rahman_munazarah literature in urdu

7/27/2019 Rahman_Munazarah Literature in Urdu

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Munarah Literature in Urdu: An Extra-Curricular Educational Input in Pakistan's Religious

EducationAuthor(s): TARIQ RAHMANSource: Islamic Studies, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Summer 2008), pp. 197-220Published by: Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, IslamabadStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20839117 .

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IslamicStudies 47:2 (2008) pp. 197-220

Munazarah Literature inUrdu: An Extra-CurricularEducational Input inPakistan'sReligious Education

TARIQ RAHMAN

AbstractThis article looks at the institution of debate, themunazarah, in the religiouseducation sector ofPakistan. It argues that themunazarah occupies an importantposition inmadrasah education and the 'ulama* create their identity round a core ofdifferences rom other sects,sub-sects nd heretical or alien beliefswhich are broughtout in the open inmunazarah*. Moreover, certain books and pamphlets embodyingtheform of argumentation and otherfeatures of themunazarah are part of theinformal,extra-curricular readingmaterial both ofmadrasah students nd teachers swell as religiouseopleoutsidet.Thiskindof iteratureemphasizesifferencesnd,therefore, resumably predisposes thosewho are exposed to it to intolerance of the'other'.However, the solution of thisproblem is not to ban such literature but toreduceMuslim anger and change government policies in thedirection of avoidingviolence.


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198 TARIQ RAHMAN

Samarqandiyyah i Addb al-Bahthof Shams al-DinMuhammad b. Ashraf alSamarqandi (d. ca. 690/1291), on the subject. In South Asian Islamiceducational institutions(madrasahs) l-SharifiyyahfAll b.Muhammad Miral-Sharifal-Jurjani d. 816/1413) and theRashldiyyahof Abd al-Rashld b.Mustafa Jaunpuri d. 1083/1672)are taught. uhammad TurabAll alsowroteamanual inUrdu entitledMabadi-yiMunazarah (1874) to teach the art andetiquetteofdisputation to thosewho had takento arguingwith each otheronreligioussubjects nUrdu.3However, it isnot fromthewritten text nArabic,which has to be mastered with considerable difficulty,that the art ofdisputation is learned.The most usefulway of learning t isby the exampleprovided by the teachers nd theprayer leaders ho deliver theFriday sermoninmosques andUrdu books refuting deological opponentswhich are thefocusof this article. Indeed, the artof themunazarah is at the heart of theteachingmethodology in themadrasahs as lectures n subjectssuch as 'aqa'id(beliefs);iqb (the law) as theselection, mphasesand expositionof the ahddithillustrate.

Since certain features f the oral munazarah to be described laterenterinto the literature bout religiouscontroversy n circulation inPakistan, thisliteratureis called the munazarah literature n this article irrespective fwhether itwas everpresentedorallyor not.As itspurpose is refutation(radd)of the arguments f another sect,sub-sect(thedistinctivebeliefsofwhich arecalledmaslak), heresyor an alien philosophy, ithas also been referred o asraddf-literature (or radd-texts) inmy previous publications.4

Objective andMethodologyThe objective of thisarticle is to examine someof themunazarah texts n theUrdu languagewhich are in circulationamong religiousreaders,bothwithinand outside themadrasahs,with a view tounderstandingtheirmajor themesand how theyare likelyto influence heformation f ideological identity ndits 'other' inPakistan.While a numberof controversies re touchedupon, onemajor text an account of an actual munazarah between two Sunni subsects?will be presentedinmore detail so as toprovide a deeper understandingof themunazarah tradition s a heuristic evice.3Zain Shirazi, "The 'Publicity' of Religious Discourse: The Munazarah and Sastrartha inColonial North India," paper read at the annual conferenceof BritishAssociation forSouthAsian Studies, (March, 2005), available at:


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MUNAZARAHITERATURENURDU 199Urdu emerged as amajor languageof Islam in SouthAsia during thethirteenth/nineteenthcentury5 nd is also the languageof themunazarah.

Thus, when we examine the institution f themunazarah in SouthAsia, weare at the same timeexaminingonemajor dimension of language-spreadn thesubcontinent.The criterionforchoosing thetexts sed forthisstudy s theiravailabilityand circulationamong religiouspeople bothwithin themadrasahs and outsidethem in Pakistan. Thus, while certain classical textson themunazarah areabsent,others,which are far ess in scholarly orth, arepresent solelybecausethey are regularlyprinted and disseminated to thepublic. The assumptionhere is that such texts,because of being inUrdu and because of theiravailability, feed into theworldview of religious people in Pakistan withwhich we are concerned here.Review ofLiteratureRelevant for theconcernsof this article is an insightful aper byZain Shiraziread out in the BritishAssociation of SouthAsian Studies on 12May 2005now available on the internetarguing that religious disputation was a"heuristicdevice for thedevelopment of religious identities" n north IndiaduringtheBritishperiod.6 owever, theonlydetailed studyof themunazarahas a social institutionnSouthAsia stillremainsAvrilA. Powell's study f thedebates between theMuslims and the Christianmissionaries in north Indiabefore 1857.7This book tellsus that the initialmissionary attackson Islam,suchas theUrdu tract in-iHaqq kiTahqiq (1842)byWilliam Smith (d. 1859)and Charles Leupolt (d. 1884),who was amissionary in India from 1832 to1874,went unnoticed. However, themissionary Carl Gottlieb Pfander(d. 1868),who arguedwith the 'ulama*between 1844 to 1847 at Agra,provoked opposition. Finally,Maulvi Al-iHasan (d. 1287/1870)of Lucknowparticipated in a munazarah with Pfander in 1848 inAgra.8 Even morepublicizedwas Rahmat Allah Kayranawi's (d. 1308/1891)debatewith Pfanderin 1854 atAgra.9 The rancourof thesebrusheswith Christianitymay have5Tariq Rahman, "Urdu as an IslamicLanguage,"Annual ofUrdu Studies,no. 21 (2006), 111.6Zain Shirazi, "The 'Publicity* fReligiousDiscourse."7Avril A. Powell,Muslims and Missionaries inPre-Mutiny ndia (Richmond, Surrey:CurzonPress, 1993).8See, ibid., 191.9See forthedtail account of the arguments f Rahmat Allah Kayranawi in thismunazarah, alImam al-'Allamah al-ShaykhRahmat Allah b. Khalil al-Rahman al-'Uthmani al-Kayranawi,Izhar al-Haqq (Doha, Qatar: Idarah Ihya' al-Turathal-Islami, 1983).For itsEngUsh translationsee, Maulana Rahmatullah Kairanvi, Izhar al-Haq: The Truth Revealed (London: Ta-HaPublishers,2003).

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200 TARIQ RAHMANcontributed to themilitant resistanceagainstBritish rule in north India in1857 among theMuslim 'ulamd'}0However, even after 1857,Muslims andChristians continuedto engage inreligious ebates.11Debates betweenChristians andMuslims, betweenArya Samajists andMuslims aswell as those in betweenMuslim sectsor sub-sectsduring the1920s,are also mentioned by BarbaraMetcalf. One such debate (betweentosub-sects) as betweenMaulana Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (d. 1339/1920)andtwoAhl-i Hadith debaters.This debatewas carriedout by lettersbut therhetorical evices and thetonewas thatof an oral mundzarah.12 n addition tothis epistolary debate, there were face-to-face mundzarahs between varioussectsofMuslims aswell asMuslims and non-Muslims (Arya Samajists andChristians).13Such public eventsmust have increased the consciousness ofdifferingreligious beliefs among urban populations. Thus, according toBarbaraMetcalf:

Pious people at the time lamented divisiveness among Hindus or amongMuslims, respectively. But thatvery competition helped create a familiaritywithreligious issues thatwas unprecedented in Indian history.14

Knowledge of these issues coupled with the increased means ofcommunicationwhich modernitymakes this


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MUNAZARAH LITERATURE-IN URDU 201mundzarah.Even thepresentauthor,who doesmention it inpassing,does notconnectwhat he calls the addkexts Urdu writingsmeant to refute eresies,other sects and sub-sects and alien (Western) philosophies with themundzarah tradition.18rshadAlam, an Indian scholar,calls theradd-texts fTariq Rahman as 'non-dars' exts ecause theyarenot included in theprintedcurriculumof the Indianmadrasah he describes.19e too does not explicitlyconnect these textswith the institution f themundzarah but does go on todescribe practiceswhich are, indeed, the essence of that institution.Forinstance,he tellsus that in theMadrasah Ashrafiyyah inMubarakpur, U.P.(DistrictAzamgarh, India), everyThursday evening studentsformgroupsoftwentyor more and make speeches and singverses (na't) in praise of theProphet (peacebe on him).These speechesuse arguments nd other rhetoricalskills to refute the ideas of the Deobandis. In another Barelvi madrasah.Madrasah Ain al-Ulum [ yn al-'Ulum] inGaya, Bihar, one groupof studentsact out the roleof theBarelvis and theotherofDeobandis. They askquestionsand counter-questionsand hone theirdebating skillsthe very skills oneneeds inamundzarah?till the eobandis aredefeated.20

The kind of literature hich is the focus of attentionhere derives inimportant ays fromthemundzarah tradition s practiced by theUrdu-usingMuslims of India and Pakistan. As Urdu is understood bymost educatedMuslims inPakistan and north India thesebooks are internalizedrather thanArabic ones. In some cases the books in circulationare actually transcriptsfmundzarahswhich took place between rival sub-sects uchas theone betweentheDeobandis andBarelvis givenbelow. In other cases theywere written astractsto refuterival sects, sub-sects r heresies. In such cases the styleofargumentation, the use of irony, wit, poetry and other rhetorical devices comedirectlyfrom theoral genreof themundzarah.Even the acerbityof tone, somuch the characteristic of a face-to-face encounter, is found in the bookspresumably because the words of the opponent with beliefswhich areobjectionable arequoted and theresponsethey voke isone of antagonism ndanger. That iswhy I use the termmundzarah-literature as an alternative tomyearlier term of raddAiterztmefor the literatureof religious controversymentioned here.Ideological Divisions Necessitating RefutationPakistan is aMuslim majority countrybut thereare sectarian,sub-sectarian18See,Tariq Rahman, "Madrasas:The Potential for iolence inPakistan," 70-71.19Arshad Alam, "MakingMuslims: Identity ndDifference in IndianMadrasas" inJamalMalik,ed.Madrasas inSouthAsia: TeachingTerror?,51.20See, ibid.,55-58.



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202 TARIQ RAHMANand other ideologicaldivisionswithin theMuslims of thecountry. irst, thereis the Sunni-Shl'ah sectarian division.21Although no official figuresareavailable, theShVahare said tobe a significantercentageof the totalMuslimpopulation of the country.However, no reliable or official figures xist toconfirmthe estimatesthatgrossly ary.The Sunnimajority is divided amongsub-sects(maslaks)suchas theBarelvis,Deobandis, Ahl-iHadith and revivalistgroups such as theJama'at-i slam!whose viewswill be described later.TheShi'ah are also sub-dividedinto sub-sects ut these are not significant ithrespectto thedisseminationofpolemical literature ecause, in the faceof suchoverwhelmingSunni dominance, the Shi'ah of Pakistan do not flaunt theirideologicaldifferencesnpublic nor is their literatureopenly on sale all overthecountry. ence, itwill only be thedebates between Sunniswhich will betakenintoaccount in thisarticle.

It isnot only the sectsormaslaks which need to refute ach other; it isalso doctrineswhich are regarded s heretical such as those of theAhmadls.The Ahmadls are followersofMirza Ghulam Ahmad (d. 1326/1908)of thetownQadiyan now in India.He believed himself to be amessiah or a nonlegislative rophet.22 e believed thatProphetMuhammad (peacebe on him)was the 'sear ?one who authenticates or is the most excellent ?of theProphets but not the last one (khatam= 'seal' and also 'the end').23TheAhmadls clashed with the otherMuslims initially?Mirza Ghulam Ahmadhimselfbeing given todebate but arenowmerely struggling orsurvival s anon-Muslimminority inPakistan. There are only 800 students n Ahmadlmadrasahs inRabwah QhangDistrict) but there swidespread alarmandmanyconspiracy theories to the detriment of theAhmadls in Pakistan.24 Moreover,certain Western

ideologies? socialism, capitalism, individualism,

etc.?arealso refutedby the (ulama\ n addition to that, n thecontextof 'comparativereligions,' ther religionssuchasChristianityare also refuted.The number ofmadrasah students n thePunjab during 2005, accordingto police reports, are as follows:25

21For the riseof the Shi'ah sect see, S.M. H. Jafri, heOrigin and EarlyDevelopment ofShVaIslam (Karachi:Oxford University Press, 2000).22A careful studyofMirza Ghulam Ahmad's works, indicates thathe was inclined tomakemore exuberantclaims than suggested y the author.Ed.23See,Y. Friedmann,Prophecy ontinuous:AspectsofAhmadi ReligiousThought nd ItsMedievalBackground (Berkeley, A: University ofCalifornia Press, 1989).24See, Sajjad ShafiqButt, "Deobandi StudentsSurpassBarelvis inPakistanMadrassa: InsightfulStatistics," (2006) available at .25Source: Ibid.



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MUNAZARAH LITERATURE INURDU 203Sects/sub-sects Number of students PercentageDeobandis 200,246 45.4Barelvis 199,733 45.2Ahl-iHadithShTahTotal

34,2537,333441,565

7.81.7

The figures ivenby theGovernment ofPakistan forroughlythe sameperiod,thistimeabout thenumberofmadrasahs rather hanstudents, re as follows:26Numberof Madrasahs(2006) PercentageDeobandis 3454 30.1

Barelvis 2654 23.1Ahl-iHadith Not givenjjama'at-i Islami 906 7.9ShTah Not givenOthers 934 8.1Not affiliated

Total354311,491

30.8

The major maslaks of theSunnis are the eobandis and theBarelvis.TheAhl-iHadith, also pejorativelycalledWahhabis, are far ess innumber.Let us,therefore,ook at the eobandi and Barelvi sub-sects nPakistan.The Barelvisare followersofAhmad Raza Khan (d. 1340/1921)ofBareilly, a city inU. P.(India).The views of Barelviswhich we encounter in the public, andwithwhich we are concernedhere,do not derivenecessarilyfrom thewritingsofAhmad Raza Khan.27However, because theyarepopular theyare thefocusofour attentionhere. The centralbeliefof theBarelviswho enter ntodebate anddiscussionwith theothers is that theProphetMuhammad (peace be on him)had knowledge of theunseen ('Urn l-ghayb), hathewas createdfromradiance(nur),and thathe had thepower to intercede r help his followers in life ndafterdeath.Moreover, they also believe that the intercessionof saints ispossible and theycontrol the eventsof theworld throughmystical, esotericmeans.

The Deobandi movement was founded in 1283/1866 at themadrasah26Source:GOP, National Education CensusPakistan 2006 (Islamabad:Government ofPakistan,Ministry ofEducation, Federal Bureau of Statistics, 006), 215.27For a biographyof the founder nd thedevelopmentof his views see,Usha Sanyal,DevotionalIslam and Politics inBritish ndia (Delhi:Oxford University Press, 1996).The views ofAhmadRaza Khan concerningthe eobandis aregiven inEnglish in ibid.,235-248.



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204 TARIQ RAHMANcalled theDar al-'UlumDeoband at about 90miles northeast ofDelhi byMaulana Qasim Nanautvi (d. 1297/1880)and his associates.28he othergreatfigureassociatedwith this madrasah isMaulana Rashld Ahmad Gangohi(d. 1323/1905)who is regardedas one of the leaders and exemplarsof theDeobandi school of thought. he Deobandis regardthe intercession f saints,thevenerationof tombs,andotherpractices f folk slam as sinful nnovations(bid'ah).The major point of controversy ith theBarelvis, however,was thattheybelieved that theProphet (peacebe on him) had only asmuch knowledgeof theunseen asGod gavehim and thathewas made of earth likeordinaryhuman beings.29

The Deobandl-Barelvi differences led to munazarahs which will bedescribed inmore detailbelow.However, evenmore importantly thas led tostrainedrelationsbetween the followers f the above twomaslaks inPakistanin the lastdecade ormore. For instance, henumberof theorganizationsof asocial and political natureby 2003was 245 out ofwhich 48were Barelvis and44were Deobandis. The two sub-sects ave had theologicalquarrelswhich ledtoto tension.While the eobandl-Barelvi differencesre themajor focusof thisarticle,

other debated issues, such as theorthodox 'ulama's (Deobandi, Barelvl andAhl-iHadlth) objections to theviews ofAbu 'l-A'laMawdudl (d. 1399/1979);31the refutationof Shi'ah beliefs by SunnI (ulama\ and the objections toWestern ideologies, gainby the 'ulama/zrealso touchedupon inpassing.The Place of theMunazarah Texts inPakistan andNorth IndiaAlthough not part of the variant form of the Dars-i NizamI used in themadrasahs of South Asia, themunazarah-texts are used in them. One exampleisfromMadrasah Ashrafiyyah India)where, asmentioned earlier,thesebooks28See,Metcalf, IslamicRevival inBritish ndia, p. 88.Metcalfmentioned theyear of foundationofDar al-'UlumDeoband to be 1867,however, thewebsite ofDar al-'UlumDeoband givesthe axact date of its establishment to be Muharram 15, 1283/May 30, 1866. See:< http://Darululoom-deoband.com>. Ed.29Maulana Muhammad Manzur Nu'mani, Futuhat-iNu'maniyyah, ed.Maulana Qari 'Abd alRashid (Lahore:Anjuman-i Irshad al-MusUmin, 002), 30where he quotes the allegationof theBarelvi munazir Maulana Rahim flahi. See for thedetails of the exact position ofDeobandiScholars,Maulana Ashraf *AliThanvi, Hifz al-Imdn 'an al-Zayghwa 'l-Tughyan Karachi:Maktabah As'adiyyah, 2004; firstprintedLahore: Anjuman Irshad al-Muslimin,1980), 104-110.See also,Maulana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri, aUMuhannad 'aid H-Mufannad, ka, 'Aqa'idVlama'-i Ahl-i SunnatDeoband (Lahore:Maktabat al-'Ilm,n.d.), 50-60. Ed.30See, fordetails,New Statesman (24September2001).31See, fordetails, SayyedVali Reza Nasr, Mawdudi and theMaking of slamicRevivalism (NewYork: Oxford University Press, 1996),passim.



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MUNAZARAH LITERATURE INURDU 205were "extremely opularwith students."32he bookswere written to refutethe doctrines or maslak of theDeobandis and theAhl-i Hadith. What thestudents earnare thecentralbeliefsof theirmaslak and thearguments sed tosupportthem.And, therefore,he "identity hich is created in such a settingis at once oppositional, dependingon thenegationof theother, feeding n asenseofbeingwronged, and committedto the 'true slam' of theirmaslak"*3The present author also found themundzarah-textssignificant n themadrasahs of Pakistan. First, the printed syllabi of severalmadrasahs hadbooks to refutethebeliefsof theAhmadis aswell as rival sects (SunnisversusShi'ahs and the reverse); and sub-sects among Sunnis themselves (Barelvls,Deobandis andAhl-iHadith) aswell as revivalistinterpretationsf Islam suchas thoseofMawdudi. The Government of Pakistan'sReport onDiriiMaddrds3*lists several such books includingMaulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautvi'sHadiyyat al-ShVah35 a polemical book refutinghrah beliefs which remainsin print.36 fter 2002, however,madrasah teachersdo not admit to teachinganythingwhich could incite sectarianviolence.However, themaslak is stilltaughtand the views of themajor theorists?who contributed in varyingdegrees to the controversiesbetween themaslaks and other ideologicaldebates arewell known. The students lso make speechesand learn theartof themundzarah from the fierypreacherswho harangue their listenersthrough assionate sermons nthestyle f themundzarah.The books about ideologicalcontroversy re in circulation since theyareregularly rinted and, besides themadrasah, theyare read by other religiousreaders.Readers, therefore, ormtheirviews about religion,aswell as theirown religious identity, rom thesedisputationsandpolemical tracts. here arealsomundzarahs on the internetincluding heone between the Sunnis and theShlcahon somepoints held inManchester in 1999.37 ome of them,includingone between theBarelvls againsttheDeobandis and theWahhabls (whicharecalled "BdtilFirqahs"= falsesects) ndwhich tookplace on 31July2006 is alsoavailable.38 Others are available on


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206 TARIQRAHMANMunazara.html > and can be downloaded. Some of the sites are visited bymany people.39 It is not possible to claim whether this learningexperiencemakes those exposed to them less tolerant f the religious "other" than theywould have been iftheyhad readother books of a religiousnature.However,that themunazarah creates or increases the possibility of sectarian antagonismcannot be denied.ReligiousWritings nthe ublicDomainMost writingson Islam inSouthAsia arenot about controversies or are theypolemical. They are commentaries n theQur'an (tafsir); boutHadith, andSir h, Islamic law (SharVah)and theological studies of various kinds. Inaddition, thereare a largenumber of books on various themesof folkIslam:Nur Namahs, Karbala Namahs, JangNamahs, and so on. The Nur Namahstraceout the creationof theworld itself s contingent pon thebeing of theProphet (peacebe on him)who, it isbelieved,was made of radiance (nur).Theversifiedbooks inUrdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhiand other languages re aboutthepresence of thenur,or the spirit f themajesty of theProphet (peace beon him) in thephenomenalworld frometernity. he "Karbala" and "Jang"Namahs are about theBattle ofKarbala (61/680)between theUmayyad caliphYazid ibn Mu'awiyah (r.60-64/680-683) and Imam Husayn ibn All(d. 61/680), thematernal grandsonof theProphet (peacebe on him).As mentioned earlier, these stories in verse are found inmost of thelanguages used by theMuslims of South Asia. The present author hasmentioned those inUrdu,40Punjabi,41 ashto42 nd Sindhi43 n somedetail.Yetanother sub-genre are books about the Islamic law and practices in theselanguages. These books, again in verse, are meant to instruct Muslims abouttheritualsof Islam andprovide guidance to liveaccordingto Islamicnormsofbehaviour. Like the chapbooks on folk Islam, they too are in Punjabi,44Sindhi,45ashto,46 alochi47andBrahvi.48 his sub-genre, hich may be calledthe "SharVahguidebooks," finds tscrowningachievement n theUrdu work39For example, < www.yarasool.info >.40See, Tariq Rahman, Language, Ideology nd Power: Language LearningAmong the uslims ofPakistan andNorth India, revisededn. (Delhi:Orient Language, 2002), 208.41See, ibid.,386.42See, ibid.,356-360.43See, ibid.,328-329.44See, ibid.,381-386.45See, ibid.,328.46See, ibid.,356-358.47See, ibid.,431-432.48See, ibid.,429-430.



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MUNAZARAH LITERATURE IN URDU 207called theBahishtiZewar49ofMaulana Ashraf 'AllThanvl (d. 1362/1943)andtheBahdr-iShari'at.50 his book is in 20 volumes.The first17were writtenbyAmjad Ali Qadiri Rizvi (d. 1367/1948),a disciple ofAhmad Raza Khan, andtheremainingthreeby his disciples after is death.The former s aDeobandiwork and the latter Barelvi one.While the former swritten in simple rduand theverdicts (fatdwd) regiven in synoptic ndunequivocal terms o asnotto confusethereader,the latter ontainsdetailed legalopinions and statementsof faithwhich presume both learning and familiaritywith the style ofargumentationused by the culamd\Possibly for these reasons theBahishtiZewar is very well known even among those who are not Deobandis. Yetanother formof popular religious literature s thatwhich deals with after-life(calledQiydmatNdmahs orAhwdli Akhirat).One of themost popular booksin circulation is theUrdu translation f SayyidQutb's Mandzir-i Qiydmat1which is an exposition of belief in the lifehereafter nd, hence, at a higherintellectual evel than theordinarypopular books of thisgenre.Moreover, thisis not a polemical work nor does it use the disputationist style of themundzarah. Itmerely selectstextsfromtheQur'an and the adith todescribethehereafter, ell, heaven and redemption. he book confirmsbeliefswhichare already current among Pakistani Muslims.All the sub-genres f Islamicwritingsmentioned above are outside thescope of thepresentarticle.They have beenmentioned here inorder tomakeit clear that themundzarah texts are not the only kind of learning inputavailable to religious akistanis.TheWorld ofthe undzarahThe purpose of themundzarahwas to convince theopponent of the falsity fhis views. This was done by appeal to sacredtexts nd deductions fromtheirimplications. The debater, called mundzir, began with courtesies andhonorificswith names and, thoughthe honorificsremained till the end, thecourtesiesgaveplace to anger, nsinuations nd insult. oth partiesoftenendedby apostatizingtheotherandneitherwas persuaded toabandon theirposition.Victorywas claimedby thepartywhich was reportingthe events.However,in some cases the official judgeof theproceedingsdecided in favour of oneparty. In stillother cases theassembled audience cheeredone partywhich was49Maulana Muhammad Ashraf 'AliThanvi, AshMudalal waMukammal Bahishti Zewar [Urdu:The Original Complete Heavenly Ornament], 11 parts, reprint (Karachi:Muhammad Mushur'Allwa Muhammad Munir 'Ali, 1384/1964).50Maulana Amjad 'AllQadiri Rizvi Bahar-iShari'at, reprint Lahore: IshtiaqPrinters,1996).51SayyidQutb, Mandzir-i Qiydmat,Urdu trans, fromArabic, Muhammad Nasrullah Khan(Gujrat:Maktabah-'i Zafar, 1975).



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208 TARIQRAHMANthendeemed tobe thevictor.In all such discourses, rhetoric,figures f speech, sarcasm,wit and, ofcourse, arguments from theQur'an and theHadith are used to prove a point.As the languageof themundzarah in Pakistan and north India isUrdu, alanguagewhich contains a vast tradition of amorous 'ghazalpoetry, thedisputants (mandzirs)use coupletswhich theyotherwise condemn for theiraesthetic, amorous and erotic references. Polemics and oratory are very muchtheweapons of the debaters but very often these degenerate into acerbicpersonal attacks, slander, and allegations of apostasy and heresy on theopponent and evenvitriolic invectives.

Although thepurpose of themundzarahwas declared to be heuristic, twas not of immediateeducationalvalue because the atmosphereof the actualevent was competitive, argumentative and belligerent. However, despite theanger and the polemics, the mundzarah contributed to the educationaldiscoursebecause itmade thenatureof thedoctrinaldisagreements lear.Thehairsplittingwhich went with itbroughtout in the open what might havebeen taughtin themadrasah or in a religiousfamilybutwhich did not comeinto relief n theabsence ofother,dissenting, pinions. It is, indeed,because ofthe mundzarah tradition that sectarian and sub-sectarian orthodoxy definesitself, arks boundaries,and stands nopposition to itsrivalorthodoxies.

Major Religious Controversies Among SouthAsian MuslimsThe Shrah-Sunni debate is found in a largenumber of books. The mostfamous refutationof ShTah beliefs from the SunnI point of view is theHadiyyat al-ShVahbyMaulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautvl. The book is inprint and is beingused in theDeobandl madrasahs and read bymany othersthough twas firstpublishedduringtheauthor's lifetime.The style fwriting is likethat f amundzarah thoughtheShi*ahpointofview isnot from member of thatsectbut ismediated through heMaulana'sthinking. t places Shi'ah opponents arementioned and faultsare found intheir mundzarah practices. For instance, he says at one point, "and whichindecentperson has taughthim the art of mundzarah that he gives anargumentwithout proof?"52 he purpose of the book is to refuteShTahbeliefs that the leadershipof theMuslims descended to theCaliph All(d. 40/661) and his children from atimah al-Zahra' (d. 11/632) theProphet'sdaughter,who are called the ahU bayt.A number of other beliefs, that theQur'an hasmore than the thirty arts (sipdrahs) hich ithas at present; thatthe first three caliphswere usurpers and, therefore, hould be criticized52Nanautvi, Hadiyat al-ShVah, 35.



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MUNAZARAH ITERATURENURDU 209(tabarra),55hat the spiritual eadership f theMuslims descended to 'All andthen to his heirs, the imams (leaders),who can cancel, put in abeyance or

modify all religious njunctions ncluding ven theorders of theQur'an and soon ? are refuted at length. The writing takes on the acrimonious overtones ofthemunazarah in reference o the Shi'ah opponent'sworks which are citedrepeatedly n the book. In thiscontextitneeds tobe mentioned that remarksof the Shi'ah writers the ones cited here and othersare equallyacrimonious and thepersonagesreveredby theSunnis areheld up to criticismwhich necessarilyappears tobe harsh toSunnis.

The debate between the Sunnis themselves, hich are the focus of thisarticle, are given inmany books. One such book, summarizedbyArshadAlam, giving theBarelvi view againsttheDeobandis is calledZalzalah.5*Thebook iswritten byArshad ulQadiri (d. 1423/2002)who graduatedfrom theBarelvimadrasah called theMardrasah Ashrafiyyah inMubarakpur in 1944.He refutedtheDeobandl maslak in a number of books. Zalzalah was firstpublished in 1972 and is circulatedwidely in India and Pakistan. The bookbeginswith thewell knownDeobandl argument hat theProphet (peacebe onhim) did not have knowledge of theunseen ((ilm~i hayb) except asmuch asGod grantedhim. After referring o passages from theDeobandl 'ulama'claiming this,he points out that theDeobandis nevertheless redit theirownleadersMuhammad Isma'll (d. 1246/1831), ashid Ahmad Gangohi, Ashraf'All Thanvi and Manzur Nu'mani (d. 1418/1997)with such esotericknowledge and supernatural powers.55

The secondbookDa'wat-i Insaf56 yArshad ul-Qadiri develops the samearguments:theDeobandl belief in themiracles of the elders of theirownmaslak; the alleged disrespect towards the Prophet (peace be on him) bydenyinghimknowledge of theunseen; the eobandl preaching againstvisitingthegravesof saintsand denying that theyconstituted "spiritual ladder" tothedivine; and, finally, he eobandl belief thatsome of the folkpracticesofIndianMuslims are innovations (bid'ah).57adiri subjectsall theseDeobandlviews to criticism and points out that theywere internally inconsistentbecause, infact, he eobandis believed in thespiritual owers andknowledgeof theunseen in thecase of theirpioneers.The bookswere written, as he put53Tabarrameans todissociate onself fromsomeone; inpractice, though, ithasmeant criticism,even denunciation.54Arshad ul-Qadiri,Zalzalah (Lahore: ShabbirBrothers, 1998).55See,Alam, "MakingMuslims," 52-53.56Arshad ul-Qadiri,Da'wat-i Insafpelhi: Maktabah Jam-i ur, 1993).57See,Alam, "MakingMuslims," 54.



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210 TARIQRAHMANit,to enable theMuslims todecide as to the justice f thecasehe presentedtothem.58

Another debate is between theAhl-iHadith (calledWahhabis) and theother Sunni sub-sects. he Ahl-iHadith claim to getdirectguidance fromtheQur'an, Hadith and the information bout the sayingsand practicesof theCompanions of theProphet.They do not, at least in theory,bind themselvesto follow any of the traditionalinterpretationsf thefiqh:Hanafi, Hanbali,Maliki and Shafi'i.Moreover, even more strictly han theDeobandis, theyoppose the intervention f the saints nd other institutionsnd beliefsof folkIslam.59 owever, theAhl-i Hadith are a smallminority inPakistan thoughthey remuch strengthenedy the Saudi ideologyofWahhabism.Yet another debate which went on among the madrasah 'ulama* wasoccasioned by thewritings of Abu '1-A'laMawdudi. One of the books incirculation is byMaulana Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlavi (d. 1402/1982)and called Fitnah-'iMaududiyyat.60Another book of this kind is byMuhammad SajidQuraishi which arguesthatMawdudi's famousbook Tafhimal-Qur'an is not in accordancewith the established,orthodox principlesofQur'anic exegesis.Whereas the orthodox practice accepts all the authentictraditions f theProphet (ahadith) s true, awdudi uses his personal senseofunderstandingof Islamwhich impliesrejectionof those traditions hich, inhis view, do not conformto thespirit f Islam.Quraishi rejectsthisargumentand,moreover, alleges that awdudi refers o theBiblewhich, therefore,ivesprominence toChristian andJewish criptures hich have been supercededbytheQur'an.61In the otherbook,Fitnah, theauthorclaims thatMawdudi deviates fromthe establishedmeanings of concepts as theyare understood by the (ulama\First, he makes the case forunderstanding slamwithout referenceto theworks of the traditionaljurists nd the 'ulama* hich ismisleading. Second,hedoes not distinguishbetweenworship (Hbadat) nd good conduct (mu'amalat)which is a religions deviation. And, third,he denigrates absorption intoworship which, again, ismisleading. In short, according to Zakariyya,Mawdudi's work is seriouslymisleading forordinaryMuslims and, therefore,may be consideredasfitnah.6258SeeQadiri, Zalzalah, 182-183.59See Muhammad Yusuf Ludhiyanvi, Ikhtilafi Ummat aur Sirat-iMustaqim, revised edn.(Karachi:Maktabah-'i Ludhiyanvi, 1975),30-32.60Maulana Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlavi, Fitnah-'iMaududiyyat (Lahore:Maktabah-'i alQasim, 1975).61SeeMuhammad Sajid Quraishi, Tafhimal-Qur'dnMain AhddithSharifah ar Bad VtimddiaurBibleparVtimdd (Multan:Kutab Khanah-'iMajidiyyah, 1422ah), passim.62SeeMuhammad Zakariyya,Fitnah-'iMaududiyyat, assim.



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MUNAZARAH ITERATURENURDU 211Mawdudfs own criticism of the traditional method of madrasah

education on thegrounds that tdoes not use theobservational and inductivemethods of obtaining knowledge is well known.63However, while he isimpatient nd dismissiveof the traditionalmethods ofknowledge, the 'ulamd*who oppose him catch everyargumentof his and test it according to theirreceived interpretations and refute itwith horror.TheCase Study faParadigmaticundzarah ookThe term "paradigm" is being used in Kuhn's meaning of "models orexamples."64he book describedbelow isa representativexampleof thewayamundzarah is conducted and what the emotional tone of such an event is.However, the summarized argumentsgiven below do not do justiceto thebook. This summary is based on actual mundzarahs held between theDeobandi debaterMaulana MuhammadManzur Nu'mani and a numberof hisBarelvi opponents.The mundzarahswere held in several cities of British Indiaand theywere public events.As the eobandis, who have transcribed hem nthisbook, describe themas victories hence thename of thebook isFutuhdt-iNu'mdniyyab. The following mundzarahs

are recorded in Futuhdt-iNu(mdniyyah.

Munazarah-':Munazarah-':Munazarah-':Munazarah-':Munazarah-':Munazarah-'i Silanwali 1936/u

They are describedbelow as succinctly s is consonantwith the requirementofproviding insights ntotheinstitution f themundzarah itself.

Duru 1928wSanbhal1928(Lahore 19336;Gaya 193668Bareli 193569

63See, SayyidAbu 'l-A'laMawdudi, Ta'limat (Lahore: IslamicPublications, 1974;Revised edn.Delhi: Markazi Maktabah'i Islami, 1991), 60.Also see, IrfanAhmed, "Power, Purity and theVanguard: Educational Ideology of Jama'at-iIslamiHind" in JamalMalik, Madrassa in SouthAsia: TeachingTerror?,149-151.64Thomas S.Kuhn, The StructureofScientific evolutions, revised edn. (London:University ofChicago Press, 1970), 175.65See, fordetails,Nu'mani, Futuhat-iNu'maniyyah, 22-102.66See, fordetails, ibid., 173-277.67See, fordetails, ibid.,295-419.68See, fordetails, ibid.,423-572.69See, fordetails, ibid.,577-712.70See, fordetails, ibid.,716-875.



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212 TARIQ RAHMAN

Munazarah-'i DuruDuru is a small town in theNaini Tal district of India. The Musliminhabitants f this townwere mostly Barelvls.A certainhakim (physician),called Muhammad Hanlf, had a relativewho was married to a certainPirBakhsh's sister. he people of thetown forced ir Bakhsh toget themarriageannulledon thegrounds that thehakimwas aDeobandi and this sub-sect(the

Deobandis) were disrespectful owards theProphet (peacebe on him),did notbelieve in the end of prophethood, etc.The hakim, therefore, equestedhissub-sect to hold a munazarah with the Barelvls to clear thesemisunderstandings bout his religiousbeliefs.The dates

setfor theeventwerethe 18, 19and 20thofJuly1928.Maulana Muhammad Isma'il andMaulana Muhammad Manzur Nu'manIrepresented heDeobandis andMaulana Rahim Ilahi represented heBarelvls.Both parties arrivedinDuru on 18Julyand themagistrateof the town fixedthe time and place of themunazarah. The debatewas initiatedbyMaulanaIsma'il who praised the Prophet (peace be on him) but pointed out that,despite beingperfect s a human being,hewas not thecreatorand onlyGodhad that distinction.Rahim Ilahi, in response, attacked an 'alirn of theDeobandis calledMaulana Ashraf All Thanvl. After this themunazarahproper started.Here theDeobandi compiler claims that the Barelvls did not want tocarry out with the munazarah, a claim which they make on other occasionstoo, but there is no independent means to verify this claim. However, whenthe munazarah starts the Deobandis are represented by Maulana ManzurNu'manI while theBarelvls are represented yRahim Ilahi. The gistof theargument is theDeobandi claim made byAshrafAll Thanvl inHifz alIman that theProphet (peace be on him) did not have knowledge of theunseen (Him l-ghayb) xcept thatmuch which was given tohim byGod. TheBarelvls contested thisand especiallyobjected to the languageused byAshrafAll Thanvl who said,while arguingthat ll beingshave asmuch knowledgeoftheunseen asGod gives them,that theProphet (peacebe on him) had asmuchknowledge of theunseen asGod gave him and thatanimals, insanepersons,etc. also had some knowledge of the unseenwhich God gave them.TheBarelvls foundthisso offensive hattheydeclaredMaulana Thanvl an apostateanunbeliever (kdfir).71The munazarah lasted for threedays. Besides the knowledge of theunseen, the end of prophethoodwas also discussed.The Deobandis clarified71See, ibid., 30; See for thecorrectposition ofMaulana Ashraf 'AllThanvi, his,Hifz al-Iman 'anal-Zayghwa 'l-Tughydn,04-110.



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MUNAZARAH ITERATURENURDU 213thattheydid believe thatProphetMuhammad (peacebe on him)was the "sealof theProphets" (Khdtam l-Nabiyyin)but the "Seal"was to be used bothchronologically and qualitatively i.e. he was the best, or most exalted, too.Here, again, theBarelvis objected to the languageused in thewritings of theDeobandis. They contended that theBarelvi argumentthat chronology initself id not confervaluewas meant to denigratetheProphet (peace be onhim).The mundzarah lastedthreedays and, at leastaccording to thisaccount,the Barelvis very aggressively nd repeatedlycondemned theDeobandis asunbelievers (kdfir). oth thedebatersused couplets inUrdu andPersian, someof themvery amorous, in thecourseof their rguments. n theend thedebateendedwithout any consensusexceptthat nothermundzarahwas tobe held inSanbhal fromthe22nd tillthe 24th ofOctober 1928.

Munazarah-'i SanbhalSanbhal is a town inDistrictMuradabad, U.P., in India.The mundzarahwasheld here on 24 and 25October 1928.This timetheBarelviswere representedby Maulana Hashmat 'All and the Deobandis, as before, by MaulanaMuhammad Manzur Nu'mani. Once again the subjectsdiscussed and thearguments used were much the same as before. On this occasion, however, thedebatersasked each other formorewritten statements bout particularpointsthan before.The Barelvis celebrated theirvictory after the thirdday but,accordingto their pponents, thiswas only to cover their efeat.

Munazarah-'i LahoreThis mundzarahwas scheduledto be held atLahore inJanuary1933but didnot takeplace.According to the eobandis theBarelvis forcedthe authoritiesto cancel it inview of thepossibilityof violence. The Deobandi argumentswhich were to be used to refute heBarelviswere published in the formof apamphlet and this is reproduced in theFutuhdt-iNumdniyyahJ2Here theDeobandis argue thatAhmad Raza Khan had apostasized Shah Isma'il Shahid(d. 1246/1831)aswell as thepioneersof the eobandi sub-sect(ormovement)Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanutvi,Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi andMaulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanvi. This fatwdwas sent to the 'ulamd* fMakkahandMadinah in 1323/1905and theyendorsed it.The Deobandis argued thatthisendorsementwas obtained by quoting statements rom theworks of theabovewriters out of context.Thus,when the 'ulamd*fArabia were apprisedof the true importof theworks in question, they took back theirearlier72Nu'manI, Futuhdt-iNu'mdniyyahy 95-419.



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214 TARIQ RAHMANverdict.They did this,however, afterasking twentysixquestions inArabicwhich were answered inwriting in the same language byMaulana KhalilAhmad Saharanpuri (d. 1346/1927).These are given in theoriginalArabic aswell asUrdu translation na bookwhich is in circulation nPakistan.73Munazarah-'i GayaGaya is a city in theprovince of Bihar in India. The mundzarahwas held on20-21 February 1936.The Deobandis, as before,were represented yMulanaManzur Nu'mani while theBarelviswere represented yMaulana HashmatAll. Here, too, theDeobandis spentmuch energyon refuting heBarelvicharge that their pioneers, such as Maulana Nanautvi, were apostates. Thesubjectsunder discussionwere the same as before and a number ofwrittenstatements ere exchanged.This time,however,on the secondday therewassomuch unpleasantnessthat theauthorities ntervened nd themundzarahwasstopped.

Munazarah-'i BareliThis was held at Bareli between 27-30April 1935 in theMadrasah Jami'ahRizviyyah which, being a Barelvi stronghold, as considered an act of greatmoral courage by theDeobandis. Maulana SardarAhmad arguedon behalfoftheBarelvis and, as usual,Maulana Nu'mani on behalfof the eobandis. Thesubjects dwelt upon were the same and the arguments were also the same. Themundzarah continued for fourdays. In the endMuhammad Shabbir, theSecretaryof the IslamicCommercial Committee, Lucknow and the patronand judge of themundzarah gave his verdict that theDeobandis were nothereticsas allegedby theiropponents.74

Munazarah-'i SilanwaliSilanwali is a small town in district Sargodha, now in Pakistan. Thismundzarahwas held here. The debateron behalf of theBarelviswas MaulanaHashmat All and theDeobandis were representedbyMaulana ManzurNu'mani. It began inFebruary 1936.A presidentwas elected and terms ndconditions, includingthe timetobe given to each debater,were agreedupon.The subjectsand the arguments ere the same as before.This timetoo therewas much heated debate and theatmospherebecameveryhostileby theend ofthe mundzarah.73Maulana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri,al-Muhannad 'aid 'l-Mufannadka 'Aqd'id 'Ulamd-'i hl-iSunnat Deoband, passim.74See, Nu'mani, Futuhat-I Nu'mdniyyah, 289-291.



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MUNAZARAH ITERATURENURDU 215These mundzarahs have been given in somedetail so as to give some ideaof how the debate was governed by rules.However, once emotionswere

stirred up, the opponents descended from arguments to polemics and even toinvectives. Their relevance as extra curricular reading material for madrasahstudentsand general readersof a religiousorientation is testifiedby the factthatthey re still nprint.It shouldbe mentioned here thatnot all books incirculation inPakistan,even about religious controversies,follow the discursive features of themunazarah. Some are descriptive in a stylewhich nearly imitates academicwriting. IkhtildfiUmmat, for instance,has been written froma Deobandlpoint ofview but isnot in themunazarah tradition.75TheMunazarahandReform nReligious ducation nPakistanAs brought out in the previous sections, the institution f themunazarahbrings out the ideological differences hich He at the core of the differentsects,sub-sects(maslak) and the Islamic identity, s differentiated romnonIslamic and secularMuslim identities, mong Pakistani Muslims. However,only the students f madrasahs are taughtthe artof disputationwhile otherreligiouspeople do not get any formaltraining f thiskind.Other people are,however, exposed tomundzarahswhich takeplace from time to time and,more often, to the books based upon themwhich have been mentionedearlier.They are also exposed to the internet ersionsofmundzarahs and theaudio-tapesof some famouseventsof thiskind. Above all, since every leaderof prayers (imam) picks up the verbal style of the mundzarahs, thecongregations of Friday prayers and other such events are often also exposedto argumentation f thiskind.As such, it is surprising hat themunazarah and the books on refutingother opinions (mundzarah-ttxts) are not mentioned in any proposal onreforming slamic education in Pakistan. The International Crises Group(ICG), for instance,has written several reports about the madrasahs andIslamicmilitancy inPakistan. The assumptionof the ICG, in commonwithother Pakistanis, is that modern education can counteract the tendencytowardsviolence which religiouseducationwill presumablycreate.Thus onereport says:

There aremany precedents that show thatmodern education can coexist withthese two features of madrassah education. NGOs such as National RuralSupport Program have helped some local communities to transform their

75See n. 59 above.



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216 TARIQRAHMANmadrassahs by includingmodern education. The religious identity remains intactbut there is less emphasis on traditional subjects.76

Christopher Candland, who has published on thisvery subject,pointsout,however, thatmanymadrasahs do "teach thesesubjects" natural ciences,computer studies,etc.) but thatmodern education "is not a guaranteeof anenlightenedmind."77 Indeed, the Islamistmilitantswho were involved in the9/11 attacks had generally attended secular educational institutions.78However, Candland too does not recommend anything except an "alternativecurriculum"based on those teachingsfrom the seared textswhich teachone"how to relate peacefullywith other communities throughgoodwill andtolerance."79

Many officials nd foreign onorsworking on themadrasahs ofPakistanblame theDars-iNizami, which theyclaim, is stagnant ndvery conservativebecause some texts in it come from the 13thcentury.80owever, these textsare about purely theologicalmatterswhich do not emphasize jihad to theexclusion of other duties.Moreover, because theybelong to themedieval agetheydo not referto contemporaryeventswhich Muslims regard as beingunfriendlyacts towards them.Among these are the creation of Israel bydislocatingPalestinianArabs fromtheirhomes, thediscriminatory olicies ofIsraelis towardsthemlater, hepost-9/11 ccupation of theUS and itsallies ofIslamic landssuchasAfghanistanand Iraq.These contemporaryrealities reateand sustain the anti-Western backlash among Muslim countries which we arewitnessing and it isnot the ars-iNizami but the scoresofpamphletswrittenin thepolemical style f themunazarah which are soldoutsidemosques whichmake people more intensely aware of them.

Moreover, the ars-iNizami is inArabic and ismemorized (though, iketextbooks in secular institutions,heyarenotmeant to bememorized) whilethemunazarah textsare inUrdu and are internalized.They provide readymade argumentswhich the debateror preacher can use easily and which the76ICG, Pakistan:Madrassas, Extremismand theMilitary (Islamabad: InternationalGisis Group,2002), 29.77Chistopher Candland, "Pakistan's Recent Experience inReforming Islamic Education" inJamalMalik, Madrassa inSouthAsia: TeachingTerror111.78See, O. Roy, Globalized Islam: The Searchfor a New Ummah (New York: ColumbiaUniversity Press, in associationwith, the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales,Paris, 2004), 310.79Candland, "Pakistan'sRecent Experience inReforming IslamicEducation," 111.80The curriculum is described inFrancisRobinson, The Ulema ofFarangiMahall and IslamicCulture inSouthAsia (Lahore: Ferozsons, 2002), 249-251.More details are inG.M.D. Sufi,alMinhaj Being the volution ofCorriculum in the uslim Educational Institutionsof ndia (Delhi:Idarah-'iAdbiyat-i-Dilli, 1941), 17.



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MUNAZARAHITERATURENURDU 217audience understands and respondsto emotionally.Also, theDars-i Nizamiprecedes theDeobandl, Barelvl andMawdudl interpretationsf Islam. Itdoesnot even dwell upon the Shf ah-Sunnldifferences or does it referto theheresies of thepresent time. It ismainly concernedwith theologicalmattersand theseare farremoved fromtheantagonisticreligious identities hich arein conflictwith each other inPakistan today. In short, it is not theDars-iNizami, which consistsof theQur'an, Hadith and exegesiswhich createsthesectarian intoleranceamong themadrasah studentsbut themunazarah textswhich are extra-curricular nd, therefore, ormally ignored by would-bereformers of madrasahs. For the same reasons, those religious readers whosestaple fare is not the canonical textsof Islam nor the eclectic and tolerantwritingsof themystics,would also tendtobe sectarian nd intolerant. largenumberof religiousreaders, owever, confinethemselves oprayerbooks, theQur'an and chapbooks ofmystical or folk Islam.Thus, even among religiousreaders, it cannot be claimed that the textsdescribed above are the onlyinformallearning experience available toPakistanis.What can be suggested,however, is that thosewho are exposed to themunazarah texts remore liabletodevelop a disputatious, intolerantreligious dentity hanothers.To sumup,themunazarah texts rather than mainstream religious education contribute totheacerbityand friction hichmakes thePakistani religioussceneamatter ofconcernforthosewho aspirefor eace and amityinthecountry.These pamphlets and books will not formpart of any scheme forcurricularreformsince they are not part of theDars-i Nizami. Indeed, nocollege or universitycourse on Islam evenmentions them and,while somemadrasah syllabido refer o themas supplementary eadingmaterial,not all ofthem do so. This means thatmadrasah reforms, as presently envisaged, cannotremove a major cause of intolerance towards other religious and ideologicalbeliefs. Inasmuch as these are influencedby themunazarah-xtxts,theywillremainpartof thePakistani religious orldview.This being so, can suchpolemical textsbe banned? In view of theBritishexperience of banning controversial literature? such literature went underground and banning itselfwent with authoritarianism81it would beunrealisticto suggest uch an extrememeasure. Itwould provide theIslamistswith another grievance,underminedemocraticvalues further, nd probablybackfire s such literature ill thengounderground.Working with the 'ulama* o reduce thevolume of suchwritings couldhave positive results. But, above all, let us remember that ideologicaldifferences ave always been a part of the Islamicworld and, indeed,of all81Barrier,Banned: Controversial Literature nd an Political Control inBritish ndia 1907-1947,passim.



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218 TARIQRAHMANreligionsand secular ideologiesall over theworld and in throughoutknownhistory.They are being translated ow inPakistan, as theyhave sometimesbeen in the past, in violence because of governmentpolicies. For instance,people were recruited n thename of jihad to fighttheproxywars ofUSAagainst the SovietUnion's military occupation ofAfghanistan in the 1980s.Likewise, theywere encouraged to infiltrate cross the line of control inKashmir, etc. Being armed and inspiredwith religious zeal, such peoplesubsequently ndulged in sectariankillings inPakistan and arenow trying oimpose a code of lifethey regard s sacredupon thewhole country.These arepolitical and economic matters and the solutionsmust be political andeconomic.Curricular reform especiallythatwhich does not touchupon theinformal input into religious education?will hardly change the presentrealities nPakistan.

o o o



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MUNAZARAH ITERATURENURDU 219ANNEXURE-1

Books Prescribed asReadingMaterial for adrasah StudentsDeobandis82Christianity 'Isd'iyyatiydai? jMaulanauhammadTaqi'UthmaniAhmadiBeliefs Qdidiydni adhhab;Qddiyaniyyatand 6 other books.

Muhammad Ilyas BarniAbu! Hasan 'AllNadviUnbelief* \lsldmurMaghribiyyatlKashmakash

and8other ooksAbu'l Hasan 'AllNadvi

Socialism/Communism

Ishtirdkiyyatur slam Mas'ud' Alam NadviIslam urIshtirdkiyyatand 2 other books. Maulana KandhalviHadiyyat al-Shi'ah Maulana Muhammad QasimNanautviShfism \Hiddyatl-ShVahand 6 other books.

Maulana Rashid AhmadGangohi

Barelvi Beliefs 14books includinghosebyMuhammad Manzur Nu'manIOther 'false eliefs'(firqdha-'iatilah) \jd'izah;'Ilmi uhdsbah;MaudiidiMadhhab

and 11 other books.

AbuKhalid;Qazi Mazhar Husain;Qazi Mazhar Husain

BARELViS83Books under "Taqabul-i Adyan* (comparative religions) are not specified except forthe author inhis field studywas informed that themain book that is taught in(variousBrelvi madaris in this connection isBahar-i SharVat (vol. 1), byMaulanaAmjad 'Ali adiriRizvL AHL-IHADlTH84Their selection of books on "Taqabul-i Adyan9 and "Radd-i Firq Bdtilah" are also notmentioned in the report._ SHI'AH85TheReportdoesnotmentiontheir election fbooksundertheir ategoryTahqiq4Adyan wa Madhdhib19 (research on religions and ideologies)._

82SourceGOP, DiniMadaris kiJami'Riport,71-74.*Though given under the label of refutation f "unbelief," the book refutesand criticizesmodernity and arguesthattheWest dominatesMuslim countriesthroughtheir wn elite.83Ibid., 7584Ibid., 91-92.85Ibid., 93.



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220 TARIQRAHMANThese books are not partof thetraditional ars-iNizamL Not all of themarewritten in themunazarak style.However, theirpurpose is to refute thedoctrines of others.

ft ft ft

rahman_munazarah literature in urdu

Documents