HOW
GLOBAL ISLAMIC MISSIONARIES DESTROY CENTRAL ASIA'S CULTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL
HERITAGE
University
of Hawaii
The
present paper highlights how an increasingly globalized number of right-wing
Muslims (I am trying to avoid the term 'fundamentalist') hijacks the theological
discourse in Islam and brings damage upon the religion, both culturally and
intellectually speaking. The following is a plea for diversity.
The
damage inflicted upon the religious culture Thousands of Wahhabi (from the
Arabian Peninsula but also indigenous ones), Turkish, and Iranian missionaries
crisscross the immense territory that once formed the Soviet Union's southern
belt putting Central Asia's complex religious heritage at a high risk.
Unprepared to meet, let alone acknowledge that Islam may have many - legitimate
- faces, the missionaries' efforts are geared towards eradicating any ritual
traces foreign to their own religious experience. For instance, Sufi outdoor
festivals in Central Asia where families gather together (and men and women are
therefore not segeregated) are viewed as
unislamic
by these missionaries. Norooz, the ancient Persian New Year celebrated on the
Vernal Equinox (March 20, 21, or 22) is seen as a particularly offensive pagan
remnant by Wahhabi and Turkish preachers. The tradition of preparing seven
dishes symbolizing the angelic heralds of life and thereby the triumph of Good
over evil are identified correctly asunrelated to (Arabian) Islamic culture and
therefore considered heretical. In such occurences cultural differences are
consistently interpreted as religious aberrations. Whereas Norooz and the
traditions of Sufi orders such as the powerful Naqshabandis with adepts
spreading all over the globe will most likely survive the assault of puritanic
missionaries, rituals practiced by smaller communities such as villagers in the
mountains of Tajikistan who worship in ancient caves or near water falls as in
pre-Islamic times, may once become history.
Currently,
Kyrgystan's unique blend (I like to think of it as the "matrimony") of
Islam and Shamanism is particularly threatened. Kyrgyz tribes are among the last
Turkic populations to have become Muslims and have preserved more of their
pre-Islamic heritage than other nations in Central Asia. The author of this
paper has personally witnessed how a Uygur Wahhabi preacher chased away a Kyrgyz
female healer from a religious gathering. The healer, her name was Irina, was
conveying the questions of petitioners to spirits by chanting verses from the
Koran. In her mind her actions were perfectly compatible with Islamic doctrine.
She bitterly complained about the preacher's insensitivity claiming that the
Russians had never interfered with her "work."
The question that arises here is whether there may be a remedy or a way
to prevent further damage to Central Asia's own brand(s) of Islam.
To think of training missionaries to develop a better sense for how Islam
has become indigenous to Central Asia is unfortunately very unrealistic at this
point. Wahhabi and other Islamic missionaries think of themselves as the bearers
of a purified and uncorrupted religion that they feel called upon sharing with
their less lucky Muslim Brethren (less lucky because they couldn't freely
express their religiosity during seven decades of Soviet rule). What could be
successful is to strengthen Islamic diversity in Central Asia by teaching the
different religious denominations about their historic roots and what the origin
of their traditions and rituals are. Ironically, one could build on much
research conducted during the Soviet Union. Although the purpose of this
research was not to help religious sentiments but to the contrary to efface them
by showing a naturalistic - rather than a revelatory - derivation for Central
Asia's many religious rituals, the materials uncovered are of great value in
that they become a resource in support of religious diversity. My understanding
is that Central Asian people who are known for taking pride in their unique
traditions will respond favorably.
The destruction of the intellectual legacy Another characteristic of
puritanic Muslim missionaries is that they discourage their audiences from
turning to medieval theological sources. This is particularly unfortunate
in the case of Central Asia that has longed to reconnect to its medieval
intellectual legacy. From the wealth of works and materials relevant to
classical Islamic scholarship these missionaries retain only the two scriptural
sources, the Koran as the Book of Revelation and the Hadith that comprises the
sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. From these two sources the one most utilized
and quoted from is the Hadith, the understanding being that all a pious Muslim
needs are the examples set by the Prophet and his Companions. This diminished
understanding of tradition goes even further in that the Koran's call for
epistemic growth is ignored. It thereby becomes - like the Hadith – mainly a
law-giving source. The legacy of medieval Islam with its insistence on the
significance of the pursuit of knowledge and learning - as a life-long endeavor
and as man's truest accomplishment - is made obsolete. Moreover, the dynamic
nature of theology with its never ending quest is denied. Questions, doubts,
corrections, and revisions are denounced as expressions of weakness. In this
world view the good Muslim does not question, he is certain of his faith and his
actions.
Here too the question is whether a strategy can be found to avert further destruction. I am personally convinced that reviving Islamic jurisprudence as the highly intellectual discipline it once represented is the way to defeat or at least to weaken the ideologically driven right wing of contemporary Islam. Once the complexities and intricacies of Islamic law with its subtle hermeneutics and methodology are conveyed to a larger audience, it should be difficult for missionaries to sell their reductionist approach as a way to recover the "true" islam.