CONTEXT

Islamist terror is a major international issue today which is resulting in the feeling of Islamophobia i.e. is a fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam.

WHY IN NEWS?

The UN “Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion” has pointed out that member states of the UN have responded to security threats by adopting measures which have disproportionately targeted Muslims. They have defined Muslims as both high risk and at risk of radicalization. This increases anti-muslim sentiments.

WHY SUCH SENTIMENTS?

• All Party Parliamentary Groups on British Muslims (APPG) have equated Islamophobia with racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.
• Graham E. Fuller in work “ A World without Islam” have argued that that West’s fear of Islam or Muslims has little to do with religion and everything to do with cultural frictions and political rivalries. 
• Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was aware that the rivalry between Muslims and Hindus is for political aspirations. 
• There are muslims contributions too in the reasons for Islamophobia. Muslim religious leaders in India have done nothing to encourage the community to win the trust of other people, a basic requirement for peaceful coexistence. 
• Unlike political trust in liberal democracies which is founded upon the suspicion that the powerful will be tempted to abuse power, social trust is based on the optimistic premise that although people may follow different religions or secular ideologies, they hold fundamental values in common. 
• Muslim clergy have miserably failed to win the trust of the people. Their selective actions like describing illegal demolition of the Babri Masjid as condemnable acts of religious extremism but remaining a mute spectator when a Hindu temple was burnt down in Pakistan have only eroded social trust. Further controversial statements by clergy like provocative televangelist Zakir Naik have only fueled social tension.
• Indian clergy is also silent on condemning draconian laws in Muslim countries such as those pertaining to blasphemy and apostasy in Pakistan, Islamically baseless concept of ghazwa al Hind (war against India). These issues have been invoked by the Hindu right to question the loyalty of Muslims in India.

WAYFORWARD

To remove the climate of suspicion, what is needed is a radical rethink of Muslim theology.  Indian ulema must emphatically declare the concept of ghazwa al-Hind to be unIslamic. They must clarify that India is not darul harb (abode of war) and kafir has no pejorative overtones and does not refer to non-Muslims. There is also need for revamping the madrasa curriculum to harmonise it with the pluralistic teachings of Islam and modernity. 

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/an-antidote-to-islamophobia-within-and-beyond/article34185029.ece