CAIRO - A galaxy of
Sufi scholars have called on Indian Muslims to reject “hardline” ideologies, calling for
limiting the Saudi influence in the Hindu-majority country, The Times of India
reported Tuesday, October 18 (more)
 |
| Sufi scholars have called on Indian Muslims to reject wahabi ideologies |
CAIRO - A galaxy of
Sufi scholars have called on Indian Muslims to reject “hardline” ideologies, calling for
limiting the Saudi influence in the Hindu-majority country, The Times of
India reported Tuesday, October 18.
"About 100 years
ago, Sunni Muslims in India had rejected the Wahabis,” Syed Mohammed Ashraf Kachochavi, general
secretary of the All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB) said.
“After Independence, however, the Wahabis expanded
their influence through
political backing.”
The AIUMB, which
claims the support of the majority of Indian Muslims, accused Saudi Arabia of
interfering in the affairs of Indian Muslims.
“While we remained away from government and
politics, Wahabis gained control over institutions dealing with minority
affairs, including the wakf board and the Muslim Personal Law Board," said
Kachochavi.
AIUMB spokesperson
Syed Babar Ashraf accused some Indian groups in India as Deoband, Jamiat
Ulama-e-Hind of importing foreign ideologies into India.
"They are funded
by petro-dollars and aim to grab political power," he said.
Wahabism is a
conservative Islamic school of thought in Saudi Arabia.
AIUMB leaders say
that Saudi ideologies give a bad name to the Muslim minority in India.
"Muslims should
be careful about such anti-national activities in the name of religion,” Kachochavi said.
“If they find any extremist exhorting them to
terrorism, they should immediately hand over the person to police."
Identity
Some analysts believe
that the AIUMB criticism is part of efforts by the group to preserve the Indian
identity.
"This movement
is articulating the ethnic roots of Islam in India,” said Arshad Alam, assistant professor at Jamia
Millia Islamia University.
“It's not just about a religious identity but
placing this identity in the national context."
But other analysts
disagree.
Muslim scholar
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan believes that Wahabi ideologies have a limited impact
on Indian Muslims.
“At best you can call them mild fundamentalists.
Muslims can't afford to be radical in India,” he said.
“About 95% of Indian Muslims had Hindu ancestors.
So Hindu culture dominates India, the basis of which is tolerance.”
There are some 140
million Muslims in Hindu-majority India, the world's third-largest Muslim
population after those of Indonesia and Pakistan.
Muslims complain of
decades of social and economic neglect and oppression.
Official figures
reveal Muslims log lower educational levels and higher unemployment rates than
the Hindu majority and other minorities like Christians and Sikhs.They account
for less than seven percent of public service employees, only five percent of
railways workers, around four percent of banking employees and there are only
29,000 Muslims in India's 1.3 million-strong military.
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