Lessons from Egypt for the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind people.
This is in response to a request from my friend and guide to shed light on the lessons from Egypt.
What lessons could we learn from the mass uprising in Egypt? India is not Egypt. And we do not have any Hosni Mubaraks here. We may have our share of bigots like Narendra Modis and L K Advanis. But still we do not have Hosni Mubaraks here, by the grace of Allah.
As I reflected on the demonstrations in Egypt and news of the events that followed, it occured to me that there were FOUR vital lessons for the Islamists here in India that need to be highlighted.
Lesson No. 1:
The agents of change are always the youth. If we want to bring change in the society, we have to capture the minds of the youth and mould them in the Islamic way. The Egypt revolution may have been scripted and drafted by the seniors, but it was executed by the youth. Youth were in the forefront and they took the plunge when it mattered most. Without the active involvement of the youth the brutal regime could not have been toppled so smoothly. It is amazing that the Ikhwans were able to nurture, train and groom such a large number of youth under the very nose of the tyrant Pharoah.
We have to do something to groom our own youth. At present we have SIO which has succeeded in mobilising students for the Islamic cause. There is a big gap as far as the Indian youth are concerned. There is no activism. There is no guidance. There is no mobilisation. Youth power is being wasted. There is an urgent need for proper planning in this regard. India has the largest concentration of youth. But the percentage of youth in the Islamic movement is not healthy and the figures presented by the General Secretary of the Jamaat in the recently held All India Members conference is alarming. The number of members of the Jamaat who have not seen thirty summers is very very meagre. Those with grey and white beards outnumbered those with shiny black beards in that Ijtema-e-Arkan. That does not augur well for a movement which strives to bring total change in the society. The success story of Solidarity Youth Movement in Kerala has to be repeated in all over the nation. And that is the need of the hour.
Lesson No 2:
Patience and perseverance pays. Be patient. Never lose hope. Patience pays and it pays handsomely. Look at the Ikhwans. For 52 long years - more than two generations - they had been patient. They were suppressed and oppressed by the most brutal regime of the day. They bore all kinds of oppression. They were banned and persecuted for more than a half century. But still, they never lose hope. They never threw away their core idealogy. They never succumbed to the pulls and pressures of the brutal regime and its wily sponsor. They were steadfast in their belief and action.
Those who call for drastic changes in our core idealogy should stand and ponder over this phenonmenal perseverence displayed by the Ikhwanis. Let us not be impatient and make hasty decisions which may harm our larger goal.
Lesson No 3:
The Ikhwanis never called it Islamic revolution. They co-opted with others. They worked with other sections of the society. They even shared the struggle with the coptic Christians. Cross and Quran alongwith the Egyptian flag were raised in Tahrir Square. They warmly embraced with others for a common cause. Slavej Zizek has described it as the most sublime moment. I would say it as the most defining moment in the 21st century. In a multi-cultural and multi-racial world that is the most pragmatic approach.
We in India too should such an inclusive approach. We have to identify common goods and goals and join hands with the likeminded noble souls in attaining them. We have to learn from the pact which is known as "Hilful Fuzul" was arranged in the house of Abdullah ibn Jad'in in Makkah by certain important personalities of the time. Later during the period of his Prophethood, the Holy Prophet often mentioned this pact and said that he was still willing to participate in a similar pact and not to violate its provisions. We have vast number of right thinking and noble hearted activists here in India. They are not corrupt. They are not communal. We have to join hands with them and find ways and means to struggle with them towards attaining common good.
Lesson No 4:
Embrace the issues of the people and people would always sit in your lap. The Ikhwanis embraced the issues of the people. They joined hands with them when it mattered the most. They identified the simmering discontent against the regime and used it. They got availed of the opportunity and positioned themselves. They have always been in the forefront in tackling the basic issues of the lay man.
We have to strive for common goals instead of Muslim specific issues. The experience gained through Forum for Democracy and Communal Amity (FDCA) would be useful in this regard. It has to be noted that whenever we took common issues the nation responded passionately and positively. The Human Rights Campaign launched in 2003 and the Caravan for Peace and Justice in this meeqath are shiny examples for this. Similarly the more positive response we got when we took up the cause of anti-liquor campaign in Tamil Nadu could be cited as an example for this trend.
Still there are vast number of issues affecting the aam aadmi here. We have to take them up.
Crossposted in Luthfispace.
20 comments:
And Lesson No 5 is to be more flexible with the Muslim society. At present we have Muthafiq(Associate), Karkun(Worker), Rukn(Member) set up. We have to totally revamp this system without losing core character of the Tahreek. We need to find ways and means to strike a chord with the mainstream Indian society as well as gain the confidence of the Muslim society. At present we feel as alien in the present society.
I would like to add another important dimension of this revolution.
This revolution is being named "the Facebook Revolution".
It all started when Asmaa Mahafouz, a 26 year old MBA, recorded a highly charged speech using simple web-camera and posted it on her facebook account. Within hours there were innumerable responses and a chain reaction broke out that ultimately caused huge gathering at Tahreer Square.
This revolution has emphasised the power of social media and social networks. So far we (the Islamic Movements) have been complaining that people are driven by mas media and mass media is not in our hands. The biggest development of the last decade was that mass media became accessible to a common man. Websites, blogs, Youtube, Facebook and twitter have changed the scenario to such an extent that it simply became possible for everybody, even a teen-age student with zero resources to communicate his message to the whole world. Our country has also witnesses many blogs-driven successful middle class campaign and now this Tahreer Square has taken the Faceook and Twitter to the new heights of power and influence.
Unfortunately, In this aspect, Islamic Movement lags far behind, not only in comparison to non Muslim world, but even in comparison to other contemporary Muslim groups. In India, we are much behind not only from hi-tech groups like IRF but even from traditional groups like Deoband, Ahl-e-Hadith and even Barelvis. Poorest presence on web is that of our literature. We arrange hundreds of programmes every month but a search on youtube yields not more than a few results. Compare it with anyother group (even tablighi Jamaat) the scenario will be different.
It is high time our elders took a lesson from Egypt. Facebook posting Ikhwanis are not all teenagers. They include many 60-70 year old leaders.For last many years, I am trying my best to create awareness about this new media in Jamaat circles but still ice is to break.
Wassalam
Sadat Husseini
Br Sadat has rightly highlighted the need to be internet savvy. But in India we have a vast majority of people who are illiterate and don't have internet connection.
But we should not forget that in egypt too everyone is not connected with internet..but the movements initially target the change-makers...the young middle class people who influence the masses..and this group is definitely internet savvy in India much more than in egypt...
Hats off to Ikhwanis who worked behind the scenes and succeeded in transforming the political map of Egypt.
In this age of globalised world where material pursuits are given topmost priority, it would have required tremendous amount of zeal and passion to mobilise millions of people for a common cause.
Facebook is just one of the face of this revolution. We have to focus on the ultimate driving force behind this mass uprisal of the 21st century. It is both anti-American and anti-western in nature and spirit. You have to remember that Hosni Mubarak had been an important ally of America and western world. The western world had been pampering Hosni Mubarak for the past 30 long, long and long years. Now much water has flown in Nile. Obama is not a factor now to be reckoned with. As Thomas Friedman has proclaimed this revolution is purely home-made and the Egyptian people have achieved this feat without any external help and the most stunning aspect of this revolution is that the people executed the fall of Hosni Mubarak inspite of USA.
And that makes this revolution a sweeter one.
The Ikhwanis have not claimed any credit for this historic revolution. They have termed it as people's revolution. I would say that this is the master stroke by the Ikhwanis.
But the present state of affairs in the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind circles is distressing. There is a trend to project the name of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind in each and every move. Utmost care is taken to have a decent banner with the name of the Jamaat in big, bold letters even for a small tea party of 10 to 15 persons.
Gone are the days when the cadre of the Jamaat were devoid of publicity. They prefered to work silently without asking for any credit. They worked hard behind the scenes.
Nowadays there is enormous graze for publicity. You may say: "It is not publicity of an individual which is being sought here; rather publicity of the tanzeem is being sought. It is definitely not riyakaari. What is the harm in craving for publicity of the organisation?".
But, I think it is definitely a sin. We should take effective measures to curb this trend. It is disgusting.
Excellent analysis.
India too is a country with a large number of youth. We are the youngest nation in this part of the world.
We too have unemployment, poverty, illiteracy etc. After the economic reforms carried out by Manmohan Singh in 1991 the gap between rich and poor is widening, widening and widening more. What we have now is super rich India and utterly poor India. Rahul Gandhi has termed it as a tale of two Indias.
It is a ticking time bomb there. There is widespread discontent which simmering within.
But the brighter side of the story is that our youth are not violent-prone. But they are not aware of the problems confronting the nation. They have their cricket, bollywood etc. They can never become agents of change.
Last month there was a interactive session in Loyola College one of the prestigious institution in Chennai. A bunch of Retired IAS officers including Naresh Gupta former election commissioner were interacting with the students. They were there to create awareness and discuss ways and means to ensure free and fair elections. But to their utter dismay the students were found to be well aware of the prevailing rates for securing govt. jobs and given a chance they were ready to make avail of the jobs for themselves by giving away the bribes.
That is the crux of the matter. The students of elite community studying in an elite college are willing to break or bend the rules and they are to cough up money as bribe.
This mindset is dangerous for the nation. This is far more harmful than corporate scams. This would sap the vitals of the nation from within.
Unfortunately, it seems that nobody is interested in curbing this menace.
As Rajnikanth had once famously said "Even God could not save this country".
We should also not forget that it is God Who executes change whatever, wherever and whenever.
As soon as Egypt happened, we are trying to envisage a replication of it in India? I think its too mature. for Egyptians, all doors are closed. we have enough freedom. many other options are still open and yet to be tried. Ours is a plural society, which needs to be protected first at all cost. What about other muslims in India? When we talk about Kerala, do you have any idea, what kind of relationship we have with other Muslim groups? Egypt door ast!
Well said, Zubair. We have enough freedom and above all we have a functioning democracy here. Our PM never gets tired of mentioning this aspect. Even in the much maligned press conference with the TV journalists too MMS asserted this virtue. We, as voters have the right to choose or change our rulers every five years.
But, the sad, bitter truth is that our nation has not evolved as mature, responsible democracy. 375 members out of 574 members of Parliament are crorepatis. Only a lone member from Jharkhand is said to possess just Rs 12,000/-.
8 out of 16 Chief Justices of Independent India were tainted. Paid News has become the bane of media.
Still, as Zubair has said there is something to hope than get despaired.
There is no harm in wishful thinking of being catalyst for a revolution. Ground realities say something different. Try changing a Panchayat... We will know our capability. Forget India - the mammoth country for a while. As Niyamath said, it is God, Who executes change whatever, wherever and whenever... Loads of work to be done on the ground!
Well said, Zubair Ahmed.
Let the long journey begin with the Panchayat. Let us start with changing the face of our ward.
Above all, Let us change ourselves first. For Charity begins at home.
If everyone decides to change then collective change becomes easier. So we cannot say Egypt door ast!
The chance lies within. The opportunity is there for everyone.
Agreed. We have freedom here. We have a functional democracy here. But are we satisfied with the state of affairs?
Are we happy with the tale of two Indias, which Sitaram Yechury famously described as IPL India and BPL India?
Are we content with the rampant corruption eating out the pillars of the very same democracy?
Are we happy and satisfied with the impact of western civilisation corrupting our younger generation like wild fire?
What about the rising figures of gays, lesbians, living together relationships? What to say about the communalisation of the society? caste ridden polity?
We are in need of Egypt more than Egyptians. Definitely Egypt beckons us!
I endorse the views of V K Abdul Malik. Thank you.
We need not get carried away by the developments in Egypt.
We have to bear in mind that the military has not scrapped the constitution of the country. It has merely suspended it. Besides it has not released the thousands of agitators arrested during the 18 day demonstrations.
In Tunisia thousands of Ikhwanis arrested in the past two decades were released. In Egypt it has not happened.
Next, the military of Egypt is very very mean, wicked and wily. There is no plausible reason to assume that they would have become lovers of democracy and Islam overnight.
Besides the character of Omer Sulaiman is most peculiar here. And there are reports that on the day when the resignation of Mubarak was announced the chief of Military of Egypt was spotted in the Pentagon office.
Above all there is a strong possiblity of a military coup and there are reports substantiating this theory.
But one thing is very clear. The wily Uncle Sam has something big, spectacular under his sleeves. The entire Middle East is being prepared for something BIG. It could soon turn to be the battle ground for World War III.
Libya and Syria are the two countries who had been anti-Israel consistently and vocally.
So let us wait and watch. and Hope for the best
You guys should not forget a basic fact. India is not Egypt. Indians can never be expected to agitate for freedom. The servile mentality is deeply ingrained in the Indian psyche.
Omar Mukhtar launched an armed struggle against the Italians. But Indians were very docile and we could not find Omar Mukhtars here.
Well said, Mr Thirumaran. India is not Egypt. There is no two opinion about it.
But we have to realise another important fact. ie Those who live in India too are human just like those who live in Egypt.
And God has created every humanbeing with dignity. This quest for dignity is there in Indians too. It got manifested in Self-respect movement (suya mariyadhai iyakkam) in the recent past.
So we cannot brush aside the possibility for a change in India.
i would like to add here, still we are the preaching movement rather than becoming reform movement... for this we need to pay serious attention towards our social engagement and social activism. jamat must represent the muslim community and make this ummah.. a live ummah.. to whom every one can trust and give some responsibilities.... and jamat must involve in the social issues of nation very seriously.
Very good analysis and insight presented here which should act as eye opener for JIH. External environment changes over time creates turbulence in an organisation' immediate environment and internal environmnet too, which calls for change in policies, procedures, systems, and functioning of the organisation. If the corresponding changes does not take place to manage the external and internal change environment, organisation will not be able to achive its strategic goals and objectives.
JIH is facing this dilema. It is still trying to manage and run the organisation with 60 years old mind set, structure, procedure and system. It has to embrace new challenges with fresh ideas and mind set to be an effective organisation that delivers and become successful. Some of the issues/ activities it has to examine critically are:
1) Limited memberships- constant without growth from last 50 years.
2) Oldies, poor ratio of youngestors in membership.
3) Port folio holders average age profile would be 50+
4) Poor penetration rate among muslim masses.
5) Media: Still publication of no. of copies of radiance and Dawat papers remain constant from last 40 years.
6) Has not been able to win heart of masses/ common man by taking critical urgents issues being faced day-in day out.
Until JIH is ready to brain storm with open mind and embrace new ways to tackle issues in changed circumstance, it will not be able to succeed in its mission and objectives.
Akhtar
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