Flames over the valley

Kashmir has been rocked by more than two decades of bloodshed. While that wave of violence has been contained to a certain extent, the Muslims of the Valley are now staring another crisis in the face: an alarming sectarian divide fanned by aggressive clerics of different schools of Islamic thought.

In recent months, Kashmir has witnessed several violent incidents, including attacks on key religious leaders and mysterious mosque fires. These indicate that the various Muslim sects in the Valley – Deobandis, Barelvis, Wahhabis and Tablighis, among others – are at daggers drawn. It is commonly believed that the tussle is the worst between the shrine-worshipping Barelvi Muslims (believers of Sufism) and the fast spreading orthodox Wahhabis.

On June 25, a mysterious fire gutted a 245-year-old shrine built in the memory of the Iranian saint Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Geelani, also called Dastgeer Sahab, and an adjacent mosque in Srinagar's Kahnyar locality. The loss was widely mourned and the Valley remained shut for several days.

Four days later, on June 29, an act of arson occurred at a Shia place of worship in Mirgund area on the periphery of Srinagar. The small fire that damaged a copy of the Quran at the Imam Bargah. On July 15, a fire broke out at Baba Haneefuddin's shrine in the neighbouring Beerwah village, also in Budgam district. The wooden shrine was completely gutted, triggering protests by local Muslims.

On July 18, the ancient shrine of Sufi saint Hazrat Syed Sahab at Awantipora in southern Pulwama district was partially damaged in a fire. On July 22, a blaze erupted at Jamia Mosque in Wohangam village, also in Beerwah area, damaging the structure partially.

The police and other law-enforcement agencies have so far failed to get to the bottom of things. It is still not clear whether these were deliberate acts aimed at sparking religious tension. No culprit has been nabbed.

A feeling has gained ground that the fire in Srinagar’s Dastageer Sahib shrine and other places of worship are part of a “conspiracy” against the people of Kashmir. These incidents have come in the wake of a murderous assault on a peer (cleric) belonging to Barelvi sect on the night of March 17.

Peer Jalaluddin, who delivers sermons at a shrine in Srinagar’s Batamaloo area, was shot at and injured by unidentified assailants near his home. Like many Barelvi clerics, he was holding rallies and organising processions in the Valley for the past few months. Kashmir has a bit of a history of sectarian clashes, mainly between the majority Sunni and the minority Shia sects. But now it seems that groups in the Sunni Muslim fold are at loggerheads. It is for the first time in Kashmir’s history that religious leaders and places are being targeted.

The political leadership is understandably worried. While mainstream parties have expressed regret at the incidents and urged people to remain united, separatists believe government agencies and other vested interests have “conspired” against Kashmiri Muslims to “weaken their freedom struggle”. Says pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Yasin Malik: “I strongly believe that this is a  conspiracy to divide Kashmiri Muslims and sabotage our freedom struggle.”

On August 5, Malik organised a seminar in a Srinagar hotel in a bid to bridge the widening gap between the different sects of Islam in the Valley. The seminar was attended by Islamic scholars of different schools of thought, besides intellectuals, writers and prominent members of civil society.

Two resolutions were passed unanimously. One said, “Whosoever is found involved in shrine or mosque attacks will be thrown out of the fold of Islam.” The other resolution laid down “that none of the ulema, or Muslim scholars, can use the pulpit of any mosque or shrine to speak or preach against any other religious thought or belief.”

But within less than 24 hours of the pledge being made public, a 20-year-old youth, Shabir Ahman Bhat was killed in a mosque in Ganderbal near Srinagar. The slain youth was associated with Jamaat-e-Islami, a religio-political organisation of J&K. The Jamaat accused the ruling National Conference of reviving its “old tactics of persecution of our cadre.”

The latest incident linked to sectarian  hostility took place on August 15 in a remote area of Rajouri district. The
victim, Muhammad Taj, an imam at a local mosque, who was shot at in mysterious circumstances.

Islam spread in Kashmir in the 14th century mainly because of Iranian spiritual leader Mir Syed Ali Hamdani. Zarief Ahmad Zarief, a well-known Kashmiri social activist, says, “In the past 700 years, Kashmir has not seen this kind of religious divide despite the fact that our ancestors were completely uneducated. What is happening in the name of sects is shameful. This is anything but Islam.” Matters have come to such a pass that many Sunni Muslim families are now stay within their sect while match-making for their marriageable offspring. Muhammad Waseem, a budding Srinagar journalist, was recently rejected by relatives of a girl because he refused to identify the sect he owes allegiance to.

“It was going to be an arranged marriage. But it did not work out because the would-be bride’s family wanted me to disclose which particular religious school of thought I was affiliated with and I refused,” says Waseem. He told the girl’s family that he was a Sunni Muslim and that was his identity.

“It seems we are losing our religious and cultural identity each passing day. It is a dangerous sign for our society,” says Kashmir’s chief Muslim cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, adding, “Unfortunately, some vested interests are fuelling the situation.”

The rift exists mainly between shrine-going people and the Wahhabis, followers of Saudi Arabian scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792). The Wahhabi sect was established in the Valley in 1946. Wahhabi Islam has grown rapidly in recent years. A decade back, outfits subscribing to this school of thought had 50 mosques and 30 schools. The number has today risen to 700 and 125 respectively. Similarly the membership of Wahhabi groups runs into tens of thousands.

In April 2011, Maulana Showkat Ahmed Shah, a top leader of Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadith, a Wahhabi outfit,
was assassinated in an IED explosion outside a mosque in Srinagar. Police investigations have pointed to internal bickering in the Jamiat as the cause of the sensational murder.

Another sect in Islam that is trying hard to make inroads in the Valley are the Ahmadis. Even though declared “non-Muslims” in most Islamic countries, the Ahmadis, also known as the Qadiyanis as they are followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmed (1835-1908), who was born in the Qadiyan town in Punjab, are making all-out efforts to reach out to the Valley’s young and educated.

Recently, Kashmir's Mufti Azam (grand cleric) Muhammad Bashir-ud-din demanded a legislation to declare the Ahmadi sect as "non-Muslims". According to the Mufti, the demand was made after a unanimous decision at a meeting of Muslim religious leaders organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Personal Board headed by him.

“They (Ahmadiyas) are not Muslims  and are trying to mislead the people through their literature. They are trying to raise their numbers in this Muslim majority state. I am convinced they should be officially declared non-Muslims,” Mufti Bashir-ud-din told TSI. Distrust runs deep in the Valley!