Whenever I heard the word Islam, the word “sectarianism” comes into my mind not because that sectarianism exists in Islam but maybe it is because that whenever we see light we also remember darkness.
In this article I will discuss some points related to sectarianism, which are:
- What is sectarianism?
- Is there any relation between Islam and sectarianism?
- Do people use sectarianism as a tool for personal gain?
- What type of role sectarianism plays in our society?
- Victims of sectarianism…
What is sectarianism?
Sectarianism is a prejudicial game that is played in the name of Islam. Sectarianism is not a belief like Islam but it is just a mindset to perform certain activities and behavior in a certain manner by keeping just one thing in mind which is, “I am doing this according to my religion”.
Is there any relation between Islam and sectarianism?
No, there is no relation between Islam and sectarianism but a lot of people who are not aware of the history and concept of Islamic Fiqh thought that Fiqh and sectarianism are the same that’s why this type of thinking creates a complexity that is hard to resolve.
There are five schools of Islamic Fiqh, Hanafi School, Maliki School, Shafi School, Hanbali School, and Jafferi School. If we try to study deeply, we will find that every school of thought has strong arguments behind their opinions and we should not forget that they would have adopted the rule of ijtihad for that purpose. But in the present era some religious scholars, (I don’t know) either don’t have enough knowledge to interpret a Sharayee problems or they don’t know the method of delivery of knowledge (in form of speech) but their speech causes extremism and hatred towards other sects.
Do people use sectarianism as a tool for personal gain?
Basically, the region of Indo-Pak is the root of sectarianism. Here many religious scholars (not all) especially those who are connected with any political party uses sectarianism as a tool for gaining their personal interests. Religion… is a very effective tool for using the public because people are very sensitive about their faith and they can believe in every single thing (even wrong preaching) pronounced by the scholar of the same sect. Some people intentionally hits the sensitive issues for causing rioting between two different sects. Another point that is important to discuss is that cursing other sects is a way to show their loyalty to their own sect in sectarianism.
What type of role sectarianism plays in our society?
In my point of view, sectarianism is a curse on our society. It is continuously destroying our society, lack of knowledge about the teaching of Islam and having fewer feelings for other humans are the reasons for sectarianism which leads people to cruelty and impassive behavior.
Victims of sectarianism…
Victims of sectarianism are those people who have seen the harsh face of sectarianism and have faced its effects. The examples of victims are those who are facing legal litigations under religious allegations and it does not matter whether they are Muslims or not. Like in a case of Molvi Tahir Asim vs. State 2008 YLR 2798 the accused was charged under 295-C of Pakistan penal code 1860 but after 3 years he was acquitted by the Lahore High Court because the accused was Ahl e Hadees and the complainant was Sunni and there was a religious conflict between the parties. There are many cases like Tahir Asim who are the victim of sectarianism.
Furthermore, hundreds of innocents have lost their lives because of the evil of sectarianism and sadly, the culprits are claiming to do it in the name of their religious beliefs.
Recommendations
I saw in a TV program where a well-known religious scholar said, “don’t temper other’s sect and don’t leave your own sect” but this line is not in my recommendation and I just want to say that this is not the end of the discussion. We have to find a better source to educate people especially for religious education, we have to spread messages of peace and humanity, and most importantly we should accept the criticism with a big heart.
