TWO recent Indian court judgements went counter to the prevailing extremist environment that seems to have taken hold in Modi’s India. I refer to the sensible ruling on the ban on loudspeakers for any religious reasons and the prohinbition on the three-talaq divorce that has blighted the lives of countless Muslim women in India.

Although several high courts in different states have ruled against the noise pollution that has, according to one judgement, invaded the privacy of homes, these cases have been stayed by the Supreme Court that is hearing both sides. According to one argument for the use of loudspeakers, the ban on their use close to schools, places of worship and even courts would prevent all kinds of functions from taking place. Environmental activists have argued that the sleep of children, the ill and the elderly is being disturbed by blaring noise.

But more importantly, the Indian Supreme Court has finally banned the archaic practice of a man pronouncing ‘talaq’ three times to divorce his wife and send her packing. Apparently, this was also permitted over a cell phone. Long banned by most Muslim countries, the ‘triple talaq’ has long been defended as part of Islamic law, and therefore inviolable under the Indian constitution.

In a historic 3-2 majority judgement, a bench consisting of judges following India’s major religions declared the swift-track, triple-talaq to be in violation of the constitution, sparking celebrations among the country’s vulnerable Muslim women — and hopefully, among progressive Muslim men.

Despite this progress made in liberal legislation, the overall mood in India remains bleakly nationalistic to the point of increasing violence. Several Muslims have been subject to mob lynching due to accusations, usually false, of eating beef, or slaughtering cows. Christians have been scared off celebrating Christmas in public. Dalits converting to Islam and Christianity to escape the horrors of untouchable status have been offered cash under the ‘return home’ programme. Young couples have been killed for the ‘crime’ of marrying outside their castes.

Progressively, India’s secular constitution and identity are being chipped away rapidly under a BJP government that offers little protection to the weak and the vulnerable.

Such sane, humanistic values, as we know all too well in Pakistan, are easy to erode, but hard to restore. Most Muslim countries have suffered this swift decline in human rights over the last generation or so. From Indonesia to Turkey, millions of Muslims are reverting to a literalistic, often violent, interpretation of their faith that makes it more of a system of do’s and don’ts, rather than a path towards meditation, and a desire to help the rest of humanity.

While much of this is due to ignorance, nostalgia for a distant past when Muslims were the dominant global power also plays a major part in shaping identity, as well as the current disquiet around the world.

There is an unspoken, nasty strand in this discourse that basically says: “If we can’t catch up, let’s pull our non-Muslim (and liberal Muslim) foes back.”

A third factor underlying this tension and violence is polygamy. According to a recent article in the Economist, Muslim countries with high levels of multiple marriages were prone to greater violence.

The reason is that when rich older men can afford four wives, there are less marriageable women to go around for younger men who can’t afford the bride price traditionally paid to parents. Thus, restless, frustrated young men join organisations like Boko Haram and the militant Islamic State who promise their volunteers women slaves.

High unemployment is yet another factor in feeding this unthinking recourse to jihad that legitimises mayhem, rape and robbery. Kidnappings, extortion and drug smuggling support a lifestyle for militant leaders who, just a few years ago, were indigent preachers in local mosques.

Expensive SUVs have replaced battered cars and motorcycles. Opulent houses have replaced shabby shacks. Given this newfound wealth, why would these people wish to rein in their fighters?

Not unreasonably, these words and actions have given Islam and Muslims a terrible reputation around the world. Even liberal, tolerant Westerners have begun to view Islam as a problem, and its teachings full of violent concepts. A complete rejection of gay relationships, for example, runs counter to the prevailing acceptance of LGBT lifestyles that now are very much a part of Western society. The concept of forced marriage and honour killings leave many furious and confused. How, they ask, can any faith direct its followers to commit such violent deeds?

These are all questions Muslims need to ask themselves before we can become true members of the global community. And if we opt to stay out, well, that has many consequences, as we are discovering.

Tailpiece: Many of the Indian news sites I normally access were blocked when I tried to research this piece. Who is doing this mischief, and why? Would they please cease and desist? Why should they want us to be ignorant of what’s happening across the border?

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2018