Ram Navami violence: Why does a Hindu festival anger Muslim fundamentalists?

The parochial worldview of the present Hindu intelligentsia doesn’t allow it to discriminate among the core ethos that underline different faiths. All faiths and religions do not preach the same thing. This is the harshest truth that one needs to swallow before internalising the truth of the basic ethos which underline different faiths. The dharmic faiths which find their roots in Bharat are diametrically opposite to the Abrahmic faiths which have alien roots. The rituals of worship as well as propagation of religion in Abrahmic faiths is very different from the dharmic ones. This is the root cause why Hindu societies function differently from Muslim and Christian societies which are Abrahamic in origin. The Abrahamic faith like Islam is more exclusivist and expansionist in its approach, while the dharmic faith like Sanatan Dharma is more inclusive and globalised in its outlook. Because of this difference in the worldview, Hindus and Muslims in Bharat remain in a perpetual conflict mode. The rise, revival and renaissance of Hinduism is likely to unnerve the fundamentalists of Abrahamic faiths, especially the Islamists. Any symbolic gesture that hints at Hindu revivalism is likely to receive a pushback from Muslims. The recent incident of stone pelting on Ram Navami processions across different states is a prime example of this. The advocates of stone pelters resorted to the argument of Muslim sentiment being hurt when the procession went through Muslim areas. They say that the sounds of Ram Navami celebration in front of mosques hurt the sentiment of Muslims. The arguments are prima facie baseless. We need to understand why a slogan such as ‘Jai Shri Ram’ makes certain sections of Muslim society angry. We also need to understand why Ram who is the embodiment of maryada, virtuousness, truthfulness, nobleness, benevolence and kindness causes insecurities among Muslim fundamentalists. Let’s understand why Muslim sentiments are triggered at the scaling and glorification of Hindu festivals for a start and then move to its subsequent ramifications. Islam in itself is an exclusivist religion. There are few rituals and concepts we need to internalise to understand the exclusivist nature of Islam. The population which wants the world to listen to Azaan five times a day gets aroused and offended at the slightest of provocation. The same Azaan can be translated as “ Allah is most great. I testify that there is no God but Allah. I testify that Muhammad is the prophet of Allah. Come to prayer. Come to salvation. Allah is most great. There is no God but Allah.” Through the Azaan the concept of no God but Allah resonates in the ambience of Bharat which has for millennia been home to a galaxy of deities, gods and faiths. The basic premise of Azaan creates a difference between those who believe in Allah and those who don’t. Another concept of ‘Ummah’ which is transnational is core to the Muslim society. An ummah basically is a community based on beliefs and the Muslim ummah is that which believes in the guidance of One Allah and in the prophethood of Muhammad. The concept of Islamic brotherhood or ‘Ummah’ binds Muslims the world over. That is why some Muslim living in Bharat feel more for Muslims living in Palestine than Pandits living in Kashmir. The other concept is the concept of Kafir. In Islam, those who refuses to believe in the Quran and the prophethood of Muhammad are kafirs. So basically those not believing in the Quran are Kafirs. The majority Hindu population of Bharat is Kafir. Moreover, the concept of a state in Islam can be divided into two categories namely Dar-ul-Islam and Dar-ul-harb . Dar-ul-Islam refers to those countries that have come under the rule of Islam , but Dar-ul-harb refers to those countries where Islamic rule is not established. In Dar-ul-Harb countries Muslim are commanded to be in constant warfare till rule of Islam is established. Bharat is still Dar-ul-Harb and  certain section of Muslim fanatics and fundamentalists are in constant war with the majority Hindu population. These are some of the concepts among many which makes Islam exclusivist by its inherent nature and stone pelting, spitting, converting and killing become part of faith as a means of defiance. Hindu festivals which have always been about celebration, sharing, giving, worshiping nature, respecting not just living beings but non-living too, is today creating issues among Muslim fundamentalists. This is largely due to the history of Muslims having a problem with non-Muslim rituals and practices. Such exclusivist behaviour creates fissures in the society. Hindu festivals, which form the bedrock of Sanatan Samskriti, appear provocative to Muslim fundamentalists. Such stone pelting incidents have led to the demands of Hindu festivals to be celebrated only in ‘non-Muslim areas’. Soon demands will be made of celebrating festivals only inside homes and subsequently not celebrated at all. Existing as a Hindu might become provocative someday as well. This is already the case in some of our neighbouring countries. It is high time to start questioning such separatism. We need to ask what categorisation is this Muslim and non-Muslim area? Are these boundaries to be enforced now? Why does any government irrespective of ideology has always marked Muslim locality as sensitive? We must seek answers for such questions. The problem lies the other way, the earlier we understand, the earliest we will come nearer to the solution. If we further analyse the reason for such Hindu-Muslim conflicts, the root cause of such rioting can be largely given to the reason that economic and political interest of Muslims is primarily aligned to religion. The gatekeepers of the Muslim community are antagonistic to everyone outside the religion as they do not cater to their political and economic interests. Such economic and political interest is also protected by the Constitution. The Constitution of Bharat gives protection to practice and propagation of these separatist values of Islam. The religious and minority fundamental rights under Articles 25-30 provide the much needed ground for practice and propagation of separatist values. A prime example of this is that the personal laws of Muslims are still governed by the Shari’ah. In a Hindu-majority Bharat what is ironical is that the Hindu family law is codified while the Muslim laws aren’t. What is even more ironic is the fact that those demanding Uniform Civil Code enshrined in the Constitution are termed communal while those advocating separate laws for different religions are hailed as secular. The Bharatiya state has, since Independence, shown the audacity to change and administer how Hindus manage themselves and their families but can’t stand for itself to tame the Muslim Shari’ah law. Many of the issue between Hindus and Muslims stem from the fact that Muslim fundamentalists consider the difference in rituals and worship of Hindus as irreconcilable with their faith. They start harbouring feelings of separatism where they can have absolute claim over the land and all people in the vicinity toe their religious line. Such a feeling only furthers the differences between the two communities. A proper solution to the problem lies in acceptance of Bharat as the motherland of Muslims in Bharat. The Muslim fundamentalists in the country do not accept this nation as theirs, they try to trace their identity to Arabs and Turks. It is high time that the Muslims of this nation start suppressing fundamentalist voices by openly accepting this sanskriti as theirs, the history of Bharat as their history, its heritage as their heritage. If this does not happen there can never be peace or reconciliation. As we just celebrated Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Jayanti, we just can’t stop ourselves from invoking the profound thoughts about Islam he wrote down in his book, Pakistan or Partition of India: “ Islam is a close corporation and the distinction that it makes between Muslims and non-Muslims is a very real, very positive and very alienating distinction. The brotherhood of Islam is not the universal brotherhood of man. It is a brotherhood of Muslims for Muslims only. There is a fraternity, but its benefit is confined to those within that corporation. For those who are outside the corporation, there is nothing but contempt and enmit y ”.  It is high time for Muslims to break the shackles of this fraternity and treat non-Muslims with equality. The responsibility is of the Muslim community, leadership to break the stereotype and become a more open, accommodative, inclusive. It is also imperative for Muslims of Bharat to accept this land as their own and all its citizens as their brothers and sisters. The writer is advisor, VESIM Literati Festival, Mumbai, Khajuraho Literature Festival and Prabuddha Bharat, Belagavi. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .