TYN AR INS M T Y IT R U N T

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International Centre for Research, H Interfaith Relations and Reconciliation H A bi-annual publication on religion, culture, and interfaith relations

Volume 39 No.1 Jan-June 2020

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief Editor Dr. Packiam T. Samuel Dr. M. M. Abraham

Associate Editor Consulting Editor Dr. S.S. Waheedulla Hussaini Multani Prof. Akhtarul Wasey

Advisory Board Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood Dr. Chilukuri Vasantha Rao Founder, Principal, Foundation of United Theological College, New Delhi. Bangalore

Prof. T. Swami Raju Prof. Girish Nath Jha Dept. of Religion and Culture Dean School of Sanskrit & Indic Studies ACTC, Hyderabad JNU, New Delhi.

Prof. Syed Mohammad Naqvi Prof. Jaspal Kaur Kaang Prof. Shia , Dept. of Nanak Sikh Studies Aligarh Muslim University Panjab University, Chandigarh

Prof. Siddiqi Mohd. Mahmood Prof. Rekha Pande Dept. of Education and Training Department of History MANUU, Hyderabad HCU, Hyderabad.

Prof. Syed Jahangir Prof. Shahida Murtaza Dept. of Studies Head Dept. of Women Education EFLU, Hyderabad MANUU, Hyderabad

Dr. P.S. Munawar Hussain Dr. Zulfiqar Mohiuddin Siddiqi Joint Registrar, MANUU Oriental Languages

Hyderabad Osmania University

Dr. Victor Edwin S.J. Dr. Joshua Raja Director, VIDIS Co-Dean Oxford Center for New-Delhi Religion and Public Life, Oxford

JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE A bi-annual publication on religion, culture, and interfaith relations

Volume 39 Number 1 Jan-June 2020

CONTENTS Editorial Packiam T. Samuel

Jesuit Writings on Found in the Documents of the Indian 1-23 Academy Victor Edwin SJ

Early Phase of Cultural Nationalism and Hindu Radicalism 24-39 in Bengal and Maharashtra Regions Solomon Victus

The Concept of Adoption (Tabannī): An Islamic Perspective 40-60 S. S. Waheedulla Ḥussainī Quādrī Multānī

The ‘Sacred Cow’ in the Indian Religious and Political 61-78 Narratives Pranay Bin

Religion in of Pandemics: A Historical and Sociological 79-100 Appraisal Pamhor Thumra

Post-Modern 102-118 K.G. Pousonglung

Book Reviews A New Compass for the Holy Qur’ān by Peter Du Brul SJ 119-120 Christian de Chergé: A Theology of Hope by Christian Salenson 121-123 The Islamic Enlightenment – The Modern Struggle between Faith 124-130 and Reason by Christopher de Bellaigue

Editorial

The Henry Martyn Institute has been publishing for many decades important research articles on religions. and again scholars in the academia of religions in India and abroad have contributed to this endeavor. While the topics of their research have been varied pertaining to the enormous nature of this study, the focus has been more or less on major religions. The Institute is committed to further researches on different areas of religious studies in the days to come. This issue of JHMI has reflected on many important areas of religious studies. Joseph Victor Edwin’s paper on “Jesuit Writings on Islam Found in the Documents of the Indian Academy,” is a comprehensive analysis of Jesuits’ writings on Islam. It includes studies relating to the foundational themes of Islam like the prophethood of , the revelation of Islam, and others. The article also analyses Jesuits’ mission towards . The polemic approach of these writings, the author opines, neither portrays Islam through the lens of the Muslims nor enhances relations with the Muslims. He calls for a renewed mission towards Muslims. The article on “Early Phase of Cultural Nationalism and Hindu Radicalism in Bengal and Maharashtra Regions” by Solomon Victus is a historical analysis of right-wing Hindu cultural nationalism of the 19th and 20th centuries. It appraises the nature and characteristic of the rise of nationalism during this period in India in the form of saturated in Bengal and Maharashtra. The paper also relates these strands of nationalism in fascist Italy and Nazi Germany during this period. “The Concept of Adoption (Tabannī): An Islamic Perspective” by S. S. Waheedulla Ḥussainī Quadrī Multānī studies Islamic principle of adoption in the light of the Qur’ān and ḥadīth. This article focuses on laqīṭ and kafālah as alternative care options for children deprived of a family environment. It considers the Islamic practice of guardianship to un- parented children, a long-held child care practice throughout Islamic societies, consistent with the Sharī‘ah law.

Pranay Bin’s article on “The ‘Sacred Cow’ in the Indian Religious and Political Narratives” historically traces the Hindu religious narratives of cows in the ancient, pre-independent and post-independent India. The author observes that this topic has acquired an important place in the social, religious, and political narratives of Indian society. Though divergent narratives abound at present, the author underlines the importance of objective observation of how this issue has evolved. Pamhor Thumra’s article on “Religion in Times of Pandemics: A Historical and Sociological Appraisal,” studies the interface of religion and pandemics. The author opines that religion shapes people’s attitudes towards pandemics and the latter influences people's approach towards religion. It studies religious responses to pandemics and the impacts of pandemics on organized religion from historical and sociological perspectives. The author also observes emerging forms of religious experiences and expressions in the interface of religion and pandemics. The article on “Post-Modern Theism” by K.G. Pousonglung is a positivist religious expression towards understanding atheism. Post- Modern theism is a contemporary trend in the academia of religion. The writer asserts the viability of religious atheists bracketing . The article observes that though human societies live in an increasingly secular world, atheists are religious conscious and morally dynamic without necessarily invoking the Transcendent. I express my sincere thanks to all the contributors for your invaluable articles and the editorial team for successfully bringing out this issue of JHMI.

Packiam T. Samuel Editor-in-Chief

CONTRIBUTORS

Dr. Victor Edwin S.J. Lecturer - Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi [email protected]

Rev. Dr. Solomon Victus Senior Faculty in the Department of Social Analysis Tamilnadu Theological Seminary, Madurai [email protected]

Dr. S. S. Waheedulla Ḥussainī Quādrī Multānī Senior Faculty in the Department of Henry Martyn Institute, Hyderabad [email protected]

Pranay Bin, Associate Professor in the Department of Religion Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur, MP [email protected]

Pamhor Thumra Doctoral student (Religion) ARRC/HMI, Hyderabad [email protected]

K.G. Pousonglung M.Th. (Religion) ARRC/HMI, Hyderabad [email protected]

Jesuit Writings on Islam Found in the Documents of the Indian Academy

Victor Edwin SJ

he Indian Academy (hereafter the Academy) was a forum for Jesuit students of Theology at St Mary’s College, TKurseong. 1 The students presented their research findings, critical reflections, and considered theological opinions on several topics related to India, her peoples, and their cultures and religions.2 These presentations, in the form of research papers, were carefully recorded and preserved in bound volumes.3 Many of the essays preserved in these volumes are handwritten documents; others are typed transcripts. While most of the essays are complete, some of them provide only an outline of an essay with an accompanying note saying that it was improvised while the lecture was delivered. Perhaps it was a sign of greater grip a particular

1 St. Mary’s College is later shifted to Delhi and the college is known presently as Vidyajyoti College of Theology Delhi. Vidyajyoti College of Theology (literally, ‘Light of Knowledge’), Delhi, India, is an institute and faculty of theology run by the Jesuits. It was started in 1879 in Asansol, West Bengal, as a modest ‘Saint Joseph’s Seminary’. From 1889 to 1971 it developed in the mountains of Kurseong, near Darjeeling, where it was renamed Saint Mary’s College. From 1972 onwards it has flourished in the neighborhood of the University of Delhi. 2 Topics include the following: Ethnology and Ethnography (Tribals and Social life), History, Biography (non-Catholic), Civics, Politics, Economics, and Social Questions, Literature (Vernacular), (Vedic, Epics, Puranas and Hindu way of life), Philosophy (Upanishads, Bhagavad-Gita, Vedanta, Advaita, Ramanuja, Samkhya, Yoga, Nyana and Vaisesika, Purva-Mimamsa, , and Saivism), Modern Movements, Buddhism, Islam, Other , Missiology, Catholic Missions (Historical and Biographical), Protestant Christianity, Comparative, Apologetical, and Controversial, Education, and Art. 3 The library at the Vidyajyoti college of Theology (4 A, Raj Niwas Marg, Delhi) has all the bound volumes from the year 1912 to 1942 till the year the Indian Academy collapsed. St Mary’s College was shifted to Delhi in 1972 and given named Vidyajyoti College of Theology.

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Jesuit had on the matter that was presented in that lecture! The students presented their views on Islam and Muslims at the Indian Academy, in the first decades of the twentieth century. There are thirty essays (presented as lectures) on topics related to Islam in the Academy records.4 Written between 1912 and 1940, the

4 The titles of the articles are mentioned here in the following order: the title, the author, and the year in which it was presented in the Academy. 1. Is Islam a Revealed Religion? M. Vermeire (1912), 2. The First Three Dogmas of Islam: Allāh – the Angels – the Books. M. McDonough (1913), 3. The Introduction to the Study of the Qur’ān. M. Vermeire (1916), 4. The Foundation and Practice of Islam. J. Fell (1917), 5. Muḥammadan Tradition. C. Vanhoutte (1917), 6. Muḥammadan Religious Orders. R. Tanghe (1917), 7. Muḥammadanism: The of Good, Evil and Fatalism. E. Doran (1917), 8. Islamic Sects. E. Roeland (1917), 9. Muslim . C. Gillet (1918), 10. Islam’s God and Islam’s Prophet. H.M. Doran (1920), 11. Al-Ḥallāj: a Martyr of Islam. E. Crowther (1925), 12. The Muslim Conversion Problem and the Law of Apostasy and Intolerance. H. Modotti (1925), 13. The Prehistory of Islam. J. D’Espierres (1926), 14. The life of Muḥammad. D. Rasiah (1926), 15. Islam Apologetics: A Way Leading a Muḥammadan in India o the Light of Truth. A. Pinto (1931), 16. The Miracle of Islam: It’s Stupendous Success. H. Pinto (1931), 17. Muslim Spirituality. H. Pinto (1931), 18. Christian Apocrypha in the Qur’ān and the H̩adīth. F.S. Pew (1931), 19. Al Ḥallāj: Martyr-Mystic of Islam. A. Verstraeten (1932), 20. Al Ghazālī: The Proof of Islam. H. Pinto (1932), 21. Miracle in Islam Apologetics. A. Pinto (1933), 22. The Notion of Revelation in Islam. V. Courtois (1937), 23. The Muslim Problem: Are Muslims inconvertible? J. Taffarel (1937), 24. A Missionary Movement in Indian Islam: The Anjuman. V. Cortois (1938), 25. Al Ghazālī: On Divine Revelation. I.T. Glennie (1938), 26. Arabia in the Gahīliyya or the Cradle of Islam. V. Courtois (1939),

2 JESUIT WRITINGS ON ISLAM FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTS … essays cover a wide range of subjects on Islamic studies. These studies include an interpretation of revelation in Islam, the Qur’ān, dogmas of Islam, Islamic theology, Muḥammad and his life, the H̩adīth, Islamic mysticism, Ṣūfī orders, Muslim mystics, Muslim spirituality, and the conversion of Muslims to Christianity. A quick general observation should be made here. These documents were written neither as responses to Muslim polemics against Christians and their faith nor were they an effort to elicit a response from Muslims. Then, what are these documents written for? They are documents in which the Jesuit theology students articulate their understanding of Islam and the presence of Muslims in India. They lament the Catholic Church’s cold attitude towards the conversion of Muslims to the Catholic fold. They argue that Islam is a diabolic religion and attack the character of Muḥammad who, they claim, misguided people to a religion of his own making. The Jesuit authors deny the authenticity of Qur’ānic revelation and claim it to be a book that contains the teachings of Muḥammad. They consider Islam as a human construct. Muslims need Christian help, they claim, to come to the true faith as Catholic Christians. In the following pages the views of these authors will be analyzed and commented upon. Important Themes Was Muḥammad a Prophet of God? This important question is dealt with in several presentations. The Jesuit commentators of St Mary’s College argue that Muḥammad was not a prophet. They argue their case in the following way: M. Vermeire in his essay5 writes that Muḥammad lived a God-fearing life in but in Medina, he abandoned the Meccan style of peaceful preaching and picked

27. Muḥammad: ‘The Seal of God’ – ‘The Chosen One of God’. R.E. Ludwig (1939), 28. Prayer in Islam. T. Roussos (1939), 29. A Conspectus of Islamic Theology. V. Courtois (1940). 5 M. Vermeire, “Is Islam a Revealed Religion?” in Indian Academy Records Collection, MS (New Delhi: Vidyajyoti Library, 1912).

3 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 up the sword to subdue others. With sword in hand, in Medina, he was, he writes, unstoppable. In another essay,6 Vermeire accuses Muḥammad of revealing a career of wars and plunder.7 In his opinion, the violence that marked Muḥammad in Medina ruled him out as a genuine prophet.8 McDonough9 argues that Muḥammad deliberately misinterpreted truth and claimed that he denied the doctrine of the , not because he did not have an opportunity to learn, but because he lacked sympathy for Christians. This supposed lack of sympathy kept him away from Christians and their faith. McDonough writes: “Personally, I am inclined to think, that to further his own designs, Mohammed deliberately misstated this all important truth”.10 McDonough argues that Muḥammad could not have made use of a more effectual method for guiding pagans or ignorant Christians away from the Christian faith. Moreover, he claims

6 M. Vermeire, “Introduction to the Study of the Qur’ān,” in Indian Academy Records Collection, MS (New Delhi: Vidyajyoti Library, 1916), 215. 7 M. Vermeire, “Introduction to the Study of the Qur’ān,” MS (1916), 216. It should also be mentioned that several scholars have developed a scholarly as well as respectful attitude towards Muḥammad. M.W. Watt, Muḥammad at Mecca (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979); Muḥammad at Medina (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981); and T. Andrae, Muḥammad: The Man and His Faith (London: Routledge, 2007) are known for their respectful, academic and scholarly presentation of Muḥammad. C. Bennett’s In Search of Muḥammad (London: Cassell, 1999) though not a biography in the strict sense discusses the general problem of writing biographies of Muḥammad. One could add K. Armstrong’s Muḥammad: A Biography of the Prophet (London: Phoenix, 2004) which is a popular and readable volume. M.F. Gülen writes: “The West’s perspective on our Prophet also has softened. Together with Christian clerics and men of religion, many Western thinkers besides Massignon, like Charles J. Ledit, Y. Moubarac, Irene-M. Dalmais, L. Gardet, Norman Daniel, Michel Lelong, H. Maurier, Oliver Lacombe, and Thomas Merton express warmth for both Islam and for our Prophet ...” See: M.F. Gülen, The Necessity of Interfaith Dialogue: A Muslim Perspective (Somerset, NJ: The Light, Inc., Wisdom on to the faith series 10, 2004), 8. 8 A number of prophets of the Jewish Scriptures waged wars and killed the enemies. The Christian tradition recognizes them as prophets. 9 McDonough, “The First three Dogmas of Islam: Allāh (God) – the Angles – the Books,” MS (1913), 35. 10 McDonough, “The First three Dogmas of Islam: Allāh (God) – the Angles – the Books,” MS (1913), 35.

4 JESUIT WRITINGS ON ISLAM FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTS … that Muḥammad had no adequate conception of and the fallen state of human beings and so could not recognize the need for a redeemer and thus failed to understand Christ and his reconciling mission and the beauty of the Gospel. Some authors claim that Muḥammad was dishonest and borrowed fragments of religious beliefs either from Jewish or Christian sources and presented them as ‘revelation’. Joseph Fell, in his essay11 claims that Muḥammad’s knowledge of God is from Jewish and Christian sources.12 Moreover, he contends that he was ever ready with a revelation to turn the situation in his favor, whether it was concerned with his wives or those who opposed his doctrine.13 This argument implies that Muḥammad was supposedly dishonest in saying that he received revelation from God. In other words, he suggests that the Qur’ān represents the words of Muḥammad, not of God, and Muslims are credulous to believe that his pronouncements are revelations from God. Finally, he declares that the Qur’ān follows neither reason nor natural law and consequently has negatively impacted the Islamic civilization and retarded the development of Muslim society. Some writers argue that Muḥammad transformed his religious speculation into revelation. H.M. Doran14 argues that Muḥammad had a mind that was prone to religious speculation. His travels gave him the opportunity of listening to Jews and Christians. Besides, he had access to the Arabic Bible. Muḥammad was also deeply offended by the idolatry practiced by his people and was inspired by the Jewish and Christian teachings on One God speculated that the original religion was revealed to and practiced by him in his innocence. However, over time, this original religion became corrupted, so God sent his prophets to restore religion to its purity. In the light of all that he saw in his society, he felt the time had come for reformation. As a result, he went into seclusion for a long period. Given religious speculation and ecstasy, he began to

11 Joseph Fell, “The foundations and practice of Islam,” MS (1917), 13. 12 Fell, “The foundations and practice of Islam,” MS (1917), 13. 13 Fell, “The foundations and practice of Islam,” MS (1917), 14. 14 H.M. Doran, “Islam’s God and Islam’s Prophet,” MS (1917).

5 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 see visions, such as the revelation of the Qur’ān by angel . This Doran claims, is no more than a subjective illusion. At Mecca, Muḥammad’s action was not incompatible with the truth that he learned from Jews and Christians that he expressed in ‘revelation’. However, at Medina he allegedly became an unscrupulous politician, manipulating his ideas as ‘revelation’. Moreover, McDonough claims that the fact that Muḥammad’s teachings are found in the Qur’ān15 implies that it was a project of his mind and not that the word of God. According to him, the teaching of Islam concerning angels, jinns, and evil spirits is derived entirely from the teachings of Zoroastrians, Magians, and Jewish legends. Though he did not state it, he is not different from those who accused Muḥammad as an imposter. He also accuses of the Qur’ān as heresy, a document full of historical errors and monstrous fables, one which is replete with superstitions and which legitimizes slavery, polygamy, divorce, and . It is necessary to make a few comments here on the conclusions that the Jesuit commentators have drawn about Muḥammad. First, the Jesuit writers should be acknowledged as the children of their age, inheriting the prevailing prejudices against Muḥammad and condemning him without critical inquiry into the original Muslim sources on the Prophet’s life and mission. Their comments on Muḥammad should be understood in the time frame in which they work, and consequently, their conclusions do not carry any value for the present-day conversations with Muslims. Surprisingly, they did not show any interest in developing rapport with local Muslims. Secondly, the Jesuit commentators often got their facts wrong. One of them says that Muḥammad consulted the Arabic Bible! The first Arabic Bible is considered to have been published around the 8th or 9th century

15 McDonough, “The First Three Dogmas of Islam: Allāh (God) – the Angles – the Books,” MS (1913]), 27.

6 JESUIT WRITINGS ON ISLAM FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTS … while Muḥammad died in 632.16 Muḥammad is also accused of collecting material from Christians and Jews.17 A number of legends are connected with this claim. It has been shown in the later research that some of these legends have a theological purpose. Christian authors used Muḥammad’s connection with Christianity to stress that the source of Muḥammad’s knowledge is from Christians and Muslims. Muslims emphasized these meetings as Christian approval of the authenticity of Muḥammad and his message. This nuance could not be expected from our Jesuit commentators of Indian Academy. Thirdly, the Jesuit essayists emphasize the difference in the way in which Muḥammad responded to the challenges he faced in Mecca and Medina. They see him as a man persecuted for his stand against idolatry in Mecca and a persecutor of all those who opposed him in Medina. Some writers appreciate Muḥammad’s commitment to the idea of one God in Mecca. They consider that Muḥammad took this from his contacts with

16 First, though Muslim scholars fix 29th August 570 CE as the date of birth of Muḥammad, the Orientalists generally accept that he must have been born between 567 and 572. Muḥammad died on 8th June 632 CE. The scholarly consensus is that there is no evidence for any portion of the Arabic Bible during the time of Muḥammad (See: Sydney Griffith, The Bible in Arabic: The Scripture of the “People of the Book” (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013). The first Arabic version of the Bible appeared in the eighth or ninth centuries. Several Arabic writers of the eighth and ninth centuries incorporate quotations from the Bible. This is an indication that the Bible has been translated into Arabic around this time. More importantly, the extant manuscripts of the Arabic Bible can be traced to the eighth century. The earliest dated copy of the Letters of Paul has been completed in the year 867. See, Harvey Stall, Mt. Sinai Arabic Codex 151, 2 Volumes (Louvain: Peeters, 1985). 17 How does one account for the biblical material in the Qur’ān? The earlier western scholarship pointed towards the corrupted versions of the original Jewish- Christian scriptures as the sources of the biblical material in the Qur’ān. Recent scholars like Gabriel Reynolds argue that the oral intermingling of traditions and motifs that were present in the days of the origin of the Qur’ān were duly reinterpreted according to the Qur’an’s distinctive perspective of the role of the prophets within the history of God’s interaction with humanity and absorbed in the Qur’ān. Reynolds puts it in a scholarly fashion: the selective presence of ‘interpreted Bible in Islamic Scripture is undeniable’. See, Gabriel Said Reynolds, The Qur’ān and Its Biblical Subtexts (London: Routledge, 2010), 95.

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Jews and Christians. They overlook Muslims’ understanding of Muḥammad as a prophet both in Mecca and Medina. For Muslims, Muḥammad strove to do the will of God both in Mecca and Medina. Moreover, he is a prophet who worked out a comprehensive way of life in the light of the revelation. It appears that Christian writers tried to see Muḥammad from the prism of Jesus. While looking at Muḥammad through the prism of Jesus; the Jesuit writers fail to differentiate between the roles of Jesus and Muḥammad to their respective faith traditions. Jesus is at the heart of Christian faith and for Christians, he is both the revealer and the revelation. As a revealer, Jesus helps the human being to understand God and God’s compassion for humanity. In Christian belief, as the revelation of God, he remains the human face of God and gives those who come close to him the presence of God. Muḥammad occupies a different position among Muslims. Muslims consider that Muḥammad received and related to his listeners what had been revealed to him, essentially the will of God. The writers have not given sufficient attention to the theological nuances. Is Islam a Revealed Religion? The Jesuit writers claim that Islam is of human origin and it is not a revealed religion. Daniel Rasiah in his essay18 argues that Muḥammad had a religious bent of mind. Muḥammad’s association with the hanīfs heightened this religious tendency. He was disgusted with the idolatry prevalent among the . The quarreling Jews and Christians scandalized him further. He gathered many elements of their faith and transformed them into a new religious . He felt a strong desire to preach this new cult as the religion of Allāh! He interpreted this desire as a call from God. His internal struggles and their external manifestations were interpreted as moments of revelation. These, in brief, were some of the allegations made by Rasiah.

18 D. Rasiah, “The life of Muḥammad,” MS (1926).

8 JESUIT WRITINGS ON ISLAM FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTS …

Any student of Islam or anyone associated with Muslims would find Rasiah’s arguments, not at all convincing. First, Rasiah contends that Muḥammad preached a new cult. Did Muḥammad preach a new cult? Muḥammad preached that ‘islam’ (notice the small ‘i’) is the primordial religion revealed by God to Adam and the chain of prophets. The primordial ‘islam’ was consistently corrupted by people. Islam (the capital ‘I’) finally came to correct the innovations and corruption that occurred in the past and to establish the uncorrupted form of worship. Rasiah has simply missed the point that is at the heart of Muslim understanding of their religion. Second, Rasiah did not have the patience to listen to how Muslims themselves explain revelation in Islam. Most authors, it will be shown, who have contributed to the Indian Academy exhibit a similar evaluation of Islam. In his essay,19 M. Vermeire gives a psychological explanation which is typical of many Western authors’ explanations of Muḥammad’s religiosity. He claims that Muḥammad went through an intense mental crisis. The economic and political situation of the Arabs, he says, disturbed Muḥammad and created this supposed crisis. Vermeire considers that Muḥammad had an intense desire to regenerate his people and that he had a good chance of learning from Christians and Jews something of God in his efforts towards such regeneration. As a result, he claims, he began to take his visions and dreams as revelations. Was Muḥammad sincere in this or a mere victim of his hallucinations? In the beginning, Vermeire claims, Muḥammad believed in his vocation and despite severe persecution tried to convert his people to God. But once he fled to Medina, he says, he took up the apostolate of the sword and thereby became, in his view, an unscrupulous imposter.20 In other words, his good works allegedly went severely astray! In another essay, 21 Vermeire writes that Muḥammad’s life offers us “many noble examples of virtue”, except for the last nine years, “when

19 M. Vermeire, “The Introduction to the Study of the Qur’ān,” MS (1916). 20 Vermeire, “The Introduction to the Study of the Qur’ān,” 226. 21 M. Vermeire, “Is Islam a Revealed Religion?” MS (1912).

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[he] fell into . . . excess”. 22 In his opinion, if “it were not for the last 9 years of his existence it would be difficult to convince an opponent of the falsehood of his mission”.23 His conclusion is that though all Muslims believe in the divine origin of Islam and bitterly resent any suspicion on the sincerity and holy character of their prophet, neither is Islam a divinely revealed religion nor is Muḥammad a prophet. Vermeire dismisses Islamic revelation as untenable since he claims that the Qur’ānic revelation is neither supported by miracles nor by . He writes: “Muḥammad never did more than assert his mission. His revelation is not supported by proper evidence such as miracles or prophecies. Unlike the Jewish prophets, whom he is so fond of calling his predecessors, he never confirms his doctrine by a sign of . Secondly, he says there are contradictions and historical inaccuracies in the Qur’ān; thirdly, he claims gross sensuality fills the pages of the Qur’ān.24 Vermeire states all these to argue that Islam is not a divine religion as it claims to be. Though he states that Islam is not a divine religion, he refrained from making a conclusion on what Islam is. In other words, he did say what he regarded Islam not to be, but he did not say what he thought Islam is. To articulate what he thought Islam is, he needed both some familiarity with the Islamic texts as well as personal contacts with Muslims. Vermeire appears to be lacking both. Joseph Fell, in his essay25 raises issues with both the foundation as well as the practice of Islam and contests that Islam is a revealed religion. In the last paragraph of his essay, he claims that Islam is a religion that satisfies both the highest and lowest instincts of our human nature. He bases his claims on the writings of Cardinal Lavigerie: Mohomedanism [sic] is truly a masterpiece of the evil one. It satisfies at once both the highest and lowest instincts of our

22 Vermeire, “Is Islam a Revealed Religion?” 129. 23 Vermeire, “Is Islam a Revealed Religion?” 129. 24 The multiple marriages of Muḥammad and his followers and the material nature of paradise as described in the Qur’ān come under serious criticism of Vermeire. He also criticizes how the Jewish tribe that opposed Muḥammad at Medina was punished. 25 M S Joseph Fell, “The foundations and practice of Islam,” MS (1917).

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nature […] by the belief in one God, in life-after, punishments and rewards during the last judgment, prayer and contemplation Islam raises her followers heart and satisfies the highest instincts. But by free and unrivaled license given to all the senses, by the love of holy war, authorizing oppression, pillage and massacre without mercy, the destruction of all those who do not submit to Islam, Islam swathes its votaries in bonds.26 Any reader who is familiar with the history of Christian-Muslim relations will be surprised at the negative comments of Cardinal Lavigerie. Cardinal Lavigerie emphasized that Christians among Muslims should be witnesses of disinterested love and service. He encouraged his missionaries to enter into dialogue with Muslims on common themes like God’s majesty and our creatureliness and our need to repent and be forgiven. He stressed the importance of assuming the culture of people a missioner is sent to. It appears to be unlikely that Cardinal Lavigerie who was so open to Muslims could have written this. Fell does not seem to represent Lavigerie and his thoughts on Islam accurately. Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God? McDonough, in his article,27 critiqued the Muslim understanding of God and the idea of predestination. In Muslim theology, the word ‘Allāh’ denotes the essence of God. All other titles denote God’s attributes. According to the Islamic faith, humans know the attributes of God. However, the essence of God was not revealed. He claims that this Muslim conception of God is entirely negative (there is no god but God). He concludes his argument in the following words: “Personally, the ‘Allāh of Islam’ produces on me the impression of being quite different from and utterly unworthy of being considered the same as the God of Christian”.28

26 Fell, “The foundations and practice of Islam,” 28. 27 McDonough, “The First Three Dogmas of Islam: Allāh (God) – the Angles – the Books,” MS (1913). 28 McDonough, “The First Three Dogmas of Islam: Allāh (God) – the Angles – the Books,” 37.

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His position raises problems both linguistic as well as theological. Arab Christians call upon God as ‘Allāh’. They did not have any other word than ‘Allāh’ to indicate God. These Christians who spoke Arabic did not have any difficulty in recognizing Allāh as the Father of Jesus. The theological problems are equally troublesome. The author seems to argue that the nature of God as Triune is revealed in Jesus, and in and through Jesus humanity experiences closeness with God. The author was not aware of what the Qur’ān says about Allāh’s closeness with humanity. The Qur’ān mentions that God is as close to a human person as his/her jugular vein. Similarly, the author was not aware of Muslims praying the beautiful and experiencing the closeness with God. Though man and woman will always remain away from the holy other, God, they can nevertheless experience certain closeness with God. Doran, in his essay, argues that the exaggerated idea of God coupled with God’s power push human beings to nothingness.29This, he claims, is at the root of predestination in Islam. Moreover, the Muslim moral system does not consider the original fall of the human person, original sin, and the related question of grace and the need for a redeemer. Likewise, A. Pinto in his essay argues that the Muslim conception of God,30 which is strictly monotheistic, stresses chiefly the power and will of God. His emphasis on power and will of God leads Muslims to the idea of predestination. He claims God leads one and misleads another without taking into consideration the human condition. It is all about God’s will. If one is a faithful Muslim, then it indicates that he/she is led by God. Such a person does not need any miracle to believe in the message of God. If one lives a life that is not worthy of the servant of God, this indicates that God has misled him/her. It is God’s will to mislead the person, so Pinto claims. Hence miracles do not play any significant role in affirming one in the path of Islam. Pinto argues that Christian apologetics should first

29 E. Doran, “Muḥammadanism: The Predestination of Good, Evil and Fatalism,” MS (1917). It is a pity that Doran did not know about the Islamic understanding of humans as ashraf ul-makhlūqāt. 30 A. Pinto, “Islam Apologetics: A Way Leading a Muḥammadan in India to the Light of Truth,” MS (1931).

12 JESUIT WRITINGS ON ISLAM FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTS … shake the foundations of ‘predestination’ in Islam. Muslims need to know, he says, that God is a loving father, and predestination and fatalism are fundamentally against God who is love. God wants the wicked to turn away from their evil ways and return to Him. The Jesuit authors, it should be said, do not display a sound understanding of the ‘predestination’ issue in Islamic theology. Muslim scholars refer to God’s ability to determine events, including human acts, as God’s power and decree (al-qadar wa-l-qazā’). In the pre-Islamic milieu, the results of one's actions were considered to be pre-determined, not the actions themselves. A person, whatever he attempted to do or did, he was always doomed. Here the impersonal power is at work. In the Qur’ānic milieu, the impersonal fate is substituted by God. Qadar is understood as the manifestation of God’s omnipotence. The omnipotence of God is expressed in the Qur’ān in and through two words: al-qadīr (the powerful) and al-muqtadir (the one who prevails). This etymological connection of the word qadar set God’s Power against the of the human person. If one emphasizes the free will of the human person, then such free-will will infringe the omnipotence of God. In the Qur’ānic understanding, predetermination governs not only the results of human action but the acts themselves considered to be conceived in God’s wisdom. The Qur’ān also declares that what has been predestined for a person is recorded in a primordial book. Now, this predetermination needs to be balanced with God’s benevolence towards His creatures. God’s benevolence to the human person is also emphasized in the Qur’ān. This benevolence is expressed in the final judgment that will happen according to the record in which good deeds and evil deeds are recorded. This book is different from the primordial book. One may logically conclude, then, that a human being is punished or rewarded according to his acts. Now, the important question to be asked is whether these acts are one’s free choice or controlled by God. The Qur’ānic answer is: God leads astray whom He wills and guides whom he wills (Qur’ān 16:93). The Qur’ānic message stops at this point. It does not answer the question: how can God punish a human whom God leads astray?

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It should be recognized that it cannot be simply concluded that the Qur’ān without any ambiguity proposes predestination. Both these Jesuit authors seem to be simplistically proposing it without being aware of the complexity of the issues at stake. Moreover, what is more surprising is McDonah is not aware of the somewhat positive approaches that Christian scholars have shown in earlier centuries. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, the Holy Roman Emperor Leo III (d. 741) agreed that Christians and Muslims worship One God; and Emperor Manuel (d. 1180) advised his officers not to force the Christians who converted from Islam to anathematize the God of Muḥammad, lest it is seen as if Christians and Muslims worship different . Later scholars like William of Malmesbury (ca. 1120) said that Islam is not idolatry nor a pagan religion but a monotheistic religion and Muḥammad is a prophet of God. Otto of Freising (ca. 1143-1146) confirmed that Muslims worship one God. McDonagh ends his essay with bitter polemics saying: “though Islam appears to be closer to Christianity, Muslims are far from the blessings of redemption. Muslims are fanatic adherents to a religion, which Satan himself could not have more appropriately chosen to frustrate, if possible, the sublime and merciful labors of the God- Incarnate”.31 His essay is certainly unfair and unjust both to the faith of Muslims and to the positive approaches that were made in the history of Christian Muslim relations. It is uncritical recycling of negative images of Islam. The vision of his writing is polemic and the apostolic zeal that he wanted to show towards Muslims is merely aggressive proselytization. Is a Christian Mission among Muslims Possible? Doran, in his essay,32 claims that Muslims practice the spirit of resignation; and that if purified of all its anti-life elements, resignation would be of good use for converting Muslims to the Christian faith. The

31 E. Doran, “Muḥammadanism: The Predestination of Good, Evil and Fatalism,” MS (1917), 47. 32 E. Doran, “Muḥammadanism: The Predestination of Good, Evil and Fatalism,” (1917).

14 JESUIT WRITINGS ON ISLAM FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTS … deep humility that is expressed in surrendering to God could be positively used in the conversion. Predestination paralyzes life and leads Muslims to a life of languidness, so he claims. This barrier should be broken down with an axe of education to open up new intellectual vistas and higher spiritual ideals. This can lead Muslims into Christian fold. Modotti discusses this question in his essay.33 To do so he raises the important question as to the major roadblock obstructing the conversion of Muslims to Christianity. He informs his readers that one of the major problems is the law of . Islam does not tolerate apostasy, a position that has remained unchanged for over the centuries. A Muslim convert to Christianity or for that matter to any other religion is regarded as an outlaw according to the prescriptions of Islam and risks capital punishment. The author suggests that the law should be modified to allow people the freedom to change their religion. This should be the fundamental right of every individual. However, one may ask what will be the author’s stand on a Christian turning to Islam? Both authors consider mission in its narrow sense of conversion of Muslims to Christianity. It has been shown in this thesis elsewhere that the Jesuits in Akbar’s court did attempt a mission similar to these authors and how theologically and pastorally such attempts betray the absence of a deeper understanding of mission. Is Ṣūfīsm a Possible Link with Christianity? There are two essays on al-Ḥallāj and his spirituality. Both of them show certain openness. Emmanuel in his essay considers the mystical experiences of al-Ḥallāj as ‘invasion of God’.34 He recognized that the summit of a saint’s sanctity being consummated in the love of God, a divine union. In this summit, the saint perfectly bends his/her will to the will of God and participates in the divine life. Al-Ḥallāj, the author explains, emphasized the importance of practicing the interior dimension of religion. Love perfects this interior

33 H. Modotti, “The Muslim Conversion Problem and the Law of Apostasy and Intolerance,” MS (1925). He is deeply prejudiced and hostile. 34 E. Crowther, “Al-Ḥallāj: A Martyr of Islam,” MS (1925).

15 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 religion. Jesus Christ was the model for al-Ḥallāj who lived out the interior religion to perfection. In other words, Jesus’ interior sanctity was powered by love. Interior sanctity is superior to legal sanctity. Jesus attained union with God through this interior sanctity. Thus, he writes, Jesus was the best model of union with God. In al-Ḥallāj’s mind, this union was only a mystical union and not the hypostatic union. As Jesus lived with complete interior sanctity and harmonizing his will with the will of God, every act of his became divine. When the divine union is perfected, the ego is transformed into divine essence so that it can say “I am the truth”. Al- Ḥallāj uttered these very words in a mystical ecstasy that brought him to the execution. Though al-Ḥallāj considered Jesus as the best model for union with God, he remained within the borders of Islam fully affirming the transcendence of God. The mystical union is the result of a life of interior sanctity. Interestingly, Emmanuel praises al-Ḥallāj as an illustration of a doctrine and a type of sanctity that can be evolved from the Qur’ān. He interpreted the prescription of the Qur’ān in such a way that it is in harmony with the un-prescribed needs of interior worship. “Thus he provides us with a method of approaching the Muslims through the Koran [sic] or at least a possibility of our doing so”.35 The Qur’ān, he argues, should not be dismissed as a document without spiritual value. This view should be acknowledged as a positive approach among the widespread negativity of many in the Academy documents. Emmanuel underlines a positive aspect of Islam. It is certainly a new fruit of theological clarity and openness towards Muslims at a time of hostility towards Muslims and their faith. He certainly opens new prospects in the conversion of Muslims in his mind. As a man of his times, Emmanuel finds the fulfillment theory useful for the conversion of Muslims to the Christian fold. He writes: “His [al-Ḥallāj’s] life and doctrine also show that Mahomeddanism [sic] is not a religion whose sole doctrine is polygamy as is commonly believed, but that much good can be

35 Crowther, “Al-Ḥallāj: A Martyr of Islam,” (1925).

16 JESUIT WRITINGS ON ISLAM FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTS … drawn out of it, and utilized for evangelization”.36 It suggests, therefore, a new method of the apostolate, to show forth the noblest aspirations of other religions, aspirations that are satisfied beyond hope or thought in Catholicism, so he believed. For him, Catholicism possesses in full all this is found only partially in other religions. He writes: “the convert then has not to enter a new land altogether, but to see the old familiar objects in a new and divine light. He has not to restrain his thoughts but to give them their fullest expression. He will see that Christ has come not [to] destroy his law but to fulfill it”. A. Verstraeten, in his essay, expounds very succinctly al-Ḥallāj’s understanding of God, his principle of spirituality, and his mysticism.37Al- Ḥallāj, Verstraeten affirms, was a strict monotheist. The creation is the fruit of the mystical love of God that proceeds from “God’s desire of projecting out of Himself his supreme joy, that He might behold it and speak to it”. Creation is the supreme joy of God and the fruit of the mystical love of God. From this understanding follows his great principle of spirituality. How does a human being know God? Verstraeten says that according to al-Ḥallāj, humans cannot know God by their own will or by any natural practice, but by supernatural communication, humanity is invited to participate in God’s essential life. This divine union does not destroy the personality of the mystic but rather it perfects and consecrates it. Studying the life of al-Ḥallāj, Verstraeten concludes that: “this mystical union al-Ḥallāj seems to have realized to a very high degree, as is shown by his prayers and still more by his deeds, especially the last days of his life when he died a martyr”. Both these writers seem to explore the lights of Qur’ānic spirituality amidst the of negative comments. H. Pinto deals with another important theological figure in Islam. In his essay, he presents the life and spirituality of al-Ghazālī in a very informative way.38 First, he enumerates the faith struggles of al-Ghazālī in the face of skepticism and how mysticism brings peace to his agitated soul. Al-Ghazālī recognizes mysticism as the real source of knowledge

36 Crowther, “Al-Ḥallāj: A Martyr of Islam,” (1925). 37 A. Verstraeten, “AliḤallāj, Martyr-Mystic of Islam,” MS (1932). 38 H. Pinto, “Al Ghazālī: the proof of Islam,” MS (1932).

17 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 and explains it with analogies and parables. Pinto affirms that the theology of al-Ghazālī is firmly founded on the Qur’ān and Traditions of Muḥammad. Al-Ghazālī, Pinto writes, deliberately rejected Christianity. Pinto did not consider the reason that al-Ghazālī himself gives about rejecting Christianity to be the real reason. Al-Ghazālī rejected Christianity for its dogma of the Trinity and Christianity’s rejection of the divine mission of Muḥammad. Pinto speculates without substantiating it that the real reason could be the poor quality of the life of Christians whom al-Ghazālī had come across. In the final section, he raises an important question that is very important to a thesis like this. He asks what one should think of al-Ghazālī. First, he says, how such a holy man like al- Ghazālī worshiped the memory of a man like Muḥammad. It is intriguing to see a phrase like ‘worshiped the memory of Muḥammad’. Did al- Ghazālī worship the memory of Muḥammad? As a Muslim, he honored the Traditions of the prophet, nothing more than that. Pinto writes that al- Ghazālī’s attachment to Muḥammad is mysterious and inexplicable. Further, he adds that al-Ghazālī was an ardent admirer of Jesus. He long sought for truth, “but yet the ‘kindly light’ led him back to the religion of Muḥammad. Pinto did not hide his appreciation for al-Ghazālī, who “remains a most noble character, worthy of our respect and admiration”. H. Pinto in his essay ‘Muslim Spirituality’ alerts to what he regards as the pitfalls in the area of Muslim spirituality.39 He writes that ‘orthodox’ Muslims follow closely the precepts of the Qur’ān and the of the prophet. Pinto considers this as mechanical since he believes such practices only attend to the exteriors of religion and not the interior spirituality of an individual. The higher spirituality attempted by Muslims, though praiseworthy in many aspects, falls into grave errors like , so he claims. What he regards as the artificial ways in which the Muslim mystics induce ecstasies lead, he believes, to hypocrisy and fraud. The self-inflicted tortures of mystics are expressions of a perverted notion of holiness, so he says. Such practices delink morality from religion and fill the with charlatans—this is what he opines.

39 Pinto, “Muslim Spirituality,” MS (1931).

18 JESUIT WRITINGS ON ISLAM FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTS …

The Religious Orders R. Tanghe, in his essay, writes that sacrifice and sacraments are at the heart of the Christian religion.40 A priest functions as one who offers sacrifices and administers the sacraments to the faithful. A body of such men who are priests forms a religious order. Tanghe finds in Islam no such sacraments and sacrifices. His logical conclusion is Islam does not need religious orders. It is an interesting example to see, how reason and logic could be far away from reality. When he finds religious orders (Ṣūfī orders) he recognizes them as a phenomenon that was born of the fervent attitude of some ascetic Muslims. The Ṣūfī way of life draws many to God. For such people, the outward rites of religion are not needed. A few among these elect claim that they are so absorbed in the contemplation of God that they experience unity and identity with the supreme. They are results of an illusionary imagination and strained nerves. The real grace is a supernatural and unmerited gift, in the Muslim religious orders, it is forced and intended. The contemplation and remembrance of God are carried to excess in Islam and borders on pantheism, deadening the personality of the individual and consequently destroying the responsibility and merits of his actions. The Sects in Islam E Roeland, in his essay, writes that divisions were inevitable since, so he argues, Islam is a human construct.41 Its weakness and instability come from its human origins, he opines. Islam maintained a distance when it came in contact with people of other living religions. The new converts followed their former practices except those which were outlawed by the Islamic Law. The more Islam spread, to maintain uniformity a new creed was introduced: Islam cancels all that came before it. However, this drastic step could not stifle numerous divisions. Islam dealt with the plurality, with scholasticism and practical (jurisprudence).

40 R. Tanghe, “Muḥammadan Religious Orders,” MS (1917). 41 E. Roeland, “Islamic Sects,” MS (1917).

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Roeland argued that Muslim scholasticism defended the objects of Muslims’ faith in God, God's justice, faith, repentance, promises, infidelity, error, history, and reason faith from innovators. When scholasticism was used in disputation it becomes repugnant to nature, to the order of creation and intolerably absurd. The practical divinity that is Jurisprudence deals with legal controversies. Its realm includes the power to decide about religious matters as well. Four different schools function based on different interpretations of Muslim Law. Finally, Roeland writes: “Islam is the hugest mass of confusion in the world; a confusion which is without remedy unless the true light comes to shine upon it. Unfortunately, its rampart of sensuality is so strong and opaque that a miracle of grace is required to make the purity of the Gospel to penetrate it”. Summarizing Remarks In summary, it should be acknowledged that the Jesuit students’ lectures are not polemical tracts written in response to the questions raised by Muslims either directly or indirectly through written documents directed towards the Jesuits. This was often the case in the 9th and the 10th centuries where both Christians and Muslims tried to explain their faith in categories that the other party could understand. These documents are simply the Jesuit students’ assessment of Islam and Muslims. Three major issues are considered in these writings. They are: Is Muḥammad a prophet of God? Is Islam a revealed religion? And, do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? These issues could be called ‘Foundations of Muslim Faith’. The other topics covered by the writers are: Is a Christian Mission among Muslims possible? How one should understand religious orders (Ṣūfī orders) in Islam, and is Ṣūfīsm a possible link to Christianity? And, why are there many sects among Muslims? These topics could be assigned to a ‘Jesuit Mission among Muslims’.

20 JESUIT WRITINGS ON ISLAM FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTS …

The Jesuit approaches to these crucial issues should be located in the large canvas of the Christian approach towards Muslims and Islam. Many Christian writers of the East placed Islam in the broad context of a monotheistic belief but critiqued the religion for its denial of Christ’s salvific status. Many Christian writers of the West often made hostile comments on Islam, especially on Muḥammad. However, there were eirenic views that wanted to approach Muslims with love. The early Jesuits showed different tendencies towards Muslims. Some accused Islam of plagiarism, others diagnosed that Islam was in crisis; some others wanted Muslims to be forced to listen to the Gospel, and some Jesuits identified the religiosity of Muslims as an area where Christian and Muslims could meet. Coming to the essays of the Academy, it should be acknowledged that these documents are, like many other Christian critiques of Islam, marked mostly with hostility and unfriendliness. They have mostly repeated the negative streaks of what both Eastern as well as Western Christians said about Islam, Muslims and their prophet. However, they did not show the sensitivity that was shown by many Christian writers on Islam who made positive remarks. The Kurseong Jesuits’ comments on Islam and Muslims are always made from a panoptic point of view that is from the vantage point of Christian faith. It must be said that the Jesuits did not give a sympathetic account of Islam and remained largely ignorant of its teachings. As a result, there is no new creative thinking found in the Academy documents. The exceptions are essays on the life and spirituality of al-Ḥallāj. These writers, it should be noted that often resemble the Jesuits in the court of Akbar in some sense. The Jesuits at Akbar’s court waged a full-scale war on Muslims by attacking Muḥammad and Islam. The Academy records, too, exhibit the same hostility. The court Jesuits knew their Catholic theology well, but comprehensively lacked the understanding of what Muslims think about their faith. The Jesuit writers knew their theology well. However, their writings seem to show neither

21 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 any experience of Muslims nor interest to learn from them. As a result, an objective and nuanced knowledge of Islam is absent in these documents. It should be noted that there was a nuanced growth in the way the Jesuits conducted their affairs at the Mughal court. While they undoubtedly caricatured the Faith elements of Islam, at the same time Antonio Monserrate showed keen interest in recording social and historical moments of the time he lived in the Mughal court. The Jesuits of the Academy do not exhibit any interest in such exercise. Jerome Xavier, one of the Jesuits at the Court, made huge efforts to learn the language of Mughals in his effort to communicate his faith. The academy Jesuit writings do not indicate any such interest. As a result, no new approach emerges from these writings. The study of the Muslim faith by Christians should focus on Muslim interpretations of their faith and their life and sensitive response to it in the light of Christian understanding. In this way, the spiritual foundations of Islam will be recognized accurately and appropriately. This recognition of the other as other is the theological key for opening up new ways for deeper understanding and cooperation. Inner sympathy alone can enable a Christian to gain a deeper appreciation of Islam. True understanding is built only on mutual understanding and true relationship will be built on nuanced understanding. When the writers consider the Mission of the Society of Jesus in relationship with Muslims, it is interesting to note that their writings indicate that Muslims are not outside the realm of Christian understanding. Should Christians reach out to Muslims? Yes, to convert them to Christian fold. Is there a way? Yes, the Muslims’ spirit of resignation should be purified from all its alleged anti-life elements and this would lead Muslims to the Christian faith. The deep humility that is expressed in surrendering to God could be positively used in the conversion. This approach focuses on the life of Muslims. Muslims practice humility, and it could be a spiritual source for guiding them to the Catholic faith.

22 JESUIT WRITINGS ON ISLAM FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTS …

Another approach focuses on Islam and its spirituality. That is the way followed by the authors who wrote on al-Ḥallāj and his spirituality. They not only appreciate al-Ḥallāj but consider that the holiness of al- Ḥallāj has its roots in the Scripture, the Holy Qur’ān. Precisely for this reason, the writer suggested that this is a huge step forward. Some writers comment that predestination paralyzes life and leads Muslims to desperation and this barrier should be broken down with education, opening up new intellectual vistas and higher spiritual ideals. These can lead Muslims to the Christian fold. The essays on al-Ḥallāj deserve appreciation. They are done well since they were done in the light of Louis Massignon’s magisterial work on this mystic. This indicates clearly what the conclusion may be drawn in this section. Muslims need to be listened to carefully to understand their faith. Relationships need to be built to recognize the greater value of their faith in their lives. One cannot but recognize the passion in these essays, but unfortunately, this is mixed up with a large measure of ignorance and a lot of arrogance. But ignorance and arrogance have failed the passion of these writers. Their passion combined with knowledge of Islam that comes through a relationship with Muslims could be a basis for genuine Christian-Muslim relations.

23 Early Phase of Cultural Nationalism and Hindu Radicalism in Bengal and Maharashtra Regions

Solomon Victus

ur general tendency is to link with only a few religions, but history says it’s in every religion O provided we groom it systematically. The context is more important to understand the individuals and organizations that are behind such activities. No one is born terrorist; terrorists are created by the context. If the system is unjust, partial, corrupt, exploitative, irresponsible, undemocratic, with no space for expression and irrationally violent, then you can expect more and more criminals and terrorists emerging in any context. The present system of democracy we find in developing and undeveloped countries are democratic only in name. Most of these countries have neither political democracy nor economic democracy and cultural democracy. The current space for such democratic activities is slowly shrinking day by day. Asghar Ali Engineer rightly calls it, ‘ballot-box oriented democracy.’1 The paper attempts to present historical facts to see the linkages of cultural nationalism not only as a short term issue as many of us understand today. It had been lasting nearly for two centuries even before the origin of Nazism and Fascism and so solution also rests on a long term basis. This paper is a sort of political psychology to analyze how a religion that talks so much about dharma, tolerance, non-violence, all-embracing, and all-absorbing in India has taken up trisuls, pickaxes, and guns to defend their position in recent years. There had been resentment over rulers of non- in India, especially from the side of Brahminic Hinduism. How has this small level of resentment and hatred permeated into larger communities of Hinduism? Where did we fail? What are the

* This paper was presented at Henry Martyn Institute, Hyderabad on 4th March 2020 for an informal discussion. 1 Asghar Ali Engineer, On Developing Theory of Communal (Bombay: Institute of Islamic Studies, 1984), 28.

24 EARLY PHASE OF CULTURAL NATIONALISM AND HINDU … lessons we can take forward to generations? This attempt could be an impetus for more detailed research in this area on the later developments in ideology and its operation in India. To begin with, let us clarify what is cultural nationalism? As to the origin of the term ‘cultural nationalism’, no one has any concrete idea about who originally used this term. However, today it is appropriated by Hindu nationalists and it is identified with rightist cultural groups. Here the argument is that nationalism also could be defined by the culture of particular sectarian people, maybe by a religious sector or ethnic sector or linguistic sector or denominational sector. In short, it can be understood as nationalism which signifies the exclusion of a certain section of the people in the name of culture. Shashi Tharoor says, For Hindutvavadis, India’s national culture is Hindu religious culture, and cultural nationalism cloaks plural India in a mantle of Hindu identity. Since Hindutva’s conception of nationalism is rooted in the primacy of culture over politics, the historian K.N. Panikkar has pointed out, the Hindutva effort is to create an idea of the Indian nation in which the Hindu religious identity coincides with the cultural.2 It was at the beginning of the 18th century Hindu nationalists understood Asoka’s advocacy of ahimsa (non-violence) and the growing influence of Buddhism spread ‘cowardice’ in India.3 Then they started blaming the Muslim rule which took place from the days of the early Arab and Turkish Muslim invaders of India down to Aurangzeb. This was a long story of of Hindu temples, destruction of idols, and the imposition of the deliberately offensive and discriminatory poll tax on the Hindus by the Muslim rulers. The chronicles composed by Muslim historians from Al-Balādhurī, ‘Alī Kūfī the author of Chachanama to Kāfī Khān had given us the details of these deplorable proceedings. Exceptions

2 Shashi Tharoor, Why I am a Hindu (New Delhi: Aleph Book Company, 2018), 211. 3 Aditya Mukherjee, Mridula Mukherjee and Sucheta Mahajan, RSS, School Texts and Murder of Mahatma: The Hindu Communal Project (New Delhi: Sage, 2008), 18.

25 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 were there, of course, but the direction of their general policy was clear. The real departure was the policy of the Mughal Emperor, Akbar.4 The proponents of the two-nation theory in pre-Independent India were either fanatic Muslims or fascist Hindus. For more than a thousand years Islam had insisted on combining the state with religion. It wanted nations in which the prevailed (dār al-Islām). Further, many Muslim rulers in India forced the Hindus to pay higher taxes (the jizyah) till the 18th century, treating them as second-class citizens,5 and so the struggle for India’s freedom became almost a ‘' against Muslims and others.6 In the post-Independence period, “there were also other kinds of religious fundamentalisms lurking around India. Some Christian and Muslim groups in India are convinced of their theological superiority, as sure of their victory at the altar of history, as any bigot of the .”7 This was another reason to hate minorities. However, Hindu nationalists were neither able to fight with them nor able to argue intellectually. With this background, we may be able to understand the psychology of the majority of Hindus. I attempt to trace some muscle- building (gymnastic) projects and organizations that took place between Bengal, Maharashtra, Nagpur, and European cities to highlight how reactionary and violent responses emerged within small groups and snowballed to larger levels. The Bengal Nexus To some people, the concept of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ started emerging subtly after the Permanent Settlement Act of 1793 in Bengal.8 The

4 Madhu Limaye, Religious Bigotry: A Threat to the Ordered State (Delhi: Ajanta Publications, 1994), 126. 5 Sanjeev Sabhlok, “Time to Call out Hindutva,” (Madurai Edition) October 30, 2019, 10. 6 Mukherjee, Mukherjee and Mahajan, RSS, School Texts and Murder of Mahatma, 18. 7 Ramachandra Guha, Patriots and Partisans (New Delhi: Allen Lane, 2012), 7. 8 S.K. Biswas, Hinduraj: Today-Yesterday-Tomorrow (Calcutta: Orion Books, 1996), 24.

26 EARLY PHASE OF CULTURAL NATIONALISM AND HINDU …

Muslims (ashraf – the local Landlords, Zamindars), were particularly conscious of their ‘racial superiority’ in the Bengal region and always emphasized that they were different from the indigenous population. But after the British Permanent Settlement of Land Revenue Act 1793, many of them were impoverished by such measures. The newly fixed amount was 10/11th portion of the revenue for the government and 1/11th was for the Zamindar. The Zamindars’ proprietorship would stay as long as they paid the fixed revenue, at the said date to the government. If they failed to pay the revenue, their rights would cease to exist and the land would be auctioned off.9 At the higher levels, Muslims lagged behind their Hindu neighbors due to the economic depression which was a repercussion of the Act.10 Thereafter, it paved the way for the dominance of Hindus among Muslim landlords in Bengal. The former gained moral strength over the Muslims and the land.11 Thus, Hindus understood that they were regaining rule over the land which was returning to Hindus. For other scholars, the notion of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ was a later development, for instance, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was imagining ‘Hindu Rashtra’ through his writings and originally composed a song, ‘’ in 1875.12 This was the same year was founded by Swami . Bankim, a bureaucrat and a novelist in Bengal towards the end of the 19th century, showed extreme communal hatred to Muslims.13 His song has symbols and allegories of the Hindu mythology, and the underlying sense of the allegories selected are readily intelligible to the general Hindu people. Durga was described as Might, that is to say, she is the of prowess or valor; Kamala,

9 “Permanent Settlement [Modern Indian History Notes For UPSC]” https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/ncert-notes-permanent-settlement-of-bengal/ (February 25, 2020). 10 Rafiuddin Ahmed, The Bengal Muslims 1871-1906: A Quest for Identity (Delhi: OUP, 1981), 10, 136. 11 Bimal Prasad, Pathway to India’s Partition: The Foundations of Muslim Nationalism, vol., I (New Delhi: Manohar, 1999), 113. 12 Tanik Sarkar, Hindu Wife, Hindu Nation: Community, Religion and Cultural Nationalism (New Delhi: Permanent Black, 2001), 176. 13 Biswas, Hinduraj: Today-Yesterday-Tomorrow, 31.

27 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 who is said to be Lakshmi, was the goddess of wealth; and Bani, who is called Saraswathi, was the goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and learning.14 This song Vande Mataram unexpectedly burst into triumphant life with the agitation against the partition of Bengal in 1905 which profoundly influenced the courses of Indian history. An unprecedented wave of resentment engulfed the Bengal region which subsequently gave rise to a series of tumultuous protests throughout India.15 For historian Tanik Sarkar, The song, even on its own, would have been an original contribution to the deification and fetishization of the mother country. It begins with an evocation of the bounteous and beauteous land that nurtures its children. Bounty and physical richness turn into the image of a motherland possessing a latent strength that derives from the image of Durga, the demon-slaying goddess. This song was subliminally anti- Muslim in tone, and so later nationalists saw the demon slayer as pitted against the colonial power and used the song as an abbreviated history of colonial exploitation and the patriotic struggle for liberation.16 In 1929 Muslim League, sensing the popularity of the song and its adverse effects, made a 14-point resolution to Congress to give up the song Vande Mataram that it would create anti-Muslim sentiments among Indian people. The Congress Working Committee after months of intensive thought and long consultation with leading personalities of Bengal including no less than Rabindranath Tagore and others decided to truncate Vande Mataram in October 1937. The Committee appointed by the Congress recommended that certain stanzas, which contained certain allegorical references, might not be used on national platforms or special occasions. However, the first two stanzas which have not a word or phrase which can offend anybody from any point of view were recommended by the Committee.17

14 Aurobindo Mazumdar, Vande Mataram and Islam (New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2007), 8. 15 Mazumdar, Vande Mataram and Islam, 9. 16 Sarkar, Hindu Wife, Hindu Nation, 176. 17 Mazumdar, Vande Mataram and Islam, 49.

28 EARLY PHASE OF CULTURAL NATIONALISM AND HINDU …

Nationalists in Bengal were already more persistent than any other regional group in the attempt to develop a ‘culture of courage’. Bengalis had often been singled out by north Indians and the British as peculiarly lacking in courage, and so Bengalis fought the stigma of cowardice in novels, on the stage, in historical research, and akharas (gymnasia). The Bengali interest in Hindu martial traditions was popularly enjoyed by Bankim Chandra Chatterji’s Ananda Math. In the first edition, he described a sanyasi rebellion against the British. In all editions, Bankim Chandra showed Bengalis overcoming their fear and attachments to worldly possessions as they devoted themselves to the mother goddess Kali to fight for their freedom. Ananda Math served as a model for the Bengali terrorist societies after 1905.’18 As far as Tanik Sarkar is concerned, Bankim formulates and fills out a violent Hindu agenda and immediately proceeds to deconstruct it. He powerfully projects religious militancy as a resolution to the problem of colonization, yet he has an equally powerful certainty about the untenable future of this resolution. It is inevitable, then, that while outlining this agenda in intensely heightened colors and proclaiming it with a brutal stridency that nearly reaches the breaking point in his last novel [Ananda Math], he must also immediately counterpose to these convictions and the alienating scene that drags the shining vision of Hindu triumph down into the realms of idle humor and gossip.19 John R. McLane, a British researcher while tracing out their need to revive Hindu martial traditions and to restore physical vitality to Hindus, discovered that it was by no means new. Fear of physical degeneracy already contributed to the development of the cow protection movement.20 In 1927 Arya Samaj created the Arya Vir Dal (Arya Heroes’ Organisation) which took up training in physical self-defense in an exact parallel with the

18 John R. McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977), 337. 19 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 190. 20 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 333.

29 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 contemporaneous RSS.21 Swami Sharaddhananda played a decisive role in the formation of sanghathan (union) of the Arya Samaj. Hindu sanghathan stood for the consolidation of the Hindu community. The program of the Arya Samaj was to organize Hindus for self-defense; that the Hindus should cultivate a militant spirit and go and meet the enemy and attack them in their stronghold. This militant spirit of the Samaj had introduced into Hindu society, according to them, “a tone of manliness and a sense of self-respect, which it lost during the centuries of Muslim rule.”22 As a member of Arya Samaj, Lajpat Rai had already devoted considerable energy to Hindu physical regeneration. Rai was much better known as a champion of moral courage than of physical courage yet he had developed interests in the Italian, Giuseppe Mazzini, and his secret societies too.23 Lajpat Rai’s emphasis upon Hindu revival and the consolidation of the Hindu society won him respect from other Hindu nationalists throughout India and made him a natural ally of B.G. Tilak within the Congress. Rai’s family background was that his grandfather was a Jain shop keeper and his father had been a Muslim ‘by conviction’. Nevertheless, Lajpat himself joined the before turning to Arya Samaj.24 The Cradle of Maharashtra Until 1893, Hindu-Muslim disturbances had been uncommon. In 1893, the Hindu revitalization movements such as the Arya Samaj provoked serious communal riots in widely scattered parts of India. There was new and related Hindu interest in developing physical courage and overcoming the reputation for lack of bravery and robustness in Bombay too.25 John R. McLane examines Hindu attitudes towards physical courage and violence in detail in his research. He attempts to show, how Hindu nationalists with diverse backgrounds came to share an interest in muscle-

21 J. Kuruvachira, Politicization of Hindu Religion in Postmodern India (New Delhi: Rawat Publications, 2008), 16. 22 P.L. John Panickar, Gandhi on Pluralism and (New Delhi: ISPCK, 2006), 41. 23 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 337. 24 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 336. 25 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 18.

30 EARLY PHASE OF CULTURAL NATIONALISM AND HINDU … building and the development of courage. These nationalists lived in a society where martial opportunities had shrunken since British pacification and the decision to restrict military recruitment to a small fraction of the population. Alternative forms of physically demanding activity were scarce because those nationalists belonged to elites which avoided manual labor and sports.26 The defenders of orthodoxy viewed reformist activities in Hinduism as a sign of weakness, division, and cultural surrender. The timing of ’s decision to convert the festival in honor of the god Ganapati and Shivaji festivals into a political celebration of populist Hinduism stemmed directly from the 1893 riots. He argued that if Hindus were to make themselves heard by officials, they should use the same tactics as Muslims. According to a government report, “he advocated that all Hindus, educated and uneducated, should go in for gymnastics and acquire a familiarity with weapons.”27 Although the Hindus had patronized akharas (gymnasia) long before the 1890s, what was new was that between 1890 and 1910, English-educated students began to attend akharas, especially in Maharashtra and Bengal to march in political processions in paramilitary formation.28 Chapekar’s Terrorist Society A young boy from the Maharastrian Chitpavan Brahmin cluster, called Damodar Chapekar, was reduced to poverty and penury and at one point of time for nearly one year Damodar was forced to beg for his food in the streets. Despite his adversity, his resentment at the decline of respect for , and cows, and Hindu orthodoxy in general, combined with his economic frustrations seem to have the characteristics of men who joined militant Hindu organizations and participated in communal riots.29 He claimed that his first thoughts of terrorism came to him almost by chance when he was about fifteen years old. He and his brother,

26 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 332. 27 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 339. 28 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 340. 29 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 18.

31 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020

Balkrishna, were riding on a train when they passed through some wild and densely wooded mountains. It struck them that this would be an ideal place to hide after committing ‘terrible deeds’. With this romantic thought as a beginning, they became fascinated with warfare and terrorism. Both of them decided to form their military club. They tried to recruit their friends but found they would not follow orders. Damodar and Balkrishna taught the boys to shoot and fight mock battles with slingshots. At one point, one hundred and fifty boys belonged to the club. Damodar had chosen the monkey-god, , as the patron of the club.30 In 1896 and 1897, the Chapekars increased their terrorist acts. They assaulted an Indian professor who had been converted to Christianity. They attacked a school teacher whom they believed was denouncing Hinduism and perverting little boys. They set fire to a pavilion in which the matriculation examination was scheduled to be held and watched it burn ‘like an offering’. Psychology of a drop out reflected here. They tried to burn a Christian mission building and a European merry-go- round. They stoned missionaries preaching in Bombay and they disfigured a statue of Queen Victoria with a tarlike substance.31 Most of their attacks were targeted against Christians and the colonial rulers. W.C. Rand was an unpopular British officer in Poona under his direction British soldiers were misusing women, desecrating temples, breaking idols, smashing in the walls of houses, and dragging people away to hospitals. The Chapekars followed Rand for days, studying his moments and looking for an opportunity to strike him. Opportunity arrived and they shot him dead. After shooting Rand and one more British Lt. Ayerst in 1897, the Chapekars fled from Poona. Damodar was arrested by the police and in his confession mentioned their visit to Tilak and his close friend Bala Sahib Natu’s programs. The Chapekars had visited the gymnasium of Natu and they had attended a Shivaji celebration in the Natu’s garden too.32

30 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 346. 31 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 350. 32 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 351.

32 EARLY PHASE OF CULTURAL NATIONALISM AND HINDU …

On 3rd February 1898, a jury of four Indians and one European found Chapekar guilty and he was sentenced to death.33 In the prison, he wrote a remarkable autobiography explaining his reason for murdering two English officials and for attacks on Christian missionaries. His younger brother, Balkrishna was arrested in December in Hyderabad state where he had been hiding in the Satpura hills with a gang of dacoits. Soon after, Balkrishna was caught and brought to Poona where his younger brother, Vasudeo Hari, and a friend tried to kill one of the police officers investigating the case. They ambushed and killed Dravid brothers who had been the two principal witnesses in Damodar’s trial, and they were expected to testify against Balkrishna too.34 They were found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. It was reported that when Vasudeo was being led past Balkrishna’s cell to the gallows, he called ‘Brother, I am going.’ Vasudeo died clutching a copy of the Bhagavad Gita.35 This was taken as a model by Naturam Godse at the time of his gallows cell. Hindu National spirit of Godse and Apte carried to the gallows a map of united India and the Gita.36 The Chapekars club was, John R. McLane writes, the first ‘modern’ terrorist organization the British encountered. It appeared in the town most likely, in British eyes, to produce such a phenomenon. Its membership had been only twenty or so and of these less than ten men had been active. Moreover, its goal of preserving the Aryan religion and driving the British from India was so far removed from the means in their hand that the whole affair had an air of absurdity and unreality. The club did resemble the terrorist societies which sprang up a few years later in Bombay, Bengal, and Punjab in the reckless, courageous, and conspiratorial behavior of its members.37

33 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 353. 34 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 354. 35 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 355. 36 Mukherjee, Mukherjee and Mahajan, RSS, School Texts and Murder of Mahatma, 64. 37 McLane, Indian Nationalism and Early Congress, 355.

33 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020

The Axial of Nagpur The RSS, on the other hand, certainly took it to imply a ‘historical’ struggle against Muslims. From its very inception, the RSS had stayed away from the anti-colonial movements and was devoted exclusively to a communal agenda. Vande Mataram reiterated that the patriotic son is quintessentially a soldier at war for the sake of the armed mother.38 However, Hindu activists appropriated the occasion and adverse feeling of the Hindu people to harvest into their Hindu Rashtra agenda. In this background, it is also good to know the political upbringing of the RSS founder, Kesav Baliram Hedgewar. A senior leader of and a strong Hindutva ideologue, Balkrishna Shivram Moonje had a tough belief in fascist ideology and its organizational strategies.39 As a staunch advocate of Hindu Rashtra, he founded Bansola Military School too.40 We all know they were wearing Khaki Shorts. Madhu Kishwar while writing about RSS cadres wearing British khaki dress questions why they did not wear Indian dress? The answer was that the Parivars were embarrassed about the Hindu people of India being as they are and want Indians to be ‘modernized’ or Europeanized. They consciously adopted the uniform of the RSS—but not dhoti or any other local dress—which is khaki knickers, the uniform of British Sergeant Majors.41 K.B. Hedgewar who had received his political initiation from B.S. Moonje went to Calcutta. Since Calcutta was a hotbed for many Hindu political movements, Hedgewar was also sent to Calcutta in 1910 by his early mentor, B.S. Moonje to pursue his medical studies as well as to unofficially learn terrorist techniques from the Bengali secret societies. He thus made his way into the inner circle of Anushilan Samiti (Society of Practice), a revolutionary society to which only a select few had access.42

38 Sarkar, Hindu Wife, Hindu Nation, 176. 39 Kuruvachira, Politicization of Hindu Religion in Postmodern India, 170. [B.S. Moonje‘s correspondence letters are preserved in British Library, London]. 40 Kuruvachira, Politicization of Hindu Religion in Postmodern India, 218. 41 Madhu Kishwar, Religion at the Service of Nationalism and Other Essays (Delhi: OUP, 1998), 251. 42 Christophe Jaffrelot, ed., The Sangh Parivar: A Reader (New Delhi: OUP, 2005), 56.

34 EARLY PHASE OF CULTURAL NATIONALISM AND HINDU …

After returning from Calcutta, there at Nagpur, Hedgewar became mainly instrumental in founding Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS— Association of National Volunteers) in 1925. Savarkar was a non-believer, self-schooled in the history of European nationalism and an admirer of the Italian Mazzini. He translated the Italian’s autobiography into Marathi. Savarkar founded a secret society modeled on Young Italy. Its members learned bomb-making from a Russian revolutionary in Paris and schemed to assassinate Lord Curzon.43 Savarkar for the major part of his life organized secret societies for the liberation of India from foreign bondage in and out of India.44 N. Godse confirmed in his last statement that nearly half a million Hindus learned the art of warfare and mastered the mechanized aspect of modern warfare.45 He had worked for several years in RSS and subsequently joined Hindu Mahasabha and volunteered himself as a soldier under its pan-Hindu flag.46 He was running a newspaper called ‘Agrani’ or ‘Hindu Rashtra’ which reflects his priority agenda.47 It is not surprising that in the history of religio-political movements in India, particularly in Bengal, Bankim’s direct disciples were the 'revolutionary terrorists', the small groups of armed activists drawn from the Hindu middle classes, wedded to a secret underground organization and planned assassination.48 Links with Europe The first contacts between the Hindu nationalists and European fascists took place in the 1930s. During his stay in Europe for the Round Table Conference of 1930, B.S. Moonje was able to visit Italy to ‘see the work of the Ballila movement’, where he also met Italian fascist leader,

43 Sunil Khilani, The Idea of India (New Delhi: Penguin, 1997), 160. 44 Nathuram Godse, Why I Assassinated Gandhi (Delhi: Farsight Publishers, 2014), 19. 45 Godse, Why I Assassinated Gandhi, 56. 46 Godse, Why I Assassinated Gandhi, 36. 47 Godse, Why I Assassinated Gandhi, 29. 48 Partha Chatterjee, The Omnibus: Nationalist Thought and the Colonial World (New Delhi: OUP, 1999), 79.

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Benito Mussolini on 19th March 1931. In 1934, a 'close relationship' was established between the Italian Institute for the Middle and the Far East (a state-sponsored institution). In October 1938, shortly after the Munich agreement, Savarkar wrote approvingly of the occupation of the Sudetenland by Germany because its inhabitants shared 'common blood and common language with the Germans'. In the late 1930s, both Hindu Outlook and The Mahratta journals praised Franco, Mussolini, and Hitler. Moreover, in late 1938, The Volkischer Beobachter, the mouthpiece of the German National Socialist Party, took an interest in Savarkar’s activities.49 Hitler had no direct connections with the Indians but he was vehemently pushing the regional economic administrators to start with an initiative of ‘Aryanization’ project which was largely implemented sincerely by the German police and bureaucrats.50 Heinrich Himmler was one of the most powerful police officers in Nazi Germany and a main architect of . Himmler used to read the Gita translated by the German theosophist, Franz Hartmann. According to his massage therapist, Felix Kersten, he used to carry the German translation of Gita in his pocket till his death.51 By the time of the arrival of the Cripps Mission in India in 1942 Subhas Chandra Bose had already reached Japan and was organizing an invasion of India along with Japan and Germany. Before Subhash left Germany, Hitler honored him with the title of His Excellency.52 Hindu- Right openly expressed its admiration for Nazism. Connections were visible through the symbol of the swastika and the propagation of the Hindu-Aryan mythology.53 The views expressed by RSS leaders about European fascist movements during this period resemble those of the Hindu Sabhaites in

49 Jaffrelot, ed., The Sangh Parivar: A Reader, 69. 50 Gotz Aly and Susanne Heim, Architects of Annihilation: Auschwitz and the Logic of Destruction (London: Phoenix, 2003), 11. 51 https://www.quora.com/profile/Ravi-Razz-3 (March 1, 2020). 52 Godse, Why I Assassinated Gandhi, 91. 53 Bastian Wielenga, “, Fascism and the Christian Message - 1938/2002” (Unpublished Faculty Seminar Paper, Madurai: TTS, February 10, 2003), 1.

36 EARLY PHASE OF CULTURAL NATIONALISM AND HINDU … some respect but with the crucial difference that whereas the Hindu Mahasabha, as a political party, was interested in the role of the state, the RSS was more concerned about the socio-political aspects of building the Hindu Rashtra.54 Savitri Devi, a neo-Nazi, and a European-born Hindu revivalist came from Germany later and lived in India like a mystic, promoting Aryan racial superiority. She adored Hitler as an avatar of Vishnu and adopting Hindu cultural nationalism ideology. Her book, A Warning to the Hindus provoked Hindus, “to cultivate military virtues and become a military race and acquire political power at any cost” influenced so many young people, including L.K. Advani. It is also interesting to know that G.D. Savarkar, brother of V.D. Savarkar, wrote a forward to her book.55 The affinity of Hindu nationalists with German nationalists was essentially cultural nationalism. Hindu cultural nationalists were of the view that “though ‘your enemy’ and ‘our enemy’ are different, but still we can collaborate under one umbrella agenda purging Aryan race from ‘foreign race’ or .” Whereas their foreign policy with current Israel nation is, “our enemy and your enemy are common and therefore let us cooperate.” One aspect is very clear that the Hindu nationalists took the ‘faith in violence’ from Fascists and the ‘implementation strategies’ from Nazis. Whereas if we look at the duration of Hindutva concepts and Nazism and Fascism we may wonder it is incomparable. Fascists were ruling for 15 years in Italy. Hitler’s Nazi-regime meant to last for a thousand years, was in power for 5 years only.56 But in the case of the ideology of Hindu Rashtra, it had started since the last part of the 19th century and so it was largely home-grown ideology then borrowed one. Conclusion Knowingly or unknowingly all those events and links took place in three regions concurrently. I would rather call it, a ‘triangular tactics’ where

54 Jaffrelot, ed., The Sangh Parivar: A Reader, 69. 55 Kuruvachira, Politicization of Hindu Religion in Postmodern India, 85; Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, Hitler’s Priestess: Savitri Devi, The Hindu-Aryan Myth and Neo-Nazism (New Delhi: OUP, 2000). 56 Wielenga, “Religious Nationalism, Fascism and the Christian Message - 1938/2002,” 1.

37 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 ideas of ‘ethnic purging’, ‘Hindu Rashtra’ as well as ‘militant India’ were egged and shaped. All happened while British colonialism was at its peak in India. The reason for the outburst in the colonial period might be because of the result of English education, colonial missionary activities, and relatively more freedom of expression of the elites, etc. There are two types of people involved in Hindu cultural terrorism: the first one is, a small group economically poor who underwent penury and hardships yet fervent in Hindu nationalism. The second group is the elite and educated citizens who were aggressively involved in ‘regaining past glory of Hinduism.’ Both the groups were driven by Hindu cultural nationalist ideology. In the whole series of events explained so far, one can find a chain of connections, vicious linkages and a chain of reactions starting from the Permanent Settlement Act of 1793, the Partition of Bengal, Bankin’s invoking song Vande Mataram, Hedgewar pursuit of medical studies in Bengal and his extra cultural activities (including martial arts) with a secret society, founding of the RSS, and meeting with the European National Socialists facilitated campaigns for Hindu Rashtra beginning in India. Today our generation is harvesting ill effects caused by the Islamic and British colonial rules and the reactionary cultural nationalists. Now, this is again renewed and capitalized by the religious and cultural nationalists for their narrow agendas and vote banks. The culture of violence and hatred is infecting every one of us and neighbors too. Vicious cycles of violence among the youth are fanned by many forces till today and it's unimaginable to see young highly educated people caught up and attracted through websites and internets and other platforms. What drives them to such militant terrorist organizations? There is no end to terrorism and counter-terrorism since it’s a vicious cycle. The Hindu nationalist movement and gymnasium started with the purpose of enabling them to overcome the ‘cowardice’ feeling but today it is used for communal violence against minorities. We need to comprehend the political psychology behind the attempts of martial arts, terrorism, partition, and demand for Hindu Rashtra. They are all connected with the feeling of insecurity and inferiority complex. Psychologist Anita Pratap asserts that ‘anger and violence could be stemmed from insecurity

38 EARLY PHASE OF CULTURAL NATIONALISM AND HINDU … and not from aggression as it would seem prima facie.’57 Insecurity due to adversity, poverty, school dropouts, unemployment, class contradictions, and consumeristic lifestyle are increasingly affecting the youngsters today. These sorts of insecurities are very common under majoritarian rules, especially in the third world countries. As far as religious issues are concerned, despite our citizenship rights in a secular country, minority religious people need to be conscious about life among the majority religious community. Minorities need to rethink about our religious obligations, rights, pompous celebrations, and traditions such as conversions and ‘peacock mentality’ like theological superiority, which were and are manifested in different missionary activities. Instead, our attitude must be tuned towards keeping our nation in genuine patriotism and nationalism. It also calls for reversing our otherworldly theology to earth-centric theology. European theology or imported or imitated interpretations can grow only like bonsai trees in a small pot unless it is planted in our soil to become a real natural tree. Each religion has to undergo a retrospective inward look over her history and think about its role in developing new humanity. Obligatory changes need to be undertaken in every religion. The way forward is to concentrate on developing a positive outlook, understanding one’s neighbor, promoting schools to have interfaith prayers, and so on. Uncritical religious education is very dangerous. What could be the hesitation for upholding reason and religion in schools and colleges? How could we eliminate fundamentalism, communalism, and terrorism from our soil? As long as people do not realize our identity more broadly and rationally, the use of religion will be counterproductive. It will result in fanaticism and terrorism, especially in the context of growing urbanization, modernization, and globalization. I end with the words of K.N. Panikkar for our broader strategies, “Secular is rational and associational whereas the communal is emotional and communitarian.”58

57 Engineer, On Developing Theory of Communal Riots, 86. 58 K.N.Panikkar, An Agenda for Cultural Action and Other Essays (Gurgaon: Three Essays Collective, 2006), 24.

39 The Concept of Adoption (Tabannī): An Islamic Perspective

S. S. Waheedulla Ḥussainī Quādrī Multānī

Islam is a religion revealed by God for all people, in all places, at boost ﷺall times. As a leader of the whole humankind, the Holy Prophet the spirit of humanism and build the first Muslim community that spread from the peninsula of Arabia, into Africa, Europe, Asia, and America. As s life was marked by characteristics’ﷺa model of mercy, the Holy Prophet of love of the poor, orphan, widow, weak, helpless, and slave. His mercy ranges from charming anecdotes of his kindness towards children to his granting of amnesty to his defeated persecutors in Medinah on 9/630. Islam establishes a legal framework and embodies a code of ethics designed to protect the rights of an individual including his or her right to live in a secure society. For children, security is of the utmost importance. Throughout Islamic history and , the rights and responsibilities of children are clear cut. Being fond of children, Prophet Muḥammad showed great interest in playing with them. The Prophet's love for children was not restricted to his children, grandchildren, and companions’ children. The scope of his mercy and affection embraced all children, and he showed the same interest and gentleness to all. Indeed the commanded Muslims to take care of children, women, and ﷺHoly Prophet is the role model for Muslims, all ﷺthe elders. As the Holy Prophet Muslims are expected to obey the sayings and actions of the Holy Showing love and concern through kind acts and gentle .ﷺProphet ﷺteaching, training, and upbringing are the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet and it is obligatory for Muslims to follow. There are many precious things that Allāh has bestowed upon us, however, having children is the divine gift of Allāh. The conception and enwombing of a baby as a by-product of a marital union is the high point of relationships. All over the world, people believe that parenting is the

40 THE CONCEPT OF ADOPTION (TABANNĪ) … most rewarding part of life. It is human nature to wish for children. According to the Qur’ān, wealth and progeny are adornments for the life of this world.1 Every newly married couple wants to have kids early in their marriage. Unfortunately, some married couples are diagnosed with advanced-stage endometriosis. They tried multiple fertility treatments, all assisted reproductive technologies but yielded no result. It has been estimated that 10-15% of couples worldwide are infertile.2 No one has the power to produce children according to their own choice and desire. Because having a child is not merely dependent upon getting married rather it is dependent upon His wisdom and discretion. All creatures have been made possible through His Omnipotence and and everything is dependent upon His Will. The Qur’ān says, ِل َّ ِِّل م ْل ك ال َّس َما َوا ِت َوا ْْلَ ْر ِض ۚ يَ ْخل ق َما يَ َشا ء ۚ يَ َه ب ِل َمن يَ َشا ء إِنَاثًا َويَ َه ب ِل َمن يَ َشا ء 3 الذُّ كو َر أَ ْو ي َز لِو ج ه ْم ذ ْك َرانًا َوإِنَاثًا ۖ َويَ ْجعَ ل َمن يَ َشا ء َع ِقي ًما ۚ إِنَّه عَ ِلي م قَ ِدي ر For Allāh alone is the sovereignty of the and the earth. He creates what He likes. He blesses with girls whom He wills and blesses with boys whom He wills. Or He gives them daughters and sons (both) and makes infertile whom He wills. Surely, he is All-Knowing, All-Powerful.4 It is interesting to note here that in the verse, girls are given priority over boys for various reasons. Firstly, to explain the importance that Islam has given to women. Secondly, it is also to remind those who dislike the birth of girls because of the misconception that Allāh gives offspring against your will that you do not like, and this proves that the choice of children is not in the hands of a human being. The interpretation of the is a clear-cut proof that just as boys are a gift from Allāh, so are يَ َه ب word

1 The Qur’ān, Chapter no. 18 verse no. 46. 2 Janet F. McLaren, “Infertility Evaluation,” Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, vol. xxxix, issue no. iv, Dec 2012, pp. 453-463. 3 Transliteration: Lillāhi mulk al-samāwāti wal arzi yakhuluqu mā yashā’u yahabu limayn yashā’u ināthan wa yahabu limayn yashā’uz zukūr aw yuzawwijuhum zukrānaun wa ināthā wa yaj‘alu mayn yashā’u ‘aqīmā innahu ‘alīm qadīr. 4 The Qur’ān, 42:49-50.

41 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 girls. Therefore, it is not appropriate for any true Muslim to make any distinction between them because both are divine gifts. This holy verse is saying that the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth solely belongs to Allāh. This is a manifest proof of Allāh’s Sovereignty being . It is stated here that everything is in His control. He shows mercy to whom He wants, He hardens whom He wants, He can give whatever he wants to whomever he wants, he could do whatever he wanted, he could do as he pleased, he had absolute, unrestrained power. A married couple is typically divided into the following four categories: (i) A married couple has daughters but no boys. (ii) A married couple has boys but no daughters. (iii) A married couple has both daughters and as well as boys, and (iv) A married couple who are infertile. We live in a society where having a kid is considered the most logical and predictable step after a couple ties the knot. Lots of married couples look forward to parenthood – getting to know a tiny baby, raising a growing child, developing a relationship with a maturing son or daughter. When a couple is unable to have children, it causes great pain emotionally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually. Infertile couples face numerous big difficulties and challenges. Especially childless women are exposed to all kinds of violence from their husbands and their families-in-law such as beating, deprivation, polygamy, and divorce.5 Domestic violence, however, has no place in a healthy relationship. But the reality of the society is that a silent population of more than 180 million couples worldwide is facing the consequences of childlessness day by day. All this happens because marriage has lost its value among young people of today, they see it as an avenue or a license to satisfy their appetite for sexual desires and for them to have a few children they want.

5 W. Ombelet, “The Walking Egg Project: Universal Access to Infertility Care—from Dream to Reality,” Facts Views Vis Obgyn, vol. v, issue no. ii, 2013, pp.161-75.

42 THE CONCEPT OF ADOPTION (TABANNĪ) …

In the context of infertility, one of the more popular options is adoption which comes into play when assisted reproductive technologies fail. A couple who are unable to conceive naturally try repeatedly and often end up spending money towards assisted reproductive therapy after consulting reproductive endocrinologists. Sometimes they may benefit from artificial reproductive technologies. However, this involves a huge investment in terms of finances, health, and emotions. Sometimes it yielded no result.6 In that case, an adoption is an option that should be considered as a viable alternative. Child sponsorship is one of the ultimate forms of charity. On the other hand, there are a large number of orphans in society. The word orphan is occurred in the twenty three times in twelve different forms in twelve different chapters. Losing loved ones at an early age is a traumatic experience for any child. Orphaned children are not just lonely, hungry, or hopeless with life but most of them experienced their situation as a huge and complex problem for themselves as they faced a variety of challenges in their day-to-day life. These children instantly needed the necessary material and psycho-social support in many forms including adoption which can be defined as the legal creation of a parent- child relationship, with all the responsibilities and privileges thereof, between a child and adults who are not his or her biological parents. Today’s orphan crisis currently affects more than 140 million children across the world. They are immediately characterized by economic hardship, withdrawal from school, psychological distress, loss of family possessions, and inheritance. Many incidents such as earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, or smaller events happen in societies that make so many children orphans on one hand and many parents cannot give birth to a child on the other.

6 Apart from it, there are some common ways like, In vitro fertilization (IVF), Intrauterine insemination (IUI), Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (CSI), Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT), Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT), and Assisted hatching. Conception assisted medically depends upon which medical procedure is best for the couple. If these procedures are also not favorable and parents cannot carry a child then they are advised to go for surrogacy, which is very expensive and every person cannot afford it.

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To tackle the issue of infertile couples and their overwhelming loss of not having biological children, adopting a child is the way ahead. Children need families, not orphanages. Placing a child in an orphanage quadruples the risk of sexual violence, apart from it, undernourishment is the biggest problem of orphanages. Orphanages harm children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. More than 80 years of research proves that raising children in orphanages harms their health and development, increases their exposure to abuse, and puts them at risk of future criminal activity.7 To survive, many roam around the streets and become child laborers, pickpocketers, beggars, and prostitutes, making them prime targets for gangs and militia.8 All children have the right to a safe, supportive environment where their rights to dignity, education, and the development of their talents are well respected. Therefore, adoption has been recognized as a secular institution the world over and is being used for the welfare of orphans and destitute. A common conception is that Islamic law forbids adoption. However, this belief misses the complexity of Islamic law, the scope of adoption laws and practices across the world. The overwhelming emphasis on taking care of orphans, children of unknown parentage, and foundlings are found within Islamic sources. According to Islam, all children have the right to grow up in a nurturing, loving environment where their physiological, psychological, and intellectual needs are met. As far as the concept of adoption is concern, Qur’ān contains three references to it.9 When looking at the issue of adoption from the Islamic point of view, we must separate two things: first, the concept of helping orphan and poor children; second, the implications of such a help. Human beings must have full cognition of their responsibility to maintain the unity and integrity of the rest of creation through their service

7 Nazan Maksudyan, Ottoman Children and Youth during World War I, pp. 30- 35. 8 Edward R. Drachman, Alan Shank, Karla Cunningham and Jeremy Grace, You Decide!: Controversial Global Issues, p. 265. 9 For further detail see The Qur’ān, 12:21; 28:9; 33:4.

44 THE CONCEPT OF ADOPTION (TABANNĪ) … to humanity and to the rest of creation which is the essence of Islam. The ,said ﷺHoly Prophet َخ ْي ر النَّا ِس أَ ْنفَع ه ْم ِللنَّا ِس 10 The best person is the one who benefits all human beings.11 Allāh has made practical knowledge so important because it supports ,said ﷺservices and makes services possible. Therefore, the Holy Prophet اللَّه َّم إنِلي أعوذ ب َك ِمن ِعل م ال ينفَ ع12 O Allāh! I seek refuge in You from the knowledge which is not beneficial.13 As far as the concept of helping and protecting the poor and the orphan is concerned, it is highly recommended in Islam, which means giving them financial and spiritual support in all aspects of their lives. In all types of charities, the orphan and the poor are mentioned as the prime eligible recipients for such help.14 Scholars, however, also believed that all Muslims had a communal obligation to ensure that homeless and parentless children had a guardian and family to care for them.15 Islam being the religion of peace and tranquility endorses the significance of ,said ﷺlooking after these kids. The Holy Prophet ِل ْل َجنَّ ِة بَا ب ي قَال لَه : ا ْلفَر ح ، َال ي ْد خ ل ِم ْنه إال َّ م ْف ِر ح ا ْل ِ لص ْبيَا ْن 16 Paradise has a door which is called joy, – only those who bring joy to children will pass through it.17

10 Transliteration: Khayrun nāsi anfa‘uhum linnās. 11 Ali ibn Abd-al-Malik al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘ummal, ḥadīth no. 43065. 12 Transliteration: Allāhumma innī a‘ūzu bika min ‘ilmin la yanfa‘. 13 Imām Nawawī, Riyāz al-ṣāliḥīn, ḥadīth no. 1479. 14 The Qur’ān, 4: 10. 15 Wahbat al-Zuhayli, al-Wajīz fī al-Islāmī, vol. ii, p. 347. 16 Transliteration: Lil jannati bābu yuqālu lahu al-farḥ, lā yadkhulu minhu illā mufriḥuṣ ṣibyān. 17 Imām Badr al-Dīn al-‘Aynī, ‘Umdat al-qari sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, vol. x, p. 373. See also Imām Aḥmad Qasṭalānī, Irshād al-sārī fī sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, vol. vii, p. 175’ Siddiqi Hasan Khan Qannuji, ‘Awn al-bārī li ḥall adillati Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, vol. iii, p. 252.

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However, when we come to the practical implications and legal consequences of sponsor or adoption, we find some differences between Islam and the present system in the West. The practical implication of this view is that all the rules which apply between blood relatives are still valid: for example, the child will still be maḥram;18 sponsor or adopted child cannot marry his real siblings; he or she is also eligible for inheritance from the real parents because a mere verbal expression or figure of speech cannot make the blood of a man run through the veins of the adopted child. Sponsoring and caring for foundlings and orphans are a significant part of Islam and considered as one of the righteous deeds and a great form of charity. The Treatment of Foundling (Laqīṭ) Children who enter institutional care in a group home environment typically live there until the age of maturity are considered children of the unknown (illegitimate children or foundlings).19 In the classical Islamic law texts of all four Sunni schools, there is a chapter entitled The Foundling (laqīṭ), which dictates the proper conduct for someone who finds an abandoned child and wishes to care for him or her. The Arabic term laqīṭ (foundling)20 refers to a younger than twelve months child abandoned by the mother, father, or both for various reasons and one may apply the term ‘wayfarer to him/her as well. The Ḥanafīs define a foundling as a living child who has been abandoned by its parents out of fear of destitution or to avoid an accusation of fornication.21 If a Muslim find a child lying on a public or private place, then it is obligatory upon

18 Maḥram refers to a specific legal relationship that regulates marriage and other aspects of life. Essentially, members of the adoptive family would be permissible as possible marriage partners, and rules of modesty exist between the grown child and adoptive family members of the opposite sex. 19 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41134-017-0027-2 (date of retrieval 25-06-2020). 20 These two words are used with the same meaning, but perhaps these names are applied to babies in their different states of being, because first they are abandoned in a public place, hence called manbūdh, and then found by someone, thus called Laqīṭ. 21 Al-Ḥaskafī, Sharḥ al-Durr al-Mukhtār, vol. i, p. 490. See also Zayla‘ī, Tabyīn al-ḥaqā’iq, vol. iii, p. 297.

46 THE CONCEPT OF ADOPTION (TABANNĪ) … the Muslim to pick him/her up from the ground, be kind to him/her, and protect him/her in the light of the following Qur’ānic verse. 22 َو َم ْن أَ ْحيَاهَا فَ َكأَنَّ َما أَ ْحيَا النَّا َس َج ِميعًا And whoever (saved him from unjust murder and) made him survive, it would be as if he saved the lives of all the people (of society, i.e., he rescued the collective system of human life).23 Firstly, lifting a child from the ground or the path is itself equal to give him/her a life. And it is obligatory just as unlawful food is allowed in a state of emergency only to the extent of saving one’s life. In the Ḥanafī fiqh manual al-Hidāyah, this section reads: Removing a foundling from the street is strongly recommended because saving its [i.e. the child’s] life is involved. If one has strong suspicions that the child will perish, removing the child then becomes obligatory.24 In the Shāfa‘ī (150-204/767-820) fiqh manual Minhāj, the section on foundlings reads: Caring for abandoned children is a communal obligation.25 Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥambal (164-241/780-855) said that preferential treatment of a child is permitted if he or she is handicapped while others are not.26 From the above-mentioned sayings, we can infer the level of service to humanity if we sponsor an orphan child and the preferential treatment an orphan gets in Islam. There is great reward in caring for an orphan. These religious instructions have resulted in a long history of Muslims striving to care for

22 Transliteration: Wa man aḥyāhā fa kannamā aḥyan nāsa jamī‘ā. 23 The Qur’ān, 5: 32. 24 Burhān al-Dīn al-Farghānī al-Marghinānī; al-Hidāyah, vol. ii, pp. 466-467. 25 Yaḥyā ibn Sharaf al-Nawawī, Minhāj al-ṭālibīn, pp. 294-295 26 Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughnī, vol. v, p. 605.

47 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 children in need through fostering, adoption, or financial support. Abū Hurayrah reported: أَ َّن َر ج ًل َش َكا إِلَى َر سو ِل ََّللا ِ َصلَّى ََّللا عَلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم قَ ْس َوة َ قَ ْلبِ ِه فَقَا َل لَه إِ ْن 27 أَ َر ْد َت تَ ْليِي َن قَ ْلبِ َك فَأَ ْط ِع ْم ا ْل ِم ْس ِكي َن َوا ْم َس ْح َرأْ َس ا ْليَتِي ِم A man came to the Messenger of Allāh, peace, and blessings be upon him, and he complained about the hardness of his heart. The Prophet said, if you want to soften your heart, feed the poor and pat the head of the orphan.28 While Muslims place great importance on caring for orphaned children, according to the Islamic view, the sponsored child does not become a true child of the sponsoring parents. The Qur’ān specifically reminds sponsoring parents that they are not the child’s biological parents.29 Islam maintains that every child should have a legal connection to their birth family and that sponsoring families shouldn’t claim the child as part of their lineage, either through explicit statements or through the naming of the child after the sponsoring father. Therefore, it is permissible to sponsor a child in Sharī‘ah but as far as the procedure of giving the family name to the sponsored child is concern, Islam categorically rejected it. It is legally permissible to give the sponsored child only the family name of his foster or host family which does not have any legal repercussions. Taking the family name especially for a child with an unknown lineage is crucially important for his psychological wellbeing and his healthy upbringing. It guarantees the attachment of loyalty without claiming biological ties with the sponsored child as if the child is his own which has legal repercussions in terms of inheritance, lineage, rules of modesty with foster sisters, etc. it is noteworthy to mention here that Sharī‘ah does not prevent a person from making a gift from their assets to

27 Transliteration: Anna rajulan shakā ilā rasūlillāhi sallalāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam qaswata qalbihi, fa qāla lahu in aradta talīna qalbika fa aṭ‘imil miskīna wamsaḥ rā’sal yatīm. 28 Imām Aḥmad, Musnad Aḥmad, ḥadīth no. 7522. See also Ibn Ḥajar al- ‘Asqalānī, Fatḥ al-bārī, vol. xi, pp. 155. 29 The Qur’ān, 33:4.

48 THE CONCEPT OF ADOPTION (TABANNĪ) … anyone during his or her lifetime. There are no restrictions on the size of the gift, unless the intention is to harm legal heirs.30 The sponsored child also inherit whatever amount is bequeathed from his/her sponsoring parents if the mandatory heirs consent before or after the testator’s death. Secondly, the foundling also has the right that s/he is free. If anyone claims that the child is his/her slave, then his/her claim will not be heard without witnesses. Because his/her freedom and liberty is proved by his/her appearance, therefore, its appearance cannot be denied without argument. To safeguard against the confusion over lineages and false attribution of children, Sharī‘ah has made the reliance on the existence of a valid marriage contract as a method for the determination of family affiliation. According to the Sharī‘ah, it is not permissible for a person who sponsors a foundling to pass on the family name to them as it involves lying, falsehood, confusion of lineage, and a threat to people’s honor. Thirdly, if anything of worth is found wit and unattended child, then s/he will be the sole owner of it. 31 Devouring the property of an orphan who has not attained maturity is categorized as greater sin in Islam. There is a stern warning against those who use up the orphan’s wealth. The Qur’ān says, إِ َّن الَّ ِذي َن يَأْ كل و َن أَ ْم َوا َل ا ْليَتَا َم ى ظ ْل ًما إِنَّ َما يَأْ كل و َن فِي ب طونِ ِه ْم نَا ًرا ۖ َو َسيَ ْصلَ ْو َن َس ِعي ًرا32 Indeed, those who eat up the property of orphans unjustly fill their bellies but with fire, and soon will they fall into a Blazing Fire.33 It is mentioned in Tafsīr al-Kabīr that one who cheats an orphan of his property will be raised on the Day of Judgement in such a condition that the flames of fire will be protruding from his mouth, nose and ears. By looking at him people will recognize that he is the one who

30 Ishaque, Islamic Principles on Adoption, p. 407. 31 Kāsānī, Badāi‘ al-Ṣanāi‘ fī Tartīb al-Sharāi‘ , vol. vi, pp. 197-199. 32 Transliteration: Innal lazīna ya’kulūna amwālal yatāmā zulman innamā ya’kulūna fī buṭūunihim nārā wa sayaṣlawna sa‘īra. 33 The Qur’ān, 4: 10.

49 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 in his lifetime had usurped the property of the orphans. The last phrase, “They shall enter burning fire” indicates that one who deprives an orphan of his rightful property will be liable to be burnt in -fire, even if he/she has not committed any other sin.34 Abū Hurayrah narrated that the ,said ﷺHoly Prophet ا ْجتَنِب وا ال َّس ْب َع ا ْل موبِقَا ِت " . قِي َل يَا َر سو َل ََّللا ِ َو َما ه َّن قَا َل " ال ِلش ْر ك بِا َِّّل ِ َوال ِلس ْح ر َوقَ ْت ل النَّ ْف ِس الَّتِي َح َّر َم ََّللا إِال َّ بِا ْل َح لِق َوأَ ْك ل َما ِل ا ْليَتِي ِم َوأَ ْك ل ال ِلربَا َوالتَّ َو ِلي يَ ْو َم 35 ال َّز ْح ِف َوقَ ْذ ف ا ْل م ْح َصنَا ِت ا ْلغَافِلَ ِت ا ْل م ْؤ ِمنَا ِت Keep away from the seven great destructive . It was asked: What are they, O Messenger of Allāh? The Holy replied, (i) Associating anything with Allāh in ﷺProphet worship (i.e., committing an act of ), (ii) Sorcery, (iii) Killing of one whom Allāh has declared inviolable without a just cause, (iv) Devouring the property of an orphan, (v) The eating of usury (), (vi) Fleeing from the battlefield and (vii) Accusing chaste believing women, who never even think of anything touching their chastity.36 The above-mentioned deadly sins are considered destructive because they destroy the doers in the worldly life and the hereafter too. Apart from it, these major sins lead to restlessness, depression, and more sins. The fifth of these seven major destructive sins is consuming orphan’s wealth. It shows the beauty of justice of Allāh has maintained for everyone, including the orphans. It might seem obvious that children without parents deserve some extra love and care. Therefore, the Qur’ān revolutionized their treatment, and made caring for orphans a compulsory part of the religion. Caring for orphans is a significant part of Islam and an immensely valuable good deed. The Qur’ān says,

34 https://www.imamreza.net/old/eng/imamreza.php?id=7360 (date of retrieval 22-06-2020). 35 Transliteration: Ijtanibūs sab‘a al-mūbiqāti, qālū yā rasūlullāhi wa mā hunna qāla ‘ash shirku billāhi, was siḥru, wa qatlun nafsil latī ḥarramallāhu illā bil ḥaqqi, wa aklur ribā, wa aklu mālil yatīmi, wat tawallī yawmaz zaḥfi wa qazful muḥṣanātil mu’minātil ghāfilāti. 36 Imām Muḥammad bin Ismā‘īl Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, ḥadīth no. 6857. See also Abul Ḥusayn ‘Asākir al-Dīn Muslim Nishsāpūrī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, ḥadīth no. 161.

50 THE CONCEPT OF ADOPTION (TABANNĪ) …

37 َو يَ ْسئَل ونَ َك َع ِن ا ْليَتامى ق ْل إِ ْصل ح لَ ه ْم َخ ْي ر And they ask you about orphans. Say: ‘It is meritorious to set (their affairs) right.38 Islam laid great importance on helping the needy. Every Muslim must protect other human beings from any kind of harm irrespective of caste, creed and religion, and help those who are in need such as deprived kids and orphans. People who bring up foundlings and orphans have great value in the sight of Allāh and will gain great reward on the Day of Judgment. In this gesture the differences in biological lineage would blur into the warmth of a new relationship. At the same time, the primary sources of Islamic law negate the creation of any fictive relationship of lineage according to which someone other than the biological parents can fictitiously become a parent in the same position as a biological parent. This was seen as contrary to Qur’ān's emphasis on maintaining authenticity in the lineage. The importance of family and lineage runs like a golden thread through Islamic history, thought, and law. Since the sponsored child (mutabannā)39 is not biologically related to the sponsoring family, therefore, the sponsored children are of marriageable kin (non-maḥram) to their sponsoring family (parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts). S/he may experience sexual feeling towards the members of the family and vice versa, upon reaching puberty. To solve this problem, one of the first restrictions the Qur’ān brought to the pre-Islamic adoption practices was on the issue of dissimulation through naming. This prevents any psychological trauma in the future upon discovering that one is sponsored or adopted. This, again, is to prevent any possibility of misconduct seen in mixed gatherings of teenagers, not related by blood. Some scholars have recommended breastfeeding by the sponsoring mother as a way of bridging this divide.40

37 Transliteration: Wa yas’alūnaka ‘anil yatāmā qul iṣlāḥul lahum khayr. 38 The Qur’ān, 2: 220. See also 2:177; 2:215; 76:8-10; 89:1, 17; 93:9; 107:1-2. 39 Mutabannā is derived from the Arabic word ibn, meaning son. 40 Ingrid Mattson, Adoption and Fostering, in Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures: Family, Law, and Politics, ed. Suad Joseph, Afsaneh Najmabadi (BRILL, 2005).

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This biological link makes them prohibited in marriage (maḥram) to each other.41 The mother does not have to be a nursing woman, as breast milk can be induced medically and technologically.42 Islamic jurists also devised practices that developed to provide alternative to adoption such as sponsorship or legal fostering or foster parenting (kafālah), deemed on par with adoption and presupposes an unlimited entrustment of a child to a new family. It is the highest form of protection and alternative care for orphans and abandoned children in Islam. Kafālah: A Viable Alternative to Adoption which کفل The word kafālah is derived from the Arabic root word means to take care or to guarantee and the verb takafala means to provide for an orphaned or un-parented child’s basic needs like food, shelter, clothing, education, financial support etc. The adoptive parents are known as kafīl and the adopted child is called makfūl. The Islamic tradition of child sponsorship or guardianship is called kafālah, which allows adults to take care of children either abandoned or unable to be cared for by their parents under Islamic law. The term kafālah means “the commitment to voluntarily take care of the maintenance, of the education and the protection of a minor, in the same way as a father would do it for his child, without altering the child’s original kinship”. Kafālah is also said to be highly rewarded in the if done with the right intention and sincerity. Kafālah is a child protection measure, prevalent in Islamic countries, as an alternative care option it is similar to kinship care to the

41 For further detail see the Qur’ān, 2:233. See also 4:23; 65:6; Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, ḥadīth no. 2645. See also Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, ḥadīth no. 3395; Abū Isā Muḥammad ibn Isā Tirmizī, Jāmi‘ Tirmizī, ḥadīth no. 1147; Abū Dāwūd Sulaymān ibn al-Ash‘ath al- Sijistānī, Sunan Abū Dāwūd, ḥadīth no. 2055; Abū Abdur Raḥmān al-Nasā’ī, Sunan Nasā’ī, ḥadīth no. 3315; Muḥammad ibn Yazīd Ibn Mājah, Sunan Ibn Mājah, ḥadīth no. 2013. 42 Elizabeth Hormann, Breastfeeding an Adopted Baby and Relactation, La Leche League International, 2007.

52 THE CONCEPT OF ADOPTION (TABANNĪ) … extent that they both generally promote continuity in upbringing in relation to children’s cultural and religious backgrounds. Kafālah is also similar to long-term foster care, in loco parentis care and it is recognized and permitted under Sharī‘ah (unlike adoption) and considered a virtuous act. However, foster children are not permitted to marry anyone with whom they were fostered. The term kafālah is used to describe a situation similar to adoption but significantly different from the western concept of adoption. It is not necessarily with the severing of family ties, the transference of inheritance rights, or the change of the child's family name. The root of difference can be traced to specific Islamic concerns revolving around lineage and filial continuity, inheritance, consanguinity and concerns about gender-based privacy boundaries. Duncan explains the difference between adoption and kafālah, as follows: ….the latter does not have the effect of integrating the child into the new family. The child remains in name of a member of the birth family and there are no inheritance rights in respect of the new family. However, kafālah may if necessary involve delegation of guardianship in respect of the person and property of the child and in an intercountry situation it may result in a change in the child's nationality.43 In Islam, adoption is prohibited for the fear of sexual relations between the adoptive parents and child. Islam also did not recognize the pre-Islamic practice of adoption which mostly took place for socio- economic and patriarchal reasons.44 This inhuman custom had led to various sorts of abuses and moral abominations. One of them was that the real heirs of the deceased would have lost their ancestral property and a strange adopted child became the owner of everything. It was necessary

43 W. Duncan, “Childrens’ Rights Cultural Diversity and Private International Law,” in Children’s Rights and Traditional Values, edited by G. Douglas and L. Sebba (Ashgate, 1998), p. 32. See also Kerry O’Halloran, The Politics of Adoption: International Perspectives on Law, Policy & Practice, pp. 9-10. 44 Arguably al-tabannī was not in the best interest of either the biological parents or the children in these situations.

53 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020

married ﷺto eradicate this inhuman custom. Therefore, the Holy Prophet Ḥazrat Zaynab, the divorcee of the adopted child, Ḥazrat Zayd and in this manner, he eradicated this inhuman custom. The marriage of the Holy to Ḥazrat Zaynab took place by the command of God so that the ﷺProphet concept of an adopted child as similar to a biological child will be put to an end. For any Muslim, taking care of an abandoned children and raising and educating them with love as s/he does with his/her biological children, is a matter of great reward. But it is not right to give him/her the status of biological children and make him/her entitled to inherit. After the Prophet adopts Zayd as his son adoption is replaced in the Qur’ān with the concept of kafālah. Kafālah emphasizes fostering children in need of care but forbids claiming adoptive children as blood relatives. Some of the rules in Islam surrounding this relationship: (i) An adopted child retains his or her biological family name (surname) and does not change his or her name to match that of the adoptive family. (ii) An adopted child inherits from his or her original biological parents, not automatically from the adoptive parents, Islamic inheritance law only permits blood relatives to holds rights to an estate. The only way for adopted children to receive an inheritance is if it’s given to them as a gift. (iii) When the child is grown, members of the adoptive family are not considered blood relatives and are therefore not maḥram to him or her. (iv) The property of an adopted child (provided by his/her biological parents or family members) belongs to him/her. Adoptive parents are commanded not to intermingle that property/wealth with their own. They will keep it as mere trustees. The central concern of kafālah is that parents have to respect the best interest of the child in the same way as if the child were their biological offspring and make sure that the child grows up in a healthy

54 THE CONCEPT OF ADOPTION (TABANNĪ) … environment catering to his or her physical and psychological needs and due regard shall be paid to the child’s ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic background. A kafālah enables children deprived of a family environment to be legally raised, develop and grow up permanently by families other than their own without the risk of obliterating lineage (nasab). Lineage is a great blessing of Allāh. Human being treats his/her relatives with great love and affection because of lineage. If there is no rule of lineage, then all the families would be scattered. Lineage is the only strong thread through which all the members of the family are linked together like pearls. Therefore, denying the God-given right of lineage is not only belligerence but a denigration of God’s commands. So, child adoption must not occur in a way that children lose their filiation. The knowledge of biological lineage is also important in protecting the child’s right to inherit from his or her biological parents’ estate. Therefore, under all Sunni fiqh schools, the child raised through kafālah also retains the right to inherit from his or her biological parents.45 Kafālah appears to be close to adoption but the legal ties to the biological parents are not ruptured by it, as in case of adoption. In Islam, the descent is only recognized by ties of blood. The legal system of kafālah advocates that ostracized children should be treated as genetic kinfolk; inheritance and onomastic identity rights are not created however. Kafālah allows full legal consequences of filiation subject to religious requirements. 46 Therefore, most Muslim-majority countries do not permit adoption but rather allow kafālah. Adopted children, unless they have been breast-fed by the adoptive mother, have historically been considered marriageable (non-maḥram) to the adopted family. Therefore marriage between a child reared through

45 Jamila Bargach, Orphans of Islam: Family, Abandonment, and Secret Adoption in Morocco, p. 241. 46 Alice Diver, A Law of Blood-Ties - The ‘Right’ to Access Genetic Ancestry, p. 85.

55 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 kafālah47 and biological children of the family is legal under Islamic law as s/he is ghayr maḥram to a sibling in their adoptive family. In contrast, many other societies consider marriages between adopted sibling and adoptive parents and adopted offspring as incestuous and prohibited and adopted child has the same rights as any biological child. In pre- Islamic Arabia, the adoption system was similar to what we now see in the West. It entailed a complete erasure of natal identity. Adoption, as practiced in much of the Western world, is alien and prohibited by dictates of Islam as whereby the adopted son (legally) became virtually identical to birth children in the eyes of the law. Muslim jurists have unanimously agreed that the pre-Islamic type of adoption is forbidden, citing the Qur’ān (33: 4-5) and Zayd Ibn Ḥārithah’s repudiation. ’warned those who replaced their fathers ﷺThe Holy Prophet names with a very serious consequence. He said, 48 َم ِن ادَّ َعى إِلَى َغ ْي ِر أَبِي ِه، َو ه َو يَ ْعلَ م أَنَّه َغ ْي ر أَبِي ِه، فَا ْل َجنَّة َعلَ ْي ِه َح َرا م Whoever ascribes himself to someone other than his (real) father, knowing that he is not his (real) father, Paradise is forbidden for him!49 This is a severe and definite warning to those who claim to belong to anyone other than their fathers. It’s pretty clear that not keeping the family name is a heinous sin in Islam. One of the companions of the Holy Ikrimah ibn Abī Jahl became a Muslim in the year the ,ﷺProphet concurring of Makkah. Despite he was the son of the man who fought the with his hands, tongue and money, he never changed his ﷺHoly Prophet

47 It is an Arabic term for a formal pledge to support and care for a specific orphaned or abandoned child until s/he reaches maturity. But unlike adoption kafālah neither confers inheritance rights nor any right to use the grantor’s family name. Kerry O’Halloran, The Politics of Adoption International Perspectives on Law, Policy & Practice, p. 380. 48 Transliteration: Manid da‘ā ilā ghayri abīhi wa huwa ya‘lamu annahu ghayru abīhi fal jannatu ‘alayhi ḥarāmun. 49 Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, ḥadīth nos. 6766- 6767. See also Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, ḥadīth nos. 121, 125; Sunan Abū Dāwūd, ḥadīth no. 5094; Sunan Ibn Mājah, ḥadīth no. 2610.

56 father’s na me. He kept his real THE father’s CONCEPT name OF althoughADOPTION it (TABANNĪ was not) … an honorable one. With the growth of the Muslim population in the West, there is now an increased urgency to tackle this issue as some Muslims wish to adopt children from jurisdictions governed by Islamic law. Raising a child with love and affection, who is not one’s genetic child is allowed and, in the case of an orphan, even encouraged in Islam. The religion of Islam includes a rich tradition of fostering and adoption. The Prophet Muḥammad himself was raised by his grandfather and his paternal uncle after he was orphaned as a young child. Later, he became an adoptive father himself. The theme of adoption is often mentioned in the Qur'ān that describe the spiritual benefits of caring for the orphan child, as well as prophetic traditions which exalt those who care for the orphan. The said ﷺHoly Prophet 50 أَنَا َوكافِ ل اليَتِ ْي ِم فِي ال َجنَّ ِة َه َكذا، َوأَ َشا َر بِال َّسبَّابَ ِة َوال و ْس َطى َوفَ َّر َج بَ ْينَ هما Myself and the caretaker of an orphan will be in Paradise like this, showing his middle and index fingers and separating them.51 It is unlawful in Islamic law to give the adopted child the full name of the sponsoring father. Because this leads to falsification, cheating and misleading; it has an impact on matters of inheritance, who is considered to be a maḥram, and all other issues to do with lineage. However, his name can be written as a guardian. If s/he has no patron, then s/he can relate his name to his country or city and add his kuniah, or nickname, to it. A lot of prominent Muslim scholars have done this in the past. All children have the right to know their lineage and to celebrate their unique national,

50 Transliteration: Anā wa kāfilul yatīmi fil jannati hakazā wa ashāra bissabbābati wal wusṭā wa farraja baynahumā. 51 Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, ḥadīth no. 5304. See also Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, ḥadīth no. 2983; Sunan Abū Dāwūd, ḥadīth no. 5131.

57 cultural, linguistic, JOURNA andL spiritualOF THE HENRY identity. MARTY AllāhN wantedINSTITUTE to put JAN to- JUNEan end 20 20to this naming and attribution as He said: ا ْد عو ه ْم ِِلبَائِ ِه ْم ه َو أَ ْق َسط ِعند َ َّ َللاِ ۚ فَإِن لَّ ْم تَعْلَ موا آبَا َء ه ْم فَإِ ْخ َوان ك ْم فِي ال ِدلي ِن

َو َم َوا ِلي ك ْم ۚ َولَيْ َس عَلَ ْي ك ْم جنَا ح فِي َما أَ ْخ َطأْت م بِ ِه َولَ ِكن َّما تَعَ َّمدَ ْت ق ل وب ك ْم ۚ َو َكا َن ََّللا َغف و ًرا َّر ِحي ًما52 Call them (the adopted sons) after their fathers’ (names). That is most just in the sight of Allāh. So if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in the Din (Religion) and your friends. And there is no sin on you for what you said by mistake, but (that will be a sure sin) which your hearts intend. And Allāh is Most Forgiving, Ever-Merciful.53 This Qur’ānic verse asserted that a child’s pedigree must be trace -back to the biological father. According to Islamic law lineage (nasab)54 is one of the most basic human rights each individual inherits from his family. Therefore, changing one’s name in a way that replaces the father’s names with other names is absolutely forbidden.55 Also if the adopted child is not aware of his/her real identity, there would be a chance of him/her marrying marriageable kin (maḥram) of his/her biological family

52 Transliteration: Ud‘ūhum liābaihim huwa aqsaṭu ‘indallāh fa illam ta‘lamu abā’āhum fa ikhwānukum fid dini wa mawālikum wa laysa ‘alaykum junāḥun fīmā akhṭa’tum bihi wa lākim mā ta‘ammadat qulūbukum wa kānallāhu ghafūrar raḥīmā. 53 The Qur’ān, 33:5. See also 58:2. 54 It means one person’s creation of another’s gamete or two people’s creation of another’s gamete. It also means the relationship existing between two people wherein one of them is born from her/him. 55 The Qur’an 2:233, 31:14, 46:15 has clearly spelled out who is considered a parent to a child. There are four basic principles in Islamic bioethics and law by which paternity may be established. (1) There must be a valid marriage contract between the mother and father of the child. (2) Jurists considered that the minimum duration from the existence of a valid marriage contract to the birth of the child is 6 months. (3) Attribution is based on the principle that “the child belongs to the bed (where he or she was born)”, referred to as al‐walad lil‐firāsh—in other words, to the apparent father. (4) Acknowledgement (iqrār) by a husband that a child born to his wife is his, even if the child’s genetic paternity may be in doubt. Anwar Ahmad Quadri, Islamic Jurisprudence in the Modern World, pp. 46-52.

58 THE CONCEPT OF ADOPTION (TABANNĪ) … line without being aware of that. In Islam, like every other Abrahamic religion, it is forbidden to marry once blood relatives (maḥram). Before himself had an adopted son called ﷺprophet hood, the Holy Prophet Zayd56 as was customary at the time. A declaration of adoption was publicized and Zayd bin Ḥārithah became known as Zayd bin Muḥammad.57 Upon the revelation of above-quoted Qur’ānic verse, Zayd’s adoption was quickly rescinded and he was again called Zayd bin Ḥārithah and not Zayd bin Muḥammad58, which was the first reform introduction in connection with the implementation of this instruction. Imām ibn Kathīr (701-774/1300-1373) said that this is a command which abrogates the state of affairs that existed at the beginning of Isla, when it was permitted to call adopted sons after the man who adopted them. Hence when this ruling was abrogated, Allāh made it permissible for a man to married ﷺmarry the ex-wife of his adopted son, and the Holy Prophet Zaynab bint Jahsh, the divorced wife of Zayd bin Ḥārithah (may Allāh be pleased with him). This verse makes it clear that adoption does not change the relationship of a person, adoption does not end the blood relationship between the child and his real parents and siblings, nor does it create a real relationship between him and his adoptive parents and their children. Some scholars believe that if someone does replace his last name with someone else’s name, while it is not cultural but pure imitation, then there is a problem, otherwise there is no issue. Article 20 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recognizes the kafālah of Islamic law as an alternative to adoption for Muslim states,59 which reflects the current Islamic populist position on adoption. In effect, kafālah can be regarded as an

56 Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, an enslaved Bedoui who, was approximately 10 year at the time of his adoption. See the authoritative ﷺyounger than the Holy Prophet biography of Zayd ibn Ḥārithah in Ibn Sa ‘d, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. iii, p. 40-47. 57 Muḥammad bin Aḥmad al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmi‘ li aḥkām al-Qur’ān, vol. vii, p. 502. 58 For further detail see Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, ḥadīth no. 4782. See also Jāmi‘ Tirmizī, ḥadīth nos. 3209, 3814. 59 Mashood A. Baderin, International Law and Islamic Law, p. 192.

59 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 internationally-recognized form of alternative care for children deprived of their natural family environment as well as one of the measures for providing ‘a global system for improving the protection of children in international situations’.60 The above-mentioned practices of foundling and kafālah are approved by the original sources of Islamic law. Therefore, to be Islamically sound, adoption practices must secure both the best interests of the child and further the unrestricted public interest (maṣāliḥ al- mursalah) which is corroborated by the principles of the Sharī‘ah. The Qur’ān accepts the principle of public interest (maṣlaḥah)61 and employs it as part of its general principles approach for legislation.62 It has closely influenced the fiqh practice governing orphans and foundlings and can be used to justify departure from established precedents. Muslim jurist also point out that humans were not made for the Sharī‘ah; rather, the Sharī‘ah was made for humans.63

60 http://www.saflii.org/za/journals/AHRLJ/2014/18.html#pgfId-1123304 (date of retrieval 17-06-2020). 61 The legal theorists mean by maṣlaḥah to secure benefit or to remove harm intended by the Lawgiver, not absolute benefit or harm. 62 Mawil Izzi Dien, The Environmental Dimensions of Islam, p. 138. See also H.H Hassan, An Introduction to the Study of Islamic Law, pp. 194-226. 63 Faisal Abdul Rauf, Islam: A Sacred Law, pp. 77-78.

60 The ‘Sacred Cow’ in the Indian Religious and Political Narratives

Pranay Bin

Introduction he cow is considered the most sacred of all animals in Hindu mythology. has spoken at length Tabout the importance of cow in Indian society. The sacred cow assumes an important part in Hinduism and the divinity accorded to it is traced to the ancient holy texts of the Hindus. In modern times, cows have been termed a “sacred asset”, thus molding a sentimental cultural issue into religious importance. To this extent, it includes cow urine and dung considered to be sacred for the purification of a person. Further, the holy image of cows has become an important feature in politics. Interestingly, cows have acquired a predominant feature on the majority Hindu psyche. There has been a wide array of articles and books concerning the subject of why cows are perceived to be holy in India. Marvin Harris’s works on the sacred cow portray that the role of the cow is determined by ecological variables.1 We also have a political approach followed by Paul Diener and Donald Nonini in their work, The Dialectic of Sacred Cow: Ecological Adoption vs. political appropriation in the origins of Indian cattle complex. Alan Heston’s work An Approach to the Sacred Cow in India employs an economic approach.2 Besides, psychoanalytical and

1 Harish Marvin, “The Myth of the Sacred Cow,” in Man, Culture and Animals, edited by A. Leeds and A. P. Vadya (Washington: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1966): 217-228; Harish Marvin, “The Cultural Ecology of Indian’s Sacred Cattle,” in Current Anthology 7 (1965): 51-66. 2 Alan Heston, “An Approach to the Sacred Cow of India,” in Current Anthropology 12 (1971): 191-209.

61 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 phenomenological approaches attempt to establish a sui generis model for studying the “ecology of religion”.3 All the approaches mentioned tell something about the nature of cows in their cultural context. However, they all fall short of a complete interpretation, in one sense or another, by attempting to understand and explain the role of cows from within the narrow confines of their respective disciplines. Those approaches are not invalid because of this oversight. They have their way of looking at the problems of why cows have such an exalted status in Hinduism. But, what they all seem to overlook is the uniqueness of the cow as a deeply felt religious symbol in India and such religious sacredness has been used in both politics and society. This work attempts to grasp scriptures’ narration on cows and their sensitivity to religious tradition. It studies the understanding of cows in the religio-political context of India. Through this, we can understand the political interpretation of cows. One may articulate whether today’s interpretation is social, political, or religious interpretation. Nowhere else in the world has an animal maintained such status in the realm of the divine. Many in India have championed cows in religion, society, and politics. The focus here is to draw textual sources on cows and look at the development of the status as a sacred symbol within its religious and mythological contexts. Whatever factors may have contributed to the rise of this concept, textual evidence strongly supports the primacy of religious concerns. Those textual shreds of evidence that support spiritual phenomena must be explained in religious terms. Hence, the primacy of the text is associated with the context and culture of the people. In the passage of time, cow spirituality and politics go hand-in-hand to acquire a new place in the texture of Indian society and governance.

3 Alan Dundes, Two Tales of Crow and Sparrow: A Fruedian Folkloristic Essay on Caste and Untouchability (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc., 1997); Ake Hultkranz, “An Ecological Approach to religion,” in Ethnos 31 (1966): 313-150.

62 THE ‘SACRED COW’ IN THE INDIAN RELIGIOUS …

Development of Cows as Sacred Symbol in Hindu Religious Tradition One can only have an opinion about cows without knowing the details as to when cows became popular in the Indian religious context. There is some evidence that cow was already a symbolic motif before the Aryans crossed the Hindu Kush on their way to the Indian subcontinent.4 But there is no consensus among the scholars and reference in the Avestan texts is too scant to conclude that the cattle had any special status in ancient Persia. During the second millennium, BCE cows are considered as an economic commodity across the Persian culture.5 Over time, cows had a somewhat elevated position in the earliest phase of Vedic literature (1500 BCE).6 This is not to say that cows were inviolable at that time, but only suggests her use as a symbolic motif during the early Vedic period.7 Some others attempted to account for the sanctity of cows by accrediting it to the influence of the indigenous people inhabiting the Indus Valley during the influx of the Aryan invaders.8 The status of cows, however, seems to be influenced only tangentially by these non-Aryan cultures, for cattle in general and cows specifically are not represented as frequently as the unicorn on the Harappan Seals dating from the third and second millennia BCE.9 During the Vedic period, cows play a more important role as a symbol. Cattle collectively presented, are depicted in the Vedic literature more often than any other members of the animal kingdom. The early Vedic literary usage of cows reverberates with both sacred and profane allusions. The economic aspects of cows are heavily stressed in the Vedas and the role she plays in the yajña (sacrifice). The

4 William Crooke, “The Veneration of the Cow,” in Folk Lore 23 (1911): 281; Hermann Jacobi, “Cow (Hindu),” in Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, edited by J. Hastings, vol., 4 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1914): 224-225. 5 Crooke, “The Veneration of the Cow,” 186. 6 Crooke, “The Veneration of the Cow,” 186. 7 Crooke, “The Veneration of the Cow,” 181. 8 The theory of Aryan invasion has, of course, been challenged recently by a school unconvincingly claiming the indigenous origin of Aryans. 9 Brideget Allchin and Raymon Allchin, The Rise and Fall of Civilization in India and Pakistan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982), 210; John E. Pfeiffer, The Emergence of Society: A Prehistory of Establishment (New York: MacGraw-Hill Book Company, 1977), 209-213.

63 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 sacrifice played a quintessential role in the Vedic religion. Its continuance meant the very maintenance of cosmic order (ṛta) in the universe.10 Indeed, the nature of creation was innate within the sacrifice. Thus creation as a recurring cosmogonic act was seen as only possible through the successful and continuous performance of the yajña. Without maintaining it properly, the universe could not function. If the sacrifice ended, then ṛta would fall out of balance and the universe would regress into a chaotic state. Cows take on cosmic proportions by being at the centre of the sacrifice. Not only were cattle the major sacrificial victims, but their products were used for oblation as well. One thing we can discern from the portrayal of cows during this period is that she was identified with the totality of the universe. The Atharvaveda (10.10.1), for example, calls cows the “all-producing and all-containing universe.” This mythical relationship between the cow and the universe is all mentioned several times in the Ṛgveda as well.11 The Vedic literature is relatively silent concerning non-violence directed towards cows. Not until the very end of this period do we find even the slightest allusions concerning the matter. There is only one reference to ahimsa in the mythical corpus of writings concurrent with this period. In Chāndogya Upaniṣād (3.17.4), we read, atha yat tapo dānam arjavam ahimsā satyavacanam iti ta asya daksiṇah (austerity, almsgiving, uprightness, harmlessness, truthfulness; these are one’s gifts for the priest”).12 Here “harmlessness” or nonviolence is used as a virtue.13 In

10 Thomas J. Hopkins, The Hindu Religious Tradition (C A: Wardsworth Publishing Company, 1971), 17-35. 11 William Dweight Whitney, Atharva-Veda Samhita, translated with a Critical and Exegetical Commentary (Cambridge: Published by Harvard University, 1905), 605. 12 Robert E. Hume, trans., The Thirteen Principal Upanisads (Madras: Oxford University Press, 1977), 213. 13 Norman W. Brown, “The Sanctity of the Cow in India,” in The Economic Weekly (1964): 247.

64 THE ‘SACRED COW’ IN THE INDIAN RELIGIOUS … short, at the close of the Vedic period, we can surmise that the cow was still eaten, but nevertheless served as a powerful symbol. With the advent of Buddhism and Jainism at the beginning of the fifth century CE, the notion of ahimsa slowly rose in prominence within Brahminical circles.14 The sacred text and law books from this period provide an ample mention of it. The Bhagavadgītā, for example, mentions the term four times (10.5, 13.7, 16.2, 17.4), but it is not used in a doctrinal sense, for it is defined as one quality among others. The Manusmṛuti explicitly prohibits eating met for Brahmin, but does not prohibit its consumption by other castes. The text does state, however, that a person who eats the meat of an animal in this life time will be devoured by the very same one in the next world (5.55). But in the verse (5.56) immediately following this passage it’s clearly state that “There is no sin in eating”.15 Elsewhere in the tome, harming a cow is discouraged (4.162) and slaughtering her (govada) is considered a crime (11.60). The law book is, however, ambiguous on this point. As Brown suggests, it supports ahimsa in some passages and denies it in others.16 Other law books are all about ambivalent on the question of the murder of cows. The Arthaśāstra, for example, says that selling meet is legal, but cattle are not to be slaughtered (2.26). In the Sanskrit epic literature as well, we find passages that protect cows, but condone other sorts of meat for consumption. The Mahābhārata states that he who kills a cow lives as many years in hell as there are hairs on the cow’s body (13.74.4)17 After his conversion to Buddhism (262 BCE), the great King Ashoka became staunch advocate of ahimsa, as is attested by his famous “pillar edicts”.18 Pillar edicts IV suggests that he had laws in order to

14 A. L. Basham, The Wonder that was India (New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1959), 48-54. 15 Georg Bhuler, trans., The Law of Many (Sacred Book of the East) Vol. 25 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1886), 177. 16 Norman W. Brown, “The Sanctity of Cow in Hinduism,” in Madras University Journal 28 (1957): 29-49. 17 Brown, “The Sanctity of Cow in India,” 247-49. 18 Basham, The Wonder that was India, 57, 219.

65 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 enforce.19 After Ashoka’s death, there was a resurgence of animal sacrifice, which went on as a popular observance until medieval times. By this time Brahminical literature began treating ahimsa as dogma, but the idea of practicing non-violence on a mass scale was still met with popular resistance by the subaltern classes. It was not until Mahatma Gandhi utilized cows as a “poem of piety” for his non-violent struggle during the freedom movement that her position and status as sacred symbol was firmly implanted in Indian soil. As he wrote in Young India, cow worship is a “worship of innocence”, which I take to mean humbleness before all nature.20 At present, the epic texts—especially Mahabharata—as well as Purāṇas are used to justify the sanctity of the cow as an orthodox position. But the sanctity of the cow itself has a distinct social genealogy that must be understood historically to make sense. In other words, contrary to some pious accounts that suggests a Vedic origin for cow protection; it was not until the early centuries of the (i.e., mid-Epic period) that the cow began to take on the aura of inviolable sanctity in India. The position achieves a strong doctrinal grounding during the fourth century CE when the Mahābhārata is completed, and ahimsa become firmly established as a doctrine during the post-Epic Paurāṇic period. From then on it diffused down to the popular level of piety. This suggests that the cow had a long period of prestige before its apotheosis because of her exalted status as a sacred symbol for something. But, not until the Common Era, however, was the cow revered in its own right.21 Having seen the importance of cows, in scriptures, certainly her role would be indispensible in religious life as the well as social life to adherent of Hinduism. Religion and society is correlated, cows have societal as well as religious significance. She gigantically occupied the social and religious psyche.

19 N. A. Nikam and Richard MacKeon, eds. and trans., The Edict of Ashoka (Chicago: University Press, 1959), 31-33. 20 Mohandas K. Gandhi, How to serve the Cow (Navajivan Publishing House, 1954), 3. 21 Basham, The Wonder that was India, 319.

66 THE ‘SACRED COW’ IN THE INDIAN RELIGIOUS …

Figurative Uses of Cows Metaphor is a powerful device by which human translates the message as well as makes link with different levels of reality and meaning. If we want to understand the importance of cows, her roles in daily life and religious belief are beset with huge connotation. Therefore, metaphorical uses of the cow are deeply ingrained in the Hindu psyche. Classical poetry evokes her eyes as an image of compassion and piety, while popular practice utilizes her products in earthy utilitarian sense.22 The cow is a symbol that reifies faith and belief in Hindu practice on both the individual and community levels, thereby providing a common ground for worship. At the turn of the century, William Crooke noticed that reverence for cows is “the most powerful link which binds together the chaotic complex of beliefs which we designate as Hinduism”.23 Seeing it in this way helps us to accept the notion of cows as a “key symbol” in pan- Hindu culture, one that unites the diverse backgrounds of regional Hindu into one core set of beliefs and practices. It is a central belief that cows are good, whole, pure sand embodying all aspect of the cosmos within her. It is also believed that the divine pantheon residing within her and all religious faith offering her praise. Such diverse uses of the cow are grounded in what is called as “allegorical association”.24 In allegorical sense, cows espouse mystical sense through meta- linguistic parallelism. A list of Vedic synonyms called the Naighaṇṭuka of Yaska equates the cow with a wide range of things in the manifest universe. The Sanskrit word for cow ‘go’ is listed as a synonym of earth, heaven, rays of light, speech and singer, while classical lexicographer Hemachandra adds sun, water, eye, heavenly quarter, thunderbolt, and

22 It is often believed that cow i associated with mother, because they give milk; people refer to them as mothers in colloquial speech; thus to abuse a cow is like abusing one’s mother. This has been provided by numbers of ancient Vedic similes precedents for this contemporary understanding. Doris Srinivasan, Concept of Cow in Rigveda (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1979), 37-55. 23 William Crooke, “The Veneration of the Cow,” in Folk-Lore 23 (1911): 279. 24 Frank J. Korom, Asian Folklore Studies 59/2 (2000): 190, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1178915 (April 04, 2020).

67 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 arrow in his Anekarthasamgraha.25 This seemingly diverse cluster of meaning falls within a semantic range united by a common myth of creation in which all of these things are first produced. In a Vedic creation myth, the cosmic waters from whence all originates are seen as cows. The divine hero, Indra, is sent to create order from the primordial, chaotic waters. They are being held captive in a cave guarded by Vṛtra. Indra slays Vṛtra and the waters gush forth like lowing cows. In the Ṛg Veda (1.32.2) we read: “Like lowing kine in raid flow descending the waters glided downward to the ocean”.26 It just so happens that these cows are pregnant and give birth to the calf. In this way, water, heat, and light were created. Law and order were established, and the rest of creation is completed. The earth is set in place and the vault of the sky is spread as a canopy above it. The heavenly bodies are put into motion, and the as well as the demigods and humans are given their own functions. All things, according to this myth, came into existence like lowing cows.27 Water in India is considered to be sacred and purifying. All life, of course, depends on water, since it purifies and heals. It provides both physical and spiritual purity. Water is thus holy, and because the cow is associated with its release, it also takes son this holiness. In term of the spatial, the symbol of cows’ legs stand implanted at the four corners of the universe. In this posture, she encompasses the four directions which by definition includes engulfing all space. Firmly established on her four legs, the cow is seen as “complete and self- contained”.28 As such, the cow represents perfection. This is a time when dharma (duty, law) is seen as functioning smoothly and efficiently. But such a condition is understood as only a temporary state of affairs, since the Hindu notion is that time is always moving through repetitive cycles

25 Hermann Jacobi, “Cow (Hindu),” in The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, edited by J. Hastings, vol. 4, 224-26 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1914): 225. 26 Ralph T. H. Griffth, trans., The Hymns of the Rgveda (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1976), 20. 27 Brown, “The Sanctity of the Cow in India,” 251. 28 Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization (New York: Harper and Row, 1962), 26

68 THE ‘SACRED COW’ IN THE INDIAN RELIGIOUS … each of which consists of four (ages) one corresponding to each leg of the cow. As each passes and dharma degenerates, one leg of the cosmic cow is shifted until she collapse. This collapse ends one major cycle. The universe is then renewed, dharma is restored, the cow regains her balance, and the process begins anew.29 For Hindus, cows serve this function. Cows encompass time, space, and law as a manner by which to add concrete meaning to an otherwise abstract cognitive category. Further, cows remind the age and place in which Hindus exist, as well as the moral order by which they must live. In the agrarian context, the milk of cows provided sustenance for all classes of beings and fertilized the soil. Many agrarian cultures throughout the world have created narratives relating to the origin of agriculture and plants. Such stories confer fecundity upon the earth through their ritual telling. The earth’s fertility is often identified as feminine, and in many cases the earth is described as mother. This is also true in India. Thus, she becomes a cause of fertility of the earth where everything grows. It suffices to say that cows play a vital role in religion and society. Tradition behind the Use of Cows’ Products It is important here to mention the tradition behind the use of cow dung and urine. Both external and internal purity is attained by anointing the body with cow dung before bath and sipping urine (pabitra) of the calf. Cow dung and the urine are said to purify human body. One should take the dung of the female calf from a pure place or before it touches the ground. One should receive the urine of female calf in a clean pot. The first and last flow of the urine should be discarded and only the middle flow should be taken. The dung should be mixed together and sipped with a pure heart remembering the name of the Lord. It should be considered as a regular duty of a house-holder. The dung and urine of female calf should only be taken. Further medical properties of cow’s urine are described in the treatise of Ayurveda.

29 Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization, 13.

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It is said that through the usage of cow dung and urine, certain kinds of harmful germs of the body are also destroyed and the body is not subjected to the attack of skin disease. It also destroys all other defects of the body. It is for these reasons that cow dung and urine of the calf have been accepted as essential ingredients in the act of cleaning the body in Satya Mahimā Dharma Samāj. This was taught by sage Vaisistha to king Saudas and narrated by Bhisma before King Yudhisthira (Mahābhārata Anucheda 18: 17).30 Mahabharata desired an account of cows pleasing Brahma by their penance and requested Him to grant them flowing boon (Mahabharata anucheda 79-3). Cows said to Brahma that people will be purified by bathing with their dung (Mahabharata anucheda 79:5). Pleased with their penance, Brahma told them “Let it be so. Henceforward cows rescue all the people from their sins” (Mahābhārata 81: 12).31 Cows are therefore understood as holy, pure, and highly purifying. Yudhisthira asked Bhisma why dung and urine of the cow are auspicious and blessed by goddess Laksmi. Bhisma told about ancient history in ancient times when Goddess Laksmi appeared in her enchanting beauty in a cow-pen. The cows asked about her and why she was here. Goddess Laksmi replied that she has come to reside in the body. But the cows did not allow her to reside in their body and asked her to leave the place. Disappointed with their answer Goddess Laksmi sought their shelter and requested them not to leave her.32 Laksmi desired to reside in their body. The blessed cows said to glorious one that she has honoured them; that she may live in their dung and urine which are very pure.33 Knowing the vitality of the cows in a specific socio-religious context, one could affirm the significance in social, spatial and spiritual sphere of human life; one could state that scripture has legitimized the cow. Thus, cows became part of Hindus’ socio-religious life.

30 Biswanath Baba, Philosophy of Mahima Dharma (Cuttack: Satya Mahima Dharma Granthakosa Samiti, 2005), 334. 31 Baba, Philosophy of Mahima Dharma, 334-35. 32 Baba, Philosophy of Mahima Dharma, 335. 33 Mahabharata anucheda 82: 21-26, Baba, Philosophy of Mahima Dharma, 336-337.

70 THE ‘SACRED COW’ IN THE INDIAN RELIGIOUS …

The Issue of Cow Protection in Pre-Independent Indian Narratives Since the Brahminical injunctions against beef eating led to the veneration of cows in the medieval period, it tended to become a political instrument at the hands of rulers. The Mughal emperors (e.g. Babar, Akbar, Jahangir and Aurangzeb, and so on), thus imposed a restricted ban on cow slaughter to accommodate the Jaina or Brahminical feeling of respect for cows.34 Similarly, Shivaji, sometimes viewed as an incarnation of God who descended on earth for deliverance is described as proclaiming: “We are Hindus and the rightful lords of the realm. It is not proper for us to witness cow slaughter and the oppression of ”.35 In the medieval period, the Hindu veneration of the cow contrasted with the outlook of Muslim rulers and subjects who looked upon it merely as food. It remained, however, more a maker of differentiation between the communities than of direct conflict, and several Mughal emperors put restrictions on cow slaughter in deference to the sentiments of the majority of their subjects. Babur asked Humayun to refrain killing the cow because in “that way lies the conquest of the hearts of the people of Hindostan [sic]”. Akbar the greatest and most tolerant of all the Muslim rulers of India, expressly prohibited the slaughter of cows.36 Cow slaughter was discouraged by the Marathas, Sikhs, and Rajputs and a ban was agreed upon by officials of the East India Company as part of their treaties with Indian rulers. So, after British annexed Punjab, Sir Henry Lawrence ordered a ban on the kill Amritsar in 1847 in an effort to placate the Sikhs. The last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar banned cow slaughter and threatened to execute Muslims found guilty of sacrificing cows during Bakrid.37

34 L. L. Sundara Ram, Cow Protection in India (Madras: The South Indian Humanitarian League, 1927), 122-123, 179-190. 35 Ram, Cow Protection in India, 191. 36 Adrija Roychowdhury, “Why the cow is worshipped in Hindutva Politics,” Indian Express (June 21, 2018), https://search-proquest-com.library.britishcouncil .org.in:4443/docview/2057442582?accountid=145163 (June 25, 2020). 37 Roychowdhury, “Why the Cow is Worshipped in Hindutva Politics.”

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But the issue of cow has become a tool of mass political mobilization when the Hindu cow protection movement began. Beginning with Kuka or Namdhari sect in the Punjab around 1870 and later strengthen by the foundation of the first Gorakshini Sabha in 1882 by Dayananda Saraswati, cow symbol united a wide-ranging people.38 This challenged the Muslim practice of cow slaughter and provoked a series of serious communal riots in the 1880s. Looking at the communal problems due to cow protection movement, the North-Western Province High Court in 1888 decreed cow not sacred.39 Not surprisingly cow slaughter very often became the pretext of many Hindu-Muslim riots, especially towards the end of the nineteenth century. The killing of the kine emerged again and again as a troublesome issue in the Indian political scene throughout the twentieth century. It has become a rallying point for communalism in India. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the apostle of peace and communal harmony, believed that cow protection was the “central fact of Hinduism”.40 The Mahatma concurs that cow protection is one of the most wonderful phenomena of human evolution because it takes human being beyond themselves. Cow according to Gandhi is the best companion and giver of plenty. Thus ‘cow protection' is the gift of Hinduism to the world; and Hinduism will live so long the as there are Hindus to protect cow.41 The importance of cow is constantly dealt with in Indian discussion, interpretations, and agitations, and affects government policy, public hygiene and national economics. Beside the above mentioned matter, the reverence rendered to the cow gets an instrument of politics. Behind the cow cult are hidden conservative and isolationist political forces. Their zeal is well calculated

38 Roychowdhury, “Why the Cow is worshipped in Hindutva Politics.” 39 Sandria B. Frietag, “Contesting in Public: Colonial Legacy and Contemporary Communalism,” in Making India Hindu, edited by David Luden (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996), 217. 40 Dwijendra Narayan Jha, Rethinking Hindu Identity (London: Taylor & Francis Group, 2014), 49. 41 M. K. Gandhi, “Hinduism,” in Young India 6.X.1921, cited by Tadeusz Margul, “Present-day Worship of the Cow in India,” 15, Fasc.1 (February 1968): 64.

72 THE ‘SACRED COW’ IN THE INDIAN RELIGIOUS … from the psychological standpoint. It is also evident from the above explanation that Brahminical texts abound in ambiguous interpretations. At the same time, religious teachers’ intervention and their movement has accelerated to protect cows through religious movement and politics. Hindutva forces have been trumpeting the idea of its sacredness as a characteristic trait of Hinduism. In the 1870s, cow protection took on clear political and Brahmanical tones. The first organized cow protection movement was started by the Sikh Kuka sect in Punjab; soon afterward, the Arya Samaj, led by Swami Dayanand Saraswati became its strongest advocate.42 The emergence of organized cow protection movements in the late nineteenth century needs to be seen in conjunction with the revivalist movements of the time. The revivalist movements appeared in Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities in response to social reform movements led by western educated Indians who questioned several cultural and religious tradition of the East for their ‘absence’ of rationalism. Hindus who had previously been unorganised now openly defended idol worship, caste, the sanctity of the Purāṇas and cows, and the legitimacy of customary marriage practices. Subsequently, cows became a symbol of a renewed conflict of identity between Hindu and Mulims. Dayananda Saraswati travelled to Calcutta, Benaras, Haridwar, Poona, and Bombay, among other places, to preach the veneration of cows. In February 1881, he published the pamphlet, Gaukarunanidhi or Ocean of Mercy, which condemned meat-eating and suggested laws for Gaukarunanidhi sabhas. Through the 1880s, the network Gaurakshini Sabhas grew stronger and wider. Violent anti-law slaughter riots rocked Azamgarh, Balia, and Ghazipur. While the Gaurakshini Sabhas were disbanded after the storm of violence; more riots took place in Ayodhya in 1912 and 1913 and in Shahabad in 1917.43 Mostly cow protection was a religious movement and such movement was working on the religious significance of cows.

42 Jha, Rethinking Hindu Identity, 49. 43 Roychowdhury, “Why the Cow is Worshipped in Hindutva Politics.”

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The first cow protection agitations began in the late 1800s in the context of the revivalist movements of the time and went on to shape a significant strain of nationalist struggle. By the early 20th century, as the nationalist movement gathered momentum in the country, the sanctity of the cow came to be firmly established in the consciousness of the masses. While the national movement of the Congress did not feature the cow as its prime symbol, the animal’s significance in gathering mass fervour was something that the party could not turn away from. However, the based on mass support on the basis of cow symbolism was problematic for the part as it would alienate the Muslims and shake the Congress’ motive of representing the interests of all Indians. The position occupied by the cow symbolism in the Congress’ nationalist project is best understood from what the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi had said about the animal as mentioned above citing his words on October 6, 1921, in his weekly journal, Young India. Few years later, however, speaking on the demand for a ban on cow-slaughter as part of a prayer discourse he said: “how can I force anyone not to slaughter cows unless he is himself so disposed? It is not as if there were only Hindus in Indian Union. There are Muslims, Parsis, Christians and other religious groups here.”44 This became remarkable statement for people or nation to decide which statement to be followed. Today, it is apparent in Indian political sphere that the former statement of Gandhi has given importance. While the congress was not particularly at ease with protection movement and in fact considered it quite an embarrassing obstacle, their large nationalist project, the sanctity attached to the cow in popular discourse had over time become a strongest feature of the nationalist sentiments. This was popularly visible from the way the cow was represented in print media. Writing about the presentation of the cow in nationalist discourse, historian Charu Gupta says that “the cow has the potential to be represented the mother of all Hindus and of a Hindu identity

44 Roychowdhury, “Why the Cow is Worshipped in a Hindutva Politics.”

74 THE ‘SACRED COW’ IN THE INDIAN RELIGIOUS … and nationality, requiring protection from non-Hindus.”45 The depiction of the cow as the mother (gau mata) who had to be protected, equating her status to that of the nation or ‘bharat mata’ who was also in need of protection was visible across the psyche of nation. The Issue on Cow Protection in Post-Independent Indian Narratives As nationalist leaders unfurled the tricolour in August 1947 and bid farewell to the colonisers the question of the cow remained unresolved. In the shadow of the partition riots, the issue once again acquired Hindu identity. Accordingly, when the constitution was process of being framed, several leaders from the Hindu-conservative wing of the Congress asked for a ban on cow slaughter to be a part of the constitutional framework. Most vociferous in this regard was a member from East Punjab, Pandit Thakur Dass Bhargava, who arguing from an economic point of view demanded that cows and cattle should be protected from slaughter. Other who supported him were Seth Govind Das, Shibban Lal Saxena, Ram Sahai and Raghu Vira.46 On the other hand, secularist like Nehru opposed the demand saying that legislation against cow slaughter had to be a matter of relevance solely to the respective states. Even after the constitution was framed, the issue still remained a bone of contention. The cow protection movement of the 1960 was headed largely by the freedom fighter, Prabhudatt Brahmachari and RSS chief, M. S. Golwalkar.47 Under their leadership the mass movement calling for a ban on cow protection took place, resulting in the parliament march. The cow protection movement of the 60s was no way successful in making possible a countrywide ban on cow slaughter. The Jan Sangh used the 1966 parliament attack as a tool for criticising the Congress, particularly the fact that the government fired upon gaurakhshak. In the 1967 Lok Sabha elections, the success of the Jan Sangh’s strategy could be felt in

45 Roychowdhury, “Why the Cow is Worshipped in Hindutva Politics.” 46 Roychowdhury, “Why the Cow is Worshipped in Hindutva Politicss.” 47 Roychowdhury, “Why the Cow is Worshipped in Hindutva Politics.”

75 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 terms of the fact that it increased seats from 14 to 35.48 Thereafter, the party went on to frame cow protection laws in various states. In the decade that followed, the Jan Sangh collapsed, and the BJP carried with itself the legacy of its forbearer. During its years of inception and struggle forward, the BJP had successfully found other symbols to represent its Hindutva politics, namely the Uniform Civil Code and the Babri Masjid. Cow protection continues to be in the political discourse of the party. The issue was raised during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, when the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate used coz symbolism once again to criticise the Congress’ ‘pink revolution’.49 Ultimately BJP won the election and cow protection initiation was undertaken by numerous people and BJP associated organizations. This issue has been detrimental to many and the Prime Minister has expressed stern warning to those who are indulging in violence in the name of cow protection. He also said states must take action on cow vigilantism. Despite this warning, mobs attacks and lynching people in the name of cow protection is witnessed in different parts of the country.50 Lynching incidents have brought bad names to the Modi administration and clearly the government is under pressure as media and intellectuals are attacking the central government for failure to protect people. In the Indian politics, the protection of cows and its progeny is one of the most important promises made by the BJP for the elections in the centre as well as in the states. The BJP invokes the provision under the constitution of India’s Directive Principle of State Policy which directs:

48 Roychowdhury, “Why the Cow is Worshipped in Hindutva Politics.” 49 Kaushik Deka and Uday Mahurkar, “Will BJP’s Cow Politics backfire: The Saffron Party is caught between its Commitment to Cow Protection and the Desire to extend its Electoral Footprint,” in India Today (June 19, 2017), https://search-proquest- com.library.britishcouncil.org.in:4443/docview/1908249352?accountid=145163 (June 25, 2020). 50 Abhilash Khandekar, “Hooliganism in Name of Cow Unacceptable: Narendra Modi,” Free Press Journal (July 17, 2017), https://search-proquest-com.library.british council.org.in:4443/docview/22 90387895?accountid =145163 (June 25, 2020).

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“the state shall endeavour to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.” In the early 2010, amid tremendous furore, the Government of Karnataka passed the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Prevention of Cattle Bill 2010, in both houses of state legislative assembly. This was amended from the previous Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Prevention of Cattle Act 1964. While the 1964 Act prohibited the slaughter of cow or calf of the she-buffalo, it did allow for the slaughter of the calf of the she-buffalo when certified fit for slaughter by a competent authority, or if it were over the age of 12, or under some specific conditions laid out in the Act.51 The 2010 Bill, however, is much more stringent in terms of the way the law is formulated, as well as the punishment spelt out when in violation of the law. The clause on prohibition of cattle slaughter specifies that all cattle slaughter is illegal; anything contained in any other law, custom or usage notwithstanding. This makes a disclaimer for what might be later deemed a provision that is communal in nature.52 Consequently, no people can sale and possess for consumption. With this provision, the definition of the scene of crime becomes a place where beef is consumed or where cattle are slaughtered. Cow protection as a religious movement has turned into a national project. People nowadays are swiftly prompted to mass disturbances and lynching when confronted with cow-killers and have the greatest contempt for beef-eaters. By reiterating scripture from different portion, the orthodox priests prescribe ruthless penances even for unintentionally killing cows or indirectly causing her death. Sophisticated Hindu intellectuals attempted to rescue the shattered position of the animal by

51 Roychowdhury, “Why the Cow is Worshipped in Hindutva Politics.” 52 Smitha Rao, “Saffronisation of the Holy Cow: Unearthing Silent Communalism,” in Economic and Political Weekly (Apr 09, 2011), https://search- proquest-com.library.britishcouncil.org.in:4443/docview/ 215374 8619? accountid=145 163 (June 25, 2020).

77 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 referring to its unsurpassed gratuitousness and its well-acknowledged role in ancient miniature art, painting, sculpture and literature. Concluding Remarks This issue of cows has become a central part of religion, society, and politics. It plays as major role in social institution and psyche. The religious significance of cows in society has acquired special place in politics. Therefore, it has become the principal and contentious issue in, Indian politics and subsequently it has become the project of nationalism. In the past it was used as a symbol of Hindu resistance against Muslim dominance in India and later against imperialism. The former issue still persists though. Politicization of this issue continues to play major role in the social and cultural life India. This issue has also been the one of the major causes of communal tension in recent times. In the milieu of all these narrations, it is tantamount as Indian citizen in general and religious institutions and students of religion to appraise the historical and mythical narratives associated with cows; how the cattle has been appropriated in the Indian social, cultural and religious narratives; and how it has come to take many interpretations in the present times.

78 Religion in Times of Pandemics: A Historical and Sociological Appraisal Pamhor Thumra Introduction OVID-19 as a biological pandemic has economic, social, religious, and political consequences. This paper attempts C to study how epidemics and pandemics1 shape human attitude towards religion and vice versa from historical and sociological perspectives. It appraises by studying past and recurring themes related to religion and pandemics. Religion at the time of COVID-19 is an important area of study in the academia of religion especially concerning its nature and functions. This is a recurring study in the aftermath of many catastrophic epochs in the history of humankind like epidemics, pandemics, wars, and natural disasters. The fear of death, diseases, the agony of wars, natural calamities strike at the very heart of existence. Human beings have managed to develop a protective mechanism in such events. When it comes to human behavior, religion has managed to “put a lid on some of our more ‘uncivilized’ behaviors.”2 Religion functions as a balancing act, a defense mechanism, and a comforting shelter. According to Gabriel Waksman, while the world was becoming more peaceful after the two tragic world wars, development in science and medicine answered most medical queries of modern society. As a result, many modern societies tend to

1 The usage of the term epidemic in this paper refers to disease outbreak occurring at region or community level, while the term pandemic is used for a disease outbreak that is widespread and prevalent throughout a country, continent or the world. While technically the two differ in their usage and implication, the usage of these terms in this paper must not be focused on the extent and size of the outbreak of a disease but from a functional point of view concerning religion. 2 Gabriel Waksman, “God, Science and COVID-19,” https://www.european scientist.com/en/ redactions-choice/god -science-and-the-COVID-19/ (May 12, 2020).

79 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 neglect religion. He was of the view that religion no longer influences issues on divorce, abortion, gay, women, minority, and other rights. In other words, the hold of religion on society was diminishing. Waksman was however of the view that religion is coming back—that COVID-19 pandemic has revived it; that in the days of distress, human beings have begun to invoke God and religion again. Religion is making a comeback again as a comforting option and in the form of seeking repentance and forgiveness. Religion is neither responsible for the outbreak nor has it made human more moral, generous or civilized. He viewed that religious dominance in human society has not changed humanity at all. The history of holocaust, wars, greed, and human civilization at the backdrop of military campaigns are such reminders. The fear of disease and death are potent motivators for religion.3 Religious Responses to Pandemics There is no single explanation or predictable religious response to pandemics. It may be apocalyptic in some culture but such a response may not be the same in other cultures. Samuel K. Cohn Jr. asserted that the 15th and 16th centuries’ historians and doctors claimed to understand plaque. They expressed no need for religious explanation as he stated, “God slips into the background.”4 The outbreak of diseases in the medieval period did not necessarily espouse religious answers though it was the case with many Christian institutions during this period. The aftermath of the5 many responses surfaced. Andrew Cunningham explained one of these responses in which association was made with the apocalyptic predictions

3 Waksman, “God, Science and COVID-19,” (May 12, 2020). 4 Duane J. Osheim, “Religion and Epidemic Disease,” in Historically Speaking 9/7 (September/October, 2008): 36-37, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/421095/pdf (May 14, 2020), citing the work of Samuel K. Cohn, “Triumph over Plague: Culture and Memory after die Black Death,” in Care for the Here and the Hereafter: Memoria, Art and Ritual in the Middle Ages, edited by Truus van Bueren and Andrea van Keerdam (Brepols: Turnhout, 2005), 36. 5 Black Death which ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351 was considered as one of the deadliest plagues in the world resulting in the death of millions in Eurasia and North Africa.

80 RELIGION IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS … as mentioned in Luke 21:11 (earthquake, famines, and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven). Howard Philips also agreed that various responses to the Spanish flu6 in South Africa came to a similar conclusion. During this time there was a combination of signs and plaques. For instance, the Black Death was preceded by devastating earthquakes and in the case of South Africa, the Spanish Flu preceded the First World War. In Istanbul, this pandemic was understood by the ‘ulamā’ as the work of jinn.7 In many contexts, the response to such epidemics was to acknowledge this as “God’s just anger.” For instance, smallpox was associated with sexual immorality, gluttony, and sodomy. However, the response was not the same in India. The reason being that smallpox was a frequent occurrence. It was also due to the nature of India’s religious plurality. In the case of South Africa, some Christian moralists blamed sinful neglect of sanitation while others see this as a moral lapse of secularism.8 Christian Response to Pandemics Ibn Khaldūn (d. 1406) recorded the devastation caused by Black Death, “… It was as if the voice of existence in the world had called out for oblivion and restriction, and the world had responded to its call.”9 Christian and Muslim responses to Black Death which spread the whole of Europe and the Mediterranean World in the 14th century varied in many ways. The Christians in Europe gave a religious explanation towards this epidemic. On earlier occasions, plaques were considered as the wrath of God. For instance, Justinian Plaque (541-542 CE)—named after Emperor Justinian I of the Byzantine Empire—in the word of historian J.N. Hays

6 The pandemic of 1918 was considered as the deadliest pandemic in the known history of the world claiming millions of lives around the world. 7 Christopher de Bellaigue, The Islamic Enlightenment – The Modern Struggle between Faith and Reason (London: The Bodley Head, 2017), 66. 8 Osheim, “Religion and Epidemic Disease,” 36-37. 9 Cited by Michael W. Dols, “The Comparative Communal Responses to the Black Death in Muslim and Christian Societies,” https://web.stanford.edu/class/history 13/Readings/MichaelDol.htm (May 15, 2020).

81 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 in his book Epidemics and Pandemics: Their Impacts on Human History was “…an act of an angry God….” Similarly, John of Ephesus a contemporary historian witnessed and described the scene of the destruction in Constantinople “…all ranks pressed on upon another, in a single wine-press of God's wrath, like beasts, no like human beings.”10 On many occasions, Christian response at the time of epidemics focused on Christian ethical teaching of loving one’s neighbor to the point of regarding their lives less important than others. Plaques were occasions when Christianity flourished. For instance, the 2nd century Antonine Plaque which killed hundreds of Roman citizens led to the spread of Christianity. The reason was mainly due to Christian’s attitude towards the sick. The exponential growth of Christians may be said of the Plaque of Cyprian as well. It was due to exemplary life lived out by the Christians in terms of care, attention to the sick even to the point of risking oneself. The goodwill gestures toward the non-Christians won hearts. Similar instances may be said of Martin Luther. In 1527 when bubonic plaque hit Wittenberg, Luther refused calls to leave the city to protect himself. He stayed back and ministered the sick.11 In the context of Black Death, many Christian Europe invoked the punishment of God for sins as the reason. This was also propagated by the Church as found in many contemporary works of literature. They were convinced of personal guilt and therefore called upon the need for personal and communal expiation of faithful Christians. Out of this context, the flagellant movement which mortified flesh as a penance for their sins arose. It also led to the persecution of the Jews and a pessimistic perception of the evidence of death. Along with this, the occurrence of a

10 Adrija Roychowdhury, “The first plague in history ended the Byzantine empire, was considered an act of God,” in (May 4, 2020), https://indianexpress.com/article/research/coronavirus-COVID-19-the-first-plague-in- history-ended-the-byzantine-empire-6393584/ (May 5, 2020). 11 Lyman Stone, “Christianity Has Been Handling Epidemics for 2000 Years,” (March 13, 2020), https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/13/christianity-epidemics-2000- years-should-i-still-go-to-church-coronavirus/ (May 21, 2020).

82 RELIGION IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS … series of natural disasters in the 13th century convinced many Christians that the plaque was the wrath of God. The flagellant movement was understood as a redemptive sacrifice that prevented the world from overwhelming devastation. This movement also took on messianic pretensions in which they claim that the movement must last for 33 years an end with the redemption of Christendom. Along with this, mortification of the flesh was an extreme form of penance. They were convinced of the end of all things in the apocalypse. They were therefore preoccupied with death and the end of the world. They even compared the plaque as the apocalyptic rider in a white horse.12 Muslim Response to Pandemics In the Mediterranean World, the response was different. Three important responses may be drawn here. The Muslims took Black Death as a mercy of God and martyrdom of the faithful Muslims. They also taught that Muslims should neither enter nor flee from plaque infested place. Thirdly, they ascribe plaque to no contagion since diseases are from God. The above-mentioned responses were mostly attributed to the tradition associated with Prophet Muḥammad. The plaques cannot be understood as contagion because it is a divine selection of God. It was mercy for the faithful and punishment for the infidel. Death by plaque was also considered as martyrdom and one that received God's favor and paradise. Of course, these responses were not without debates. But the main crux of this reaction was that Muslims did not affirm and declare that plaque was a punishment from God. Instead, religious life went on in , religious rites and ritual were performed uninterrupted. Religious leaders called for piety and ritual purity. There were funeral prayers, processions, and grave visits. They also witnessed communal prayers for the lifting of the plaques. In Damascus, it was reported that there were prayers and fasting.

12 Dols, “The Comparative Communal Responses to the Black Death in Muslim and Christian Societies.”

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Another important characteristic of this response is the belief in supernatural visions and events. There were accounts of visions of Prophets and guidance thereof. As a result, there was an increase in the veneration of saints. There were several beliefs associated with popular magicians. Talisman, amulets, incantations, and magical inscriptions that were directed to the plaque were not uncommon. While Christian Europe saw it as a punishment of God in which the idea of original sin was reemphasized, such an idea was absent among the Muslims. Instead, they saw this as a divine warning against sin. There were prayer and supplication but not expiation. They saw plagues as a natural disaster and as an event fated by God for humanity like floods and droughts etc. Overall Black Death touched upon the central theme of human response concerning the idea of evil and suffering. Europe Christians took it as individual trials while the Muslims took it as a solemn responsibility of one's decision that affects others. Muslims were focused on the correct behavior of the total community while Christians on personal redemption. Qur’ān supplied guidance while the Bible consolation. The Muslims understood Black Death as God ordered while Christians saw this as an eruption of sin and misery.13 The Muslim response to epidemics was based on traditions relating to Prophet Muḥammad on the value of life. It is reported that Prophet Muḥammad preached on the importance of travel bans and social contacts in places infected with the disease to minimize the spread of disease. He was reported to have said, 14 إِذَا َس ِم ْعتُ ْم بِال َّطا ُعو ِن بِأَ ْر ٍض فَالَ تَ ْد ُخلُو َها، َوإِذَا َوقَ َع بِأَ ْر ٍض َوأَ ْنتُ ْم بِ َها فَالَ تَ ْخ ُر ُجوا ِم ْن َها If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; and if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place.15

13 Dols, “The Comparative Communal Responses to the Black Death in Muslim and Christian Societies.” 14 Transliteration: Izā sami‘tum biṭṭā‘ūni bi arzin falā tadkhuluhā, wa izā waqa‘a bi arzin wa antum bihā falā takhrujū minhā. 15 Imām Muḥammad bin Ismā‘īl Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, ḥadīth no. 5728.

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In another tradition, the Prophet was reported to have practiced when a leprous man once wished to pledge his allegiance to the Prophet. This would entail physical contact for which the Prophet send the leprous man away with words sent to him that his pledge has been accepted.

َع ْن َر ُج ٍل، ِم ْن آ ِل ال َّش ِري ِد يُقَا ُل لَهُ َع ْم ٌرو َع ْن أَبِي ِه قَا َل َكا َن فِي َو ْف ِد ثَ ِقي ٍف َر ُج ٌل َم ْجذُو ٌم فَأَ ْر َس َل إِلَ ْي ِه النَّبِ ُّي ـ صلى هللا عليه وسلم ـ ا ْر ِج ْع فَقَ ْد بَايَ ْعنَا َك 16 It was narrated from a man from the family of Sharīd whose name was ‘Amr, that his father said: There was a leper among the delegation of Thaqīf. The Prophet sent word to him: ‘Go back, for we have accepted your oath of allegiance. The Prophet was also reported to have taught that the sick should not risk the health of the community at large for which he said that the sick must not be placed together with a healthy person. 17 The Muslims draw upon the teachings of the Prophet as a response to plaques. The Prophet encouraged the Muslims to remain patient and rely on God as he declared, “None (among the believers) remains patient in a land in which plague has broken out and considers that nothing will befall him except what Allāh has ordained for him, but that Allāh will grant him a reward similar to that of a martyr.” Moreover, the death of innocent was associated with reward and martyrdom as it was reported, “He (a Muslim) who dies of an abdominal disease is a martyr, and he who dies of plague is a martyr.” Muslims also add emphasis on the religion’s emphasis on hygiene and cleanliness concerning performing ablutions. 18

16 Transliteration: ‘an rajulin min ālish sharīd yuqālu lahu ‘amrun ‘an abīhi qāla kāna fī wafdi thaqīfin rajulun majzūmun fa arsala ilayhin nabiyyu ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam irji‘ faqad bāya‘nāka. 17 Muḥammad ibn Yazīd Ibn Mājah, Sunan Ibn Mājah, ḥadīth no. 3544. 18 Hakan Ҫoruh, “Theology, health and hygiene: How the Islamic tradition addresses the threat of pandemics,” (April 06, 2020), https://www.abc.net.au/religion/ theology-health-and-hygiene-in-islamic-tradition/12125014 (May 21, 2020).

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The Impact of Pandemics on Religion Epidemics shaped people's attitudes toward religion. In the history of Black Death in Europe, the Church struggled to deal with it and its reputation suffered because of it. It led to the decline in the confidence towards the institution of the Church and its leadership.19 The Church was looked upon for order and solidity.20 But it was not to be. Ordinary people began to see the human side of the Church. It was already plagued with hierarchical bureaucracy. It was a period when the Church was found wanting to guide the people religiously and spiritually. The impact does not necessarily mean a decline in faith though the confidence towards the institution of the Church was shaken. Three major events that impacted the Church were high mortality of priests, the rise of flagellant movement, and the .21 The Decline in the Institution of Priesthood The loss of reputation among the clergy who acted as the connection between the masses and the Church was devastating. For instance, there was a significant reduction in the population of the Church and the quality of clerical services which was caused by the extreme mortality rate of the clerical populace due to their exposure to the sick and dying.22 The loss of life of clergy members did seriously affect the functioning of the church in terms of manpower as a result parish, churches remained unattended and abandoned. This was the time when the Church was looking for guidance. As a result, the congregation was

19 McLaurine H. Zentner, “The Black Death and its Impact on the Church and Popular Religion” (Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, The University of Mississippi, May 2015), http://thesis.honors.olemiss.edu/338/1/Zent ner %20Thesis.pdf (May 21, 2020). 20 Elizabeth Lehfeldt, ed., The Black Death (Problems in European Civilization) (Boston: Cengage Learning, 2004), 123. 21 Zentner, “The Black Death and its Impact on the Church and Popular Religion,” 2. 22 Rosemary Horrox, The Black Death (Manchester: Manchester Medieval Sources, 1994), 235.

86 RELIGION IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS … preoccupied with the fear of death, sin, , and the thought of an afterlife. At this moment, the art of dying became an important indulgence of the people which involved confessions and rites performed by the priest. The blessings of the priest restored the mental and social equilibrium.23 It allowed the Church to help calm and navigate the fear of death among the people but now priests have struggled to perform this in the wake of the plaque.24 The decline in the services associated with the clergy had a lasting impact on the mind of the members. Giovanni Boccaccio remarked, “Nor were these dead honored with tears, candles or mourners. It had come to such a pass that men [sic] who died were shown no more concern than dead goats today.”25 Thus, Robert S. Gottfried stated, “Many parish priests fled, leaving no one to offer services, deliver last rites, and comfort the sick. Flight might have been intellectually explicable, but it was morally inexcusable.”26 The clerical leaders were as powerless as the laity. The growing sense of abandonment was a great blow to their popularity and standing in the Church. They were deemed not to have risen to their responsibility. Black Death created a world in which everyone was concerned about their well-being. The office of the priesthood which espoused selflessness and charity was found to be lacking. With the death and the dwindling number of senior priests who were experienced in the function of the Church, young priests were incorporated into the service. But their inexperience and lack of skills did not do much good for the already damaged image of the Church. Experience and discipline were two old values mostly valued by the Church, but these values were found to be wanting in most of the young

23 David Herlihy, The Black Death and the Transformation of the West (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997), 60. 24 Zentner, “The Black Death and its Impact on the Church and Popular Religion,” 9. 25 Herlihy, Black Death, 61, 26 Robert S. Gottfried, The Black Death: Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe (New York: The Free Press, 1983), 84.

87 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 recruits. It did not provide stability to the Church. Along with the decrease in the numbers of priests, many members of the priesthood took this as an opportunity to increase their wealth. The priests were taking advantage of the dwindling number of priests in the Church by demanding higher pay or wages.27 Indulgence was freely involved. This consequently resulted in the Reformation Movement of the 16th century. Gottfried agreed as he wrote, “While indulgences were not the only thing that spurred Martin Luther, their use and sale inspired him to nail up his 95 Theses.”28 The Impact of the Flagellant Movement on the Church Another important offshoot of the Death Plague was the practice of wounding oneself as a form of religious penance. In response to the plaque, the Church looked inwards for ways to relieve tension and fear. The destruction of the plaque was viewed as punishment for sins. They took to hurting themselves as a means to receive God’s mercy. The popularity of the flagellants increased and they made claims about their abilities to perform miracles and grant salvation to sinners. As a result, it came to grow as a parallel movement at par with the Catholic Church causing a thread to the influence and power of the Church until it was denounced by the Church. As the common people witnessed the plaque spreading spearing none, it evoked the urgency and desperation to protect their souls. They could no longer rely on the Church for protection from “God’s wrath.” Many embraced this movement as a means to protect themselves. The major attracting point was penitential benefits. It attracted the masses and had support from the mass. It implicitly sent a message that the Church was no longer the primary institution for salvation.29 Gottfried wrote, “Spectators sobbed, cried, howled, and tore at their hair. The flagellants were seen as martyrs who

27 Zentner, “The Black Death and its Impact on the Church and Popular Religion,” 11-15. 28 Gottfried, The Black Death, 88. 29 Zentner, “The Black Death and its Impact on the Church and Popular Religion,” 23-25.

88 RELIGION IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS … atoned for the sins of the world and, hence, helped to avert further suffering from the plague and future visitations.”30 The people believed that although the wrath of God had struck the people, public penance could somehow bring God’s mercy. The flagellants were welcomed throughout the towns and cities as the harbinger of hope and the Church was no longer seen as an institution that could provide salvation. The increasing nature of the movement caused further tension with the Church. This includes the issue of symbolism. The movement in Europe by now has adopted the symbol of the cross on their clothes and bore crucifixes as they marched the streets. They also used whips as a religious symbol representing the pain of Jesus Christ which he endured before his crucifixion. The term flagellant was derived from the word “flagella” meaning whips which were their primary tool to express public penance.31 The spiritual leadership of the Church was threatened by the movement. The relationship greatly worsens when the movement began their assertion of the power to forgive the sins of the laity. As a result, Pope Clement VI condemned the group publicly in October 1349 and declared public flagellation a prohibition and heretical. The Church was not aware of the intermediary role the movement was claiming to take and superseding the role of the priest. Another reason that severely damaged the image of the Church was that they refused to acknowledge the clergy as the only group to preach the laity. The Church was angry that the movement had gone against the traditional Catholic sacraments. The movement was of the view that anyone can preach.32 The association of performing miracles on the part of the movement and public declaration

30 Gottfried, Black Death, 71. 31 Zentner, “The Black Death and its Impact on the Church and Popular Religion,” 28-30. 32 Zentner, “The Black Death and its Impact on the Church and Popular Religion,” 34-36.

89 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 on the power to miracles, to expel satanic forces, heal injury and even resurrect the death33 was too much for the Church to entertain. The Persecution of the Jews The against the Jews was perpetrated with the hope of appeasing the wrath of God. They were accused of plots against the Christians and thus became the target of mass . Many European Christians believed that the Jews were responsible for the plaque and the Church had no control in containing this hatred. Philip Ziegler stated the hatred towards the Jews when he argued, “The Black Death concentrated this latent fear and hatred of the Jews into one burning grievance which not only demanded vengeance but offered the tempting extra dividend that, if the Jews could only be eliminated, then the plague for which they were responsible might vanish too.” Likewise, many Christian populations were of the view that the best way to gain salvation was to eradicate the population responsible for the plaque. After all, they fear that the clergies could no longer save them. They laid the blame squarely on Jews that conflict with their religious principles. Thus, religious and ideological stimulations made way to hatred. The scapegoating of the minority for the plaque served the very purpose of a long history of difference between these religious communities.34 Thus, John Aberth wrote that “scapegoating of minority groups seems to be a common failing in times of crisis, and medieval Christian society during the Black Death was no exception.”35 However, the primary reason why the Jews are blamed for the plaque was simply the attitude to persecute the Jews. The connection between flagellant movement and the persecution of the Jews is evident as Rosemary Horrox pointed out that their “passionate

33 Philip Ziegler, The Black Death (Glasgow: William Collins Sons & Co., 1969), 69; see, Zentner, “The Black Death and its Impact on the Church and Popular Religion,” 38. 34 Ziegler, The Black Death, 74; Zentner, “The Black Death and its Impact on the Church and Popular Religion,” 44-45. 35 John Aberth, ed., The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350: A Brief History with Documents (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s: 2005), 117.

90 RELIGION IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS … penitential desire to cleanse the individual soul of sin could easily become a desire to cleanse the world of the enemies of Christ.”36 The Growth of New Forms of Religious Expression While the circumstances involving the Black Death seriously questioned the place of Christian religious institutions, other forms of religious expression evolved. Many Christians took to monastic life, practice charity for hospitals which erstwhile would have normally gone to the Church. It gave rise to individual expression of faith in terms of family chapels and private masses and worship. The individualization of worship struck at the monopoly of the Church. Europe Christians also witnessed increase pilgrimages which were a threat to the reputation of the clergy. Pilgrimages and lay piety took to an individual pursuit in the path of salvation without the assistance of the clergy. These new trends of religious observances emphasized good works outside the influence of the Church which in the eyes of many have lost its way to God.37 Thus, the relationship between the laypeople and the Church changed dramatically in the aftermath of this plaque. The trust and respect for the priest and religious institution suffered a massive blow although faith in God remained intact. Likewise, the institution of the Church suffered a trust deficit. The power and influence the Church once commanded were questioned. The mortal and human characteristics of the religious institution which lay unchallenged changed forever. The Dialectics of Religion and Pandemics Religion influence our attitude towards epidemics and the latter shapes our attitude towards religion. Elizabeth Pennisi was of the view that evolutionary biologists should pay closer attention to religion because religious beliefs can shape key behaviors in dealing with diseases. David

36 Rosemary Horrox, The Black Death (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1994), 110; Zentner, “The Black Death and its Impact on the Church and Popular Religion,” 60. 37 Zentner, “The Black Death and its Impact on the Church and Popular Religion,” 19-22.

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Hughes an evolutionary biologist at Pennsylvania State University states that major religions merged simultaneously with the spread of infectious disease for which he viewed that the two shaped one another. Hughes calls for attention to the power of religion which enthuses a person to extend help to a non-relative or different person who is sick and infectious at the cost of risking oneself. This was the response of the early Christians. Hughes along with Philip Jenkins, a historian of religion, analyzed religious leaders and their responses in the time of epidemics and how religions deal with epidemics in the past. They were of the view that in the early century deathly plaque arose simultaneously with the rise of religion. Religions had a different take on diseases. In the case of Christian tradition which took on the teachings of Jesus Christ, helping the sick was an example set by Jesus Christ. Therefore, risking death even at the hand of death was encouraged. Whereas in Islam they do not see any sense in avoiding the sick but emphasis was given on protection and care towards the family. In the Jewish understanding, death was attributed to God’s will. They believed that God can only heal and there were not many people can do to treat the sick. Thus, different religious understanding shapes different responses to epidemics.38 At the same time, pandemics help change the attitude towards religion. Michael Blume, an expert in religious studies at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena in Germany writes, “When people feel threatened, they tend to form cooperative groups.”39 Religion serves as a defense mechanism, one that comforts and sustains the believers. People look upon religion for strength and meaning. Likewise, the experience of pandemics questioned on the nature of God, faith, religion, religious institution, and religious functionaries. Pandemics tend to shape religious attitudes into us and them. It forms communitarianism often at the expense of other religious communities. For example, Christian persecution of the

38 Elizabeth Pennisi, “Does Religion Influence Epidemics?” (August 23, 2011), https://www.sciencemag.org/news/ 2011/08/does-religion-influence-epidemics# (May 21, 2020). 39 Pennisi, “Does Religion Influence Epidemics?”

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Jew during the Black Death is one example. Flagellant movement is also another example of how pandemics shape perspective about religion when it questioned the religious authority of the day. Similarly, the decline in the reputation of the institution of priesthood during the Black Death in Christian Europe which led to the rise of new religious consciousness in the form of pilgrimages, personal religious piety, monastic life, charity, among others, are some of the examples of how pandemics shaped our attitude towards religious consciousness. COVID-19 and Religion Today COVID-19 has a far-reaching impact on all the spears of human life. Religion is one of them. While some of the underlying issues discussed above from historical and sociological perspectives continue to find recurring relevance at present, varying dynamics of religious expressions have also been witnessed. The attempt in the academia of religion towards a science of religion on the metamorphosis of the nature and function of religion from various approaches in the context of COVID-19 is gaining new ground. Evolving Trends of Organized Religious Institution COVID-19 has questioned the nature and functions of organized and institutionalized religion. Instead, emphasis on personal religious experience is gaining ground. About this, it is important to understand the nature and function of institutional religion and personal religious experience distinguished by William James. The former refers to the group organization, while the latter to individual experience. He was concerned with personal experience. He thought that individual religious experience was much more important than a religious institution. He sees the function of religion in inspiring tolerance, helping face challenges like suffering, illness, loss, and death.40 One important characteristic of

40 Jacques Waardenburg, “Leeuw, Gerardus Van Der 1890-1950),” in Encyclopedia of Religion, vol., 8, edited by Mircea Eliade (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1987): 27, 192, and 194-5.

93 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 organized religion is the spirit of the community. Religion provides that sense of bonding and brotherhood. It is social and religious cohesion. This characteristic is mentioned in Emile Durkheim’s The Elementary Forms of Religious Life in which he studied the religious life of primal communities. He suggested that communities are bound together by different totems, each according to the communities they belong to. The primordial kinship which was an elementary form of religion are symbols that bind religious communities together. For this reason, he defined religion as a unified system of belief and practices related to things that are set apart.41 Similarly, the social aspects of religion as one of the dimensions of religion according to Ninian Smart are those social values, and atmosphere through which religion and societal life develop and interact.42 Symbols, beliefs, and practices that every religious institution constructs that keep the society together or form a community of believers has taken new dynamics. This is imminent with the closing down of revered religious side from the Vatican to Mecca to Tirupati and Golden Temple and other religious centers. It has left a ghastly impact on the minds of the people. The marked changes in the way organized religion functions have led to a more individualist form of faith expression. This can be observed in the popularization of virtual worship through YouTube, local television channels, podcasts, webinars, and other means. The continuation of strict measures on community gathering will bring about a revolution of virtual worship through different mediums. The closures of religious institutions and observations including religious functionaries have brought about a new question on the nature and significance of religious institutions. When

41 Emile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (London: Free Press of Glencoe, 1965), 1, 29, 39; Garry Trompf, In Search of Origins (New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1990), 64; Geevarghese Yulios, Message of Religions (Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2013), 11-12; Eric J. Lott, “Approaching a Religious Tradition,” in Religious Traditions of India, edited by P.S. Daniel, Daniel C. Scott and G.R. Singh (New Delhi: ISPCK, 2011), 18. 42 Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1996), 3-8.

94 RELIGION IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS … the “abodes of gods” are shut down and the fear of death stands at the face of sinners or saints, poor or rich alike, it is a moment of truth for religion. In every age one of the functions of religions is to make their presence felt at such time. It is not uncommon for humans to seek solace at a time of distress. While religion is here to stay, the nature of organized religion may not be the same anymore so are the places of faith healers and religious functionaries. Believers of religious tradition have not been part of the believing community in temples, churches, mosques, and other religious places; prayers and blessings have not been administered to them personally. For many believers, the sense of the sacred associated with such acts and institutions stands questioned. Religious leaders who command the status as a bridge between religious institutions and believers in many religious traditions are not bound to be the same anymore. Pandemics such as COVID-19 have taught the majority of the masses with the impression that one can be equally religious by personalizing one’s faith within the confines of one's home and heart. Whereas the intermediary role is important in the expression of one’s religiosity, the role of the individual self is gaining prominence. Emerging Existential Consciousness Humans are social beings. The existence of life is multifaceted. We are bound by the environment in which we are nourished, at the same time, we are what we think we are. Often our assessment of what is religious and secular is shaped by our environment and personal inclination. Having said that, religion is an important part of human existence. At a time when our religious curiosity has been stirred by this pandemic, the response would vary from individual to individual. It could be a reassurance, doubt, or indifference. In other words, it may involve deepening religious experience for some, while others are agnostically driven. The God Consciousness The first response relates to deepening religious experience. In these uncertain times, people seek deeper refuge towards the

95 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 transcendent. The religious response of this group of people can be explained through Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious in which he explained the archetype of God. Jung asserted that human beings are inherently religious. He construed that the collective unconscious of the human psyche, identified as archetypes that are innate, unconscious, and generally universal is numinous.43 The collective unconscious strives toward the transcendent. Jung understood the transcendent in line with Rudolf Otto’s idea of numinosum.44 This in essence captures the religious response of this group of people. When people are faced with the reality of life, they relate to the inherently unconscious psyche which is God-conscious. In a time such as this, it leads to a deepening religious experience. Similarly, the religious experience of this response can also be explained based on Peter Berger’s A Rumor of Angels in which he drew attention to ‘signals of transcendent’ or transcendental signal. This signal points to the otherness behind the fragile structures of everyday life. He was of the view that religious belief remained an intellectual way of knowing and understanding the world. Religion was not declining but increasing in many places providing hope and solace in a frightening world. His thesis is therefore a defense of the transcendental.45 If Berger’s thesis was in support of theism in the response to ‘' movement

43 Peter Homans, “Jung, C.G. (1875-1961),” in The Encyclopedia of Religion, vol. 8, edited by Mircea Eliade (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1987): 211-213. 44 This word in its noun form numinosum refers to any phenomenon experienced as a manifestation of tremendous power felt to be objective and outside the self. It is a crucial element of religious experience. For Rudolf Otto, the numinosum is non-rational and irreducible; it cannot be defined, but only evoked and experienced. C.G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections (New York: Random Publishing House, 1961), 397; Trompf, In Search of Origins, 75-76; Waardenburg, Classical Approaches to the Study of Religion, 447-448, 529-530; 45 Charles A. Corr, review of A Rumor of Angels, by Peter L. Berger, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 1/1 (Spring 1970): 55-58; Michael Todd, “Sociologist of the Spiritual: Peter Berger, 1929-2017,” https://www.socialscience space.com/2017/07/sociologist-spiritual-peter-berger-1929-2017/ (June 10, 2019).

96 RELIGION IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS … of the 20th century this is a similar response from religious communities. In this uncertain time, they threw themselves to the transcendental signal for hope and courage. The response is such that religion is not declining in the wake of the pandemic. The experience of deepening God- consciousness is their response. The Positivist Response Some are agnostically driven. Their trust in the religious institution has declined. They question the human construct of the religious institution and how humans have made religions to be. They are deconstructionists. At a time when religious institutions and “abodes of gods” are closed and the realm of religious life shrank, they deconstruct the human construction of religion. They viewed that religion is irrelevant. The world of magicians, foreteller, astrologer, and religious functionaries which claim to know the nature of existence are silenced by the pandemic. When religions are not the answer to this crisis they look to science. They tend to look at pandemics purely from a natural point of view. It has neither made them religiously more conscious nor driven them to doubt the human characteristics of religions. In the words of Auguste Comte, this response may be understood as positivistic. It characterizes the positivistic period when human beings began to search for reason and purpose sans the need for the absolute. They viewed the world realistically and objectively. It has little to do with religious expression. It explains the physical, biological, and social phenomena through natural laws and without the need for supernatural and metaphysics.46 Yuval Noah Harari, an eminent philosopher states, “While traditionally death was the specialty of priests and theologians in black cassocks, now it is people in white lab coats.” He was speaking in the context of extending human life by scientists and doctors. He also said,

46 Jan de Vries, Perspectives in the History of Religions, translated by Kees W. Bolle (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967), 61-62; Trompf, In Search of Origins, 23.

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While some religious preachers were quick to describe AIDS as God’s punishment for homosexuals, modern society mercifully relegated such views to its lunatics, and today we generally view the spread of AIDS, Ebola, and other recent epidemics as organizational failures. We assume that humanity has the knowledge and tools necessary to curb such plagues, and if an infectious disease gets out of control, it is due to human incompetence rather than divine wrath. COVID-19 is no exception to this rule...47 They are agnostically driven insofar as religion is concerned but positivistic in their outlook towards existential truth without the need for the transcendent. The Issue of Religious Appropriation Many religious traditions have attempted to provide a viable response to COVID-19. Religious communities have come together in support of one another. For instance, the World Economic Forum COVID Action Platform, an interfaith community belonging to Abrahamic religions issued a joint statement expressing the importance of saving and preserving life. It called on faith communities to follow the directives of the government. The platform served a reminder that the virus does not discriminate based on religion, race, and gender. The way to halt this virus is to support the communities and love neighbors as oneself.48 Religious institutions have responded to the pandemic based on the teachings of their respective religions citing texts and traditions. The question if religious texts and traditions have answers to the pandemic is a big concern. For instance, we may point out religious texts that seemingly answer this issue.

47 Beatriz García “Are scientists the new priests? Faith in science in the times of COVID-19,” https://aldianews. com/articles/culture/social/are-scientists-new-priests- faith-science-times-COVID-19/58227 (May 22, 2020). 48 Mohamed Elsanousi, Burton L. Visotzky and Bob Roberts, “Love your neighbour: Islam, Judaism and Christianity come together over COVID-19,” https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/religions-COVID-19-coronavirus- collaboration/ (May 05, 2020).

98 RELIGION IN TIMES OF PANDEMICS …

The Bible encourages followers to love one’s neighbor. Biblical text such as Numbers 31:16-24 mentions plaque. Likewise, Qur’ān 5:32 mentions the value of saving lives. There are traditions associated with Prophet Muḥammad discussed above that specify hygiene, physical distancing, and other cautions in the time of plaques. Hindus have the concept of cleanliness and defilement associated with plaques. The preservation of life takes precedence over all other commandments in Judaism. In Buddhist philosophy, the first four noble truths dwell on the ubiquity of suffering. It also stresses on the impermanence of all things. Sikhism devotes in social service. The list of such responses can go on and on. But these are not answers to the vaccine and cure of COVID- 19. These cannot be construed as a religious answer to the pandemic. This will amount to misappropriating COVID-19 for religious gain. Misappropriating COVID-19 belittles religion. When scientists across the globe scramble to develop vaccines, religious zealots attempt to outdo each other in providing a better response to the pandemic as though religion has the cure. Such attempts misplace the place of religion in society. Religion is not science and vice versa. In the known history of humankind, religions have not provided a cure to epidemics. Religious texts have not laid down explanations on the nature of COVID-19 or pandemics such as this. In other words, religions do not have the scientific basis of the vaccine and cure. When religious adherents associate God as omnipotent and omniscient, humility on the part of religious communities is a sign of respect for God. Zealous religious members coloring COVID-19 with their respective religious colors claiming to give a better explanation of the pandemic is ignorance. The inquiry that is beyond the realm of one’s knowledge—no matter how dearly we hold on to our religious leaning—has taught us that is one form of knowledge.

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Conclusion Thus, the relation between pandemics and religion is a dialectical phenomenon. As the world grabbles with COVID-19 pandemic, researches on how the human attitude towards pandemics and religion shapes each other will be an area of recurring study. Pandemics have a far-reaching impact—religion is one of them. The historical and sociological approach to the study of religion in the time of pandemic underlines the nature and functions of religion. It continues to shape societies’ construct of God, religion, and human existence. Different responses to pandemics continue to be determined primarily by the worldview and religious teachings in which the social and religious life is constructed. Thus, its impact varies from one religious tradition to another. Human attitude towards institutional and organized religion is not the same anymore. The function of faith healers and religious functionaries has been put to the test. Religion has become more individualized. Some have become religiously conscious while others are agnostically driven. The place of religion in the society, and how epidemics shape human attitude towards religion and vice versa will continue to be a topic of intense research in the future.

100 Post-Modern Theism

K.G. Pousonglung

ith the descent of modern life-style, dominated with electronic gadgets making life easy and carefree, people W fine less important to ponder on the metaphysical Being or Forces, which is usually addressed as God.1 The term God in this essay connotes a being with supernatural ability or power. It can in that sense apply to a transcendental being or force, or to a person who claims to possess such ability. Religion is a complicated term, however, it is not the intention of this essay to suggest or try and define the term religion. For convenience’s sake, religion in this writing does not convey the sense of having any supernatural connotation, in that sense not necessarily contingent to divine Being or so-called God. Religion here rather refers to the structure that has developed or evolved as a result of adherence to certain traditions and cultures. This essay intends to highlight the religious attitude of the contemporary generation. And it is also to provoke in thinking about the possibility of being religious without really being dependent on God. There are different concepts of God depending on how this Ultimate Being is perceived. Therefore, to present the reason why and how humankind can be religious without being theist, it is important to at least know the concept of God. Therefore, this writing firstly discusses the concept of God, followed by atheism and the concept of theism to the post-modern society. Theism Theism is a belief in God having absolute control over the creations. The theist’s God is therefore other than the world and the whole of the created order. All limited and finite things are contingent on this

1 The term ‘God’ in this essay refers to the divine superlative being who is non- contingent itself, yet the source of all other created world.

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Ultimate Being, which is frequently referred to as God. The term indicates a particular doctrine of that arose in the wake of the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century to contrast with then-emerging which contended that God though transcendent and supreme did not intervene in the natural world and could be known rationally but not through revelation.2 As Robert Flint writes, “Theism is the doctrine that the universe owes its existence, and continuance in existence, to the reason and will of a self-existent Being, who is infinitely powerful, wise, and good.”3 Theists believed that this self-existent and transcendent creator of the orders remains an invisible unity as it sustains them per their capacities and their ultimate purposes.4 In theism, God is usually understood to have characteristics that human beings are also capable of developing.5 So also there are variations in the form and nature of this Ultimate Being, which in some cases lead to the plurality of views. Theism is often acquitted with monotheism, which is the worship of only one God, yet generally, it is understood as believing in the or Gods. Polytheism is a type of theism that believes in the existence of multiple Gods and .6 The term is used in contrast with

2 The term was first used by Ralph Cud Worth (1617-1688), an English philosopher and theologian. Augustine Mundiath, “Theism”, ACPI, Encyclopedia of Philosophy, vol. 2, edited by Johnson J. Puthenpurackal and et.al. (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2010): 1375, 1376. 3 Robert Flint, Theism, 12th edition (Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1912), 18. 4 Peter A. Bertocci, “Theism”, The Encyclopedia of Religion, vol. 14, edited by Mircea Eliade and et.al. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987): 421. 5 This however requires a further detailed discussion on the attribute of God. For instance, the quality of perfection, compassion, patience, forgiveness, etc. are all supposedly acquirable qualities that humans can also develop. (Matthew 5:8; Bhagavad Gita XVI. 1-3). 6 A good example of this is Hinduism. Hinduism has no centered ecclesiastical authority and no founder. Its worship has no unity, where its cults take fresh form constantly. Its local interest or phenomena produces new Gods and it has an astonishing

102 POST-MODERN THEISM monotheism, which refers to the belief in one God. The divine realm of polytheism is differentiated, structured, and often extremely hierarchized. There is also specialization among the deities of a nature that is either local or tribal-ethnic in function.7 These hierarchized and specialized Gods and Goddesses may be subordinate to a supreme God and object of devotion or subordinate to some higher state, end or savior or subordinate to dominant though not supreme. Additionally, polytheistic cultures generally also include belief in many other malevolent or benevolent spiritual forces or powers, which are unlike the Gods in that they are usually unnamed and conceptually indefinite.8 The name and personality of these deities vary from region to region or community to community. Ancestral worship and nature worship is widely practiced in this belief system. Deism Originally deism stands in the parallel ground with theism, which signifies believing in one God. However, it had come to connote other forms of rationalistic theological unorthodoxy. Deism signifies the belief in a God and a religious practice founded solely on natural reason rather than on supernatural revelation, unlike theism.9 It offers an alternative explanation to the scientific questions against the nature of religion in power of generating additional devotions and creating multitudinous sects. J. Estlin Carpenter, Theism in Medieval India (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1977), 124. 7 R.J. Zwi Werblowsky, “Polytheism”, The Encyclopedia of Religion, vol. 14, edited by Mircea Eliade and et.al. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987): 438. Goddess Durgā, for instance, is seen as a warrior Goddess with her destructive aspect, whereas, Lakṣmī as a Goddess of wealth and fertility. Similarly, Indra is the God of rain. Heinrich Von Stientencorn, Hindu Myth: Hindu History, Religion, Art, and Politics (New Delhi: Permanent Black, 2007), 116; David Kinsley, Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2005), 4; Ṛg Veda 1:32:1-2. 8 Werblowsky, “Polytheism”, The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. 20, 15th ed. edited by Dale H. Hoiberg and Michael Levy (Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2010): 585. 9 Allen W. Wood, “Deism”, The Encyclopedia of Religion, vol. 4, edited by Mircea Eliade and et.al. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987): 262.

103 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 general and God in particular. Deism in general accepted the universality and success of Newton’s work, from which it seemed evident that the universe was governed by mechanistic laws. It proffered a creator God who laid down the laws, but then allowed it to pursue its course10 in contrary to the theistic God whose intervention is predominant in human affairs. Moreover, the deist believes that God had endowed humanity with special, rational qualities and expected humans to use these faculties.11 Agnosticism Agnosticism maintains that the nature and attributes of God are beyond the grasp of human’s finite and limited mind. Agnostics generally claim either that it is not possible to have absolute or certain knowledge of the existence or non-existence of God or Gods, or that, while individual certainly may be possible, they have no knowledge. In both cases, this involves some form of skepticism.12 Hence, it is a position distinguished from theism and atheism equally.13 Yet it is open to both possibilities, meaning that agnostic is open to the future result whether it is a theist or an atheist. But in the present, it is indifferent to any argument concerning the existence of one or more Gods. Therefore, agnosticism is a view that the truth of certain claims is unknown or, depending on the form of

10 The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, edited by John Bowker (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997): 267. 11 Rebecca Kneale Gould, “Deism”, Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature (London & New York: Continuum, 2005): 463. http://www.religionandnature.com/ern/sample/ Gould--Deism.pdf (09/06/2020). 12 “Agnosticism”, https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_agnosticism.html (04/06/2020). 13 The term was coined by T.H. Huxley (1825-95), where he defined its principles as a repudiation of all metaphysical speculation and most Christian doctrine as unproven or unprovable, and the application of the scientific method to the study of all matters of fact and experience. “Agnosticism”, The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, 30.

104 POST-MODERN THEISM agnosticism,14 inherently unknowable due to the subjective nature of experience.15 Atheism Atheism is the belief that there is no God or Gods. It is the rejection of any supernatural or transcendental reality. It not only contrasts with atheism but also with agnosticism, which suspends their judgment on the existence or non-existence of God or Gods. Atheism rejects the idea of the world beyond this materialistic world. In that sense, it is physicalism. However, atheist necessarily does not negate the concept of belief, except for the belief in a supernatural being, which is God.16 Alexandre Kojève suggests that “the denial of the physical, spatiotemporal existence of God is not called atheism…. And, in fact, the denial of the existence of God only does not yet mean the denial of his existence in general.”17 Therefore, the definition of atheism and the belief in the non-existence of God or Gods must extend to both the physical and non-physical world. Post-Modern Theism Theism and atheism is a very broad term that may bear different concepts or levels of implementation. This flexibility of the term is one of the characteristics of the post-modern world. Post-modernism is a cultural mood that celebrates diversity and seeks to undermine those who offer rigid, restrictive, and oppressive views of the world. Because of this,

14 Strong agnostics hold the view that the existence or non-existence of God is unknowable. The weak agnostics only hold judgment until evidence, if any, becomes available. However, apathetic agnostics have no concern of any argument since it does not impact human affairs, which has a close resemblance to the deist view. 15 “Agnosticism”, New World Encyclopedia, https://www.newworldencyclopedia. org/entry/Agnosticism (04/06/2020). 16 For instance, an atheist acknowledges the abstract concept of love, justice, kindness, and so forth. Julian Baggini, Atheism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 3, 4. 17 Alexandre Kojève, “Atheism”, Atheism (Columbia: Columbia University Press, NY), 2. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/koje18000.6?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_ contents (09/06/2020).

105 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 atheism has taken renewed energy in establishing and spreading the freedom to be different. Albeit, it must be mentioned that theism is not a new development, it has its history. Historical Overview of Atheism Finngeir Hiorth believes that the term ‘atheism’ carries an ambiguous meaning.18 Indeed, atheism is often associated with the concept of being ‘Godlessness’, hence, the absence of superior authority to guide. In that sense, atheism is again term as immoral and lacking ethical values and also disobedience to certain cultures and traditions. But before coming to such a conclusion, it is also important to present an unambiguous meaning of the term ‘God’. For the term, God also is not an unambiguous identity.19 God maybe understood in terms of natural forces or nature (tribal religion) and it may also be conceived in the form of (Monist or the Advaitic concept of God). Atheism does not deny the existence of natural forces, it simply doesn’t except the belief in a supernatural being who is in control of everything. So, by atheism, it means here the denial of the supernatural being or the non-contingent being. Atheism is often synonymously used to refer to immorality. It connotes a very derogative and negative meaning. Hence, people are not very vocal about being an atheist or their attraction towards atheism. So, to discuss the history of atheism, there is scanty information available. Moreover, it was not a popular cultural force. Shoaib Ahmed Malik believes it is due to its failure to develop a critical mass of adherents.20 However, atheism is not a new belief. Another reason for its less popular in the past could be the usage of the term, which was used in various senses. The early Christians for instance were persecuted by the Romans as atheists, not because they did not believe in God but because they refused loyalty to the

18 Finngeir Hiorth, Atheism in India (Mumbai: Indian Secular Society, 1998), v, 13. 19 For instance, God can be understood in terms of pantheism, , monotheism, and also polytheism. 20 Shoaib Ahmed Malik, Atheism and Islam: A Contemporary Discourse (Abu Dhabi: Research and Media, 2018), 1.

106 POST-MODERN THEISM imperial cult. It was also one of the charges that led to the condemnation of Socrates (470-399 BCE). Aristotle (384-322 BCE) was similarly accused. So, even the unconventional and untraditional concept is befitting enough to brand someone as an atheist. Another such example could be that of Indian philosophical schools, which brand the tag of atheism to those who disregard the Vedas as an epistemic authority.21 Malik noted that the rise of atheism is strongly linked to its complicated history with Christianity, which he believed had occurred due to internal strife amongst Christian factions causing a loss of authority and legitimacy competing for papal systems. Reviling authoritarianism, it was replaced with other universal principle i.e. reasoning, cutting across all sects and denominations, which appears with René Descartes (1591-1650). On the other side, John Locke (1632-1704) argues that reason is not the grounding principle, but empirical sensation. These two positions deprive religion of its ability to ground its justification for the existence of God in revelation, thus forcing to seek God from the outside.22 The credibility of religion was attacked by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), where he claimed that the idea of God was just a craving for a fatherly figure, in other words, it was just a kind of universal obsessional neurosis or an outright delusion.23 Truly speaking, in the Indian sense, atheism has been always used in a loose sense, except for Cārvāka school of thought. The Indian term for atheism is nāstika and āstika for the reverse. This term in India is usually referred to as the dissenter, who held a different view from the traditional one. In that sense and also from the common usage of the term, Chattopadhyaya suggests that in almost all the Indian philosophical school of thought, atheism was present both implicitly and

21 Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya, Indian Atheism: A Marxist Analysis (New Delhi: People’s Publishing House, 1991), 15, 16. 22 Malik, Atheism and Islam: A Contemporary Discourse, 1, 2. 23 Sigmund Freud, Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, translated and edited by editor James Strachey (New York; London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1966), 258; Rodney Stark, “Psychopathology and Religious Commitment,” Growing Edges in the Psychology of Religion, edited by John R. Tisdale (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1980), 247.

107 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 explicitly, except for Yoga and Vedānta.24 The nineteenth and twentieth- century prove to be very progressive and productive in the history of modern India. These centuries had seen figures like Raja Rammohan Roy (177201833), who is known as the Father of Modern India. He was vocal about the social evils and seeks to reform Hinduism. Hiorth believed that Roy did not necessarily promote atheism, but his activities were in favor of enlightenment and in this way contributed to paving the way for atheism.25 In this case, the word atheism does not necessarily correspond to the disbelief in God; it means a path different from the traditional concept of religion. There were others like Professor Satyavan P. Kanal (Dev Samaj), Periyar (The Self-Respect Movement), Gora (Atheist Centre), Narendranath Bhattacharya or Manavendra Nath Roy (Radical Humanism), A.B. shah (Indian Secular Society) and Abraham T. Kovoor, who were more vivid in their inclination and expression towards atheism.26 Apart from the above-mentioned figures, there are prominent and noted scientists, philosophers, and rationalists who stand out as provocative atheists of the 20th and 21st centuries. The contemporary trend of atheism is dubbed as ‘new atheism’. It is a predominantly Anglo- American phenomenon and is typically centered on the works of several high profile authors, colloquially known as the “Four Horsemen”, they are Richard Dawkins (1941- ), Daniel Dennett (1942- ), Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011), and Sam Harris (1967- ). They have been very successful in popularizing atheism as an alternative to religious belief. This new trend of atheism is noted for its militant and colorfully polemic condemnation of all religious beliefs.27 Although it is the term ‘new atheism’ is

24 For further detail see Chattopadhyaya, Indian Atheism: A Marxist Analysis, 69- 254. 25 Hiorth, Atheism in India, 32-34. 26 For more details, see Hiorth, Atheism in India, 39-203. 27 Steven Kettell, “What’s Really New About New Atheism?”, https://papers.ssrn. com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstractid=2885829 (09/06/2020), 2; Kerry Walters, Atheism: A Guide for the Perplexed (New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group INC., 2010), 29, 30.

108 POST-MODERN THEISM ambiguous, where Dawkins himself asserted of the uncertainty of the term. But one that is apparent between the term atheism and new atheism would be their evangelical prospect. A more notable difference between the old and the new atheism is that new atheism has moved beyond traditional skepticism – which has been the hearth of atheism – and seizes the offensive in making affirmative declarations about the objective non- existence of God and the actual harm religion has supposedly done.28 Argument against Theism Theism believes that the centre or source of all that is and that will be can be attributed to God or is from God. God is the foundation of everything. This projection of a superlative Being has been in question since the ancient past and it is still today. The Problem of God Human society may be divided into three different groups, theist, agnostic, and atheist. With this content, it is difficult to proceed into the discussion of God. Even among those who say there is God, differs in their understanding of the nature of God. For example, one of the Indian philosophical schools, the Nyāya believes G`od is the ultimate cause of the creation. Yet God did not create the world out of anything, but out of eternal atoms, space, time, ether, minds, and souls.29 This concept contradicts the idea of creatio ex nehilo in the Abrahamic religions and also the school of thoughts like Cārvāka, who goes further and says there is no God at all. The problem of God simply does not limit to the concept of existence and non- existence as suggested by Kojève. However, the greater complication remains in the argument of the existence of God. Therefore the

28 Richard N. Williams and Edwin E. Gantt, “Responding to the New Atheism”, Responding to the New Atheism: Scientific and Religious Perspectives, edited by Richard N. Williams and Edwin E. Gantt (Provo: Wheatley Publications, n.d.), 2; Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion, 10th edition (London: Transworld Publishers, 2016), 268- 383. 29 Satischandra Chatterjee, Dhirendramohan Datta, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy (New Delhi: Publications India Pvt. Ltd., 2015), 197.

109 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 philosophical arguments primarily the cosmological, teleological, ontological, and moral arguments try to establish the theistic foundation for the existence of God.30 But, these arguments, according to Richard Dawkins, “don’t prove anything”.31 There are also groups like Jainism, Buddhism, and Advaita who believed that humans are and can be God. This notion is strongly echoed in the statement of J. Krishnamurthi, who says “there is no God except the man [sic] purified.”32 So there can be hardly any personal description to God and its existence. The consensus is on the omnipotence, omniscience, and compassion, which of course is proven otherwise by the following problem (the problem of evil). But what can be concluded from this argument for the existence of God, is that, if God exists, it is not God anymore, since, existence is the required cause.33 The Problem of Evil The problem of evil has arisen whenever human beings have attempted to reconcile the existence of evil with belief in a divine being’s infinite power and goodness. In attempting to sort out the various faces of evil, a distinction has frequently been made between natural and moral evil. Considering almost the causes of the natural evils, it may be deduced to moral evils. Steps could be taken to alleviate many natural disasters, while for those that are unavoidable, human resources could be used to reduce much of the suffering caused by disasters.34 Evil, Hick identifies as, physical pain, mental suffering, and moral wickedness.35 This

30 John Hick, Philosophy of Religion: Arguments for the Existence of God (London: The McMillan Press Ltd., 179), vii. 31 Here he was refuting the Thomas Aquinas’ and St. Anselm . Dawkins, The God Delusion, 100-109. 32 R.K. Shringy, Philosophy of J. Krishnamurthi: A Systematic Study (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1996), 108. 33 For more detail see Douglas Gasking’s argument (which is however an un-proven proof to prove the flaw of St. Anselm’s ontological argument) in Dawkins, The God Delusion, 107, 108. 34 David Stewart, Exploring the Philosophy of Religion (Eaglewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1980), 245-246. 35 John Hick, Philosophy of Religion, 3rd edition (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1983), 40.

110 POST-MODERN THEISM definition of Hick is an acceptable concept of evil among the theists and atheists. However, the word may differ from different faith-based groups. Buddhists for example prefer to speak of suffering, which is known as Dukkha, rather than evil.36 Tagore says that evils must not be viewed as the very antithesis of good, just as imperfection is not the opposite of perfection. The real problem of evil, for Tagore, is then, this: ‘How is one to expedite or help this progress from evil to good or from imperfection to perfection’, ‘How can evil be transformed into good?’ evil appears as evil on account of a limited and short-sighted point of view.37 The problem of evil comes as a challenge to theism. It has traditionally been posed in the form of a dilemma: if God is perfectly loving God must wish to abolish all evil; and if God is all-powerful, God must be able to abolish all evil. But evil exists; therefore, God cannot be both omnipotent and perfectly loving.38 Of course, believers or theists would take the supposed non- intervention of God to be a lesson or a challenge for a better future. However, atheists consider this to be theist opting out of usual standards of truth or falsity. And their refusal to be bothered by seeming contradictions shows that they are essentially irrational in their beliefs. Thus religion is by all ordinary standards demonstrably false.39 Moral Argument In theistic belief, God is a necessary foundation for genuine morality, because only God can ground objective and universal moral duties. Eliminating the foundation will eliminate the basis of moral accountability. However, for an atheist, this argument ironically produces a contradicting result. Beginning with the Roman philosopher Lucretius (94-55 BCE), who railed against religious superstition not only because it encouraged false beliefs about reality but because it also has given birth

36 Arvind Sharma, The Philosophy of Religion: A Buddhist Perspective (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1995), 53. 37 Basant Kumar Lal, Contemporary Indian Philosophy (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1989), 80-81. 38 Hick, Philosophy of Religion, 3rd edition, 40-41. 39 Baggini, Atheism: A Very Short Introduction, 103, 103.

111 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 to sinful and unholy deeds, such as human sacrifice. Similarly, the new atheists have been vocal in their insistence that religious belief breeds intolerance, repression, and violence.40 Dawkins in his The God Delusion argues that God is not necessarily required to be morally good. He cited the incident of October 17, 1969, at Montreal and other to dispel the delusion that people fear or care about the existence of God.41 Hick observes that even though recognizing moral claims as taking precedence over all other interests is to believe in a reality that is superior to oneself and entitled to one’s obedience. Yet it cannot be presented as a proof of God’s existence since the sovereign authority of moral obligation can be questioned.42 While for an atheist morality has to be a subjective principle (at least in personal opinion), morality is and should be objective, divine intervention, or direction for a theist. Following George Floyd’s incident of May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota and other racial and discriminatory behavior against fellow citizen and fellow religion, people have concluded that morality and religion do not belong together and has no same value for two different people. This supports the atheistic argument for the non-necessity of God to be morally good. Varieties of Atheism Atheism is an umbrella term for a variety of other beliefs that do not conform to the traditional concept of God or religion. It does not necessarily limit the concept or belief in God in that sense. There are different types of atheism,43 which in the following try to cover, at least in their belief concerning God or any supernatural Being or forces. Positive Atheism Positive atheism is referred to as a position of active disbelief in God. It is the idea that each notion of divine existence must be rejected

40 Walters, Atheism: A Guide for the Perplexed, 118, 119. 41 Dawkins, The God Delusion, 259-267. 42 Hick, Philosophy of Religion, 3rd edition, 29. 43 It must be noted that there are many other forms and types of atheism other than that are mentioned here. Under which, post-modern theism is one of the types of atheism.

112 POST-MODERN THEISM and all forms of religion or worship should be evaluated as being futile.44 All positive atheists are necessarily negative atheists (absence of belief in God), but the converse doesn’t hold. They actively assert the nonexistence of God, while atheist does is more of denial.45 Positive atheism, according to Gora, being free of God asserts the freedom of the individual. A positive atheist is free from a detailed code of conduct prescribed by the theistic scriptures.46 It is a path of individual moral responsibility. Nontheism is a belief without any belief in God. Nontheist does not necessarily deny the existence of any God and also not necessarily a theoretical atheist, yet they can be both.47 The term has been used to describe apathy or silence towards the subject of God and differs from antithetical, explicit atheism.48 For a nontheist the existence or non- existence of God does not make any difference, nor does it matter. It is a rather broader term for atheism. General Atheism This type of atheism assumes that one or more of the basic tenets of the religions, whether theistic or nontheistic, are wrong or need further examination. General atheism involves a general skepticism towards the tenets of religion, whether these religions are theistic or not, i.e. whether they among their basic tenets presuppose a concept of God or not. They include both theoretical atheism (positive atheism) and nontheism.49 Characteristics of Post-Modern Theism Life on earth is in a progressive change. Similarly, the human concept of life and the universe are progressively changing. For example,

44 Alexander Meert, Positive Atheism in Antiquity: A Social and Philosophical Analysis (500 BC-200 AD) (Ghent University, 2016), 2. 45 Walters, Atheism: A Guide for the Perplexed, 12, 24. 46 Gora, Positive Atheism (Vijayawara: Atheist Centre, Patamata, 1972), 2. 47 Hiorth, Atheism in India, 2. 48 “Nontheism”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontheism (17/06/2020). 49 Hiorth, Atheism in India, 2.

113 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 yesterday thunder and lightning were the anger of God; today it is due to the collision of positive and negative electrical charges. Similarly, life on earth and natural vegetation was the creation but today (for many) it is the big bang and evolution. Society today is more concerned about what people will think or say rather than what God would. Yet, God and religion are still with us. Ajay Kansal opines that the increasing ambitions of humankind, their expectations of miracles, and the limitations of science, have helped to sustain the concept of God.50 Moreover, people are obsessed with a protective figure (Freud’s fatherly figure) to rely on in times of trouble and need. Theism in the contemporary world necessarily does not represent a belief in God. And if theism does not necessarily represent a belief in God, without theism there is no atheism, since, atheism refers to those who do not simply abide by the principle of theistic belief. Therefore, post-modern theism is practically atheistic. Atheism is the religion of the autonomous and rational human being, who believes that reason can uncover and express the deepest truths of the universe, from the mechanics of the rising of the sun to the nature and final destiny of humanity. There is single, universal rationality, which human beings can identify and uncover through the appropriate use of rational reflection and scientific experimentation. It was a powerful, self- confidence, and aggressive worldview. And atheism was perfectly suitable for this rational and logical worldview. It was the established religion of modernity. There was no God but from the privileged vantage point of modernity, it was possible to see why some very sad and misguided people should believe that there was – and how others, more worryingly, could use religion as a means of exploiting and oppressing such naïve people.51

50 Ajay Kansal, The Evolution of Gods: The Scientific Origin of Divinity and Religions (New Delhi: HarperCollins Publishers, 165. 51 Alister McGrath, The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World (London: Rider Books, 2004), 220, 221.

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To point out that religious institute or religion itself has and is the medium of mistreating and oppression will not be hyperbole.52 Even though what has happened under such circumstances do not reflect the teachings of religion or Gods (at least that is what believers would respond), the old question is still applicable here, where was God? So, the existence of avoidable suffering in the world seems to be an undeniable fact. And this must mean one of three things: God can’t stop it, God doesn’t want to stop it or God doesn’t know about it.53 This simply leads to the conclusion that God is not in control. But it does not mean that the religion which has served humankind in shaping and molding their society carries no value. In other words, post-modern theism does not necessarily need God as its foundation for moral or existence, but it does need and require religion to continue to guide humankind. Therefore, post-modern theism is not theism in collaboration with the concept of God; rather it is theism from the point of religion. In that sense, it is religious, yet atheist concerning the concept of God or any supernatural being or force, it is a religious atheist. Religious Atheism Religious atheism, says Ronald Dworkin, “is not an oxymoron”.54 This, however, may raise doubt in the mind of a theist as well as an atheist. The reason being that being religious has always been associated with the belief in God. But the term religion as he rightly pointed out is not “restricted to theism”.55 For as discussed above, religion can have a very broad as well as narrow meaning. Freud argued that religion is a kind of universal obsessional neurosis, if not an outright delusion. William James

52 “Rohingya Conflict”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_conflict (17/06 /2020); “”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Delhi_riots (17/06/2020), to mention a few. 53 Baggini, Atheism: A Very Short Introduction, 102. 54 Ronald Dworkin, “Religious Atheism”, Religion Without God (Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, NY), 5. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wpn52.4?seq=1# metadata_info_tab_contents (10/06/2020). 55 Dworkin, “Religious Atheism”, 5.

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(1842-1910) also believed much religiousness had a psychopathological origin, although, unlike Freud, he considered this a blessing in disguise.56 From an evolutionist point of view, there is no concrete or rigid institution that existed from the beginning. And rightly, Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) opines that religion evolved into a complex modern theological system from a simple religion just as society evolved from primitive to the civilized.57 There are many other concepts of religion, but what ultimately is important is that religion can exist without God and one can be religious without being a theist. Alain de Botton suggests that “it must be possible to remain a committed atheist and nevertheless find religions sporadically useful, interesting and consoling”. He also suggests on “importing certain of their ideas and practices into the secular realm”.58 While deism provides a naturalistic explanation to all metaphysical questions to escape from the incoherencies of the theistic argument, this attitude towards religious culture will serve the purpose of religion for atheists. So, by the term ‘post- modern theism’, it means believing in the non-existence or denial of God yet adhering to religious culture. Therefore, the post-modern theist does not necessarily incorporate God, but still felt the importance of religious traditions and culture. Alain observed that religion always had far more directive ambitions, advancing far-reaching ideas about how members of a community should behave towards one another.59 Traditional religious values bind, restrict, and guides on fundamental ethical principles without which our survival could have been in chaos. This is apparent by the function of various religious aspects as Ninian Smart refers to them as Dimensions, i.e. Ritual dimension, Mythological dimension, Doctrinal

56 Rodney Stark, “Psychopathology and Religious Commitment,” Growing Edges in the Psychology of Religion, edited by John R. Tisdale (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1980), 247. 57 Garry Trompf, In Search of Origins (New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Limited, 1990), 21. 58 Alain de Botton, Religion for Atheists (London: Penguin Books, 2012), 11, 12. 59 Botton, Religion for Atheists, 71.

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Dimension, Ethical dimension, Social dimension, and Experiential dimension.60 Of course, this is not to be taken as attributing to the concept of religious atheism. Smart’s Dimension was about the definition of religion and its phenomenon. What is important here is some of the Dimensions necessarily do not require God. For instance, ritual, it is observed systematically according to certain traditions or cultures for the well-being or in remembrance of a certain important occasion, which bears meaningful and encouraging events of the past or present. Another example can be the Ethical dimension. There is hardly any ethical issues or solution that are the same for two given community or region (it doesn’t mean that there is none, it rather means the scanty or parallel consent). Dawkins believes that “We could each make up our definition of good, and behave accordingly.”61 In short, there is neither absolute ethical value nor moral value. The concept of religious atheism is not to discard the moral and ethical values taught or enshrined in the religious text; rather it is to bring out the good of religious teachings of any religion without footnoting the source to God, because gods can be very biased to those who believe in another god. Conclusion Human history has not been an easy one, especially with religion or its contingent effects. Religion is perceived in different ways. Some see it as Ultimate and Absolute, whereas for some it has been a medium of oppression, subjugation, illusion, delusion, and superstitious. Variation in one’s concept is not taken so easily even in this post-modern world. The post-modern world though it claims to give more liberal and secular liberty finds itself in the wrath of the God or Gods they do not even believe. But with scientific discoveries, people’s view on the religious world view of God is changing. And at this point, the term God and religion is under the pressure to cope with this changing world view.

60 Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience, 5th edition (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996), 3-8. 61 Dawkins, The God Delusion, 264.

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Similarly, the term theism or atheism needs expansion. As it is noted above, theism does not necessarily mean only believing in God, rather it means conforming to certain cultures and traditions. And therefore, atheism does not necessarily mean not being religious. An atheist can be as religious as a theist. And since the term atheist gives a derogative and negative sense of one’s belief, the essay intends to propose a new term having a positive connotation for such believer in religion (not actually in God or which is not rationally logical), which is a post-modern theist.

118

BOOK REVIEW

Title of the Book: A New Compass for the Holy Qur’ān Author: Peter Du Brul SJ Publisher: Latin Patriarchate Printing Press: Jerusalem Year: 2014

Reviewer: Joseph Victor Edwin SJ

he booklet A New Compass for the Holy Qur’ān by Peter Du Brul SJ is a gentle invitation for Christian students who Twant to deepen their understanding of the history and theology of Christian-Muslim Relations and seek to enter into a meditative reading of the Holy Qur’ān. The Holy Qur’ān was first translated into Latin through the efforts of Peter the Venerable, an abbot of Cluny, in the 12th century C.E. Over the centuries many Christians read the Qur’ān or often read into the Qur’ān their own views, thereby interpreting the holy book in ways that violated the structure and the message of the scripture that Muslims venerate as the very word of God revealed to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, in the 7th century C.E, or misconstrued the Muslim interpretation of their holy book. Is the Qur’ān an inspired word of God, for Christians? Robert Caspar, in the light of the teachings of Nostra Aetate, recognized 'a ray of truth' in other sacred texts, emphasized that Christians can no longer think, as in former times, that the Qur’ān is of diabolical in origin or of purely human origin. However, it must be noted that The Roman Catholic International Theological Commission restricts the use of the term 'inspiration' to the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Here, one can turn to scholar-mystics like Christian De Chergé, who affirms that the Qur’ān cultivates within him a taste for God and it was a gift given to him as a

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Christian. In the spirit of the mystical experience of Blessed Chergé, a Christian could venture into the reading of the Qur’ān. Peter Du Brul SJ, in his A New Compass for the Holy Qur’ān, draws the reader’s attention to seven steps that could facilitate a Christian to read the Qur’ān. He invites readers to recognize that an ‘inclusive structure’ embraces the whole book. He speaks of two axes: one, a vertical one that extends between ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ polarities; the other, a horizontal one that extends from creation to judgment passing through a series of historical narratives. Du Brul writes that “these crisscrossed axes form the central core of the compass: faith and good works. At the center of this compass, each narrative unit on the horizontal axis becomes an occasion for a choice between positive and negative antagonistic values proposed on the vertical axis.” (6) He further points out to the readers that “the central core is found there where the vertical line crosses the horizontal line, that is, wherever the positive/negative polarity crosses the narrative line. At that crossroads, the Qur’ān appeals for faith and good works, and it promises rewards, and threaten punishment if faith is lacking.” (25) Du Brul affirms that a careful reader will recognize that the clusters on the polarities as well as its core expand to cover the whole of the book. Finally, he points out to his readers that this compass reaches its fuller clarity and plenitude when it attains the level of apocalyptic. This little volume encourages students in the field of comparative theology to enter into the holy book of others, in this case, the Holy Qur’ān, to find the light that could illumine their own faith. The sincere engagement with the scriptures of other religions leads one to rejoice in the gift of one’s faith and to esteem the faith of a believer of another path. I gladly suggest this little volume to students of Christian-Muslim relations for their own reading and for further exploration into the territory of others with respect and humility.

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Title of the Book: Christian de Chergé: A Theology of Hope Author: Christian Salenson; translated by Nada Conic Publisher: Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota Year: 2009

Reviewer: Joseph Victor Edwin SJ

This book introduces the religious thinking of Father Christian de Chergé who was killed along with seven Cistercian monks in May 1996. Christian de Chergé and his brother monks lived in a monastery in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria amidst Muslims till their death. In January 2018 the Vatican declared that the monks were martyrs for their faith, along with the 12 other slain clergy, including the bishop of Oran, Pierre Claverie, killed in a bombing in 1996. Lucetta Scaraffia, writing for the National Catholic Reporter succinctly framed the life of the monks in the following words: “it’s a simple life, dedicated to manual labor to ensure their survival, to study, and naturally, with a large part of the day reserved for prayer … only that of offering a witness of love and prayer. Their daily life is therefore simple: They only want to be ‘a sign in the mountain’ and not an opposition, a sign of brotherhood with a people that’s overwhelmingly Muslim.” Christian de Chergé was awakened to his Christian faith in an Islamic ambiance. De Chergé while on his military duty in Algeria befriended one Muḥammad. Muḥammad was a policeman. Together they used to take walks to discuss politics, culture, and theology. De Chergé tells the following story about their friendship: [Muḥammad] asked me, quite unexpectedly, to teach him to pray, Mohammed made a habit of coming to talk with me regularly. He is a neighbor, and we have a long history of sharing…. One day, he found the perfect formula for calling me to order and demanding a meeting: ‘It’s been a long time since we’ve dug our well!’ … Once, to tease him, I asked the

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question: ‘And at the bottom of our well, what will we find? Muslim water or Christian water?’ He gave me a look, half- amused and half-rueful: ‘Come on now, we’ve spent all this time walking together, and you’re still asking me this question! You know very well that at the bottom of that well, what we’ll find is God’s water! One day, while they taking a stroll they were ambushed by armed men and Christian de Chergé who was in the army fatigues felt that his end has come! Muḥammad risked his life and rescued his friend from those who ambushed them saying that his friend is a ‘godly person.’ He later paid the price for this act of bravery. Muḥammad was found murdered the next day. In the violent death of his Muslim friend, De Chergé found his vocation that is to give his life to God in total self- surrender. He decided to commit himself to God and the cause of peace. Christian Salenson, the author gleaning from the collection of homilies and chapter talks of de Chergé shows how de Chergé develops deep interreligious learning while rooted in his faith. The author argues that de Chergé develops a theology of the encounter of religions: the encounter between Islam and Christianity. Theology of de Chergé was not simply restricted to the Christian view of Islam but an encounter that deepens one's faith. We learn from de Chergé that when one begins to view the religion of others closely, it is led to review one's religious convictions in the light of the new learning, and in the process, one's faith is deepened. The book is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the theological and political context of de Chergé. The second part presents the engagement of de Chergé with Islam and his understanding of interreligious dialogue. The final part argues that is at the heart of his theological engagement with Islam. Just to give a glimpse of the method of his reflection from experience. De Chergé drawing inspiration from the Lumen Gentium affirmed that the relationship between the people of diverse faith traditions and the People of God is founded on the universal salvific will of God. The Gaudium et Spes declares openly that every human person is connected with the paschal

122 BOOK REVIEW mystery of Christ in ways known only to God. The author points out that the religious thought of de Chergé was strongly anchored on an eschatology that is realized in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Moreover, his eschatology was not in some distant future but, rather a future in the present. In other words, it is a clarion call to profess God's plan of salvation for all and unity of the human race. The book will deepen the understanding of those who are searching for ways to approach Muslims in dialogue. Students will recognize that commitment to one’s faith is an absolute essential for interfaith relations. The book conveys a fundamental message that adequate knowledge of the Truth and essence of one's faith tradition and courage and authenticity to give witness to one’s faith are essential for a practitioner dialogue. The lessons from the book demand that we bear ‘witness to the other’ as well as allow ‘witness to by the other’ in our relations across the landscape of different faith traditions.

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Name of the Book: The Islamic Enlightenment – The Modern Struggle between Faith and Reason Author: Christopher de Bellaigue Publisher: The Bodley Head, London Year: 2017 Pages: xxxiv+398 ISBN: 978-1-847-92242-7

Reviewer: Pamhor Thumra

hristopher de Bellaigue is a world-renowned journalist and author who has extensively covered issues relating to the CMiddle East and South Asia studies. In his critically acclaimed work both by “Islamic extremists and Western bigots” in the words of Yuval Noah Harari, the book appraises the history of Islamic enlightenment and counter-enlightenment of three major Muslim dominant countries, Egypt, Turkey, and Iran from the 18th century to the 20th century. Cairo, Istanbul, and Tehran witnessed Western modernization in the aftermath of their encounter with non-Islamic nations in the 18th century. This encounter countered Islamic orthodoxy and traditionalism. As a result, Muslims began to emphasize Western science and development which re-awakened the erstwhile stagnant society. The notion of nationhood gained new consciousness under the leadership of Jamal al-din Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In the wake of this enlightenment, a growing sense of pan- developed as a counter-movement to Europeanization in the 19th century. The 20th century witnessed counter-enlightenment with the rise of Hassan al-Banna, Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, Ayatollah Khomeini, and Turkish Islamism. Muslims began to look inward. This is the substance of the book.

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Christopher de Bellaigue views that after a period of more than six centuries since the decline of the Abbasids—the of Islam— Egypt, Turkey, and Iran experienced enlightenment. Though Islamic enlightenment was influenced by the West, it took different forms. The book can be classified into three main sections: chapter 1-3 deals with the history of enlightenment in the aforementioned places; chapter 4 studies on the vortex of change; and chapter 5 appraises the counter- enlightenment which describes the challenges these changing trends posed post WW I. The first chapter studies the modernization of Islam in Cairo. The author viewed that the occupation of Egypt by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1789 was the initial encounter of Western and Islamic civilization in the modern period. When Egypt was conquered by Napoleon in July 1789, the place was far from prosperous. Learning was in dire need, science was suspected, and philosophy was despised. For instance, Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Jabarti was a learned man but ignorant of anything outside Europe. He was a mainstream cleric sympathetic to Wahhabi of the puritanical Muslims who deplored departures from strict Islamic teachings although he reckoned the significance of modernity. Thus, al- Jabarti viewed that Napoleon’s control of Egypt could be the will of God. A brand of modernization emerged in Egypt through Muhammad Ali Pasha and Rifaa al-Tahwani—‘the father of modern Egyptian identity’ (29). They humbled the ‘ulamā’ and religious opposition for a change. Egypt adopted everything Western. It experienced transformation in education, economy, transportation, health care, printing press and translation of European works, etc. Another important breakthrough was the science of human anatomy involving the dissection of human corpses. After the death of Rifaa in 1873, Egypt weakened followed by the British invasion in 1882. The second chapter deals with Ottoman Istanbul. With the defeat of Istanbul to Russia in 1768, the once-mighty Ottoman Empire in the medieval period was reduced from respect and fear to an aging Bear. Progress, which was the hallmark of the empire, had slowed. But Salim III who came to the throne in 1789 led the empire to successive reforms.

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It brought the triumphalism of European intellectualism. Salim III struggled for reforms compared to Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt. Mahmud II from the house of Osman who reigned from 1808 to 1839 was a great modernizer. From the dress to army reorganization, he adopted everything European. He introduced the printing press though there was an objection from the ‘ulamā’. Educational institutions in secular studies were given much importance. One of the important characteristics of this period was the Tanẓīmāt reforms from the 1830s and 1870s on education, politics, and economics. These were attempts to halt the declining power of the Ottoman between 1839 and 1876 under the reigns of sultans Abdulmejid I (r. 1839-1861) and Abdulaziz (1816-1876). The third chapter on Iran witnessed for the first time, under the Safavid, a united Persia from 16th until the early 1700s after centuries of fragmentation. While Egypt and Turkey did witness reform, here despotism was at its highest. It was not because the door of ijtihād or speculation was closed but due to the stubborn attitude of the major mujtahids (doctors of law). Abbas Mirza reformed what was then a weak military. He overhauled the military in line with the European and English systems. He emulated and learned from English. As part of this mission, Mirza was sent to England, Russia, and Europe for exposure. He made a careful study of Christianity. He was exposed to the libraries in British Museum and met many important personalities which left a huge impact on him. Upon his return, the printing press was accepted and newspapers were introduced. He realized that everything did not revolve around Islam. Another important event of this period was the rise of the Babi movement in the 1840s. Under Bahaullah, Bahaism called for massive reforms and modernity. Iran feminist Fatemah Zarrin Taj Baraghani was a Babist. She was a liberated woman of the 19th century Iran. The fourth chapter “Vortex” studies the waves of modernism since the last quarter of the 19th century. There was no escape from the vortex of change as a result of exposure with the outside worlds in Cairo, Istanbul, and Tehran. Economic change served as a precursor to social and intellectual change. Missionary educational endeavors, debates on Origin

126 BOOK REVIEW of Species, and other Western and European ideas shook up the Muslim worldview. Popular journals like Darwiniya and Al-Muqtalaf wrote on the diverse nature of this world compared to what was taught by Islamic traditional education. It taught the natural history of the world without reference to divine creation in Arabic, Turkish, and Persian. Many writings made no mention of God. This was the age when human intellect gained new heights and the secular intellectual sphere gained new grounds. It witnessed anti-clericalism which was the trademark of the European Enlightenment. Bureaucrats, journalists, and progressive clerics took important positions in Iran. In the Turkish Ottomon, Besir Faut, one of its fiercest critics was an epitome of this vortex of change. He was an intellectual, agnostic, and critic. His defiance represented a new group of Ottoman Turk. He intended to serve science for which he asked his dead body to be used for anatomy. In Cairo, there was the nahda (reawakening) group based on western examples. Rifaa al-Tahtawi was one of the founding members. He viewed that there cannot be nahda in the East without the nahda of women. By the end of the 19th century, new Egyptian middle-class women began to break free from harem life and early marriage at the age of 13. Many went to Europe for studies. By the early 20th century, according to Elizabeth Cooper, liberated Egyptian women were seen in Cairo bazaars. Malak Hifni Nasif at a public lecture in 1909 remarked “...finally…the face veil became more transparent than an infant’s heart...does our present izar, which has virtually become a ‘dress,’ showing the bosom, waist and derriere, conform with this precept.” (184) Qasim Amin the Egyptian modernist echoed the voice of the era—‘reform or die’—though persuasively pro-western. But the uncritical acceptance and veneration of everything Western provoked a strong patriotic Islamic backlash. The author describes the rise of pan-Islamism in the fifth chapter “Nation.” By the middle of the 19th century, the interest of the colonial powers went against many of the dominant nations. By the turn of the century, the term ‘pan-Islamism’ had become a common word to express political solidarity across Muslim lands in response to imperialism. The situation and struggle of Muslims worldwide instill in them a sense of

127 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 brotherhood. Jamal al-din Afghani offended the orthodox by saying that the statements of the philosophers had universal and timeless validity like those of prophets whose words were affected by circumstances of time thereby refuting the infallibility of the prophets. Human survival as nations was possible through arts and science and technology. However, Afghani did not see religion as an impediment to civilization. Muhammad Abduh as a muftī rejected taqlīd and literalism. He said that Muslims of his days were excessively attached to forefathers’ practices. He embraced ijtihād. He spoke against the deadly ills of polygamy and the belief in predestination arguing that it was the reason behind Egypt’s decay. In his attempt to question Islamic orthodoxy he was accused of surrendering and betrayal his religion. Such an attack was the onset of the dawn of counter- enlightenment. In Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk nursed a national revolution. He was a strong nationalist, who, following the invasion of Anatolia in 1919 slipped away from Istanbul to raise a nationalist army from the remnant of the Ottoman force. Post the defeat of the Ottoman in WW I, Ataturk abolished the empire in the 1920s; he severed the Turks from Arabs. As a result, in 1928, the Arab script was replaced with Roman script. He also decreed that the call to prayer should be sung in Turkish. This period of enlightenment was short-lived. Counter-enlightenment soon followed. In the last chapter “Counter-Enlightenment” the author details the rise of Islamist movement as a counter-movement towards enlightenment. Ataturk attempted to lead Turkish towards a secular nation relegating Islam to the status of private affairs. In Iran, Reza Shah replicated what Ataturk did for Turkey. He got rid of old Arabic . He replaced Sharia for secular codes and changed the name from Persia to Iran. Amid all these developments, post WW I brought about a different scenario. The subjugation throughout the Middle East called for political means to express distrust to the West. At this point, the strongest claim of the Islamist movement was Hassan al-Banna. With the slogan “we are brothers in the service of Islam,” Muslim Brotherhood became the most influential Islamist organization of the 20th century. The movement

128 BOOK REVIEW vehemently critiqued the Western notion of social progress, capitalism, and materialism. Al-Banna wrote that “humanity is in dire need of the purifying alters of true Islam” and that “Quran’s medicine to save this sick and tormented world.” (312) The spirit of pan-Islamism spread to Syria, Jerusalem, Transjordan, Iraq, and North Africa. The assassination of President Anwar Sadat of Egypt in 1981 marked the arrival of militant Islamism as a major factor in Middle Eastern politics. In Iran around the same time, Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi was headed towards an even more dramatic Islamist cataclysm. In 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini set up the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran. The Islamism of in Egypt and Khomeini in Iran became the center of modern Islamist movement injecting rage and doctrine of martyrdom against Western materialism. In the history of Iran for the first time, Shī‘ah mullā ran the country. While in Turkey, Kemalist establishment continued to influence the people, Turkish Islamists began to gain a foothold in running the institutions of the country. Turkish Islamists paid lip services to Kemalism. In their quest for seats at the center of power, they developed a modus operandi that stressed on infiltration and subornation. Post the 1980s, Turkey Islamism has infiltrated Kemalist institutions such as military, police, and civilian bureaucracy. The author states that this takeover will not be through a revolution like in Iran or civil unrest like in Egypt, but in the legal appropriation by Turkish Islamist on the levers of government. The failure of democracy in Egypt, the Islamist revolution that swept Iran, and the rise of Turkish Islamism is the cataclysm of counter- enlightenment. At present it is hard to discern liberal movements, humanistic principles in the Middle East compared to the glorious but short era of Islamic enlightenment. The region has slipped into violence and sectarian hate. The author does not, however, opines this as a case of victory of faith over reason. There is a suspension of enlightenment, asserts the author, but there are encouraging movements and signs. He points out Iran’s Green movement protest against fraudulent election results in 2009, Arab spring for self-determination from European

129 JOURNAL OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE JAN-JUNE 2020 colonialism in 2011, and protest against Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s intolerant form of government in 2013. These are silver linings amid civil wars which had forced many Muslims to migrate or seek refuge in Europe and other parts of the world. The book is a carefully detailed historical analysis of the short but eventful era of renaissance in some of these Muslim worlds. Students of religion, especially `Islamic studies, and political scientists interested in Middle East studies on the dialectics of reason and religion, Islam and West, , and the constant struggle between progress and traditionalism would find this book very resourceful. The quest for a new wave of Islamic enlightenment in the Muslim world will be inspired by reading Christopher de Bellaigue’s The Islamic Enlightenment – The Modern Struggle between Faith and Reason.

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