Sunni Chauvinism and the Roots of Muslim Modernism by Teena U. Purohit;

Author:Teena U. Purohit;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2023-01-03T00:00:00+00:00

Iqbal, the Aga Khan, and Ismaili Islam

Iqbal concludes in Islam and Ahmadism that the possibility for Islam to cohere as a political and religious entity is “shaken” in the current moment when Muslims rebel against the basic tenets of the faith and that in the interest of “eternal solidarity, Islam cannot tolerate any rebellious groups within its fold.”40 The didactic and explanatory tone of the Ahmadism piece ends here. Thereafter, he switches to a much more open-ended reflection about how Islam is passing through a period of transition, for he remarks—“as to what will be the attitude toward non-Muslims of a politically united Islam, if such a thing ever comes, is a question which history alone can answer.”41 This kind of question provides a natural closing point to the piece.

However, this penultimate statement is followed by a somewhat out-of-place afterthought about a topic he had not addressed at any previous point in the essay until the absolute end—the Ismailis and the Aga Khan:

One word about His Highness the Aga Khan. What has led Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru to attack the Aga Khan it is difficult for me to discover. Perhaps he thinks that the Qadianis and the Ismailis fall under the same category. He is obviously not aware that however the theological interpretation of the Ismailis may err, they believe in the basic principles of Islam. It is true that they believe in a perpetual Imamat; but the Imam according to them is not a recipient of Divine revelation. He is only an expounder of the Law. It is only the other day (vide, the Star of Allahabad, 12 March 1934) that his Highness the Aga Khan addressed his followers as follows:

“Bear witness that Allah is One. Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah. Quran is the Book of Allah. Kaʾbah is the Qiblah of all. You are Muslims and should live with Muslims. Greet Muslims with Assalam-o-Alaikum. Give your children Islamic names. Pray with Muslim congregations in mosques. Keep fast regularly. Solemnise your marriages according to Islamic rules of Nikah. Treat all Muslims as your brothers.”

It is for the Pandit now to decide whether the Aga Khan represents the solidarity of Islam or not.42

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