Category Uncategorized

Today’s column is presented as a public service for Muslim readers. Call it a list of Things Not To Say If You Are Muslim. The need for such…

By Leonard Pitts Jr
Syndicated columnist
Today’s column is presented as a public service for Muslim readers. Call it a list of Things Not To Say If You Are Muslim.

The need for such a list is illustrated by a New Year’s Day incident at Washington’s Reagan National Airport. An AirTran Airways flight was delayed two hours and a group of nine Muslims — eight family members and a friend — was refused permission to fly after two teenage girls overheard a member of the group say that sitting near the engines would be particularly unsafe in the event of an accident.

The girls told their parents, who told flight attendants. Next thing you know, 104 passengers are cooling their heels as the plane and all its baggage are rechecked by security officials. Even after the plane was cleared to fly and the group — eight of them native-born U.S. citizens — was determined to be no threat, they were still not allowed back on the plane. They wound up paying for seats on another carrier. AirTran initially refused to apologize for the incident, but quickly backtracked.

So there you have No. 1 on the list of Things Not To Say If You Are Muslim: Do not say anything about air safety. Granted, that’s a staple, albeit morbid, topic for skittish fliers the world over, but you are not “the world over.” You are Muslims in America, post Sept. 11. You may not discuss air safety. Not even to say, “For criminy sake, Malik, take your Valium and shut up; flying is perfectly safe.” If you discuss air safety even to defend it, we will have to conclude that you are a terrorist.

No. 2. Do not use “gee” words. Do not say jeepers, gee-whiz, Jesus or Jehosophat. Someone listening in may think you said “jihad” and we will have to conclude that you are a terrorist.

No. 3: Do not say jihad. If you do, we will have to conclude that you are a terrorist.

No. 4: Do not discuss movie history. Eventually, someone will observe that “Ishtar” was one of Hollywood’s all-time biggest bombs. Someone listening in will report that you plan to blow up Hollywood and we will have to conclude that you are a terrorist.

No. 5: Do not talk sports. Somebody might say, “Boy, I hate the Dolphins.” Then Homeland Security will have to shut down SeaWorld, Shamu will have to be guarded by unsmiling men in sunglasses … and we will have to conclude that you are a terrorist.

No. 6: Do not discuss the weather. If someone says, “I can’t believe it’s raining again today” and someone else says, “Weatherman says it’s going to be even worse tomorrow,” and then the first someone says, “Any more of this and we’re all going to drown,” someone listening in will report a plot to blow up the levees and flood the town. And we will have to conclude that you are a terrorist.

Indeed, it occurs to me that it might be easier to list the things that are safe for you to talk about, that won’t make some eavesdropper think you an evil, America-hating outsider. There are two things. The first: lawsuits. There is nothing more reflective of American values than suing the so-and-sos who have mistreated and embarrassed you.

Indeed, one of the detained Muslims told The New York Times, “We have not ruled out the possibility of legal action.” It struck just the right tone, saying to skeptical fellow Americans in no uncertain terms: Hey, we are just like you.

The second thing on the list of safe topics: baseball. Yes, I know what I said about sports. Baseball isn’t sports. It’s hot dogs, blue skies, homeruns, Americana at its most iconic.

Besides, it’s OK to say you hate the Yankees. Most people do.

Yes, you may think it pathetic that Americans have become such a skittish, paranoid lot that you can only talk about lawsuits and baseball without arousing suspicion. But look on the bright side:

Spring training begins next month.

Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr.’s column appears Sunday on editorial pages of The Times. His e-mail address is: lpitts@miamiherald.com

2009, The Miami Herald

Like most Muslims, I had been preparing my entire life to one day embark on the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, that is one of the five Pillars of Islam. Yet when my wife and I set off to Saudi Arabia the first week of December, I could not have imagined what an intensely spiritual journey it would be.

By Aziz Junejo

Special to The Seattle Times

Like most Muslims, I had been preparing my entire life to one day embark on the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, that is one of the five Pillars of Islam.

God says in the Quran:

And proclaim that the people shall observe hajj pilgrimage. They will come to you walking or riding on various exhausted (means of transportation). They will come from the farthest locations.

Quran, chapter Al Hajj, 22:27
When my wife and I set off to Saudi Arabia the first week of December, I could not have imagined what an intensely spiritual journey it would be.

During the annual hajj, Muslims from every corner of the planet gather in Mecca to participate in a five-day set of rituals to attain complete forgiveness from God for their sins. We arrived in Mecca at night. The warm desert air, carrying bits of sand, brushed my skin softly as I started to repeat the obligatory beginning to hajj:

Here I am, O God. Here I am.

That first night, at around 3 a.m., as we descended by bus from the granite mountains that surround Mecca, we got our first glimpse of the Kaaba, the most sacred site in Islam.

For more than a billion Muslims worldwide, the Kaaba is the holiest spot in the universe. This stone cube-shaped structure was built by Abraham as a place to worship God. When Muslims pray five times a day, they face the Kaaba, bowing in praise of the one God.

The Kaaba is today encircled by the Grand Mosque with its majestic minarets illuminated by glowing lights.

That same morning, I walked barefoot through the huge doors of the Grand Mosque with nothing but the required two pieces of plain white cloth wrapped around me. It is what all men wear during hajj.

The sight was both stunning and deeply moving: My fellow pilgrims represented all humanity’s faces and cultures, black, white, rich, poor. We spoke different languages, yet dressed all as one, a symbol of the human equality of hajj and of our unity before God.

I was overwhelmed as I observed thousands and thousands of Muslims circling the Kaaba — a sea of white cloths in smooth, slow motion. My tears expressed what words never could.

advertising

Over five days, the majority of us traveled on foot among the ancient cities of Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifa, and then back to Mecca, simultaneously performing rituals of worship in unison. It’s how the hajj has been done for more than 1,400 years.

The Prophet Mohammad said “hajj is Arafat,” and that second day was, indeed, the pinnacle event. For as long as the sun was in the sky, I stood with 3 million other Muslims on the desert plain of Arafat, my hands raised toward the heavens asking God to forgive my sins. This was an intensely personal and emotional journey, and yet I was most emphatically not alone.

By the end of this day, Muslims believe, forgiveness is granted to those present who ask with sincerity.

That day in the valley of Arafat, I had a glimpse of Judgment Day, when, Muslims believe, humanity will be raised up and gathered in one place to petition God for Paradise.

There were many occasions where hajj proved to be my ultimate test of patience; from the seemingly endless waits, the gridlock, and the eventual fatigue from heat and miles of walking with sand-filled sandals among crowds of millions of people, but I continually uttered aloud, “Here I am, O God. Here I am,” with patience and perseverance.

Returning to Sea-Tac Airport and hugging my loved ones, I recognized how thankful I was for the opportunity to have experienced this life-changing event. Having completed the fifth and final pillar of my faith, I pray I have returned a more tolerant person, an improved person and a more thankful person.

Aziz Junejo is host of “Focus on Islam,” a weekly cable-television show, and a frequent speaker on Islam. Readers may send feedback to faithcolumns@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company

A Brief outline
This small piece of wriitng encompasses Muslim history in Assam from colonial period and geographical-historical realities that shaped Muslims destiny in the pages of history.

Contents

* Introduction

Introduction

Scope: Assam is the second largest Muslim populated state of India (in terms of percentage) only after Jammu and Kashmir. Muslims constitute about thirty percent of the state population[1]. They are historically concentrated in the south and west Assam in large numbers. Five of the six Muslims majority districts of Assam lie in these regions and also the other districts in these regions have significant percentage of Muslims[2]. Interestingly in Assam it is found that, wherever Muslim political structure developed, high percentage of Muslims are living there. Besides, the southern and western region, central Assam (mainly in the districts of Nagaon and Marigaon) has significant Muslim populations. Presently the state has almost eighty lakhs Muslim population. History of the origin of this huge numbers of inhabitants does not represent one single period. Almost a quarter of their Islamic origin belongs to 13th to 15th century A.D., which is the timing of my study on Muslims Socio-Political History.

Since last three-four decades the histories of Muslims have been the center stage of many movements and violence in the state. The allegations and counter allegations not only draw the attention of national media, politicians, and the masses but also the international media and organizations[3]. They are marginalized in every possible way. They are looked merely as invaders and intruders in history and now suspected as immigrants. This twist and criticism, however, in turn led the curiosity of some writers and historians to explore the Muslim history in the state and their relation with power. But unfortunately most of the works carried out by them are neither comprehensive nor insightful. Their writings unveiled a small part of Muslims total history in Assam. For instance, some one may writes on Assam or specifically on Muslims, but they would either forget or ignore regions other then Brahmputra valley. So their studies are confined to Brahmputra valley only, for that matter Barak valley received scant attention[4]. It became a fact that so far nobody has made any such move on any specific period to explore the history of Muslims of Assam in true sense. A systematic study from 13th century, which is the starting point of their history, is crucial in the construction of both Brahmputra valley and Barak valley’s Muslim history.

The history of the Muslims of Assam is important for a comprehensive history of Assam. In fact, the way history of our country is incomplete without the reference of Assam. A history of Assam is also incomplete without the reference of Muslims history. In Assam, Muslim community is heterogeneous in character. Unlike other religious groups of the state, they are also divided culturally, ethnically and linguistically[5]. A systematic study of these different groups, in the light of various sources and conditions is necessary, for the sake of a comprehensive history of state and Muslims in particular. Actually historical processes of conversion in to Islam, settlement of Muslims from outside and the geographical variance of the state paved their division. It is a fact, neither at single point of time Muslims had entered Assam, nor the locals belong to Hinduism and tribal faith embraced Islam at a time. Muslims arrived and settled in different places at different stages of history. Similarly the conversions to Islam occurred at various point of times. The newly settled Muslims (13th to 15th A.D.) of Turk, Afghan, Arabic, Persian and other backgrounds, mingling with the newly converted Muslims, and Non Muslims paved the way for the enhancement of language, Polity, economy and society of Assam. Thus local languages and dialects became filled with new words used by the adventurer. Both Assamese and Bengali languages are fraught with Arabic and Persian words. So Muslims added new dimension to Assam, what every new community develops certain trends and cultural diversities in the society and polity of that land, which in turn enrich the existing one.

The history and cultural heritage of each and every community of a place express the composite nature of that place and its greatness. Assam for its reach diversity in religion, language, ethnicity and culture forms a distinct and interesting identity in the history and heritage of India. The legacy of Muslims is a significant part of it. So their history is imperative to develop a comprehensive history of Assam. And finally of course a study of the past of Assam’s second largest community Muslim will definitely help to develop better understandings among different ethnic groups.

Geography: Assam is located in the north east corner of India between the latitudes 28°18´and 24° N, and the longitudes 89°46´-97 E. It covered an area of 78.523 square Kilometers. Assam denote in this study contemporary Assam. However in some cases reference of Syllhet, a district of colonial Assam is imperative[6]. Because the present district of Karimganj has been a part of Syllhet throughout its history. It has the sane society, culture as that of Syllhet. When in 1947 Sylhet was declared a part of Pakistan, Karimganj subdivision was retained with India[7].

Assam is in the center of Northeast India. It is surrounded on the north by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh, on the east by Arunachal, Nagaland, Manipur, on the south Mizoram, Tripura, and on the west lays Bangladesh, Meghalaya, and West Bengal. Except its border with west Bengal and Bangladesh from all other sides, Assam is bounded by hills. The state is physically divided into three parts:

I. Brahmaputra Valley named after the river Brahmaputra, which flows from the east to the west in the northern part of Assam.

II. Barak Valley identified by the name of the river Barak that flows from east to the west in south Assam.

III. Hilly region comprising two hilly districts of Borail Range and Karbi Anglong Hills in the middle of Assam.

Borail Range and Khasi-Jaintia hills separate Barak and Brahmaputra Valley. This hilly barrier makes geographical oneness of both valleys almost in accessible. So are the cultures and histories of the people of two valleys. That is why, in this study the Socio-Political history of two valleys discussed separately. There are very few instances of uniformity existed between these valleys during medieval period also.

The history of Assam went through various phases of formation and fragmentation before to take the shape of modern one. Modern Assam is a creation of British colonialism[8]. In 1874, Assam was created as colonial province under a chief commissioner for an inexpensive and effective administration[9]. Consideration of historical continuity or cultural contiguity was not in the mind of British imperialist. The territories that formed the new province are:

I. Mughal territories of Bengal Subah comprising lower parts have Brahmaputra valley (West Assam) and Barak valley (South Assam)[10].

II. The territory of Ahom Kingdom comprising upper portion of Brahmaputra Valley (central and eastern part of modern Assam)[11].

III. Territories of Dimacha-Kachari Kingdom comprising two hilly districts and a portion of Barak valley[12].

IV. Some other small Kingdoms Domaria, Darang Etc[13].

That is why the history of contemporary Assam is not synonymous with the history of Ahom Kingdom or the area that came to be referred as Assam, after British colonization as well as in the post independent period[14]. During colonial period, British annexed hilly states like Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram etc. into Assam. But after independence except the present territory of Assam, which is under study, all other places gradually parted away as separate states while major portion of Syllhet went to East Pakistan (present Bangladesh). Since Brahmaputra Valley constitutes the two third territory of present Assam; In general its past is what history designates of Assam today to the most modern historians.

During ancient and medieval period Brahmaputra Valley is known by different names in the Epic, Puranic and early historical literature. It is mentioned as Pragjyotisha in both the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Pragjyotisha included not only the whole of Brahmaputra Valley and parts of North and East Bengal but also the hilly tracts up to the border of China. It is known for the first time as Kamrup in Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudra Gupta and in the Early Puranas. The boundaries of Pragjyotisha or Kamrup did not remain static, underwent changes in different age for political and other reasons[15]. After the expedition of Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1226 A.D., the big state of Pragjyotisha-Kamrupa collapsed. There emerged small states. The remnants of Kamrupa named as Kamata. It was in 15th century Thai Ahoms, belong to the Shan stock in South East Asia, who had ruled Upper Brahmaputra Valley from 13th to early 18th century, able to unite large tracts of Kamrup into one identity. The western limit receded from the river Karatoya to the river Manas. The river Manas was western frontier not all times, only during the high times of Ahoms[16].

The territory of Ahoms is called Asham in Ain-e-Akbari and Asam in Padshahnaamaa. The same word is applied by, Francis Hamilton in his account on Assam compiled during 1807-8. Assam is apparently the English form of Asam. Again, there are differences of opinion among historians on the origin of the word Asham. According to one group of historian Mughal called Brahmputra Valley in the name Asham, as the land is uneven or peerless and in Sanskrit Asham means uneven. The second opinion is that Asham originated from the word Tai-Ahom, the ruling dynasty of mainly upper Assam[17]. Shihabuddin Talish the noted historian of the Mughal governor of Bangla subah Mirjumla, in his account Fatihat I Ibriyat referred Asham as, the territory beyond Hajo and Kamrup Sarkar of Mughal Empire. So the term originally been applied to the tract of the country ruled by the Ahom, subsequently used to refer the area under the control of Assam[18].

The upper portion of Barak valley is known as Kachar. According to local dialect Sylheti Bangla, Kachar means a stretch of land on the foot of mountains. While the lower portion of the valley comprises undivided Sylhet district which included present Karimganj district of Assam. The picturesque valley of Barak is the natural extension of vast Bengal plain. According to Nihar Ranjan Roy, author of Bangalir Ithihas, Barak and Surma valley is the extension of Meghana valley. There is no natural boundary between these two valleys. That is why the society and culture of East Maimansingh, Plain Tripura is well tied with Sylhet and Kachar that there is no difference exist between the two[19]. It was included in various Kingdoms that had emerged during prehistoric and early historic period like Gauda, Samatata and with the Aryanisation it include as Pratyant. During 6th and 7th century this land became part of Kamrup and later in early medieval period an independent state of Harikala emerged[20].

Like other parts of Bengal Austric people are the first to settle in the valley of Barak. The next group of people migrated to valley are Indo-Mongoloid Bodos, who gradually mixed with Austric people. Khasis are considered to be the descended of Austric speaking people but physically looked more as Mongoloid[21]. Aryans are the third group of people settled around 6th and 7th century A.D. As the valley of Barak is extension of Meghna valley, Aryans moved to this place from East Bengal. It was the fertility of soil which, attracted large number of Aryans, most of them were Brahmins. This is the way, the influence of the language of Aryan spread to the greater Sylhet and Kachar[22]. Historian P.C.Choudhury opined that Srihatta is one of the last of the last Buddhist center in India. Mr. Choudhury writes details on Srihatta in his history of Assam. However, in this study, Sylhet is also used in reference with the present territory of Assam, for its historical continuity with, modern Karimganj district of Assam[23].

The geography has to do a lot with the history and culture of a place. It played a great role in shaping the destiny of people and their history. Assam surrounded by mountain barriers from three sides. The land of Assam connected with rest of the world through many routes such as Patkai route, which was use by Ahoms and other Tibet-Burman tribes of the North East. The hilly passes of Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal were also probably used by certain waves of the Tibet-Burman tribes’ movement. The landed western boundary of both Brahmputra valley and Barak Valley are, with Bengal. These two land borders were two important routes, through which the Aryan migration from North India took place. Actually, all migrations and invasions, from Gangetic valley or North India had occurred through those two routes, including that of Turkish, Afghans, and Mughals during medieval period.

People: Assam is described as the land of anthropological Museum for its diverse ethnology. Population of Assam is composed of various races and tribes. The ancestor of these tribes and races migrated to Assam in different period of times. Details have been briefly mentioned earlier. Khasis of Austric origins were the first to settle in Assam. Subsequently Bodos of Mongoloid origin established in different regions, and gradually, became divided in to various groups, identified as Rabha, Bodos, Tiwa, Karbi and Dimasa etc. The northern Assam’s tribes Miri, Mishing, Daflas also entered Assam in the same period that of Bodos but remained concentrated on the northern bank of Brahmputra in the north east corner of Brahmaputra valley, bordering Arunachal Pradesh. The original term Bodo denote a large number of peoples-Garo, Rabha, Koch, Mech, Hajong, and Lalung etc, who speak Bodo languages. Not a very distant past the Bodos proved themselves to be very powerful occupying almost the entire Brahmputra valley. The other tribes Kakis, Nagas and Mar entered the hilly regions of central Assam at the same time of Bodo’s, through the Burma-Manipur route. Jaintia is another tribe that settled at the same period, in some areas of Barak valley. Indo-Aryans moved to Assam from Northern India by 6th and 7th century. Those groups of Aryans settled in different pockets of Brahmaputra and Barak valley. Brahmins of Srihatta are the first Aryan settlers and Kalitas of Brahmputra valley, who claimed to be Aryan origin[24].

The Muslim of Turkish, Afghani and other origin, came from North India to enter Assam during medieval period, for different reasons, a brief of that has already been given. Besides, a large number of newly converted Muslims of Bengal settled down in different areas of Assam. The other group of peoples who entered Assam followed by the Muslim was Tai Ahoms[25]. Initially, they settled in upper Assam but gradually moved further west up to the Central Assam. Both of these two groups of people Muslims and Ahoms migrated to Assam from two opposite direction, Muslims from the west and Ahoms from the East of Assam.

Language: Assam is a land of languages and dialects, as many as forty-five languages spoken by its communities. It is a mini India in terms of language. There are many ethnic groups, each have their own language, culture and tradition and of course very distinct customs. From a small tribe of four to five thousands Mech, to Bengali the largest ethnic group, every one have their language, culture and dialects. At present Assamese and Bengali are two principle languages of Assam. Assamese is the official language of Brahmputra valley and it is the common language of same valley. People of different languages, dialects used Assamese as the medium of communication with others in Brahmputra valley; many even officially accepted it as their mother tongue. Ahom having their own tribal dialect now speak and used Assamese as their mother tongue. Similarly Muslims of Bengali origin officially used Assamese as their mother tongue; though in their homes speak different Bengali dialects[26]. The reason of Bengali Muslim accepting Assmese is largely because of political compulsion and security[27].

Assamese is a language of Sanskrit origin directly connected with proper Magadhi Apabramsha. Cultural fusion among various tribes and races among themselves has shaped the development of this language for centuries. That is why influences of Austro-Asiatic, Mongoloid and Tibet-Burman dialects are palpable in Assamese language. During medieval period Arabic, Persian played important role in the development of Assamese language[28]. Bengali the official language of Barak valley is also the common language of Barak and acted as medium of communication among various linguistic groups. Eighty percent of the people of Barak valley have Bengali as their mother language. Hindi speaking tea garden labours, Bishnupria Manipuri speaking peoples, Khasia and all other small groups of valley use Bengali in common interaction. However majority of Bengali speak a dialect known as Sylheti Bangla[29]. Bodo is third popular language of Assam and second in Brahmputra valley. The total number of Bodo is much larger then the Bodo speakers. The number of Bodo speaker is increasing. More and more Bodos now, officially adopting Bodos as their mother tongue[30]. English is use in two hilly districts. Hindi and Bodo are the two other popular languages of the state. Besides language having significant number of speakers are Rabha, Santhali, Nepali, Mishing, Manipuri, Garo, Rabha, Dimasa, and Bisnupria etc. Many of these languages have neither own script nor written form. People of Assam also used language and dialects like Ahom, Koch Rajbanshi, and Lalung.

Historically both Assames and Bengali developed out of Sanskrit language as early as in the 7th century A.D. Their direct ancestor is Magadhi Apabramsha. Maghadi was the principle dialect, which correspondents to the Eastern Prakrit. East Magadhi was spoken prachya Apabramsha also spread to the east keeping north of the Ganges and reached to the Assam. Each of the descendents of Magadhi Apabrahmsa viz, Oriya, modern Bengali and Assamese equally connected with the common immediate parents. S.R.Chattarjee classified Eastern Apabramsha in to four dialect groups as (1) Radha dialects which comprehend West Bengal, gives literary Bengali, colloquial and origin in the South-West (2) Varendra dialects of North Central Bengal (3) Vanga dialects comprehends the dialects of Eastern Bengal and (4) Kamrup dialects which comprehend Assamese and the dialects of North Bengal.[31]

Sources: Sources played most important role in the writing of history of a place, community etc. The richness in sources means writing is easier, more details and perfect. Though incase of my study, source materials are not ample, but did found almost all sorts of materials primary and secondary. Writers on ancient Assam relate various aspects of Bengal with the society and polity of Assam in making the comprehensive history of latter. Both primary and secondary sources are used in this study. However, the less number of primary sources made more depended on secondary sources. Inscriptions and archeological remains, found at different places of Karimganj and rest of Assam can be counted in primary Sources. Secondary sources are large number of books and articles published in different languages by medieval and modern writers. Language of these books and articles are mainly Persian, English, Bengali and Assamese. Some of those books written on a particular region or particular aspect of Muslims in Assam can be considered as an initiative, to put forward the so far unnoticed sides of Muslims life and history. Writers on ancient Assam relate various aspects of Bengal with the society and polity of Assam in making the comprehensive history of latter. As S.Chatterjee a historian on Assam history describes Assam is a sister state of Bengal. That is why the reference of Bengal is imperative in the history of medieval Assam too. Rafiul Hussain Barua’s Islami Oitijya Aaru Asham and Mohini Saikia’s Assam-Muslim Relation and Its Cultural Significance are two books devoted on Assam’s Muslim history. But these books lack lot of information and proper analytical point of view. Their woks are mainly political narratives and they do not try much to explore more beyond the Brahmputra valley. On the other hand mainstream books on Assam history merely depicted Muslims as invaders, foreigners while largely ignoring the fact that Muslims contributed a lot to society, culture and economy of Assam. Most of these authors did not even try to incorporate the rich history and heritage of the Muslim of Barak Valley, where Muslims have been an important political and social force since 14th century.

Muslims Relation: Islam starts its journey in India almost from 8th century A.D[32]. Merchants, Sufis and political adventurers basically made it to spread Islam throughout India. Sufis can be called the torchbearers of Islam in India. Moinuddin Chisti, the famous Indian Sufi settled at Ajmer by the end of eleventh century[33]. The Arab merchants, however, brought Islam to the coast of Kerala in 7th century, and by that time a large Muslim society got developed in Malabar[34]. Similarly the Arab and Persian merchants visited coastal areas of Bengal, places like Chittagong much before the political conquest of northern India by the Turks. According to historians, during pre Turkish period, Sufis and merchants had entered Bengal in many occasions for preaching and trading purposes. Persian and Arab merchants even established important colonies in the contemporary towns of Bengal for commercial and maritime contact much before its conquest by the Muslim forces of Turkish origin (1205-6 A.D)[35]. History of Bengal is important for writing a history of Assam because Bengal and Assam being two land bordering states influenced each other’s society and polity for a long period of times. During many times the frontiers of Assam extended into Bengal, similarly the frontier of Bengal penetrated into Assam. Kamrup the old name of Assam was not unknown to Arabs. We find references of the word Kamrud in various accounts of Arab geographers and writers, which discussed trade relationship of Arab with Kamrud. Arab geographer Al Idris mentioned about the import of aloe wood from Kamrud.[36] The word Kamrud is the arabisation of the name Kamrup. The trade relationship of Arabs, tends to believe that Arab Muslims while trading with the coastal Bengal might visited Assam, as latter was well-known to them. We know from Minhajuddin, author of Tabaqat e Nasiri that Muslim traders were frequent to Navadip, the capital of Bengal. So, the people of Lucknawti misunderstood Bakhtiyar Khilji and his small number of soldiers, as Arab horse traders because Arab horse traders were regular to Bengal[37]. Similarly we find evidences of Muslim settlements in Sylhet, which was also known as Khanda Kamrupa before its political conquest by Muslims (1303). It is not confirmed whether those

Muslims belong to the merchant class or general. Burhanuddin was a Muslim from that community, his story with Gaur Govinda, the local ruler of Sylhet known to all[38]. Infact, the killing of Burhanuddin’s son is considered an immediate cause of Muslim political interference in Sylhet. The story is largely represented in every book written on Shahjalal and the history of region. Both traditions and literature are the sources of these events. However, for us it pointed Muslim presense in Barak valley even before its conquest by the later. It was a brief introduction of Muslim relationship with Assam in pre Turkish Bengal and Assam.

Formal history of the Muslim Socio-Political life in Brahmaputra valley begins in 1206 A.D. it was in this year, as per the records of history, Assam first witnessed the arrival of Muslims. It was when Turkish military commandant Ikhtiyaruddin Mohammad Bakhtiyar Khilji (1201-06) – the first Muslim ruler of Bengal entered Kamrup – was on his way to Tibet expedition[39]. Thus the beginning of 13th century is a landmark in the history of Assam in general and Muslims in particular. The Muslim Socio-Political life actually started taking off from that time. Bakhtiyar Khilji’s (1201-06) Tibet campaign through Kamrup and his disastrous retreat left many of his soldier’s prisoners in the hands of hostile Kamrup forces. When local king freed these soldiers, they adopted the land of Assam as their home. Ali Mech, a tribal chief of Mech tribe embraced Islam and became a trusted guide of Bakhtiyar Khilji during this campaign[40]. Many of his fellow tribes might accept Islam at that time. We found Koch and Mech came forward to rescue Khilji and his soldiers. Bakhtiyar Khilji might get defeated at a sudden attack but this campaign brought West Assam under the Muslim rule of Bengal. Since after Khilji’s Tibet expedition, the Turkish and Afghan rulers of Bengal led a series of invasions in Assam to further their territorial limits and to repel the revolts against the authority of Lakhnawati in West Assam[41]. During this political interference in Brahmputra valley, Sufis and new group of Muslim ruling class entered Assam and established Muslim settlement in different places. They gradually developed a new society and culture, which by and large contributed many new things to Assamese society and local languages[42]. During those successive wars of medieval period, many Muslim soldiers of Turk, Afghan and Muslims of other origins settled in Brahmputra valley. Some of them were war prisoner, while rest might voluntarily settle down in valley. It was obvious that with the expansion of Turkish rule in lower Brahmputra valley, Muslim officials were appointed in different parts of newly controlled areas. Many of them might choose to remain in Assam. There were Muslim artisans, traders, etc. settled across Ahom territories at the invitation of Ahom Kings[43].

A formal history of the Muslim in Barak valley begins after the conquest of Sylhet by Sikandar Khan Ghazi in 1303 A.D. However, the evidence of Muslim settlements this date is testified by the presence of Burhanuddin in Sylhet. But the process of Muslim settlements got intensified, just after the political conquest of Sylhet by the Sikandar Khan Ghazi, nephew of Sultan Shamsuddin Ferozshah (1301-22), the sultan of Bengal[44]. The great Sufi saint Hazrat Shahjalal Mujrrad accompanied Muslim forces and acted as a strong spiritual guide who also advised warfare. With this conquest a large number of Muslims belong to different origins like Turkish, Afghan, and Arabic settled in the valley, besides Muslims from other parts of Bengal and northern India also settled down in the undivided Barak valley[45]. This process of settlement from the outside of valley continued while at the same time many locals belong to Hinduism and tribal faiths embraced Islam. So the political conquest of Sylhet led the expansion Muslim rule in South Assam. Even during 18th century, the Raja of Dimasa-Kachari Kingdom encouraged Muslim peasants, soldiers and traders from lower Barak valley and Bengal to migrate to his territory i.e. Cachar[46].

The final wave of the Muslim settlement took place during late 19th and early 20th century. To enhance income from revenue, British brought thousands of peasants from East Bengal districts of Dhaka, Maimansing, Rangpur, etc. who cleared low alluvial forest in Brahmaputra valley and made Assam economically sound for British. These peasants came to form about one tenth to one sixth of the population of Assam by 1951.[47] .In the early 19th century, thousands of people from districts of Sylhet and Cachar (Barak valley) of colonial Assam shifted to undivided Nagaon district in Brahmaputra valley. Majority of these people were Muslims. At the same time British planters brought thousands of tea garden labourers from U.P., Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Andra Pradesh, etc. to both of the valleys of Assam[48]. These people later on became permanent residents of Assam; almost all of them were Hindu by faith, however, some of them belong to Muslim community also.
The objective of my study is to give an idea of the Socio-Political History of Muslims belongs to a period from 13th to 15th century. It is large work and covered varied topics and sites of the Muslim of that period. It is already mentioned that the valley of Brahmputra and Barak are quite different to each other and so that its history. My study covers the Muslims socio-political history of 13th and 14th century in Brahmputra valley while in Barak valley 14th and 15th century. As we know Muslim as a political force, emerged in the valley of Brahmputra by 1206 A.D., and in valley of Barak, almost one hundreds year after, during 1303 A.D.

References

[1] Sanjib Baruah, India Against Itself: Assam and The Politics of Nationality, New Delhi, 1999, p.19

www.assam.nic.in, Demography of Assam, Official Website of the Govt. of Assam

The Statesman’s Year Book, 2007, p. 620

[2] Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Committee of India: A Report of Prime Minister High Level Committee, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, New Delhi, 2006, p. 33

[3] Sanjib Barua, India Against Itself, Assam and The Politics of Nationality, New Delhi, 1999, p.23

[4] David R. Syiemlieh, A survey of research in History on North East India 1970-1990, Regency Publication, New Delhi, p.6, 1999

[5] B.K. Bordoloi and R.K. Athparia, General Edited by K.S. Singh

[6] Makhanlal Kar, Muslims in Assam Politics, New Delhi, 1997, pp. 1-2

Sujit Choudhury, Folklore and History: A Study of the Folkcults of the Bengali Hindu of Barak valley, New Delhi, 1995, p. 1

[7] Sujit Choudhury, Srihatta Cacharer Prachin Itihash, Silchar, 2006, p. 11

www.karimganj.nic.in, History of Karimganj, Official Website of Karimganj District, Assam,

Kamaluddin Ahmed, Bangiyo Chaturtadash Shatake Surma-Barak, Shatabdir Tatyapunji, Silchar, 1998, p.19

Manorama Year Book, 2006, p. 610

[8] Sanjib Barua, India Against Itself: Assam and The Politics of Nationality, New Delhi, 1999, p.21-37

[9] H.K. Barpujari, Administrative Reorganisation, edit. H.K. Barpujari, Comprehensive of Assam, vol. iv, Guwahahti, 2004, pp. 260-64, 267-73

[10] Makhanlal Kar, op.cit. pp. 2-3

Edaward Gait, A History of Assam, Guwhati, Reprint 2005, pp.263-264

Sanjib Barua, op. cit., p. 24

[11] Edward Gait, op. cit. pp. 196-203

[12] Ibid., pp. 245, 275

[13] Edward Gait, op.cit., pp. 283, 288-290, 293-95

[14] Sanjib Barua, op. cit., p., p. 24

[15] H.K. Barpujari, Introduction, Edit., H.K.Barpujari, A Comprehensive History of Assam, Vol. I, Guwahati, 2004, p.1

[16] Mirza Nathan, Baharistan-I-Ghaybi, Trans. Moidul Islam Borah, Guwahati, 1992, pp.479- 588

Shihabuddin Talish, Introduction of Fathihat –i-Ibriyath (A History of Assam), Transl. Tajul Haque Choudhury, unpublished Thesis , J.M.I, New Delhi, 2006, P. 20-30

Sanjib Barua, op. cit., p. 22

[17] H.K. Barpujari, Introduction, Edit., H.K.Barpujari,, The Comprehensive History of Assam, vol. I, Guwahati, 2004, p.1

[18] Shihabuddin Talish, Fathiya-I-Ibrtiyah ( History of Assam), Introductin and Editing, Tajul Haque Choudhury, unpublished Thesis , J.M.I, New Delhi, 2006, P. 31

[19] Sujit Choudhury, Srihatta O Caharer Itihash, Silchar, 2006, p. 11

[20] Jayanta Bhushan Bhattacharya, Cachar under British Rule in North East India, New Delhi, 1977, pp. 3,4,

[21] Sujit Choudhury, op. cit., p. 21

[22] Hrishikesh Choudhury, Srihatter Prachin Itihash, Agartala, 1998, P.22

[23] P.C. Choudhury, History of the Civilization of The People of Assam, Guwahati, 1959, pp. 423-25

Sujit Choudhury, op. cit., p.218

[24] H.K. Barpujari, op. cit., pp. 9-24

Hamid.Naseem.Rafiabadi, Assam From Agitation To Accord, New Delhi, 1998, p. vii

[25] H.K.Barpujari, op.cit. p.17

[26] B.K.Bordoloi and R.K. Athaparia, People of India, Assam, vol. xv, Calcutta, 2003, p. No xiv,

[27] Monirul Hassan, The Assam Movement: Class Ideology and Identiry, Delhi, 1993, p. 27,

[28] Rekibuddin Ahmed, A Study of Persian Language and Literature in Assam from 13th to 18th Century, Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Dept of Persian, J.M.I, New Delhi, 2000, p. 10

[29] Manorama Year Book, 2006, p.610

www.assamgovt.nic.in/languages. asp, State Govt. Official Website, Assam

[30] Sanjib Barua, op. cit., pp.19, 20

[31] S.K.Chattarjee, Origin and Development of Bengali Language, vol. 1, Calcutta, 1926, p, 140

B.K.Barua, History of Assamese Language, Guwahati, 1956, p, 1

[32] Khalique Ahmed Nizami, Some Aspects of Religion and Politics in India During The Thirteen Century, Delhi, 1978, p. 75

[33] Ibid., p. 77

[34] Dr. K.K.N. Kurup, The Sufis and Religious Harmony in Kerela, (edit.) Asghar Ali Engineer, Sufism and Communal Harmony, Printwell, Jaipur, 1991, p. 80

[35] Prof. Shahid Ali, Dr A.K.M.Ayub Ali and Dr M.A.Aziz edit. Islam in Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1995, p. 11-14

[36] Ibid., p. 12

[37] Minhaj Siraj, Tabqat-i-Nasiri, Trans. H.G.Raverty, vol. I., New Delhi, 1970, p. 557

[38] Abdul Karim, Advent of Islam in Sylhet and Hazrat Shahjalal in Sylhet, Edit. Sharif uddin Ahmed, Sylhet: History and Heritage, Dhaka, 1999, p. 129

[39] S.L.Barua, Acomprehensive History of Assam, , New Delhi, 1997, p.172-173

[40] Minhajuddin Siraj, op. cit. p. pp.560-61

[41] Mohini Kumar Saikia, Assam Muslim Relation and Its Cultural Significance, Golahghat, Assam, 1978, pp.130-36

[42] The Brahmputra Beckons, edit. by Devdas Kakati, Madrass, 1982, p. 38

[43] Mohinki Kumar Saikia, op. cit., pp. 144-53

[44] Abdul Karim, Advent of Islam in Sylhet and Hazrat Shahjalal in Sylhet, Edit. Sharif uddin Ahmed, Sylhet: History and Heritage, Dhaka, 1999, p. 130-34

[45] Richard Eaton, The Rise of Islam and The Bengal Frontier, London, 1996, pp.173-77

[46] Jayanta Bhushan Bhattacharya, op. cit., pp. 32-34

[47] Problem of immigration in the Brahmaputra valley- a crisis there of, published in the journal of North East India Council for Social Science Research, Shillong, October 2006, pp. 22-23

[48] Ibid., pp.23-24

Sanjib Barua, op. cit., 53-55

David Ahntholz for The New York Times

Michael Muhammad Knight, the author of “The Taqwacores,” which a college professor has called “The Catcher in the Rye” for young Muslims.

* Sign In to E-Mail or Save This
* Print
* Reprints
* Share
o Linkedin
o Digg
o Facebook
o Mixx
o Yahoo! Buzz
o Permalink

Article Tools Sponsored By
By CHRISTOPHER MAAG
Published: December 22, 2008

CLEVELAND — Five years ago, young Muslims across the United States began reading and passing along a blurry, photocopied novel called “The Taqwacores,” about imaginary punk rock Muslims in Buffalo.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
David Ahntholz for The New York Times

Noureen DeWulf and Bobby Naderi, both actors, with Jay Verkamp, center, the sound mixer for the film version of Mr. Knight’s novel. The film was shot in Cleveland.

“This book helped me create my identity,” said Naina Syed, 14, a high school freshman in Coventry, Conn.

A Muslim born in Pakistan, Naina said she spent hours on the phone listening to her older sister read the novel to her. “When I finally read the book for myself,” she said, “it was an amazing experience.”

The novel is “The Catcher in the Rye” for young Muslims, said Carl W. Ernst, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Springing from the imagination of Michael Muhammad Knight, it inspired disaffected young Muslims in the United States to form real Muslim punk bands and build their own subculture.

Now the underground success of Muslim punk has resulted in a low-budget independent film based on the book.

A group of punk artists living in a communal house in Cleveland called the Tower of Treason offered the house as the set for the movie. The crumbling streets and boarded-up storefronts of their neighborhood resemble parts of Buffalo. Filming took place in October, and the movie will be released next year, said Eyad Zahra, the director.

“To see these characters that used to live only inside my head out here walking around, and to think of all these kids living out parts of the book, it’s totally surreal,” Mr. Muhammad Knight, 31, said as he roamed the movie set.

As part of the set, a Muslim punk rock musician, Marwan Kamel, 23, painted “Osama McDonald,” a figure with Osama bin Laden’s face atop Ronald McDonald’s body. Mr. Kamel said the painting was a protest against imperialism by American corporations and against Wahhabism, the strictest form of Islam.

Noureen DeWulf, 24, an actress who plays a rocker in the movie, defended the film’s message.

“I’m a Muslim and I’m 100-percent American,” Ms. DeWulf said, “so I can criticize my faith and my country. Rebellion? Punk? This is totally American.”

The novel’s title combines “taqwa,” the Arabic word for “piety,” with “hardcore,” used to describe many genres of angry Western music.

For many young American Muslims, stigmatized by their peers after the Sept. 11 attacks but repelled by both the Bush administration’s reaction to the attacks and the rigid conservatism of many Muslim leaders, the novel became a blueprint for their lives.

“Reading the book was totally liberating for me,” said Areej Zufari, 34, a Muslim and a humanities professor at Valencia Community College in Orlando, Fla.

Ms. Zufari said she had listened to punk music growing up in Arkansas and found “The Taqwacores” four years ago.

“Here was someone as frustrated with Islam as me,” she said, “and he expressed it using bands I love, like the Dead Kennedys. It all came together.”

The novel’s Muslim characters include Rabeya, a riot girl who plays guitar onstage wearing a burqa and leads a group of men and women in prayer. There is also Fasiq, a pot-smoking skater, and Jehangir, a drunk.

Such acts — playing Western music, women leading prayer, men and women praying together, drinking, smoking — are considered haram, or forbidden, by millions of Muslims.

Mr. Muhammad Knight was born an Irish Catholic in upstate New York and converted to Islam as a teenager. He studied at a mosque in Pakistan but became disillusioned with Islam after learning about the sectarian battles after the death of Muhammad.

He said he wrote “The Taqwacores” to mend the rift between his being an observant Muslim and an angry American youth. He found validation in the life of Muhammad, who instructed people to ignore their leaders, destroy their petty deities and follow only Allah.

After reading the novel, many Muslims e-mailed Mr. Muhammad Knight, asking for directions to the next Muslim punk show. Told that no such bands existed, some of them created their own, with names like Vote Hezbollah and Secret Trial Five.

One band, the Kominas, wrote a song called “Suicide Bomb the Gap,” which became Muslim punk rock’s first anthem.

“As Muslims, we’re not being honest if we criticize the United States without first criticizing ourselves,” said Mr. Kamel, 23, who grew up in a Syrian family in Chicago. He is lead singer of the band al-Thawra, “the Revolution” in Arabic.

For many young American Muslims, the merger of Islam and rebellion resonated.

Hanan Arzay, 15, is a daughter of Muslim immigrants from Morocco who lives in East Islip, N.Y. In the months after the Sept. 11 attacks, pedestrians threw eggs and coffee cups at the van that transported her to a Muslim school, she said, and one person threw a wine bottle, shattering the van’s window.

At school, her Koran teacher threw chalk at her for requesting literal translations of the holy book, Ms. Arzay said. After she was expelled from two Muslim schools, her uncle gave her “The Taqwacores.”

“This book is my lifeline,” Ms. Arzay said. “It saved my faith.”
More Articles in US » A version of this article appeared in print on December 23, 2008, on page A16 of the New York edition.

Israel always manages to commit its worst deeds when no one else is looking.

By Paul J. Balles

While Americans concentrate on the cost of rescuing the U.S. financial system, and Europeans worry about how the worldwide financial crisis will affect them, Israel blithely, with U.S. government and European community approval, deprives Gaza’s entire civilian population of food, medicine and clean drinking water.

When pushed to explain their behaviour, they claim self-defence. Defence against whom? More than 50 per cent of the population in Gaza is comprised of children under the age of 15. Few people outside of Gaza even notice this slow genocide.

Israel always manages to commit its worst deeds when no one else is looking. If they happen to be caught, they blame it on the Palestinians – on a few resistance fighters lobbing rockets into Israel in retaliation for a broken cease-fire. To the Israeli, the actions of a few violent Palestinians are justifiable cause for genocide of the entire Palestinian population in Gaza.

Joe Mowrey writes:

As conditions in the Gaza Strip approach a catastrophic level of deprivation, the world media, and in particular the U.S. media, remain largely silent. The United Nations, whose truckloads of food and medical supplies continue to be denied entry into Gaza by Israel, appears to be one of the few international voices of dissent concerning the collective punishment of 1.5 million human beings.

As soon as someone takes notice of what Mowrey is talking about, the Israelis open the gates to allow a smattering of fuel or food into Gaza. Ironically, Khaled Meshaal has noted even Arab and Islamic regimes have remained silent about the tragedy resulting from the “criminal blockade” of Gaza.

Andrea Becker, head of advocacy for Medical Aid for Palestinians, has written about how the blockade has affected the hospitals and medical facilities. These are hardly resistance fighters:

…a child on life support doesn’t have the oxygen of a mechanical ventilator. A nurse on a neo-natal ward rushes between patients, battling the random schedule of power cuts. A hospital worker tries to keep a few kidney dialysis machines from breaking down, by farming spare parts from those that already have. The surgeon operates without a bulb in the surgery lamp, across from the anaesthetist who can no longer prevent patient pain.

The hospital administrator updates lists of essential drugs and medical supplies that have run out, which vaccines from medical fridges are now unusable because they can’t be kept cold, and which procedures must be cancelled altogether. The ambulance driver decides whether to respond to an emergency call, based on dwindling petrol in the tank.

Joe Mowrey reflects on the most bitter irony of all:

Has the sense of exclusivity and entitlement created by the Zionist experiment in Israel become so great that people there no longer see themselves in the mirror of their own history? The irony of Jews … denying food to hundreds of thousands of children in order, allegedly, to insure their own security, is breathtaking. Who could ever have imagined such a thing?

The Jewish Studies Global Directory of Holocaust Museums lists 61 memorial sites, including four in Israel and 24 in the United States. Reminders to the world? But not to Israelis? Not to Jews in America? Is it conceivable that Jews who remember the Holocaust only recognize genocide when they are the victims?

Rabbi Meir Hirsh, Neturei Karta Palestine, provides an answer:

How long will Jewish and non-Jewish leaders who claim the mantle of civilization and morality remain silent in the face of the ongoing state terrorism practised by the Zionist state against the Palestinian People, most visibly today in Gaza, where the Zionists believe they can starve the Palestinians into submission in violation of all tenets of international law, all religious values in general, including the values of the Jewish faith?

— Paul J. Balles is a retired American university professor and freelance writer who has lived in the Middle East for many years. For more information, see pballes.com. This article appeared in Redress Information & Analysis.

Source: Middle East Online

How to TackleTerrorism

By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan (tr. Yoginder Sikand)

Terrorism is an international menace. Everyone condemns it but the question is: How to cope with terrorism?

I would like to give the answer to this question in brief.

First of all, we have to define what is terrorism. In Islam, only one kind of war is permissible, that is defensive war. This holds true only when the war becomes a necessity. In Islam, war is justified only by the law of necessity and not under normal laws.When there is an armed aggression from outside, the state is allowed to go to war in its defense – that too with some conditions. As far as non-government agencies are concerned, they are not allowed to go to war. No excuse whatsoever is permissible in this regard.

It does not mean that non-governmental individuals or organizations have no contribution to make. They have a lot of work to do in the fields other than the political field. But they will strictly have to adhere to peaceful means. For example, they can educate people, in both formal and informal aspects. They can inculcate the spirit of harmonious living among people. They can inculcate the spirit of constructive work etc.

The Genesis of Violence

Violence begins from the mind. So is the case of terrorism. Terrorism begins from the mind. Terrorism is nothing but the culmination of negative thinking. Hence, any effort to remove terrorism must begin from the minds of people. We have to re-engineer people’s minds on positive lines. We have to make them understand that peaceful action is far more effective than violent action.

Turning Negativity into Positivity

Our society is based on the principle of free competition – it is this competitive state of affairs that creates what are called problems. There are clashes of interest between different segments of society. But this situation is not an unwanted situation. This situation is good for society provided people learn the art of management of differences, rather than the art of eliminating differences. Failure of people management of differences leads to violence and war. Instead of this, when people are able to successfully manage differences; it results in peace in the society.

It is this formula that is given in the Quran in these words:  ‘Peace is the best’. (4:128)

It means that in the face of differences, the conciliatory approach is better than the confrontational approach. Muslim Sufis have adopted this formula, which they call: Sulh-e-kul. It means ‘Peace with all’. This is the only successful formula for establishing a better society.

No Extremism

There is a verse in the Quran: ‘Don’t be extremist in your religion’. (4: 171) The Prophet of Islam has said: ‘Refrain yourself from extremism, it is highly disastrous for you’.  Extremism leads to negative thinking, negative thinking leads to violence and violence leads to armed confrontation.

So-Called ‘Islamization’ of Terrorism

Some Muslim extremists justify their violent actions by saying that ‘Yes, we are involved in terrorism but we terrorize unjust people, just like the police. The police terrorizes criminals and we terrorize those people who are enemies of truth’.
These kinds of statements are nothing but so-called ‘Islamization’ of terrorism by uttering some seemingly beautiful words. This argument is based on a fallacy, that is, a wrong comparison. The police are an authorized body of a state. What the police are doing it is doing by legal authority. But these extremists or their self-styled organizations are not an authoritative body in this sense. As a matter of principle, these elements have no right to use arms; no excuse whatsoever gives them the justification to terrorize people. They have only one option: that is to persuade people by peaceful means, without using any arms or causing anyone harm.

Terror Attacks at Mumbai

The terror attack at Mumbai on November 26, 2008 should serve as an eye-opener for us all. It is a general belief that such terror attacks by Muslim youths are directly inspired by the teachings of the Quran. But the Muslim terrorist, who was captured alive at the time of the Mumbai attacks, had a different story to tell. He told in detail how they were prepared for that task. He explained to the interrogators that they were trained in some special camps for a long period of time. During this training period, apart from being trained on the use of arms, they were given ideological lessons constantly. They never said that they were advised to study the Quran. Instead, he told the interrogators that they were shown video films. In these films, they were made to watch bloody communal riots and to hear the speeches of some extremist Hindu leaders. What were these films? These films were based on selective news items or some exceptional items. In these films, the makers tried to generalize the exception. These youths underwent a brainwashing process by these sensitive video films.

For example, they were shown the demolition of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. This single incident greatly provoked their sentiments. But the fact is that apart from the Babri Mosque, there are numerous other mosques that are fully under Muslim control in India. According to one estimate, there are more than half a million mosques in India. Approximately the same number of Islamic, madrassas – big and small – also exist throughout the country. But these mosques and madrassas were not included in the video films that were shown to those Muslims terrorists. If these Muslim youths were also shown these functional mosques and madrasas, then certainly they would have had a different mindset. This kind of training was quite against the spirit of Islam.

The tragedy of the Babri Mosque and the communal riots shown to them was not a one-sided act. It was the result of an action and reaction process and Hindus and Muslims were both involved in this unwanted process. The blame for these bloody incidents goes to both the communities — Muslims and Non-Muslims. These video films showed only one side of the story and not the complete picture of the incident.

Unaware of Quranic Teachings

If these Muslim youths were asked to read the Quran at the time of their training, then surely they would have found this verse of the Quran which forbids killings of innocent people. This Quranic verse says that: ‘Whoever killed one single innocent human being should be looked upon as though he had killed all mankind (5:32).  If these Muslim youths were aware of these Quranic teachings, it would not have been possible for them to kill innocent men and women in terror attacks.

Then there is a very relevant tradition of the Prophet of Islam. He said:  God grants to rifq (peace) what he does not grant to unf (violence).  (Abu Dawud, Sunan, 4/255) This Prophetic teaching tells us that the better way to achieve all objectives is the peaceful method and not the violent method.  If these Muslim youths would have been aware of this Prophetic teaching, they would certainly have adopted this peaceful method instead of the violent gun-culture to achieve their objective.

The Target of these Muslim Terrorists

Recently it was disclosed in an article written by the Pakistani ambassador to the USA, Mr. Hussain Haqqani, that Muslim terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba have a dangerous political plan in mind. Their thinking is that all the areas on the globe that were once under the Muslim rule, like the Ottoman empire or the Mughal empire or the Moorish empire, are Muslims by right. According to them, Non-Muslim nations have unjustly captured these areas. They are usurpers. It is now their right to re-capture all these Muslim areas and establish Muslim rule over these lands once again.

According to them, the recent terrorism is a justified war, aimed at achieving what they regard as their rightful objectives.

This kind of ideology is very dangerous. It is a permanent threat to world peace. Simply condemnation or counter-attack is not enough to eliminate this ideology. It requires a counter-ideology. We have to convince these people that political rule is not a hereditary right of any community or nation. Moreover, now we are living in the age of democracy. Democracy means a power-sharing system. Now every group has the right to share power in a democratic way. The hereditary concept mentioned above is nothing but a kind of anachronism, which is not tenable at all. Now we are living under the United Nations Organizations. All the nations of the world are members of this International body. Only that kind of political norm is acceptable that is just according to the United Nations’ Charter and the above kind of hereditary concept is certainly quite against the UNO’s accepted principles.

What Can be Done?

Now the question is what can be done in such an alarming situation? What is the practical solution to the present state of affairs? I think that there are two parts to this solution. In every country, there are stern laws to curb violence and terrorism. Governmental agencies must enforce all these laws. They must punish all those elements who are involved in such heinous acts. But another part of the solution pertains to the re-engineering of peoples’ minds. This task must be undertaken by the agencies that are non-governmental in their operations. It is completely a peaceful task. Re-engineering of people’s minds can be achieved only through education and positive training. This includes what I call as counter-ideology. The required peaceful result can be achieved only through the combined efforts of these two agencies — Governments and social reformers and activists.
==============================================================

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is a Delhi-based Islamic scholar.  For more details, see http://www.cpsglobal.org

The Hidden Holocaust: Our Civilizational Crisis – Part 1: The Holocaust in History

by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed

Part 1: The Holocaust in History

1. “Hidden Holocaust”

As we are all aware, the term “Holocaust” is traditionally used to refer to the “systematic, bureaucratic state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime”, during the Second World War. The word “Holocaust” is a Greek word, which means “sacrifice by fire.” It conveys an event, the scale and horror of which, transformed the course of world history. Moreover, it’s often seen as a crime against humanity that is unparalleled and unique.

This, we cannot dispute. The Nazi Holocaust was, indeed, a uniquely horrific genocide, whose enormity and systematic character is barely imaginable, designed to exterminate wholly the Jewish people, physically, socially, culturally, from the face of the Earth.

But what then, do we mean by a “hidden holocaust”? This term conveys the reality of a campaign of global homicide, murder, whose scale and enormity is such that one feels that the word “holocaust” does, certainly loosely speaking, apply. It is “hidden”, in the sense that, although experienced by millions of people around the world both historically and today, it remains invisible, officially unacknowledged.

This “hidden holocaust”, is escalating, accelerating, intensifying; according to all expert projections from the social and physical sciences, it may culminate in the extinction of the human species, unless we take immediate drastic action, now.

2. “Civilizational Crisis”

We often hear the word “civilization”. It’s often been used to explain the dynamics of the “War on Terror”, as a clash between two civilizations, the advanced, developed and progressive civilization of the West, and the backward, reactionary civilization of Islam.

As is well known, the man who first formulated this idea as an academic theory of international relations was the Harvard professor and US government adviser, Samuel Huntington.

In early 2007, then Prime Minister Tony Blair described the War on Terror as “a clash not between civilizations”, but rather “about civilization.” The War on Terror is, he proclaimed, a continuation of “the age-old battle between progress and reaction, between those who embrace the modern world and those who reject its existence.” [“A Battle for Global Values”, Foreign Affairs (January/February 2007)]

But the “hidden holocaust” is not an aberration from our advanced civilization that represents the peak of human development, requiring only some reforms. Rather, the “hidden holocaust” is integral to the very structure, values and activities of our civilization. It is part and parcel of the “global values” of the international political and economic order that underpins industrial civilization. And unless we attempt to transform the nature of our civilization, we will all perish in a holocaust of our own making.

3. The Genocidal Conception of Civilization

The hidden holocaust associated with our modern civilization, began at the beginning of modern civilization itself.

The origins of modern civilization can be found partly in the pivotal voyages for European colonial expansion and trade from the 15th century to the 19th centuries. Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, English and other explorers ventured out from their home countries in search of new wealth and new land in all corners of the globe. They went to the continents of America, Africa and Asia and set up colonies and trading outposts.

Colonists and settlers had all sorts of intentions. Some of them had capital, and were simply looking for new investment opportunities. Others were trying to escape lives of hardship at home to make new lives for themselves with a fresh start by settling in the colonies. Others wanted to deliver the message of Christianity to native populations. Almost all of them saw themselves as part of the inevitable historical momentum of progress, bringing the fruits of European civilization to backward peoples.

Whatever the intentions, European expansion involved massive, systematic violence. Violence of all kinds. Wholesale massacres, forced labour camps, disease, malnutrition due to the imposed conditions of economic deprivation, mass suicides due to depression and cultural alienation. As Irving Louis Horowitz argues, for example, “the conduct of classic colonialism was invariably linked with genocide.” [Genocide: State Power and Mass Murder, (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1976), p. 19-20.] Below we review some salient examples.

4. American Holocaust

Starting from 1492, when Christopher Columbus is said to have discovered the Americas, the deadly conquest commenced. The complex civilizations of native Americans, over the next few centuries, were devastated. British historian Mark Cocker has reviewed reliable estimates of the death toll:

“[E]leven million indigenous Americans lost their lives in the eighty years following the Spanish invasion of Mexico. In the Andean Empire of the Incas the figure was more than eight million. In Brazil, the Portuguese conquest saw Indian numbers dwindle from a pre-Columbian total of almost 2,500,000 to just 225,000. And to the north of Mexico… Native Americans declined from an original population of more than 800,000 by the end of the nineteenth century. For the whole of the Americas some historians have put the total losses as high as one hundred million.” [Mark Cocker, Rivers of Blood, Rivers of Gold: Europe’s Conquest of Indigenous Peoples (New York: Grove Press, 1998), p. 5]

Although the majority of these deaths occurred due to the impact of European diseases, disease alone does not explain the variations of death toll rates in different parts of the Americas. The key factors in which diseases operated were ultimately the kinds of repressive colonial social formations imposed on natives by European invaders, consisting of different matrices of forced labour regimes in mines and plantations, mass enslavement for personal domestic use of colonists, religious and cultural dislocation, and so on.

As David Stannard concludes in his extensive study of the genocide, which he describes as an “American Holocaust”, these factors accelerated and intensified the mere impact of disease. He further describes the colonists’ strategic thinking:

“At the dawn of the fifteenth century, Spanish conquistadors and priests presented the Indians they encountered with a choice: either give up your religion and culture and land and independence, swearing allegiance ‘as vassals’ to the Catholic Church and the Spanish Crown, or suffer ‘all the mischief and damage’ that the European invaders choose to inflict upon you.” [David Stannard, American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 255]

This binary choice, put to the Native Americans five centuries ago, bears an unnerving resemblance to the rhetoric underpinning the “War on Terror” today, “you are either with us or against us.”

5. African Holocaust

In Africa, the slave trade contributed substantially to the protracted deaths of vast numbers of people. While slave structures had already existed locally, it certainly did not exist on the vast scale it adopted in the course of European interventions. English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Danes, and Portuguese slave-traders started out by raiding villages off the West African coast. The transatlantic slave trade, lasting from the 1450s to the 1860s, consisted of “a series of exchanges of captives reaching from the interior of sub-Saharan Africa to final purchasers in the Americas.” An observer at the time, British journalist Edward Morel wrote: “For a hundred years slaves in Barbados were mutilated, tortured, gibbeted alive and left to starve to death, burnt alive, flung into coppers of boiling sugar, whipped to death.” [The Black Man’s Burden: The White Man in Africa from the Fifteenth Century to World War I (New York: Modern Reader, 1969)]

From the 16th to 19th centuries, the total death toll among African slaves being in transhipment to America alone was as high as 2 million. Although the many millions who died “in capture and in transit to the Orient or Middle East” is unknown, among the slaves “kept in Africa some 4,000,000 may have died.” Overall, in five centuries between nearly 17,000,000 – and by some calculations perhaps over 65,000,000 – Africans were killed in the transatlantic slave trade. [R. J. Rummel, Death by Government (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1994)].

University of Essex sociologist Robin Blackburn has demonstrated convincingly the centrality of capitalism to the growth of new world slavery, arguing that the profits of slavery accumulated in the “triangular trade” between Europe, Africa and America contributed fundamentally to Britain’s industrialization. For instance, the profits from triangular trade for 1770 would have provided from 20.9 to 55 per cent of Britain’s gross fixed capital formation. [Robin Blackburn, The Making of New World Slavery: From the Baroque to the Modern, 1492-1800 (London: Verso), p. 572.] The question of capital formation, however, is only part of the story. The trans-atlantic slave trade was an indispensable motor in an emerging capitalist world system under the mantle of the British empire. The mechanization of cotton textiles, originally produced in American plantations manned by African slaves, was overwhelmingly the driving force in British industrialization. [CK Harley and NFR Crafts, “Cotton Textiles and Industrial Output Growth”, Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (1994, no. 420)]

6. Indian Holocaust

In his landmark study, Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World (London: Verso, 2001), historian Mike Davis shows how British imperial policy systematically converted droughts in South Asia and South Africa into foreseeable but preventable deadly famines.

In India, between 5.5 and 12 million people died in an artificially-induced famine, although millions of tonnes of grains were in commercial circulation. Rice and wheat production had been above average for the previous three years, but most of the surplus had been exported to England. “Londoners were in effect eating India’s bread.” Under “free market” rules, between 1877 and 1878, grain merchants exported a record 6.4 million hundredweight of wheat to Europe while millions of Indian poor starved to death.

Crucially, Davis argues that these people died “not outside the modern world system, but in the very process of being forcibly incorporated into its economic and political structures. They died in the golden age of liberal capitalism; many were murdered by the application of utilitarian free trade principles.”

7. Division of the World

This violence was, therefore, not merely accidental to the European imperial project. It was integral, systematic, as a solution to the problem of native resistance.

Between about 1870 and 1914, European imperial policies received a new lease of life, resulting in the intense scramble for control over eastern Asian and African territories. Almost the entire world was divided up under the formal or informal political rule of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, the USA, and Japan. Between themselves, in Africa for instance they acquired 30 new colonies and 110 million subjects. African resistance was brutally crushed. Consider, for example, the 1904 uprising of the Hereros, a tribe in southwest Africa, against German occupation. The German response was to drive all 24,000 of them into the desert to starve to death; others who surrendered were worked to death in forced labour camps. [Thomas Pakenham, The Scramble for Africa: White Man’s Conquest of the Dark Continent, 1876-1912 (London: Random House, 1991).]

During this period, we can already see drastic inequalities in the international system. By 1880, the per capita income in the developed countries was approximately double that of the ‘Third World’. By 1913, it was three times higher, and by 1950, five times higher. Similarly, the per capita share of GNP in the industrialized countries of the developed core was in 1830 already twice that of the Third World, becoming seven times as high by 1913. [E. J. Hobsbawm, The Age of Empire, 1875-1914 (London: Abacus, 1987), p. 15]

In summary, for five hundred years, hundreds of millions of indigenous peoples were slaughtered, decimated, deported, enslaved, starved, exterminated, impoverished, and forcibly assimilated into an emerging world system dominated by Western Europe. This was how the global values and politico-economic structures of our civilization came into being. Globalization… the bloody legacy of a 500-year killing machine.

Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed is the author of The London Bombings: An Independent Inquiry (Overlook, 2006) and The War on Truth: 9/11, Disinformation and the Anatomy of Terrorism (Olive Branch, 2005), among other books. He teaches international relations at the University of Sussex, and directs the Institute for Policy Research & Development in London. Visit Nafeez’s website The Institute for Policy Research and Development http://www.iprd.org.uk/

Institutionalized Contempt for Islam, How Do We Tackle It: A Riposte

by Dr. Robert D. Crane

A riposte is a fencer’s quick return thrust following a parry.  In this vein, I want to reply to Jafar Siddiqui’s concern about the growing professionalism in the Islamophobic industry and the lack of an effective Muslim response.  His question is “how do we tackle it?” He does not know, and neither do I, but that is no reason for despondency.  As long as we are asking questions, we are still alive, and that, given present circumstances, is encouraging.

There are many answers, most of them inadequate.  They range from denying that the problem is growing, all the way to joining a Sufi order so that we don’t have to worry about it.  Or we can become terrorists, which is worse than useless.  These ways are the easy ways out of the quandry.

And then there are the effective ways that are more difficult and require a lot of sabr or patience.  Perhaps the most difficult in the short-term is merely to be a good Muslim and a good American, which are two sides of the same coin.  Over the very long term, the most effective strategies are to educate the younger generation with vision so that they can enter academia and help change entire paradigms of thought, or join and found think tanks in order to shape political agendas, or even prepare for a career in politics in order to work proactively from an interfaith perspective on specific policy issues unrelated to Muslims as a group or Islam as a religion.

A few Muslims may be called to complete the original American Revolution or start a second one by joining the American Revolutionary Party, which I co-founded two years ago as one of the two drafters of its constitution.  We are not interested (yet) in running anybody for political office (though I understand that we are registered in the State of Washington for this purpose).  Instead we would like to support those within either of the two major parties who talk about real change but have nothing of substance to offer.  Check out http://www.americanrevolutionaryparty.us.

Jafar is concerned about how easy it is to raise a million dollars to build a mosque but how impossible it is to get support for effective, namely, competitive organizations, to influence the premises of policy, which is where all policy originates.  It is easy simply to assert that those with the larger perspective of grand strategy will never get funding from Muslims for our higher, divinely-inspired calling, and that fund-raising must target what Muslims and Arabs want, which perhaps means nothing beyond one’s own nose.  Only Jews have learned to combine inward focus with an outward focus on selling larger strategic perspective both to their funders and to the enlightened and universal self-interest of policy-makers generally.

We should never become defensive because that is a guaranteed strategy for defeat.  One function of Islamophobes, whether by design or not, is to distract Muslims from contributing to society by forcing them to focus on defending themselves.  Nasir Shamsi was adamant that my book for the Center for Understanding Islam should not attack or even mention any Islamophobes, because this would distract from the positive message of the book.  Ali Chaudry came to agree with him, and I did too about a year ago, so we dropped the book in 2007 as counter-productive since half of it was on defending Islam.

The same applies to the two books that I wrote in 2005 and 2006, which were largely negative on U.S. foreign policy and were rejected by the funders for the same reason, quite correctly so.

The problem is that people under attack, like Muslims, want to counter-attack defensively and get so hung up on this that they become irrelevant in the world.  Even worse, however, would be to do nothing, which was the result after the attack by the Mongols seven hundred years ago and by the European imperialists a couple of centuries ago.  Ironically, even America in recent years after 9/11 has copied the Muslims by going into a terrorized funk, despite the NeoCon’s fraudulent front of calling for freedom and democracy, with the result that America now seems to be declining toward the level of universal irrelevancy.

One can learn general strategy even as a child on the playground.  People who are confident in themselves can ignore attacks on the basis of the old ditty for children, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” My mother taught me this when kids used to yell at me and some beat me up.  She had me take lessons in martial arts and I immediately found that standing up to a bully immediately reduces him to a blowhard totally discredited among his own followers.  This works almost as well even when one challenges the bully to a fight and loses.  More importantly, I found that to ignore verbal attacks has the same effect and that this is the first step toward leadership.  This works on the playground and might even have universal applicability.

Of course, one can overdo this, as I did when I countered some disciplinary action by the principal by organizing a strike by all the boys.  We simply took off and spent the day exploring the forests of Belmont Hill, which I knew well in the western exurbs of Boston.  Of course, the police found me at home that evening and threatened to lock me up in prison.  My parents knew this was not serious, but I did not, so it successfully deterred me from future such leadership experiments.

The defensive and reactive mentality is always a loser.  It spells the end of every civilization.  In the Year 2008 election, the Republicans’ lost dignity by retreating defensively with the message “I’m not as bad as you think I am” and by stooping in desperation to the level of gutter politics.  This contrasted with Obama’s efforts to avoid this and focus on the positive, which was the major psychological reason the Democrats won, even though neither party had much to offer in the way of “change.” The Republicans could not even convince themselves that they had anything fundamental to offer other then existential fear, whereas Barack Obama was Reaganesque in calling for the best in America, even though the Democrats could not agree among themselves on what this might be.

Institutionalized contempt for Islam and Muslims?  We cannot ignore it, but it deserves only one thing: contempt.  And so do the desperate Muslims who deserve contempt because they have no faith in themselves or in Islam or in any religion and instead worship themselves by resorting to totally useless and terribly immoral acts of terrorism.  We should respond by offering the wisdom of Islam and cooperation with every other world religion in pursuing peace, prosperity, and freedom through the classical or traditionalist Islamic paradigm of compassionate and faith-based justice, buttressed by specific implementing policies of both institutional and substantive change.

Many Muslims are experiencing burnout, as do also 90% of the terrorists, from working defensively in what seems like a losing effort.  Our highest political concern should be not what will happen to Muslims but what will happen to America and the world, because focusing on ourselves does not adequately address our responsibility as Muslims to change the world fi sabil Allah wherever we live.

Unfortunately, in thirty years or so of full-time Muslim activism my message has been understood by many in the silent majority but by few among the Muslim activists.  The major reason for this is that generally the funders cannot think big enough.  Jawad Khaki understood what I was talking about and wanted to fund me a few years ago but only if he would not be the sole or even major funder.  There was no response at all in the Seattle community, which was more interested in countering specific attacks on Islam and Muslims.  This is essential, and CAIR is doing an incredibly good job at this (which is why it is so well funded), but such defensive tactics without a grand strategy are only buying time without addressing the real challenge of changing the governing global paradigm in both foreign and domestic policy from stability through power to peace, prosperity, and freedom through justice.

America’s dysfunctional global strategists in the Washington think-tanks are trying merely to survive in the face of global chaos by pursuing the status quo with all of its injustices.  Since this is inherently impossible, we have reverted to the law of the jungle, which is a losing proposition because we are battling others who like us not only are at the top of the food chain but can outlast us.

Islam will always be and so will Muslims, bi ithni Allah.  Our major concern should not be merely for ourselves.  Our ultimate goal should not be merely to survive as Muslims but to fulfill our amana from Allah as stewards of creation to pursue peace, prosperity, and freedom through transcendent and compassionate justice for every person and every community in the world (and perhaps throughout the cosmos).  This is our real identity, so our task, in sha’a Allah, is to become what we are.  If Muslims cannot help lead America in this quest from chaos to cosmos on earth, then there may be no future for human civilization.  Islam is indeed the answer, but that is easier said than done.  To be emotionally despondent is human, but to be discouraged from seeking answers and from taking action is un-Islamic.

As I reminded the reader at the end of my book, Shaping the Future: Challenge and Response, published more than a decade ago, if we think we are the only answer to a problem, then we are denying Allah.  In Surah al Baqara 2:243, 249, 251, we read, “Did you not turn by vision to those who abandoned their homes for fear of death, though they numbered in the thousands?  Allah said to them, ‘Die!’ … But those who were convinced that they must meet Allah said, ‘How often, by Allah’s will, has a small force vanquished a big one?  Allah is with those who steadfastly persevere.’ … And if Allah did not check one group of people by another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief, but Allah is full of bounty to all the worlds.” And in Surah al Tauba 9:40-41, we have the revelation, “Unless you go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty and put others in your place. … For Allah is exalted in Might and Wise.  Go forth, whether with equipped lightly or heavily, and strive and struggle with your goods and your persons in the cause of Allah.  This is best if only you knew.”

Again and again we read in the Qur’an, “Allah creates what He wills.  When He has decreed a plan, He but says, ‘be,’ and it is.” Surah Ali Imran 3:47, Surah al Nahl 16:40, and Surah Miryam 19:35, “Kun fa yakun.”

“And [the unbelievers] plotted and planned, and Allah too planned, and the best of planners is Allah” Surah Ali Imran 3:54, Surah al Anfal 8:30, and Surah al Ra’d 13:42.  And again in Surah Ali Imran 3:26: “Say, ‘O Allah! Lord of Power, You give power to whom You please, and you strip off power from whom You please.  You endow with honor whom You please, and You bring low whom you please.  In Your hand is all good. Verily over all things You have power.”

Since we are nearing the Feast of Christmas, we should take to heart the wisdom of Sister Lydia Griffin, an editor of ICNA’s The Message, expressed in its special December 1993 issue entitled The Crescent and the Cross, referring to a dialogue between Islam and the Vatican similar to the one flowering today: “Is this the time when true understanding is born, the realization that the power of the One message of the One God is so strong in resurgence, now that the world needs it so badly, that it can finally unite those so long separated by human fortresses and matchstick towers.  Barrier built on a mortar of illusion and fog.”

The strategy called for in the book on Shaping the Future is not “peaceful coexistence” through tolerance, which is defensive and self-defeating, or even acceptance of diversity through a higher level understanding through “peaceful engagement,” but rather is action in solidarity to overcome the barriers to cooperation in the pursuit of truth and justice.  The most profound sentence perhaps in the entire Qur’an is the admonition, wa tama’at kalimatu Rabika sidqan wa ‘adlan, “And the Word of your Lord is fulfilled and perfected in truth and in justice” Surah al An’am 6:115.

The true power of faith-based reconciliation and faith-based cooperation in the pursuit of transcendent justice , which is the very definition of the traditionalist movement that gave birth to the Great American Experiment, does not lie in think-tanks created to wage mimetic warfare at an intellectual level, or in lobbying organizations designed to penetrate the existing power structure, even though they are essential for success.  Real success in tackling institutionalized contempt of Islam can come only from reliance by large organized communities of people on the power of God.

l

As part of his determination to distance his new republic from centuries of Ottoman Islamic heritage, Ataturk moved the capital from Istanbul, the base of the most extravagant mosques and Islamic monuments, to Ankara, a small trading town under the Ottomans. The new capital became a stronghold of secular republicans. However, with an Islamic mayor in the mid-1990s, Ankara went through a change of heart.

Shortly after Islamists won Ankara’s mayorship, the capital’s logo was changed from a Hittite pre-Islamic symbol to the Kocatepe mosque. The influence of Islam became more pronounced, most notably by the wearing of head scarves, when the Justice and Development Party (AK) rose to national power in 2002.

“Of course the coming of AK party to power and especially the second term opened the gate to the veil issue and because of that probably more and more shops of Islamic fashion opened,” said Alev Cinar, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Ankara’s Bilkent University, who authored a book on the battle between Turkish Islamists and secularists over the public space.

Badei, a housewife living in Ankara, seconds Cinar, affirming that rise of the AK party encouraged many women in the capital to take the veil. “The party played a great role in improving the status of veiled women. Now, the veil is not considered as the president, prime minister as well as many parliamentarians have veiled wives. Veiled women are encouraged to go out now as there is less discrimination against them,” she said.

“The veil is no more restricted to lower classes, the Islamic fashion has flourished over the last three or four years. All brands have special departments for veiled women now,” she added.

Nevertheless, one should not assume that the secular class has fallen into the oblivion or the entire capital is following the same path. Ankara’s expanding western suburbs have become the new niches for Westernized secular upper classes.

— Noha El-Hennawy in Ankara