In India, as the ruling BJP scurried towards damage control under pressure from the Arab countries, and in the UK, where firebrand Sunni Muslims rampaged to get the movie Lady of Heaven banned from British theatres, some Muslims on the social media engaged in posturing based on the power of the ummah.
American professor of Indian origin, Dr Muqtedar Khan, analysed the RSS official’s statement in detail, and correctly indicates that the concept of ummah is vastly exaggerated. He alludes to the Muslim silence on the plight of Uyghurs in China.
Dr Khan raises a valid point. The authoritarian Gulf governments have not shown concern for the human rights of the socio-economically disenfranchised Indian Muslims. The UAE has given the highest civilian award to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite his government’s clampdown on the Muslim-majority Kashmir region administered by New Delhi. The Arab leaders have visited Indian controlled Kashmir for investment purposes.
The reason is simple, nationalism trumps religion. Indian Muslims are deeply loyal to India and therefore caricaturing them as ‘jihadis’, which is used for militant Pakistani groups like the TTP or TLP, is an uncalled for racist trope.
The fact is that authoritarian governments are driven by business interests in a neoliberal world order instead of any regard for human rights -- Kuwait has expelled expatriates for protesting against the blasphemous remarks on the Prophet (PBUH), Saudi Arabia has outsourced the Haj application process to a BJP linked company. The Gulf strategy is to contain public anger, ride out the storm, and continue business as usual.
In short, this imaginary ummah is driven more by business interest than by regard for their fellow human beings.
The concept of ummah was tested in the UK, where Sunni Muslims chanted slogans of “Shia kafir” over the movie Lady of Heaven, which was deemed blasphemous for negatively portraying the Companions of the Prophet. Shia Muslims believe that the first three Caliphs had usurped the right of Imam Ali to assume Muslim authority after the Prophet (PBUH).
This should comfort the RSS official, as the ummah remains quiet on the Uyghurs, sidelines their own Arab Palestinians, is driven by business interests, and is deeply divided on its own Islamic heritage. Indeed, it should also relieve him to know that their nemesis Pakistan, that is disproportionately covered by Indian media, is criticised by Iranian, Bangladeshi, Afghan, and Indian Muslims alike.
The reason is simple, nationalism trumps religion. Indian Muslims are deeply loyal to India and therefore caricaturing them as ‘jihadis’, which is used for militant Pakistani groups like the TTP or TLP, is an uncalled for racist trope.
The RSS would know that by railing against the socio-economically disenfranchised Indian Muslims they are only drowning their own country in strife and diminishing the strength of their own faith.
If anything, the RSS official should reflect on how they are destroying pluralism and flexibility of the Hindu faith. Unlike the Abrahamic faiths, Hinduism has within itself a great capacity to not only tolerate but accept dissent. As such, they can paint their gods and goddesses and delve into blasphemy without fetters, both of which are unthinkable in Islam. Indeed, where Muslims have targeted other Muslims for blasphemy, Hindus have been free to make fun of their own gods. Sanjeev Bhaskar’s funny depiction of Indian gods in his Guru Maharishi Yogi sketch in the British comedy Goodness Gracious Me is something unthinkable for Muslims. The ability to question gods and reject religious doctrines without fear of retribution is a strength of the Hindu faith.
What the RSS is paradoxically doing by railing against Islam and Muslims is to become exactly like them. Hindus have the freedom to blaspheme, Muslims don’t.
The RSS would know that by railing against the socio-economically disenfranchised Indian Muslims they are only drowning their own country in strife and diminishing the strength of their own faith. They should note that by persecuting their own minorities, they are simply behaving like Pakistan, which has long persecuted its vulnerable minorities, comprising the intensely marginalised Ahmadis, poor Christians like Aasia Bibi, and poor Hindu girls like Rinkle Kumari, who has been forcibly converted.
In essence, the RSS officials should take heart that the concept of ummah is vastly exaggerated and that if they really want to make India strong, they should empower their own Muslim and Christian minorities. Else, they will risk going down the same path as Pakistan, which they abhor the most.