Question:
What are we to think of the destruction of historic shrines
in Mali in the name of religion?
Answer: Media reports inform
that Ansar al Din (“Defenders of the Faith”), an al Qaeda-linked
Jihadist group, are responsible for this destruction. Since the
democratically elected, pro-U.S. government was ousted last March by a
military ruler, Ansar al Din has taken control of northern Mali, and
has been ruling by terror. Of course, some readers will want the
writers who contribute to this page to say the theologically correct
thing: extremism does not belong to Islam alone. So let us state the
obvious. But Muslim silence on this destruction must be noted. Turkey
is the only Muslim country that has so far condemned this outrage.
What is taking place in Timbuktu, the “City of 333 saints,” an ancient
crossroads and seat of Islamic learning, amounts to not only the
destruction of a UN World Heritage site, but graphically reveals a
striking example of virulent, inter-Muslim sectarianism. In this case,
the aggressor has clearly identified himself. Both the living and dead
are the targets and victims.
The destruction of these historic shrines is not just an attack on our
common humanity. What is being perpetrated in Mali is positively
unislamic. These mud and wooden shrines are the resting place of Muslim
saints. The Qu’ran forbids the desecration of tombs and enjoins respect
and prayer for the souls of the dead, regardless of religion or rite.
Muslim history records that the Prophet Muhammad paid homage to a Jew,
a member of the “people of the Book”, as a Jewish funeral procession
passed by. But here we have the strange phenomenon of so-called
“Muslims” desecrating the graves of their co-religionists.
The dead whose tombs are being violated had the misfortune of belonging
to the wrong sect. They just happened to be Sufis, the gentle, mystical
sect that brought Islam to much of sub-Saharan Africa. Sufis dance (the
whirling dervish) and remember God constantly in prayer, while using
humour, storytelling and drama.
Bahá’í law formally forbids the destruction of persons, property and
books. Baha’u’llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, condemned
religious fanaticism which he described as a “world-devouring fire.”
Its antidote is interreligious tolerance and love for the followers of
all faiths. -
Jack
McLean
