hanafi school of thought, he too started following and propagating Hanafi School.
Since most of the people in the region had converted to Islam from Hinduism and were used to singing and chanting hymns in temples early in the morning, he therefore gave them a wadheefa ‘auradfateeha’ the recitation that is chanted loudly in all mosques far and wide in Kashmir. These saintly Aulia did not only bring Kashmiris closer to humanitarian teachings of religion but also made this soil pride worthy by acquainting the whole society, without any discrimination, with civilisation, culture, arts, skills, industry and handicraft as well.
For the last few weeks for census in this region Muslims are being asked to fill a column about their sects. Resistance movements are expressing their fears that this is a ploy to divide Muslims in the name of sectarianism. In principle in a secular state religion is a personal matter of a person and the government needs not to have any concern with this. Therefore, asking the citizens questions about their sects and religion makes no sense.
Several opportunist elements are busy in importing class tensions and sectarian conflicts among the society. One of Kashmir’s former Governors S K Sinha had approved an Ahl-e-Hadith University in Kashmir. On the other hand he has continued spewing venom against the so called Wahabism. The only method to counter these divisive forces is that people do not get divided in the name of sectarianism and remain vigilant against such conspiracies. Pakistan is already engulfed in challenges like these. Now efforts are underway to spread this fire in whole of the region so that adversaries, on the one hand, can achieve their targets and, on the other hand, push the Muslim ummah in further turmoil. The need of the hour is that community leaders, scholars and media editors and journalists try to see and recognise this grand plan and, instead of becoming fuel in the fire of sectarianism, try their best to unite the community at every level. Pledge should also be made to boycott any organisation that makes hateful speeches or issues press statements against other sect.
Translated from Roznama Dunya by Urdu Media Monitor.Com
Good article
The article testifies the intellectual bankruptcy of the muslims.
Sir,
Thanks for so deeply researched information.
Great article now muslims need this a lot in this bad times (zawal) . Inshallah they will understand . Jazakallah.
I am damn sure now how they corrupted man made books like fadaile aamal and faizane sunnat by contaminating them with incidents based on hindu myth and sanyaswaad
the best way is to hold on to kitabullah and sunnah as ordered by rasullullah(saas) at the times of fitan
Very good article on the present scenario of Muslims of today. The irony is all our so called leaders stress the importance of unity verbally only. But behind the scene are very particular in promoting their school of thought. We need strong leaders like Kalifas who know the basic principles of Islam well and having strong urge to serve our community. First let all Muslims have deenyath education as well as state level education to reasonable level and have the power of self thinking to create better society, in such case Insha Allah we Muslims will obtain the power to guide whole world.
What you learnt from the Articles that Non Muslims have trained kuffar with beard to defame Muslims & defame the
Moulanas who are part of Islamic Institute of Daobond.
.Its an evil mission of RSS Anti Islam not of Pakistan.
We Muslims always search for a scapegoat to blame the pathetic situations we are in,find a solution not a scapegoat,
The need of the hour is to focus on education and scientific advancement of the Muslim community, not to rely on others,
We should be more liberal and open hearted towards other human beings, others are reaching the stars but we are just staring at them,
India can use any tactics to hurt Pakistan nothing wrong in this,country comes first not religion, Pakistan us our born enemy,
India should defeat them in all fields,
It’s not anti Muslim but anti Pakistan
Every Indian should say death to Pakistan
Grow up. If Pakistan was not there,there will not be Bangladesh.
We do not agree with any politicians but we stand with all Honest Muslims be they in Pakistan & anywhere.
We are First Muslims & then comes nationality. Educate yourself with Islamic education.
Theirvis common problem about muslim is they are horizentally divide among shia , sunni and ahmedi, .vertically they are divided among 73 sector and each sect denounce other.this religious battle has crippled down intellectual capacity building of people.Muslim community not only incompetent but also fails to secure themself in this competitive era .they are also obsessed with their glorious past nd stuck their mind in box of Jews , Christian conspiracy. But the fact of matter is Muslim are on verge of erosion due to their old age ideas and outdated satanic verses from koran those are irrelevent in todays scientific world.
@naveen … gaanduram if you and your bastardized breed see all negative attributes in muslims and islam….my question is then WHY do you and your coward hindutwaadis come on this MUSLIM social forum to defecate your stinky opinions…if you ll are so progressive WHY don’t you create your hindumirror.com. ….after all cowardice is an inbuilt trait….so gaanduoon …. peek before your puke ….hell to hindutwaad.