Mob Justice: unacceptable — when religious celebrations turn into disorder and intolerance

It is something we have witnessed over time that there was once a period when very few people across the Muslim world, including Pakistan,

It is something we have witnessed over time that there was once a period when very few people across the Muslim world, including Pakistan, celebrated Eid Milad-un-Nabi. Most people considered it an innovation in religion (bid‘ah) and would by pointing out that during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, or even among the Companions afterward, there was not only no tradition of celebrating such an Eid, but there was hardly any mention of anything resembling it. Nor is there any such reference in the Qur’an or Hadith. Therefore, they argued, we should not introduce additions of our own into religion.

According to these scholars, when the final revelation declared, “Today I have perfected your religion for you,” the Prophet had already completed the religion. Therefore, introducing new practices in the name of religion would necessarily fall under the category of innovations, or bid‘ah.

Interestingly, the same clerics who oppose modern scientific inventions that benefit humanity—sometimes dismissing them with contempt—can elevate newly introduced religious practices and rituals to such a sacred status that even subjecting them to critical scrutiny may be portrayed as blasphemy. Meanwhile, ruling elites promote such practices for political popularity or vested interests to such an extent that the general Muslim public eventually begins to regard them as an essential part of Islam.

This is precisely why the political use of religion has expanded so dramatically here over the past seventy-five years. Against this backdrop, the promotion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi has also been carried out with such intensity that voices opposing it have almost disappeared—or, wherever they still exist, they remain suppressed and powerless.

In fact, some people now seem eager to give Eid Milad-un-Nabi the same formal religious status as Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. If they had their way, they might even begin issuing advertisements for a formal Eid Milad-un-Nabi prayer. They have not yet achieved such religious legitimacy, but many other associated rituals have increasingly come to be treated as part of religion—such as processions, constructing decorative models, putting up lights, and engaging in loud celebrations and revelry.

It is against this backdrop that some deeply rooted and serious religious scholars have repeatedly expressed their discomfort.

This year too, Eid Milad-un-Nabi was celebrated across the country, as usual, with great enthusiasm, passion, and fervor. Yet certain developments deserve our attention. The outrage expressed by Dr. Raghib Hussain Naeemi, Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology, over the vulgarity and disorder taking place in the name of Milad is a mirror that society needs to look into.

It is important to clarify that Dr. Naeemi does not belong to the Wahhabi or Deobandi school of thought. He is firmly associated with the Barelvi school of thought.

He stated that the previous day, while traveling from Islamabad to Lahore via the motorway, he became stuck in a Milad procession for 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal. A journey that normally takes just 15 minutes took two hours. At the beginning of the procession there were bands and musical performances, followed by horse-drawn carriages and trailers. In various streets, large trailers had been parked, with loudspeakers blasting what was being presented as naat, at a volume loud enough to hurt people’s ears.

He said that the purposeless wandering of young people was turning religion into a spectacle. Children were carrying loud instruments, while young people danced to the beat of drums. Roads were blocked as if there were no rules or limits.

The Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology called upon religious scholars to publicly disassociate themselves from this “storm of indecency” being carried out in the name of celebrating Milad.

Sheikh Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlavi certainly was not an advocate of such an uncivilized religious culture. You should not exaggerate recommended religious practices to such an extent that ordinary people begin to consider them obligatory—and eventually even religious scholars become unable to stop them. This chaotic display and disorder in the name of Milad is a stain upon the occasion itself.

The respected Dr. Raghib Hussain Naeemi, head of Jamia Naeemia, comes from a distinguished religious family. His grandfather, Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Hussain Naeemi, was not only a prominent voice of the Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah but was also highly respected across different religious schools and communities.

Dr. Raghib Naeemi’s father, Dr. Sarfraz Naeemi, remained a champion of truth throughout his life. He consistently advocated tolerance and humanity and spoke out against religious fanaticism, extremism, and terrorism. For his outspokenness, Taliban terrorists entered Jamia Naeemia and carried out a suicide attack against him.

Thus, a voice for humanity, peace, brotherhood, moderation, and tolerance was silenced at the place of martyrdom. He gave his life but refused to bow before oppression, coercion, or religious fanaticism.

Today, his son, Dr. Raghib Naeemi, continues with the same passion and devotion the message of love associated with the pure-hearted Sufi saints—including Khwaja Gharib Nawaz, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh, and Hazrat Madho Lal Hussain.

His mission is to replace fanaticism with reflection, chaos with civilization, and mob-like disorder with dignity, decency, and cultural refinement.