Author: ANI
Publication: Newstrackindia.com
Date: September 15, 2011
URL: http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/240777
Pakistan's Islamic preachers have gotten far
less international scrutiny than terror outfits since the 9/11 attacks, but
the social and religious conservatism they preach could be an even more radicalising
force that would ultimately lead to more silent support of militant groups,
a news report has warned.
"Especially after 9/11, there is increasing
extremism in terrorism-hit Pakistan. These preachers, by radicalising various
layers of the society, will ignite it - so these groups and their activities
should be put under the counterterrorism [microscope] rather than ignoring
them as nonpolitical and nonmilitant preachers," The Christian Science
Monitor quoted Arif Jamal, author of "Shadow War: The Untold Story of
Jihad in Kashmir," as saying.
The use of the hijab (veil), the act of growing beards, and the wearing of
ankle-length trousers- all symbols of conservative Islam- are increasingly
the norm in Tablighi Jamaat, an offshoot of the Deobandi sect, which takes
a literal approach to Islam, according to the report.
"The continuous indoctrination of [the] orthodox version of religion
at the Tablighi missions [events] turns a large number of people into Islamists
and jihadists. Even when they do not take part in violent jihad, its loose
organizational structure helps militants conceal their identity, and they
provide it popular support," says Jamal.
Tablighis, however, shrug off these allegations as conspiracies. "We
are nonpolitical and only focus on spreading the message of Islam, which is
of peace and love across the world. Not on a single occasion has any local
or international investigating agency found the faintest of evidence of militancy
in our movement," says Syed Imran, an imam and member of the Tablighi
Jamaat religious movement for almost a decade.
The Dawat-e-Islami of Barelvi has a similar proselytizing campaign in Karachi,
the report said, noting that another nonmilitant but highly political organisation,
Hizb ut-Tahrir (Liberation Party), is working for the reestablishment of a
caliphate, or Islamic state in the Muslim world, and is dismissive of the
idea of democracy.
Many analysts believe that although these groups are not perceived as a serious
threat because they are not armed, their views are contributing to the radicalisation
of Pakistanis across all classes.
"While they seem nonpolitical, what they propagate ultimately provides
ideological ground to militant outfits. Because they are not armed does not
mean they are tolerant of other views," says leading rights activist
Farzana Bari.
"[The groups] insist that people's only valid identity is their religion,
and they thrive on a narrative that Muslims all over the world are the victims
of conspiracies... They are shrinking secular spaces in the public sphere,"
says Nadeem Farooq Paracha, a cultural critic and newspaper columnist.
While Taliban militants use guns and bombs,
the preachers use nonviolent tactics, such as securing support of world-class
cricket players and pop stars, which Paracha terms as "poster boys"
for attracting millions of youths who idealize them.
"Their tentacles are spreading among politicians, bureaucrats, law enforcement
agencies. From poor to filthy rich, their claim of being peaceful helps them
attract [the] Muslim Diaspora especially those who live in kind of a social
guilt of living in western society," he argues.
