It is usually assumed that the minority communities are at risk of being targeted by religious fundamentalists. In fact, majority communities are as much at risk and must proactively resist religious fundamentalist groups and their policies, argues Sanat Mohanty

In Malaysia, young people dancing at a disco were surprise by the moral police, one night in the second week of January. Everyone at the disco was asked to form two groups; those who are Muslims and those who are not. All Muslims were then herded in caged trucks and packed into tiny cells in local jails, then physically and sexually humiliated. All this by a Malaysian government that on one hand claims to lead a progressive Islamic nation and on the other hand institutes moral police to watch over the actions of the Muslim community.

In Bangladesh, close to the Indian border, a Taliban follower calling himself Bangla Bhai, recently returned from Afghanistan, has started a group called Awakened Muslims for Bangladeshi Unity ordaining that all men sport long beards and women wear burkhas – aspects that were quite unheard of in this area even a year ago. He claims about 10000 followers. There has been increased violence especially against those who oppose this man. By mixing Bangla nationalism with religious fundamentalism, he has been able to get away with such violence. The Bangladeshi government has largely turned a blind eye to the activities of this group.

In Pakistan, religious fundamentalist groups have led opposition to greater political rights for women. They have constantly resisted attempts to change draconian laws that encourage honor killing. They have resisted attempts changes to personal law.

Increased religious fundamentalism has resulted in increased restrictions and violence for all communities. In an analysis of skewed sex ratios in India, Amartya Sen shows that highly skewed sex ratios have high correlation with religious fundamentalism. Usually, religious fundamentalist communities have stronger caste hierarchies and greater disempowerment of women.

As religious fundamentalist groups have a definite understanding of roles of women, increasingly, the virtue of such roles is being touted. Women are being pressurized to conform to those roles. In Kashmir, extremist Muslim groups have demanded that Muslim women wear Burkhas under the threat of bodily harm. In other parts of India, women’s magazines influenced by such ‘traditional’ ideologies discourage ‘love’ marriages and careers for women.

In the years following the ’92 riots in Mumbai (then Bombay), with fundamentalist leaning groups in power at the state, the police as well as party activists took on themselves to be the moral brigade. Young men were beaten up for wearing shorts, since that was supposed to be somehow not Indian and hence immoral. Couples were harassed for holding hands in public places. Young women were harassed for clothes they wore. At the same time, there were cases of women raped on local trains that went unsolved.

Since the late 90’s fundamentalist groups in India have physically abused couples and disrupted Valentine’s Day gatherings in various cities in India. Shops selling Valentine’s Day Cards have been vandalized. Restaurants organizing programs have been threatened with closure. While the facetiousness of Valentine’s Day may be obvious, it certainly does not warrant violence. That, however, is often beyond the perspective of fundamentalist groups.

In India, it is quite usual to find Hindu communities praying at Sufi tombs or certain churches. In the same way, there are numerous temples that have traditionally had Muslim families serving as caretakers. These are defined as deviant practices among fundamentalist perspectives. During riots in the recent years, these were places that were routinely attacked and razed to the ground.

In addition, religious fundamentalism in India has gone hand in hand with stronger caste hierarchies and caste violence. While fundamentalist groups have claimed some representatives from Dalit communities, for most part Dalit groups have largely been antagonistic to fundamentalist groups.

The dominant presence of fundamentalist regimes has also resulted in the teaching of violence to children. The Islamization of Pakistan under Zia resulted in changing of text books with increased content that espouses hate against Hindus and describes them through derogatory stereotypes. A similar conversion in the content of school books has occurred under the BJP government with increased disrespect for the traditions, practices and ethos of Muslim communities. Children are being taught to fear, to hate and to be disrespectful of those unlike themselves.

In essence, minority communities are not the only targets of religious fundamentalism; majority communities are also the victims of religious violence. With increasing religious fundamentalism, majority groups will find themselves increasingly constrained in how they live, how they relate to each other and even how they practice their religion.

This is not a modern face of religious fundamentalism. Christian fundamentalism during the years following the crusades was oppressive to Christians – it tolerated no deviation from set dictates made by the church and supported by laws. It was the source of immense violence.

It is for the majority community to ask whether they would like restrictions on where women worked or how they carried themselves. It is for the majority community to ask whether they would like the police or some brigade to tell it how to clothe themselves, who to interact with or how they can entertain themselves. It is for the majority community to decide whether someone else should decide what their children should learn.

Clearly, the majority community does not want to live under such repression either. It is little wonder that even the majority in such repressive communities leave the community when they can.

The majority community must then make a clear stand against religious fundamentalism. As clearly as religious fundamentalism is oppressive to the minority, it is oppressive to the majority. The majority – the Hindus in India, the Muslims in Pakistan and in Bangladesh – must take a clear stand that religious fundamentalism or oppressive politics based on religion is not what they support.

- Sanat Mohanty

Related Links and Articles:
Therefore Alternatives: Fundamentalism in Our Societies
Fundamentalist Groups Blamed in Murder of Professor in Bangladesh
Pakistani Textbooks: Politics of Prejudice
Questioning Ideologies, Rethinking Strategies
Malaysia’s Homegrown Taliban