Reclaiming Islam: Prof. Dr. Hussain Mohi ud Din Qadri’s Sufi Approach to Counter Political Violence

Abstract

This study examines implications of Prof. Dr. Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri's Sufi approach to philanthropy as a counter-narrative to political violence often justified in the name of Islam. By employing a qualitative research methodology, this research has conducted a textual analysis of the book, The Hearken to the Call of Duty: The Philanthropic Approach of Sufi Masters in Islam, exploring major concepts connected to charity, selflessness and humanism in Sufism. The study has also provided the comparison of views of critics such as Bernard Lewis and Ayaan Hirsi Ali who supported the idea that Islam is vulnerable to politicization and violence. This research with the help of case study method and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) has about how narration of Sufi and Islamic principles is a feasible narrative as opposed to that of religious terrorism. It also reaffirms the role of Sufi philanthropy for representing the Islam as the religion of peace and to stress on the positive implication of violence free and humanitarian outlooks of the contemporary Islamic world. Therefore, this research advances the existing literature on the relationship between religion and politics and calls for a better appreciation of the part, which religious traditions play in resolving political vices such as exploitation and radicalism.