Discourteous use of Pulpit
Dr Sheikh Arshid Ahmad
The Muslim community has deeply polarised environment by the discourteous use of Mimbar-i-Rasool (SAW), with uncivil discussion or argument having been reduced to a slanging and slapping action. It is so intense in our society that supporters of a particular sect applaud and promote conducting conclaves to displays of hurling bitterness over other sects.
The lack of civil discourse has become an apparent feature of our society and these are not new, but have become more pronounced and pervasive now-a- days because of greater polarisation of Muslim community based on growing sect following.
Such pervasive act was done by one of Islamic scholar of Kashmir, Hafiz Numan Nowsheri, by slapping and maligning a follower of another sect. This demoralising act is unfit to the muslim community that too in front of a big conclave. This guilty is nothing less than being immoral or a tool of division. The severity of slang language being used and the polarization is reflected from every side of the conclave by appreciating the immoral move of the religious scholar.
Offensive remarks by this religious scholar are now border on the crude and even vulgar, as never seen in the past. Not to be winner in the munazirah, Hafiz Numan Nowsheri used slang language and slapped on the innocent face of the follower of the other sect.
Rarely has the public discourse plunged to this level — and the exchange of illicit words on the name of Islam isn’t acceptance call and is strongly condemned from all corners of the Valley. These incidents of provoking sectism can escalate into confrontations and such is the animosity between these sects, who act as if they are engaged in a terminal conflict, that saying anything and everything to vilify the other is regarded as madness with nothing deemed off-limits.
Inflammatory statements over the Mimbar-i-Rasool fail the truth of Islam to spread the message of peace and prosperity. Of course, unbecoming conduct was witnessed in the past too, when religious scholars traded wild allegations over religious scholars of other sects often during big conclaves. But the uncontrolled language and norm-breaking behaviour displayed few days back is unprecedented and unethical.
The angry and toxic environment that is created is in turn giving rise to an unparalleled level of intolerance among followers of Islam and further dividing the Ummah on the basis of sects.
People are left with the impression that preaching, not public purpose, drives hate of other sects and nothing else.
The display of this immorality reinforces the pitching of followers of same faith against each other and encouraging noisy clashes. Besides, the social media has also magnified polarisation and provided a platform for such incidents. The incident that was created and displayed on social media disseminates the disinformation and unsubstantiated allegations against other sects. This produces hyper hatred and further deepens the community divisions.
This toxic move makes the working Dawat -ideen a questionable rather near impossible to propagate the Islam as reality. Moreover, when both sides accuse each other it acts as an egregious crime. It eliminates room for common understanding and even minimal cooperation among the religious scholars.
This environment is inimical to the generation of new ideas needed to deal with the challenges in the perspective of Islam. It also leaves people with the impression that religious scholars are either indifferent to the serious issues and can promote serious consequences on the brotherhood of whole Ummah.
The Mimbar-i-Rasool is symbolically the seat of the imam who leads prayers in the mosque and delivers sermons. In the early years of Islam this seat was reserved for the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and later for the caliphs who followed him. Having been a seat of such great morally acknowledged scholars, it needs great moral values and propagation of Islam as peaceful without any differentiation of creed and colour.
Islam has righteous and ethical standards in its entirety whatsoever and what may be the situation we never saw an Islamic scholar using such an immorality towards someone even with a non-believers.
“The Mimbar-i-Rasool is the seat of kindness, honesty, patience, justice and controlling one’s anger that is what Prophet Muhammad (SAW) enforced to all believers”.
(The author is a writer and a columnist. He hails from Tral Pulwama)
