Secularisation of Jamaat-e-Islami and the ghost of Abul ala Maududi

By R. Santhosh,

The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Kerala, convened a press meet in Kozhikode on 21st May 2010 and Arif Ali, the state Ameer made the following statements. “Jamaat-e-Islami has enormous obligation to Abul ala Maududi, as he is the founder of the organisation. At the same time, the organisation is founded neither on his writings nor on his vision. Instead it is founded on Quran and the Hadiths. We wanted to make this clear since a long time and now we are doing it”. Arif Ali’s remarks are of paramount significance as it is for the first time that an office bearer of Jamaat-e-Islami, that too a state Ameer, openly stated that the organisation is not founded on the principles of Abul ala Maududi, its founder and hitherto guiding spirit.

Abul ala Maududi[Photo by www.globalsecurity.org]

By asserting that the organisation is based on Quran and Hadith, and not on the ideas of Maududi, the Ameer was trying to erase the fundamental difference between Jamaat-e-Islami and other Muslim organisations. Later, though other leaders of the organisation tried to clarify that his remarks were misunderstood by the media and indeed Maududi is an important figure for them, the writing on the wall was clear. For the organisation, the founder and his ideology had become a liability, an unsettling ideological baggage that needed to be abandoned or at least covered up properly. The Jamaat-e-Islami had formally decided to do something that its founder would have despised, namely, field its own candidates and enter the political fray in the forthcoming panchayat elections in Kerala. The press meet was convened to make official this decisive moment in the history of Jamaat-e-Islami in Kerala.

Abul ala Maududi and Jamaat-e-Islami

In spite of the Kerala Ameer’s disownment of the founding importance of Maududi's writings and vision in the establishment of the organisation, it is a well known fact that the Jamaat-e-Islami was founded by Abul ala Maududi in 1941 to pursue the goal of establishing hukumat-e-ilahia or Allah’s Kingdom. He was scathing in his criticism of ‘man made and poisonous western ideologies’ such as secularism, democracy and nation-state. According to Maududi, the underlying idea of western secularism, i.e. the relegation of religion to the private sphere, is impossible as Islam simply does not accept the dichotomy between private and public spheres. On the contrary it insists that every aspect of human life has to be governed by divine principles of Islam. In a similar vein, Maududi also rejected ideas of nationalism and democracy as they defy the divine project and lay much emphasis on human will. He argued that such ideologies, bereft of any divinity and morality, would only spell doom for humanity. As an alternative to these man made ideologies that, according to him, are incapable of guiding human beings towards an ethical life, Maududi advocated the idea of ‘hukumat-e-ilahia’ and argued that every Muslim is duty-bound to strive for its realization

Maududi’s propositions were Islamist in character as they were presented as being solely founded upon immutable Islamic principles and epistemology. He was also categorical in asserting that his version of Islam is founded upon the obdurate fight with jahaliyyat (idolatry) aimed at converting the dar al-kufr (land of infidels) to dar al-Islam (land of Islam). He firmly believed that Jamaat-e-Islami would herald a new era of Islamic activism where the political system of infidels, both in undivided and independent India and Pakistan would be transformed into that of pure Islam. He was also scathing in his criticism of other Muslim organisations, which, according to him, have either failed to understand or have deliberately chosen to overlook the divine obligation of striving for an Islamic state. He stipulated that the members of Jamaat-e-Islami boycott anti-Islamic political structures and institutions (read secular) such as assemblies, armies, courts, educational system, government jobs and services, as participating in any of them would be sinful.

It is interesting to see the transformation of Jamaat-e-Islami in the post independent India. Perhaps the trajectory of Jamaat-e-Islami in Kerala provides the most spectacular illustration of the transformations and the emerging predicaments of the organisation.

Jamaat-e-Islami and the Kerala context

Ever since its establishment in Kerala in 1948, Jamaat-e-Islami has been relegated to the margins of the Muslim mainstream. Though the organisation could make its presence felt across Kerala through well organised propaganda mechanisms, its acceptance was limited to a fringe section of the middle class educated Muslims. Moreover, other Muslim organisations including Sunnis and Mujahids were vehemently critical of the organisation for following the ‘erroneous and dangerous’ interpretations of Maududi and thereby misleading the Muslim masses. Following the true Maududian spirit, the Jamaat-e-Islami activists in the initial years of its existence considered the Indian state as un-Islamic, resigned government jobs, and refused to participate in the elections. They also accused other Muslim organisations of neglecting the ultimate task of establishing ‘hukumat-e-ilahia, the ultimate obligation of a pious Muslim, by joining the political mainstream. But soon, it became clear that following an unadulterated Maududian agenda would be suicidal because the concrete socio-political context in which the organisation operated was simply antithetical to the Maududian ideals. A majority of the Muslims simply refused to buy the Maududian arguments regarding electoral democracy and nation-state. They aspired for government jobs and eagerly participated in the election processes. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) emerged as a major political party and it played a significant role in the political mainstreaming of the Muslims in Kerala. The leadership of IUML, comprising of some of highly influential Sunni spiritual leaders, ensured limited but definite bargaining power for Muslims of Kerala. In a state where well organized caste and religious communities enjoyed considerable political patronage from all political parties, Jamaat-e-Islami’s theological arguments regarding abstinence from elections evoked very little response among the Muslim masses.

The organisation soon realized this and since the nineteen sixties, through a series of amendments and modifications, it diluted its position regarding electoral democracy and gradually, though reluctantly, reverted its stand on politics and democracy. Indeed, after the undemocratic regime of Indira Gandhi during Emergency, during which period the organisation was banned and its leaders arrested, the organisation started to openly advocate of democracy. The Babri Masjid demolition and the emergence of virulent Hindutva politics during the nineties also fundamentally altered the perceptions and strategies of the organisation with regard to the idea of secularism. The organisation was quick to realize the virtues of secularism in a Hindu majoritarian society and became its open supporter. This newly developed affinity towards secularism was used to justify its political support to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala in various elections after the nineties. Jamaat-e-Islami leaders were at pains to explain the theological intricacies of an Islamist organisation supporting a communist party in order to protect secularism!

It can be observed that the organisation had been indeed making preparations for an entry into Kerala politics for some time. Other than supporting different coalitions during various elections, the organisation had also been involving itself in a number of popular struggles across the state. Solidarity Youth Movement (SYM), an organisation founded in 2003 made itself visible in several environmental, anti-displacement, anti-globalisation struggles in Kerala. SYM, unlike its parent organisation was presented in more secular and progressive attires and liberally used the discourses of human rights, justice and environmental activism. It was also successful in roping in a number of prominent social activists into its platforms and gained considerable legitimacy. Jamaat-e-Islami was hopeful that the involvement of SYM in these struggles would eventually benefit the political aspirations of the organisation. The decision to field candidates in the forthcoming panchayat raj elections specifically stemmed from this optimism.

But ever since the organisation declared its intention to participate in the elections, questions have been raised from different quarters regarding its actual ideological position and its relationship with the Islamist positions of Maududi. Interestingly, it is the CPM that has initiated a campaign against Jamaat-e-Islami accusing it of being ‘radical and extremist’ not withstanding the fact that the CPM lead LDF did not have any qualms about enjoying the political support of the organisation in the last several elections in Kerala. The leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami were at pains to elaborate that the organisation has a genuinely democratic agenda and that the Maududian ideology is not the guiding spirit of the organisation. In the same press conference, mentioned above, Arif Ali also asserted that Jamaat-e-Islami does not have the agenda of establishing a theocratic/Islamist state and indeed this is a false propaganda spread by its detractors to tarnish the image of the organisation.

Clearly, Jamaat-e-Islami has transformed substantially. It has transformed to such an extent that its original ideologies and theological positions have become anathema and the organisation is forced at least to publicly denounce them. Perhaps this should be understood as a testimony to the resilience of Indian democracy and its pluralism, which is capable of making an Islamist organisation publicly reject its earlier agenda and accept a pluralistic and democratic way of life. This is also an indication of the non-essentialist nature of religious organisations, quite contrary to their assertions that they are founded on immutable, timeless religious principles. But one thing is for sure, the Jamaat-e-Islami, not withstanding its assertions regarding a genuine democratic agenda and progressive outlook, will continue to be haunted by the ghost of Maududi and will not be able to move away from his shadow completely and convincingly.

(R. Santhosh works with Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Mangalore University. He can be contacted on r_santho@yahoo.co.in)