Recently in The Gates of Ijtihad Category

This article in the Economist takes an interesting and detailed look at the religious practices of South Asia's Sufi muslims. There is a large amount of syncretism between Hinduism and Islam in the region, as there is between Islam and and Christianity in the Balkans and between Islam and Confucian thought in western China. What is notable about South Asian Sufism however is the explosion in art and architecture that it has spurred, particularly in teh building of large tombs for venerated saints.

As the article points out, the practice of building these tombs is at odds with conservative orthdoxy (notably salafist doctrines like Wahhabism). Muslims of that persuasion have characterized these tombs as expressions in shirk (idolatry), and that is the same general argument used by the Saudi religious authorities to justify their systematic obliteration of Mecca's historical legacy.

In other words, the argument is that those muslims who build these tombs are replacing Allah with the people buried within. They are, in the view of salafists in general and Wahhbis in particular, rejecting the basic oath of a muslim (there is no God but God) and praying to these mortal men instead for intercession. What they do not see is that the act of building a tomb is an expression of love, not for the deceased to replace God but to thak them for helping the muslim strengthen their faith. These people to whom tombs are built range from minor saints like Hafiz Iqbal to great martyrs of the faith like Imam Husain AS. Without exception, these great people showed muslims the true path towards the light of Islam, not away from it.

Personally, I find it deeply offensive to reductively characterize the beliefs of a third of the world's muslims as shirk simply because they build tombs. To argue that the simple expression of love in building a tomb and engaging in ziyarat (remembrance) is necessarily equivalent to the blasphemy of the Khawarij is to infantilize muslims rather than treat them as brothers in faith. This is a condescending argument, in many ways analogous to the colonial attitude that justified so much misery and outright destruction of heritage and culture, for "their own sake".

That condescension is not limited to, nor even a necessary feature of, Wahabism. Rather it is a general human tendency, to rationalize our own actions by declaring the actions of others inferior, thereby to avoid the hardest thing of all, to engage in critical self-examination .I don't think any of us is truly capable of engaging ourselves critically, which is why it is important that we maintain diversity within Islam, so that we may provide a healthy check and balance to each other, and thus keep us all moving forward. But if we were all to be the same, then we would be all the more easily led astray.

Eid is by tradition a happy affair, but in India it is muted this year, in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. In addition to forgoing the slaughter of cows for the sacrifice (out of respect for the sentiments of the Hindu majority), Indian muslims are wearing black armbands this week as a mark of loyalty and mourning.

Though it doesn't get as much press or festivity, Eid ul Adha is arguably the more important Eid, from a spiritual perspective, than Eid al-Fitr after Ramadan. Eid ul Adha is an introspective affair, coming after the Hajj which is a season of spiritual renewal. Eid al-Fitr, in contrast, comes after an entire month of fasting, so on a purely human level the sense of accomplishment seems higher. Those who have actually performed the Hajj will forever after have a special appreciation for Eid ul Adha, of course, but for the rest of us it is sometimes a challenge to remember that this Eid is more than just an opportunity to eat a big meal. Last year, ReligionWriter.com interviewed Asma Mobi-Uddin, the author of a children's book on Eid ul Adha, which touched upon the same general topic - the book, The Best Eid Ever, is definitely worth checking out and makes a great gift.

And what would Eid be without the usual confusion about when, exactly, it occurs? I previously blogged on the diversity of interpretations and methods used to find Eid al Fitr, and Eid ul Adha is subject to much the same (though since many muslims observe Eid ul Adha over a span of a few days, the impact is lessened). Mr. Moo, one of my favorite blogs in the Islamsphere, has brilliantly satirized the perennial Eid confusion in an awesome, hysterical little video entitled, Hitler wants a united Eid:



That needs to be required viewing for everyone on Eid ul Adha. Given all the fabric used to make the tent city at Mina, surely they could set up a big screen somewhere near the Jamrah for public viewings?

Also, I found today's Garfield Minus Garfield to be kind of relevant:

On that note, Eid ul Adha Mubarak to everyone, and a special mubarak to all who completed the Hajj this year!

Related - a picture of Eid in China; Preparing for Eid in Damascus;  struggling with Eid in Gaza; a poem about Hajj then and now; and a childhood memory about two goats named Ateeq and Irfan (whose not-quite-happy ending you can probably predict :)

And so, the Hajj ends.

After engaging in prayer upon the Plain of Arafat, the pilgrims awoke on Eid ul Adha and engaged in the zabihat (sacrifice) of livestock, whose meat will be given to the poor and the needy. Muslims worldwide do the same, so in this one act we were all in unity with our friends and family upon Hajj. The sacrifice commemorates the willingess of the Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son on Allah's command, which Allah rewarded by permitting him to substitute a goat in his stead. Muslim tradition differs from Jewish tradition in that muslims believe it was Abraham's son Ismail (Ishmael in Hebrew) who was to be sacrificed, whereas Jews believe it was Isaac, but the important part is the deep faith of the Prophet Abraham AS from which both Jews and muslims alike can find common inspiration.

It is interesting to note that this year, in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, muslims in India made a point of not sacrificing cows for Eid ul Adha as a mark of respect to their Hindu fellow citizens.

In addition to the sacrifice, the other major ritual is the stoning of the devil, represented by three pillars (the Jamarat) at Mina. The stoning is performed with small stones of a specific size and shape that are collected at a small site called Muzdalifah. This commemorates the refusal of Abraham to listen to the temptation of the devil who counseled him to betray his faith and not sacrifice his son; one can only imagine how alluring such advice must have been, and how difficult to resist. However one can take a more personal interpretation of the ritual as well, by considering the stones themselves to be our faith and the pillars of the devil the temptations within ourselves. In that sense, then, the stoning ritual is the spiritual analogue to the Ramadan fast - both are a denial of desires, of the body (the fast) and the soul (the jamarat).

Related: Wikipedia entries on Eid ul-Adha, the Jamarat ritual and Ishmael; also this interview by ReligionWriter.com of the author of a children's book on Eid ul-Adha for Western muslims.

Today is the Day of Arafat, where the pilgrims arrive and engage in prayer while standing and facing towards the sun. Then in the evening they will depart for muzdalifah in time for Eid ul Adha the next day.

In the chapters in the above book on 19th century Indian Islam I noted something interesting: reformist neo-orthodox movements are repeatedly attributed to hajjiis, those who made the pilgrimage to Mecca, in particular those who had resided in the city for long periods of time. The prestige that they attained upon their return resulted in their initiation of "reforms" to bring local practices (often loosely classified as "Sufi") into line with Meccan norms. The same "reforms" were initiated by Hui who had returned from Mecca. And sure enough, the chapter on Southeast Asian Islam notes that the modernist reformist Muslims who rose to challenge the traditional expressions of Javanese Islam were also inspired by movements founded by hajjiis!

the Saudi local police has a huge banner outside which says that one should not consider coming to the gravesite anything but a reminder of death and what it means to you. It says, paying respects to the dead should not be more than just that. They misuse a hadith to make this point. This is all well and good, but again Islam is a huge body of people with many different interpretation. We are not here to debate who is right and wrong but rather to allow muslims of various traditions to express himself freely and show the beautiful diversity of our culture. Why keep the Baqi grounds closed at all times except for a meager 3 hours in a day? Why prevent people from allowing them to pay their respect their way at the gravesite? What purpose does it serve for the police other than impose and opress their own Muslim brothers? 
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It is sad that the Saudi government is trapped in their Wahabi principles and are missing the opportunity to serve their fellow brothers and show the diversity and yet unity in Islam. Instead of receiving barakaat (blessings) of prayers from their Muslim brothers for serving them, they receive the wrath of Millions of Muslims feeling a little disappointed after every Haj. What a missed opportunity indeed!!!

Our recent study of Pakistani pilgrims shows that while performing the hajj leads to greater religious orthodoxy, it also increases pilgrims' desire for peace and tolerance toward others (to read the study, go to http://ssrn.com/abstract=1124213). And this greater tolerance is not just toward fellow Muslims  -  it also extends to non-Muslims.
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Pilgrims are more observant of orthodox religious practice even five to eight months after returning from the hajj. They are 16 percent more likely to pray, 26 percent more likely to do so regularly in the mosque, and double their likelihood of non-obligatory fasting. Interestingly, however, pilgrims are less likely to believe and participate in localized religious practices, such as using amulets.

What may be surprising to some is that the hajj makes pilgrims more tolerant of both fellow Muslims and non-Muslims. The experience of diversity on the hajj really does seem to matter: Hajjis have more positive views about people from other Muslim countries and are more likely to believe that different Pakistani ethnic and Islamic sectarian groups are equal and that they can live in harmony. Despite non-Muslims not being part of the hajj experience, these views also extend to adherents of other religions: Pilgrims are 22 percent more likely to declare that people of different religions are equal and 11 percent more likely to state that different religions can live in harmony by compromising over their disagreements.

Paralleling the findings on tolerance, hajjis report more positive views on women's abilities, greater concern for their quality of life, and are also more likely to favor educating girls and women participating in the workforce.

Hajjis are also less likely to support the use of violence and show no evidence of any increased hostility toward the West. They are more than twice as likely to declare that the goals of Osama bin Laden are incorrect, more likely to express a preference for peace between Pakistan and India, and more likely to declare that it is incorrect to physically punish someone if they have dishonored the family. Hajjis also become more sensitive to crimes against women.

Rod Dreher approvingly quotes Steve Emerson about what an outrage it is that the various news channels omitted the adjective, "Islamic" from all descriptions of the extremists who terrorized Mumbai last weekend. Emerson argues that the omission is "craven" and "politically correct":

It is time to stop caving in to the PC crowd. If we refuse to use the term Islamic terrorist, we conveniently take away any onus of responsibility for Islamic groups to halt the murderous ideology they propagate. In fact, in nearly EVERY claim of responsibility, which I studied, for hundreds of violent Islamic attacks which took place since 9/11, the common justification by the Muslim terrorist perpetrator was that there was a "war against Muslims" by the West and the Jews that had to be avenged. The real truth is that there is war against the West and the Jews by Islamic jihadists. And no amount of territorial withdrawal or peace negotiations will assuage them.

This is a guest post by Zeba Iqbal, a real estate development advisor who lives and works in NYC. In her free time she is active in supporting and promoting causes that are close to her heart. As a Muslim American...

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