From: S.Guhathakurta-AT-indal.co.in
Subject: Re: holy places - fact sheet from India
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2002 14:17:54 +0530



In India , a muslim holy place is open to all religions, so is a Christian
and a Sikh holy place. However, a non-hindu is not allowed entry into Hindu
temples.




"Kamran D. Rastegar" <kdr7-AT-columbia.edu>-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu on
01/03/2002 13:15:34

Please respond to postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu

Sent by:  owner-postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu


To:   postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
cc:

Subject:  Muslim holy places


just to offer a couple of thoughts on the discussion on non-muslims and
the islamic holy cities:

although i certainly think it's accurate to call the barring of
non-muslims from the cities of mecca and medina "discriminatory", it is
important to note that the measure of who is a muslim is something that is
not meant to be set by men. a rather famous sura in the quran (which, i
grant you, may be contradicted by another i am unaware of - such are the
holy texts) states "la ikrah fi din" - there is no compulsion in religion.
this is often read to mean that each person must determine alone if he or
she is a muslim - others cannot determine it for them, or impose such
determinations upon them. thus, the only question that is to be asked to
make a determination of muslim identity is "are you a muslim?" - to answer
in the affirmative would intimate you have accepted the validity of the
five pillars of islam. in this it technically should be very easy for
anyone to enter a muslim holy site (even should they not be muslim and
want to lie)... in practice, of course, authorities at certain sites
attempt more stringent determinations - asking about family lineage, or
wanting proof of knowledge of parts of the qur'an, etc.  these
examinations  are not in my understanding valid determinations of who is a
muslim. the bottom line is that anyone, at any time, can convert to islam
simply by uttering "la ilah illa allah" (there is no god but God). my
point is that there is a constant tension between islam's universalist
calling - that all humans can and should become muslims - and the need
(which does very much exist in some muslim communities) to have identity
rest on more "solid" factors, such as heritage, lineage and the like,
often in order to simply maintain the notion of difference and distinction
between various ethnic or cultural groupings.

a second point: this discrimination, i think, is not simply aimed at
"infidels" (if we use that english term to translate the arabic "kuffar")
as jews, christians and, in certain interpretations zoroastians (and even
at times hindus) have been exempted from this term - kafir means "atheist"
or "unbeliever," not "non-muslim." i make this point as many people,
confused by discourse on al-qa'ida and other groups, seem to think that
islamic orthodoxy deems jews and christians and all non-muslims "kauffar"
- infidels - when none of the major theological schools has or would ever
make that argument, so far as i know. it's worth also mentioning that in
this classificatory system, there exists another category "munafiq"
(hypocrite) which generally is viewed at applying to muslims or
monotheists who are corruptors of their traditions... heritics and
dissimulators. these are deemed the lowest and most reprehensible
category, even below kafirs.

finally, we should not confuse the history of religious practices in
hejaz and nejd (where the holy areas are located) with the state policies
of the present government that controls these areas - saudi arabia. the
saudi policy is based on wahhabist interpretations that are often very far
removed from those of earlier periods - ummayyid to ottman. i am not sure
that the present discrimination again non-muslims held the same meaning in
these earlier periods, or that it had the same intonation that it has
today. i would appreciate it if others on the list who might know more
about this would clarify if this has been the case throughout islamic
history, or if it's moreso a result of the last 200 or so years of
wahhabist ascendency in the hejaz and nejd.

-kr



     --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---






     --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---