STORY OF A FALL

Snapshots of Muslim history in South Asia

Sajid Huq

A little over four hundred years ago, a monarch ruled South Asia with an élan never seen before in these lands. His Empire was truly massive. It was larger than the famous Ottoman Empire; also larger than the neighbouring Safavid Empire. It was larger than Ashoka's great empire, as it was than the empire of the mighty Guptas. While this monarch held sway, his armies pummeled English and French armies off the coasts of Hindustan. One must not forget that European presence in Indian lands was a threat long before the infamous East India Company set up shop in Bengal in 1757. But while this monarch was in power, European armies were no match for his. Such was his military prowess and confidence, the legend goes that his soldiers instead of always bringing ready made cannons with themselves - would make them from scratch while stationed in front of enemy fortresses. The monarch was also famous for his kindness and altruism. During his reign, religious harmony reached levels never known before. Although he was Muslim by birth just like his famous forefathers, Hindu Rajputs proliferated in his army and in the upper echelons of his administration. He also greatly loved and married a Rajput woman.
   
   Emperor Akbar the Great
   The monarch was none other than Akbar, the Great Mughal Emperor. The Mughals were originally Turkic tribes who came from what's today Uzbekistan. The first great Mughal Emperor Babur summarily defeated the Afghani Lodis near Delhi in 1526. Thus started an empire that could surpass some of history's best, in its size, statescraft, prosperity, intellectual endeavours and artistic feats. The magnificent Taj Mahal in Agra is a unique edifice of this great Empire. The story of Islam in South Asia was very different four hundred years ago, than ones you or I could try to tell of our times.
   Bahadur Shah headed Rebellion
   Fast forward about three hundred years: the year is 1857. The British had broken the back of most Indian and Muslim rulers of the subcontinent. The last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, a token ruler if there ever was one, yet the titular head of a Great Rebellion, was sent packing to Rangoon. The Rebellion was sizable and spread all across North India.
   Bullets rained from British guns on the Indian rebels. Bullet holes on various edifices of the once great city, Lucknow, will bear testimony to the event's gruesome violence. Soldiers, peasants, landlords, and variety of other groups had united in trying to overthrow the British. Yet the British Empire did not fall. And in the aftermath, the wrath of the Empire came crashing on the Muslims of South Asia. Muslims, predictably or unpredictably, were seen as the chief architects of the event. Muslims didn't like being ruled by others and they yearned for days when they ruled South Asia, the British thought. Muslims were seen as perfidious and jihadis. Those weren't heady days if you were a Muslim; perhaps signaled the beginning of a fall.
   Fast forward now to the late 19thcentury: the year is 1895, give or take 5 years. Hindu-Muslim tensions had taken a turn for the worst. The census, an instrument seemingly innocuous, but greatly aiding British policies of divide and rule, had helped sharpen religious identities in South Asia. Thanks to the census, for the first time ever, it was possible for various caste and religious communities to think of themselves of monolithic aggregates that could compete for patronage from the colonial state. Then there were various reform movements within Indian Islam.
   
   Sir Syed's Aligarh University
   The Deobandis of UP and the Aligarh Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College and University of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan tried to uplift the falling Muslims of South Asia, the first with more spiritual ends in mind, and the second more secular and political. Then there were the Urdu-Hindi language riots which often turned ugly. Slowly but surely, fault lines between the two communities - which come to think of it, were hardly all-India wide communities before - started to deepen. The culmination perhaps was Partition of Bengal in 1905 along religious lines with a Muslim majority East and a Hindu majority West - seen by many as a necessary precursor to the Partition of India itself about forty years later. Surely then, the All India Muslim League's founding in Dhaka in 1906, to fight for an independent Muslim polity, must not have surprised anyone.
   Fast forward once again. A momentous historical event, the Partition of the Indian subcontinent resulted in a blood bath that uprooted 10 million from their homes and claimed at least a million lives. Women, with their bodies upheld as sites where nationalist paranoia could be sketched, paid a tragic price. The nation-states of India and Pakistan had been born. Within months, they were locked in war over the disputed territory of Kashmir. But by 1948, Kashmir was not the only region were Pakistan and India's nationalist imaginations wrestled.
   The eastern wing of Pakistan, East Pakistan sat uncomfortably, separated from the central government by a thousand miles of Indian territory. In 1952, the Language Movement of East Pakistan, ended with Bengalis experiencing martyrdom for the first time. Seeds of a national awakening were sown.
   
   Birth of Bangladesh
   Exactly 36 years earlier, in 1971, the third partition of the Indian subcontinent witnessed the violent birth of Bangladesh. Muslim nationalism in South Asia had to re-imagine itself in only 24 years after it created Pakistan. Soon, under the hands of Zia-ul Huq, the Pakistani state not only reimagined its nationalist paradigms, aligning more with West Asia, than South Asia, it also took active part in the mujahideen resistance in Afghanistan to drive out the invading Soviets, culminating with the ISI becoming one of the foremost intelligence agencies in the Third World. Pakistan had already gone nuclear in response to India's own program.
   Nuclear weapons promised to deter each state from attacking each other, and taken a step further, assumed to be a harbinger of status in the international community. But weapons of mass destruction would do precious little in the wake of September 11, as the Pakistani state, military and the ISI, had to turn their backs on the Afghan mujahideens and unconditionally aid America in its effort to root out Osama bin Laden. Of course, a general was in power yet again after a short democratic interregnum through Nawaz Sharif.
   Meanwhile, Muslims in India and Bangladesh did not have it much better. Indian Muslims confronted the wrath of the Hindutva, first in 1992 through the annihilation of the Babri Masjid and then in the pogroms in Gujarat in 2002, when Muslim homes were picked out and razed to the ground. In such moments, Partition appeared strangely necessary and at the same time unnecessary. To the east, the more demographically homogenuous Bangladeshi state continued to be ravaged by the war of its identity politics. And after shaky attempts at maintaining a democracy hard earned, the country once again fell under military rule. Bangladesh, a part of undivided Bengal, more prosperous than Europe's finest in the time of the Mughals, continued another war, a war against unending poverty. The nation also continued its unbroken run of topping the TI's list of corrupt nations. Meanwhile, Balochis and Sindhis continued their secessionist designs in Pakistan.
   The story of Islam in South Asia had come a long way since the heady days of the Mughal Empire. No longer are South Asian Muslims setting standards in building stupendous monuments, producing powerful art, or setting standards in statecraft. They are battling corruption, dictatorship, poverty, nepotistic politics, or chauvinism; to say nothing of their increasing limelight in the spectacle that is the war on terror. Akbar would have certainly been dismayed.

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IBBL adjudged the best bank with largest market share

Zahid Zamir

The Islami Bank Bangladesh Bank (IBBL) which was established on March 13, 1983, is the pioneer in the Islamic banking in Bangladesh, sponsored by foreign institutions, local institutions, a group of local businessmen representing various groups and other important personalities of Middle East and Europe. It carries out its business activities through more than 196 branches in both urban and rural areas of Bangladesh.
   This refers to the speech of Director, Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA), former ambassador Mr Waliur Rahman in a seminar on terrorism held on April 16, wherein he demanded the closure of the Islami Bank Bangladesh. Although he did not mention the reasons for its closure except alleging that IBBL, which is not only the first generation interest-free Islamic bank in the country but has also been successfully operating in the banking area for over 25 years with an Islamic political party in Bangladesh.
   Before I explain how detrimental it will be for the economy of Bangladesh to close down the IBBL, let me first mention some of its achievements for the readers.
   CRISL rating AA: As per the provisions of the credit rating companies rules 1996, CRISL (Credit rating Information & Services Limited) has reaffirmed the long term rating of the IBBL to "AA" (Double A) because of its good fundamental principles such as diversified ownership pattern, strong market share, improvement in financial performance, improvement in the quality of investment portfolio, comfortable liquidity position, experienced management team, sound HR development programme, improvement in automation, wide branch network, significant involvement in corporate social responsibility activities etc.
   In 2007 IBBL's market share in deposits was 7.46 per cent (7.24 per cent in 2006). Its market share in investment in 2007 was 8.46 per cent (7.28 per cent in 2006).
   Largest market share: IBBL has the largest market share in terms of deposit and investment among the private sector commercial banks in Bangladesh. The deposit of the banking sector stood at Tk 2,230.06 billion at the end of 2007 by 48 banks in the country. The total deposit of IBBL in 2007 was TK. 1666.33 billion which constitutes 7.46% (in 2006 it was 7.24%) of the total deposits of the banking sector. The growth rate of deposit of IBBL was 25.61% whereas industry growth rate was 22.18%. In YE 2007, IBBL's total investment was TK. 144.92 billion which was 8.46% (it was 7.28% in 2006) of industry investment of TK. 1,713.51 billion. The investment growth rate of IBBL was 27.62% whereas industry growth was only 10.05%.
   Best PCB: IBBL thorough its efficient performance in capital adequacy, good asset quality, sound management, good profitability, and strong asset base has proven to be the best private commercial bank (PCB) in Bangladesh.
    In corporate governance the key elements of honesty, trust and integrity, openness, delegation of power, structured HR policy etc -- all these show the practice of good corporate governance in IBBL.
   IBBL also carries out diverse social and philanthropic activities through Islami Bank Foundation. The foundation has been formed in order to provide financial assistance to the poor through various income generation, health care, relief and rehabilitation, education, and humanitarian programmes.
   6 hospitals, medical college: Islami Bank Hospitals are functioning in six places, two in Dhaka, two in Rajshahi, one in Khulna and one in Barisal. IBBL is also contributing to medical education through its Islami Bank Medical College at Rajshahi and establishing a Nursing Training Institute in Rajshahi. The Islami Bank Foundation also established a health technology institute named "Islami Bank Institute of health technology". The large number of unemployed youth of the country may be turned as assets through taking up Human Resource Development (HRD) programmes in "Islami Bank Institute of Technology". The Foundation is also operating mobile eye camp, charitable dispensaries, distressed women rehabilitation centre, service center for safe shelter during natural disaster and Monoram Islami Bank Craft and fashions has been functioning to create conducive and healthy atmosphere in which women can contribute to their family income.
   BB's CAMEL rating: IBBL was awarded for several times by international and national organizations. The Global Finance, a reputed London-based quarterly magazine, awarded IBBL as the best bank of the country for the year 1999, 2000 and 2008. IBBL is one of a few banks according to CAMEL (Capital, Assets, Management, Earnings and Liquidity) rating made by the Bangladesh Bank (BB).
   IBBL has managed to find a niche market of its own according to the Bank Watch, a New York-based international credit rating agency. IBBL's profitability trend has been quite impressive.
   The performance of IBBL and all the six interest-free Islamic banks in Bangladesh along with Islamic banking counters in different conventional banks are largely contributing to the economy of Bangladesh. Not only IBBL rather Islamic financial institutions are becoming resourceful day by day. The government of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Bank should assist the country's Islamic financial systems to help smooth the growth of Islamic financial system, thereby making Bangladesh specially Dhaka city the hub of Islamic financial centre like Dubai.
   Global Islamic banking: Conventional banks in many Western, as well as Eastern countries after realizing the huge benefit of the Islamic banking system have opened Islamic banking windows that run parallel with interest-based windows. The study shows that conventional banks that have opened interest-free windows are able to entice many non-Muslims in the non-Muslim majority countries because the basic tenet of Interest-free Islamic banking underlines its commitment to equitable and fair distribution of money resources.
   GCIBFI on terror: Terrorists have no religion. They can have accounts in any bank. But because of some ruthless and unscrupulous individuals an institution can not be blamed. As the chairman of the Jeddah-based Dallah Albakarah Group and of the Bahrain-based General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (GCIBFI) Saleh Kamel said: "Islamic banks are neither merely charities nor at all terror facades. Islamic banks should be operating under the supervision of central bank, receiving clients' deposits and investing them... there is no surplus funds to finance terror, nor do the corridors for circulation of funds among terrorists".
   Political bickering: Political bickering and vendetta is nothing new in Bangladesh. But it has reached a new height in the recent time. Sometime wittingly or unwittingly some people bring that bickering and vendetta in the economic and other affairs that damage not only the image of the country but the economy as well. In a free market economic system, a financial institution can not be owned by any political party alone.
   People affiliated with any political party might form a bank following the laws as well as banking and company act of the country, but a bank whose share is traded on the stock market is owned by its shareholders and anybody at any time can buy and sell the shares of the company. So demanding the closure of the giant Islamic bank in Bangladesh; which has the highest operating profit among all the private commercial banks in the country, has set a model for local and international interest free Islamic banks to follow, will cause the economy of a country like Bangladesh to collapse and suffer severely. In a democratic country like Bangladesh, as an individual we have the right to express our political opinions. However the expression of that right should not and must not be damaging for the economy and image of the country. Mr. Waliur Rahman might have a different political opinion but as an individual who held different responsible positions in the government should have been cautious in expressing his political opinion in this regard.
   Zahid Zamir teaches at York College, City University of New York and is a research fellow of IERF. He can be reached at: zzamir@york.cuny.edu

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Grades over extracurricular

Rayyan Kamal

I just finished filling out a questionnaire sent to all seniors by the Dean's Office. The questions were aiming to get to the heart of the question I'd been dodging for the past several weeks: "What have you learnt at Yale?" Not only academically, but also from your extracurricular and socially and spiritually (and perhaps metaphysically too). My friends and I joked that completing the questionnaire was more taxing than any test we had taken at college. How dare this seemingly inoffensive survey ask such personal questions?
   When I was a senior in high school I exchanged e-mails with a senior at Yale with whom the university had paired me. The problem with Yale, she said, was that it gave you just enough rope to hang yourself. It's a problem faced by all adolescents who are abruptly released from the fetters of home and parents, I think. What makes this terrain even more difficult to navigate in American colleges is that you don't have to specialize until junior year, if at all. You have people telling you that it doesn't matter what you major in at college. It's all about the Master's Degree anyway, they say. You should just "enjoy and explore and discover yourself!" But then you're thinking, if you want to get into a good Master's/Ph. D. program (which you do. You didn't get into Yale to go on to become another face in the crowd, you think) you can't let your GPA sink. God forbid it falls below a 3.9 (out of 4.0). Surely that would wreck your best-laid plans of becoming the CEO of Goldman Sachs.
   You're also told to do the extracurricular activities that you're actually interested in and not just for the sake of looking impressive. So theatre, dance, singing and not student government, debate and Model United Nations and other resume-padding activities. But these are the activities that will matter most at job interviews. What would the interviewer rather hear? That you raised $50,000 for the Yale College Council or that you conducted the Yale Marching Band to first place in the Nationals? And what about your social life? Were you holed up in your room studying all four years in order to get that 4.0, or were you fluttering from one party to the next because you knew you had to make as many connections as possible?
   Somewhere along the way decisions are made - grades over extracurricular, resume success over self-discovery (unless the two coincide, of course). And then you reach the end of senior year, and you're looking at questions like "How satisfying have you found your Yale experience to be on a scale of 1 to 10" and you start re-evaluating those decisions. Older people tell you to relax. Your life still holds infinite possibility, they say. But you worry that you've cut yourself off from the prospect of being a tap dancer because you spent too much time working for the Yale Daily News. For you, this moment rings with a finality that is undoubtedly exaggerated. You're only 22 after all.
   Rayyan Kamal is a senior at Yale University.

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