Importance of the Ideas of Mawdudi in Contributing to the Identity of Pakistan - Coursework Example

SYEDI MAWDUDI’S INFLUENCE IN PAKISTAN Importance of the ideas of Syed Mawdudi in contributing to the identity of Pakistan Customer Inserts His/Her Name Customer Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name 08, 08, 2012 Importance of the ideas of Syed Mawdudi in contributing to the identity of Pakistan The twentieth century was marked with an influx of scholars seeking to strengthen and formalize Islamic religion. This involved defining and distinguishing Islam through its code of life and fundamentals. Mawdudi was among the prominent scholars who played a pivotal role in this revolution. He demonstrated through his scholarly works how Islamic fundamentals could be incorporated into the modern society and used to tackle the challenges facing Muslims. Mawdudi embarked on this mission at the time when most Islamic nations were under the direct or indirect rule of the imperial powers from the west. He particularly attracted the attention of Like-minded Muslims in 1932, when his impact started being felt within the wider Muslim community. He started the Jamat-i-Islam in 1941. He was a passionate scholar who sought to introduce an Islamic order in the Muslim countries. He played an important role in shaping the political atmosphere of most of the countries affiliated to Islamic religion. He introduced Islamic fundamentals in the political, and economic structures of most Islamic countries. Mawdudi was both a political icon and a philosopher whose effect was not only experienced in Pakistan but extended across the entire Muslim community. This paper is a critical analysis of Mawdudi’s ideas in shaping the political system of Pakistan (Ayoob 1981, 41). Mawdudi not only aimed at changing the political structure but also introduced an economic system based on the Islamic fundamentals. The idea of establishing an Islamic order arose during the late colonial era as a tool for defining identity and protecting the Islamic interests. The motivational factor behind Mawdudi’s Islamic doctrine was to revive the forgotten Islamic fundamentals that would, as a consequence, fix Muslims back to the privileges of superiority that they were enjoying initially (Esposito 1996, 56). The idea of Indian Muslims having their own state was born during the time when India was getting closer to independence. There was much tension within the Muslim community, especially following the increased indebtedness of most of the Muslim farmers to the Hindu money-lenders. Hindus were the Majority at this time and their money-lenders were threatening to seize land belonging to the Muslim farmers who failed to honor their debts. The idea for an independent Pakistan was birthed at this time and spearheaded by a number of Muslim scholars, who finally succeeded and a new state of Pakistan was born. Mawdudi was among the scholars who were initially opposed to the move for a new state. His stand for opposition was based on the argument that Muslims were endowed with a spirit of brotherhood, which was meant to benefit the entire world. Therefore, national separation would limit their influence to Pakistan only. He advocated for Islamic cultural autonomy that would be a fundamental tool for spreading their influence in the whole of India and restoring Islamic dignity that had been lost over time (Monshipouri 1998, 257). With the birth of Pakistan, Mawdudi had no choice but to conform to the situation and redefine his strategy to fit into Pakistan’s situation. As such, it is true that Mawdudi’s initial motive was driven by revenge. He was envious of the Hindus and wanted to use his Islamic doctrine to drive Muslims to superiority (Hunter 1988, 345). This would then give him an opportunity to assert revenge against their counterparts, the Hindus. Also, his stand to oppose the separation of Pakistan from India was based on personal interests. He wanted to be the most influential of all the Muslim leaders and therefore, his ego could not allow him to support an idea that was not born by him. He wanted to be the founder of Pakistan and was always in conflict with Jinnah on the grounds that Jinnah’s ideas were westernized and therefore not suitable for Pakistan (Kaushik 1993, 321). In his writings, Mawdudi insisted that Indian Muslims were not only to practice Islam as a form of faith and worship but also as a lifestyle. Mawdudi was more concerned with changing the minds of the Muslims and aligning them towards fundamental Islamic culture and practice. He realized that most Muslims were only observing the religious rituals but had forgotten to incorporate it in their daily lives. He wrote a lot of work that circulated within the Muslim community and this played quite a great role in transforming the minds of the Pakistan Muslims towards Islam. He exposed the faults among the Muslims and tried to address these challenges from an Islamic perspective. He interpreted both the religious and cultural significance of Islam. Mawdudi played a pivotal role in public awareness through lectures and other forms of writing to reach out to his target audience. While in Pakistan, he was joined by a relatively large number of followers, mainly from the public. In his writing and lectures, Mawdudi had stressed the importance of Islam and the dangers Muslims were facing. He insisted that embracing Islam in all dimensions of life ranging from political, social, and economic aspects as the best solution for the challenges facing Muslims in the modern society. His influence was taken up seriously by the public and he became the most influential leader in Pakistan. After his initial strategy of advocating for Islamization of the entire India had failed due to the creation of Pakistan, mawdudi adopted another strategy that would help him further his ambition within Pakistan. He had a different opinion from the other leaders, especially on matters of governance. However, it would have been difficult for him to engage in a direct confrontation against these leaders. Therefore, by focusing on the citizens, he was able to get a large support from almost all the members of the public. In a way, his strategy worked because all the other leaders including those who were opposed to his ideologies could only gain public acceptance by showing their support to Mawdudi’s doctrine. When Pakistan was being formed, there was much speculation on the form of government they would adopt. Some of the speculations included a democratic government, secular system of government as well as Islamic form of government based on Muslim nationalism. From his strategy, it is clear that Mawdudi was aware of the uphill task that was ahead of him in influencing leaders to uphold the Islamic form of governance. By choosing to influence the public, he managed to get a large number of followers including most leaders who shifted to his camp. With such an achievement, he was able to influence the entire nation to adopt the Islamic fundamentals in the running of the government. However, leaders had initially insisted on a system of governance that would be favorable to both the Muslims and the non-Muslims within the country. As a way of taking care of the non-Muslims, they agreed on a Muslim democracy, which was to obey all the Islamic fundamentals (Ahamd 1967, 77). Another approach used by Mawdudi was his anti-western strategy. He wanted to eliminate all forms of westernized thinking among the citizens of Pakistan. By the time Pakistan was being formed, most Muslims had emulated the western lifestyle in terms of their thinking, dressing, choice of sports, literature, and other customs (Ahmed 1997, 77). As such, there was a lot of dispute among the Muslims and there seemed to be two segments within the Muslim society. There were those who embraced the western culture and looked down upon those who upheld the Islamic way of life. From the western perspective, Islam was seen as archaic and had no place in the modern society. Other Muslim leaders who had had western education like Jinnah were strongly opposed to Islam and did not favor embracing Islamic fundamental in the form of government that was to be adopted. Mawdudi had to deal with such challenges and do away with the western thinking that had corrupted the minds of the public. He achieved this by directly confronting the western cultures and ideologies through his strong opposition to such ideas (Lee 1997, 196). Also, Mawdudi surfaced the issue of Muslim identity and demonstrated how Muslims had deviated from their norms and embraced the western culture. Mawdudi’s approach succeeded a great deal, especially in his emphasis of an Islamic identity. He also showed how Islam could be incorporated in all aspects of life and the resultant benefits. He insisted that there was need for Muslims to create their own value system just like the other western nations. This idea found acceptance from the public and this explains why Mawdudi’s doctrine of Islamization had a greater impact on the identity of Pakistan as an Islamic country. He left no area untouched. His influence was felt in all dimensions of life and was used as a model for defining structures of governance and leadership as well as religious practices (Esposito 1987, 173). After ensuring that he had dealt with the minds and perceptions of the public, Mawdudi adopted another approach of ensuring that the Islamic fundamental were enforced into law to guide and regulate governance within the new state. The death of Jinnah was a relief to Mawdudi as it opened a door for him to further his influence more easily. It should be noted that the two leaders had extremely conflicting ideas regarding the form of government to be adopted. There had been a conflict of interest between the two leaders. Because Jinnah was the most prominent leader among in Pakistan at that time, it would have been very difficult for Mawdudi to succeed in his quest for an Islamic form of state. Jinnah was an advocate of Muslim nationalism and was after ensuring that it is adopted. His death made Mawdudi more famous as he was among the few reliable leaders for Pakistan at that time. In 1951, he devised a package that promoted Islamization that would transform Pakistan into a full-fledged Islamic state. He received the support of both the Sunni, and Shia clerics. The earlier times were marked with frequent coups (Faruqi 1991, 79; Alavi 1988, 64). Another matter of contradiction in Pakistan was the constitution. There were conflicts from the fundamentalists concerning the team selected to write the constitution. Mawdudi dismissed them as westernized and thus unsuitable for making a constitution for an Islamic state. At this time also, Pakistan leaders showed contradicting opinions. This spurred political turmoil that was characterized by several coups that occurred. The main matter of conflict was the constitution as some parties including Mawdudi were not pleased with the constitution as it had been earlier made. They advocated for more Islamic fundamental laws to be included in the constitution to ensure Islamic dominance. The first constitution was endorsed in 1956 and it declared Pakistan an Islamic state (Faruqi 1991, 79). In addition, the constitution contained a formal commitment to legalize all the extremist Islamic laws. Mawdudi played a pivotal role in influencing the adoption of such a constitution. Unfortunately to them, hardly had the implementation process began than the government was overthrown in October 1958. In 1962, another constitution was made and endorsed by General Muhammad Ayub Khan. Mawdudi was an influential power behind this coup and wanted a leader who will favor implementation of a full Islamic system in the constitution without compromising, as it had been the case with the first constitution. Similar to the first constitution, the second constitution was committed to the implementation of the Islamic Sharia laws as proposed by Mawdudi. In all these cases, Mawdudi was using direct confrontation and a pragmatic approach in ensuring his policies were fully adopted. There was cooperation among the leaders and his influence extended into the National assembly as most leaders were obedient to him and favored his policies. The National assembly of Pakistan adopted and endorsed another third constitution, which took a harsh Islamic approach than either of the first two constitutions (Hassan 1981, 186). This is what Mawdudi had wanted initially, and through his influence, he was finally successful in ensuring that Pakistan did not compromise any of the Islamic sharia law but instead, the entire Islamic system was adopted. The other faiths had no place in the third constitution, which only promoted Islam. The first two constitutions required only the president to be a Muslim. The third constitution on the other hand, extended this requirement to the Prime minister, and further demanded that the two swear of their belief in Prophet Mohammad before taking office. All the three constitutions put restrictions that barred non-Muslims from vying for key government positions. The three constitutions favored the fundamentalists groups in their bills of rights. In 1974, it was made official that Ahmadiyya was never recognized as a Muslim group. Initially, the extremist groups led by Mawdudi had opposed the constitution making process with allegations that the team was dominated by the westernized individuals. However, through their influence, they gained control over the constitution making process and influenced the outcome. Implementation of Mawdudi’s ideologies was strengthened after the seizure of power by Muhammad Zia, his close ally (Haqqani 2004, 85). Mawdudi saw it important to seize power as the only way of gaining full control over the nation and facilitate the enforcement of all the fundamental laws (Metcalf 1987, 322). With the new legislations in enforcement, a new economic system was adopted based on the Islamic laws (Zakat). Islam was adopted into the banking systems, government system, business setups, and legal structures. For instance, interest charges were abolished from the banks and Islamic banks formed. Other foreign banks were also forced to adopt the Islamic system or leave the country (Taylor 1983, 318). He achieved his goal by doing a reinterpretation of the Islamic symbols and concepts by deriving newer implications and connotations from them. His political stand was highly influenced by religious orientations within him. During the reign of Zia, Mawdudi’s followers presented bills that sought to implement Sharia laws. Because of the majority support, most of these bills were passed and enforced. For instance, the bill which sought to punish anyone who gave a derogatory comment concerning the Prophet Muhammad was unanimously passed and enforced. The implementation of Islamic laws in all aspects of the country’s operation has seen many non-Muslims and women being executed (Khan 1985, 374). The current Pakistan is more of Mawdudi’s ideologies and influence. Pakistan is still upholding most of the Islamic fundamental laws. The pragmatic approach by Mawdudi has shaped the Pakistan’s economy and political system. He used various approaches to achieve his dream of an Islamic nation (Nasr 1994, 373). Ever since, Pakistan has always colluded with the terrorist groups like the Taliban Afghanistan in their anti-western campaign. Mawdudi‘s influence on Pakistan as a distinct country can still be seen today. Most of the legislations and Islamic laws he advocated for are still in use today. His pragmatic stand towards Islamization has seen the country taking an Islamic orientation in all aspects of governance, and those pertaining to social life. It is also imperative to state that today’s Pakistan is among the few countries that have adopted harsh anti-western policies based on the Islamic fundamentals. In my opinion, therefore, Mawdudi succeeded in changing the minds of Muslims and ensuring Pakistan remains an Islamic state. However, his ideas have had more negative implications on Pakistan. The pure Islamic system adopted by today’s Pakistan has made the country undesirable for most investors, especially in the financial sector. Pakistan’s involvement in supporting the terrorist groups has attracted international hostility and sanctions, which all have negative effects on the country. In addition, the harsh pragmatic policies do not favor other religions and thus making Pakistan a one religion state. For a country to prosper economically it is always better that the government provides for fair terms to all investors regardless of their nationality or religious affiliation. Reference List Ahamd, A. (1967). Islamic modernism in India and Pakistan 1857-1964. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ahmed, A.S. (1997). Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: the Search for Saladin. London: Routledge Alavi, H. (1988). ‘Pakistan and Islam: Ethnicity and Ideology’, in Halliday, F. (ed.) State and Ideology in the Middle East and Pakistan. Basingstoke : Macmillan Education, pp. 64-111 Ayoob, M. (ed.) (1981). The Politics of Islamic Reassertion. London: Croom Helm [ch.13] Esposito, J.L.(ed.) (1987). Islam in Asia: Religion, Politics and Society. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press [ch.3] Esposito, J.L. (1996). Islam and Democracy. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press [ch.5] Faruqi, E. (1991). Pakistan: A Crisis in the Renaissance of Islam. Lahore: Sang-e-meel Haqqani, H. (2004). ‘The Role of Islam in Pakistan’s Future’, Washington Quarterly, 28:,1, pp.85-96. Available at: http://www.twq.com/05winter/docs/05winter_haqqani.pdf (Accessed 15 January 2011) Hassan, F. (1981). The Concept of State and Law in Islam. Lanham, MD: University Press of America [ch.6] Hunter, S.T. (ed.) (1988). The Politics of Islamic Revivalism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press [ch.14] Kaushik, S. N. (1993). Politics of Islamization in Pakistan: A Study of Zia Regime. New Delhi: South Asian Publishers Khan, M.A. (1985). Islam, Politics and the State: The Pakistan Experience. London: Zed Books Lee, R.D. (1997). Overcoming Tradition and Modernity: the Search for Islamic Authenticity. Boulder, Colorado; Oxford: Westview [ch.3] Metcalf, B.D. (1987). ‘Islamic Arguments in Contemporary Pakistan’, in Rolf, W.R. (ed.) Islam and the Political Economy of Meaning. London: Croom Helm Monshipouri, M. (1998). Islamism, Secularism and Human Rights. Boulder, Co.; London: Lynne Rienner [ch.4] Nasr, S. V. R. (1994). The Vanguard of the Islamic Revolution: the Jama’at-i Islami of Pakistan. Berkeley: University of California Press. Taylor, D. (1983). ‘The Politics of Islam and Islamization in Pakistan’, in Piscatori, J.P. (ed.) Islam in the Political Process. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More

The idea for an independent Pakistan was birthed at this time and spearheaded by a number of Muslim scholars, who finally succeeded and a new state of Pakistan was born. Mawdudi was among the scholars who were initially opposed to the move for a new state. His stand for opposition was based on the argument that Muslims were endowed with a spirit of brotherhood, which was meant to benefit the entire world. Therefore, national separation would limit their influence to Pakistan only. He advocated for Islamic cultural autonomy that would be a fundamental tool for spreading their influence in the whole of India and restoring Islamic dignity that had been lost over time (Monshipouri 1998, 257).

With the birth of Pakistan, Mawdudi had no choice but to conform to the situation and redefine his strategy to fit into Pakistan’s situation. As such, it is true that Mawdudi’s initial motive was driven by revenge. He was envious of the Hindus and wanted to use his Islamic doctrine to drive Muslims to superiority (Hunter 1988, 345). This would then give him an opportunity to assert revenge against their counterparts, the Hindus. Also, his stand to oppose the separation of Pakistan from India was based on personal interests.

He wanted to be the most influential of all the Muslim leaders and therefore, his ego could not allow him to support an idea that was not born by him. He wanted to be the founder of Pakistan and was always in conflict with Jinnah on the grounds that Jinnah’s ideas were westernized and therefore not suitable for Pakistan (Kaushik 1993, 321). In his writings, Mawdudi insisted that Indian Muslims were not only to practice Islam as a form of faith and worship but also as a lifestyle. Mawdudi was more concerned with changing the minds of the Muslims and aligning them towards fundamental Islamic culture and practice.

He realized that most Muslims were only observing the religious rituals but had forgotten to incorporate it in their daily lives. He wrote a lot of work that circulated within the Muslim community and this played quite a great role in transforming the minds of the Pakistan Muslims towards Islam. He exposed the faults among the Muslims and tried to address these challenges from an Islamic perspective. He interpreted both the religious and cultural significance of Islam. Mawdudi played a pivotal role in public awareness through lectures and other forms of writing to reach out to his target audience.

While in Pakistan, he was joined by a relatively large number of followers, mainly from the public. In his writing and lectures, Mawdudi had stressed the importance of Islam and the dangers Muslims were facing. He insisted that embracing Islam in all dimensions of life ranging from political, social, and economic aspects as the best solution for the challenges facing Muslims in the modern society. His influence was taken up seriously by the public and he became the most influential leader in Pakistan.

After his initial strategy of advocating for Islamization of the entire India had failed due to the creation of Pakistan, mawdudi adopted another strategy that would help him further his ambition within Pakistan. He had a different opinion from the other leaders, especially on matters of governance. However, it would have been difficult for him to engage in a direct confrontation against these leaders. Therefore, by focusing on the citizens, he was able to get a large support from almost all the members of the public.

In a way, his strategy worked because all the other leaders including those who were opposed to his ideologies could only gain public acceptance by showing their support to Mawdudi’s doctrine. When Pakistan was being formed, there was much speculation on the form of government they would adopt. Some of the speculations included a democratic government, secular system of government as well as Islamic form of government based on Muslim nationalism. From his strategy, it is clear that Mawdudi was aware of the uphill task that was ahead of him in influencing leaders to uphold the Islamic form of governance.

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