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Islam practised in India is “vastly different” from that in West Asia

Sufism and the Bhakti movement have had an impact on the beliefs and thoughts of Muslims since the medieval period, the experts said, adding that Islam practised in India was “vastly different” from that in West Asian countries.

Islam practised in India is “vastly different” from that in West AsiaThe puritanical Islamic doctrine of Wahhabism was incapable of taking roots in India due to diverse practices in the Muslim community affected by the country’s multicultural society, Muslim culture experts said on Sunday.

In a discussion on “Islam: Multiple Histories” at the Jaipur Literature Festival here, the panel of experts analysed multiple interpretive cultures among Muslims in India and elsewhere as well as the modern challenges before them.

Sufism and the Bhakti movement have had an influence on Muslims’ beliefs and thoughts since medieval times, the experts said, adding that Islam practised in India was “greatly different” from that practiced in Western Asian countries.

Current dilemmas

The speakers also focused on the issues faced by Muslims living in secular societies, dilemmas posed by advances in technology and the difficulty of seeking a unitary voice for the whole group.

Leader of the Congress and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Salman Khurshid, historian Rana Safvi, and anthropologist based in Canada Zulfikar Hirji, who teaches at York University, Toronto, spoke with American journalist and author Max Rodenbeck, who is currently the Chief of the South Asian Bureau with The Economist.

Mr. Khurshid said that while Muslims’ basic beliefs were everywhere the same, their understandings, perceptions and definitions were quite different. “In that sense, Wahhabism, which is very different from Sufi Islam, can not find a place in our country,” he said, adding that Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s theory of two nations had already been repudiated by Indian Muslims.

The leader of the Congress said Ijtihad’s doors (independent interpretation) were not locked in Islam for ever and there was a “great need” for its implementation in contemporary society to understand religion in the light of modern challenges.

Democratic dialogue

“We should be focusing freely on that. Both the spiritual and political leaders are supposed to join forces and direct the group.

Ms. Safvi said that Sufism had a special place in the history of India, as Sufi mystics like Nizamuddin Auliya and Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti would sit down and discuss Islam and understand it as a service to the people. In the secular domain, no one could stop non-Muslims from speaking up for Muslims’ rights, she said.

Prof. Hirji referred to the novel, “Islam: An Illustrated Journey,” co-authored by him and Farhad Daftari, stating that Islamic violence was a “complete rejection of Islamic values.”

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