NEWAGEISLAM TV: Sectarian Divide In Pakistan

 

Transcript of an interview with Mujahid Hussain, New Age Islam, Bureau Chief, Brussels:

21 May, 2013

 

It can be easily said that sects and ideological groups present inside Pakistan are fighting a bloody battle among themselves. It was a unique event in the history of democracy that in 1974 a democratically elected parliament not only declared a whole community non-Muslim but also later such legislations were brought against them that have made them unsafe in Pakistan today. An Ahmadi or Qadiani cannot use the expressions and follow customs associated with Islam. I am surprised when a westerner or a European visits Pakistan and learns to say Assalam – o-alaikum, people are pleased at his effort but if the same act is done by an Ahmadi, he faces blasphemy charges. And innumerable people in Pakistan today are facing cases on grounds that as an Ahmadi, they said, Assalamo-alaikum, mashallah, Alhamdullillah or bismillah. If an Ahmadi got Alhamdullillah or Mashallah printed on the invitation card of his son or daughter’s marriage, a case was registered against him. It is on record. You can cross-check this.

A similar situation is with other sections as we see how the Shias are being killed in Pakistan. They have been declared kafir. ‘Kafir, kafir, Shia kafir’ was written on walls in Pakistan. Similarly, we can go to the publication houses of religious groups of Pakistan, the basis of the magazines published from there is that the Shias are kafirs and that they are always engaged in conspiracies against Islam and so they should be killed.

You will be surprised to know that in 2009 widely circulated English daily of Pakistan had published an advertisement under the name of the then spokesman of Taliban, Muslim Khan. In the advertisement, the Shias had been warned to accept Islam within a month failing which they would be killed, their women would be taken mistresses and their children would be enslaved. And if they did not want to accept Islam, they should either pay jizyah or leave Pakistan.

So, we tried to restructure Pakistan and the effort was appreciated on national level. When people like Ziaul Haque promoted the violent groups and opened the mouth of treasury by setting up Baitul Mal and the department of Zakat, this situation was inevitable.

We need to see if there is room for small minorities in this country. Can they live here? Similarly, we see that when the Christian minorities are targeted in Pakistan, the voices are raised against it from the West. People are annoyed at this too  as if no one should raise a voice if we burn down the houses of the Christians, burn them alive, burn down their property, their children and whatever treatment we mete out to them. Then we say that it is a western conspiracy, a Christian conspiracy, a Jewish conspiracy. We could not know till today if the perpetrators of the violence against the Christians in Shanti Nagar, Gojra and Lahore were punished.

 We could not understand why those tried under the blasphemy laws and acquitted by the court were killed after the acquittals.  And those who killed the acquitted persons did not get any punishment. We know that a judge Arif Iqbal Bhatti of Gujranwala prounounces his judgment in the famous Rahmat Masih-Manzur Masih case that they were innocent and that they did not commit blasphemy against the prophet. But when they came out of the court, they were attacked and one of them was killed. No accused is arrested and no one gets punishment. And after some time we hear that the judge is also killed. I think that we have created such a situation in which we do not find anyone supporting the minorities.

Please tell me if Javed Ahmad Khan Ghamdy who is a great Islamic scholar and has a point of view different than that of other ulema can be declared a non-Muslim? Difference of opinions has been a tradition among Muslims. Why should he leave the country for difference of opinion?

When a governor is killed, no individual or political group can raise a voice against it. On the other side, a crowd gathers to praise the killer. The section of lawyers who is considered very educated and the eyes of the society offer their services and garland him when he is produced in the court. This is beyond explanation. Well, if someone has committed blasphemy, you should investigate the charges showing transparency and punish him. After the courts acquit the accused, either the judge is killed or the acquitted persons.

You will be surprised to know that Pakistan’s ambassador to the US Sherry Rahman is an accused in a blasphemy case. Recently, the Supreme Court has instructed the Multan police to file a blasphemy case against Sherry Rehman. And the registering of a blasphemy case against anyone in Pakistan means that he or she has been rendered half dead even if he or she survives or is declares innocent later. His half murder is done when the police register an FIR against him.

We have many examples before us when people were killed in police custody. Hafiz Farouque of Gujranwala and the insane person of Bahawalpur who was accused of burning the Quran were killed in this way. He had a certificate of insanity. He was under treatment but could not recover. Now the Shariah says that if an insane person commits any sin he cannot be punished. The insane person was arrested by the police. Later a crowd gathered. The jihadi organisations made announcements and people gathered and attacked the police station. He was released from police custody. Not only that, the police station was burned down and the police residential quarters where the police staff lived were also burned down. A policeman told the media that he had made preparations for the marriage of his two daughters. So, the entire dowry was gutted along with two copies of the holy Quran. A mad person burnt the Quran but a crowd of sane persons burnt a house where two copies of Quran were burnt. After that the mad man was taken from there. He was made to stand in Ahmadpur Chowk. The crowd clapped and raised slogans and then set him on fire. How many people were arrested? How many were punished? No one knows.

So, how can it be termed a conspiracy against Islam if someone says that the procedure of this law should be changed so that no innocent person is punished? I would like to ask a question, if the holy prophet asks on the day of judgment why did you kill such and such a person without a proof, what will be our answer? Does love demands that we kill a person without any reason or set some one’s house on fire or destroy a locality? No one in Pakistan’s media or among the politicians has the courage or ability to discuss this topic.

I want to tell you that when the place of worship of the Ahmadis was attacked and about hundred people were killed, Nawaz Sharif had said, ‘Ahmadis are our brothers’. People still remember what kind of reactions Nawaz Sharif had to face. Can’t one be some one’s brother as a compatriot? Were not Ahmadis our Muslim brothers before 1974? In that year we suddenly woke up to the realisation that they were not Muslims. Tomorrow, the same decision may be taken in the parliament declaring some other sect non-Muslim. How can you run a country and society by driving out people?

Have we forgotten Munir Commission Report? The great Islamic scholars of Pakistan could not agree on the definition of a Muslim. Each religious scholar had his own view on who a Muslim was. They could not agree on a one line definition of a Muslim. Should they be allowed to declare kafir or killing those who are weak and have different religious views?

The purpose behind discussing all this was to show that we are paying for the price of reshaping Pakistan. Qaid-e-Azam was a Muslim. If you dig into it further you will come to know that Qaid-e-Azam converted to be Asna Ashari from Ismaili sect. Now we have to declare Qaid-e-Azam a kafir. Someday Lashkar-e-Jhangvi will issue a fatwa that since Qaid-e-Azam was a Shia, he is a kafir. So, where will you drag this debate?

Today Pakistan is a weak state. Today the Pakistani society is a confused society. None of Pakistan’s foreign friends stands by it.  Even those who were with Pakistan on Kashmir issue are not with it. Pakistan’s economy is weak. The law and order situation in Pakistan is very bad.  These Islamists have killed thousands of soldiers of Pakistan’s army which is a powerful organised institution. When the army headquarters are attacked, higher official are killed. Suicide attacks have been carried out on the headquarters of ISI in Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

What direction will all this give to this country? Was Pakistan achieved so that the Muslims of Pakistan remain at loggerheads with each other and kill each other and carry out attacks on the places of worship, mosques, imam bargahs, and tombs? We had started a trend and it has come to a cross road. And the trend was that we could tolerate only our own ideology, not the ideology of others.

So, the answer to your question what the situation of the minorities of Paksitan is, during the entire history of Pakistan the time was not so critical before as the minorities are very unsafe. The trend of forcefully converting minorities in Sindh is rising. And it is not only happening only in Sindh but also in Punjab. If you tour the districts of Sialkot you will find that a sizeable population of Hindus existed there but now they have left Pakistan.

The exodus of Ahmadis is before everyone to see. Ahmadis have spread all over the world. They have centres all over the world.  They have been running TV centres but they were driven out from Pakistan. They were meted out discriminatory treatment on the basis of religion.  They were killed. No one could save them. It was the duty of the state to save them but I can say clearly that the state institutions did not save them. They have failed to save them. The next targets are the Shias.  The state has not been able to save them as they were killed in Quetta to Karachi and Punjab. This is most unfortunate that all the political leaders and political parties of Pakistan seek the help of the sectarian and terrorist organisations to win elections. In June or July 2008, the emir of the outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba whose new name is Jamat Ahl-e-Sunnat, Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi had told on a TV channel that they had helped more than 50 members of Parliament in the 2008 elections.

Now the facts that have emerged show that Pakistan was established in the name of Islam and those who say that Pakistan had not been established in the name of Islam should accept the fact. But I would like to put it very clearly that Pakistan is breaking away in the name of religion. The whole world is witnessing that the state is helpless before the private militias and terrorist organisations.

The belief that the terrorist organisations and their armed and trained activists can not only provide protection but also can do whatever they want is being publicised in Pakistan. They have proved this. The people of Pakistan are still secular and liberal. They can tolerate the opposing ideologies. 

If an organised effort is not made and the people who want to divide Pakistan on the basis of sect and religion are not stopped, then I am afraid Pakistan will find it difficult to survive.

URL: https://newageislam.com/multimedia/newageislam-tv-sectarian-divide-pakistan/d/11671