Shah e Hamdan’s Hospice and its Desecration

By Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, New Age Islam 8 August 2024 Leaving Aside the Debate About Shah E Hamdan Being a Shia or Sunni, The Real Question That Needs to Be Answered Is the Fact, About The Access to Hospices. Who Has the Access to Hospices, Shias or Sunnis? The Mosques Have Already Been Divided. Shias and Sunnis Have Separate Praying Spaces and Both Avoid Praying Behind Each Other ------ Amir-e-Kabir, Ali Sa'ani, Shāh Hamdān, Mir Syed Ali Hamdani-RA ------ The month of Muharram 2024 has been full of Shia-Sunni controversies. On 19th July (12th Muharram) a group of Shia youth mourners recited a Noha and did Marsiya inside the hospice of Shah e Hamdan. This act soon became viral over social media, that drew a flak from majority of Sunni masses and Ulema, who declared it as sacrilegious. The Muttahida Majlis e Ulema (MMU) also issued a statement that those responsible for this act of ‘desecration’ should be brought to the book and held accountable. The J&K Waqf Board too intervened and observed that such acts will not be tolerated. People were also aghast at this act as it has never happened before. This incident happened in the aftermath of earlier provocative slogans in Shaheed Gunj area of Srinagar, where Shias were declared Kafir. Kafir, Kafir Shia Kafir are slogans similar to what resonate in many cities of Pakistan, and promoted by organizations like Lashkar e Jhangvi and Sipah e Sahaba. These terrorist organizations usually carryout violent attacks against Shias and in retaliation Shias also use violent acts against these organizations. In the midst of all this violence, common Shias and Sunnis become the cannon fodder. There are designs to create an atmosphere of perpetual Shia-Sunni strife in which the violence will become acceptable and legitimate. The demands of arresting the youth who recited the Noha in the premises also grew louder. Earlier police had booked few Shia mourners who carried Palestinian flags during the processions under stringent UAPA, drawing criticism because the message of Karbala is to stand with the oppressed. This incident gave rise to various pertinent issues that need to be addressed in the vitriolic atmosphere that needs to be calmed down. There can be few explanations about the incident and its reaction. 1. Was this incident a rebuttal to the provocative slogans of Kafir Kafir Shia Kafir? 2. Are we witnessing a Shia resurgence because many prominent Sunni Ulema are supporting the Ahle Bayt and castigating Mu'awiya and Banu Umayyah, something that has become prominent due to the advent of social media? 3. Are Shias emboldened due to their active support of Palestinian Sunnis in Gaza as compared to all Arab countries put together? 4. Is it an attempt to appropriate the personality of revered Sunni scholar and saint Mir Syed Ali Hamdani? 5. Is it just a conspiracy against Muslims, so that the state gets legitimacy to install police picket inside the shrines? All these are hypothetical questions with certain amount of reality. The retaliation to the ‘desecration’ as alleged by certain Sunni Ulema, was rebutted by Shia scholar Agha Syed Hadi Moosvi who claimed that if reciting Noha is akin to desecration of the hospice, the shooting of various movies like Bajrangi Bhaijaan inside the premises of shrines is greater desecration. Further, the call for booking Shia youth under stringent laws is uncalled for because they did a ritual and that is right. He like other Shias believe that Mir Syed Ali Hamdani is a Shia because many Shias do claim so, as we have Hamdani caste prevalent among both Shias and Sunnis. However, the reality is that Hamdan is name of a region in Central Asia, that has been suffixed to Mir Syed Ali and his followers many of whom settled down in Kashmir and all of them were not Syeds in lineage, but over these centuries all Hamdanis claim to be Syeds. It is the case similar among both Sunnis and Shias. Shias also claim that they are the real inheritors of legacy of Mir Syed Ali Hamdani popularly known as Shah e Hamdan. They believe that Shah e Hamdan was a Shia, a claim that is rebuked by Sunnis. Leaving aside the debate about Shah e Hamdan being a Shia or Sunni, the real question that needs to be answered is the fact, about the access to hospices. Who has the access to hospices, Shias or Sunnis? The mosques have already been divided. Shias and Sunnis have separate praying spaces and both avoid praying behind each other. However, shrines and hospices were inclusive and pluralistic spaces where both could pray together, visit and share the spaces. Now, they too seem to be shrinking and this trend indeed is worrisome. Hospices and shrines acted as the bridges that have the potential to overcome the Shia-Sunni divide. If these spaces are also retrograded to exclusive ones, then the divide will further be reinforced. The claims and counter-claims if not sorted out by the community leaders themselves will result in some members opting for a long drawn judicial process. Hence, for resolving a religious issue we may need to seek an irreligious solution brokered by a secular institution. The Ulema seem to understand this fact and given the backlash of masses as expressed over social media, the Ulema were forced to convene a meeting of Muttahida Majlis e Ulema (MMU). MMU as usual appealed for Peace and mutual understanding, while castigating preachers not to use derogatory and denigrating language and terms for the followers and scholars of other sects, while brushing the incident of recitation of Noha in the hospice under the carpet. MMU represents Ulema of all shades and sects and they drew the consensus that everyone be it Shia or Sunni is a Muslim. It is certainly a well-known fact, and condemnation of sectarianism is commendable. But again, the question of lived reality and executing practical steps like praying behind each other would have sent a different message than what we witnessed, as a mere lip service and statement. MMU comes together to diffuse crisis arising out from sectarianism that seems to go out of hand and fearing backlash from masses they issue token statements, whereas the real challenge of sectarianism lurks around. The Ulema are not ready to let go off sectarianism for the sake of Islam, thus such unity meetings help douse flames of sectarianism for a brief spell while embers are not extinguished, that keep the fire raging. The roots of sectarianism are never addressed as it will shut the source of income for a lot of mullahs who owe their existence to its promotion. ----- M.H.A. Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-sectarianism/shah-hamdan-hospice-desecration/d/132890 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism