Will Allama Ashrafi and Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw's Condemnations Suffice to Halt the Recurrence of Victims of The Blasphemy Accusations?
By
New Age Islam Staff Writer
1 September
2023
The
Jaranwala, If Supposed to Be a Clandestine Anti-Muslim Conspiracy, Raises
Questions About Why a Crowd of Muslims Easily Devolve into Violence
Main Points
1. The leader of the Pakistani Ulama
Council, Allama Ashrafi, and Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw both strongly
condemned blasphemy accusations.
2. By Allah, this is not Islam. The
Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him), did not support hurting other
people. Islam vehemently rejects oppressing anyone.
3. The Archbishop questions the
legality of burning the Holy Qur'an and leaving one's name on it, stating that
those who do so are aware of the consequences.
4. Blasphemy accusations lead to
condemnation, causing the situation to be stored in cold storage.
-----
Maulana
Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi
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The
Jaranwala incident is simply one of several instances when it has been
demonstrated that the blasphemy accusation was unfounded. A few months earlier,
it was revealed that Maulvi Nagar, who had been killed as a result of the same
accusation of blasphemy and had been charged with it, was innocent. Rights
groups assert that Pakistani blasphemy laws are regularly used for personal
advantage. Data from the Centre for Social Justice, a voluntary group that
protects the rights of minorities, indicates that more than 2,000 people in
Pakistan have been the target of blasphemy accusations since 1987. These
allegations have led to the deaths of at least 88 people.
However,
when untrue accusations are revealed, a few people go to the media and make
condemning statements, and the situation then goes away as if nothing had
happened. The Jaranwala incident involved a similar situation. Following this
occurrence, a number of religious leaders and clergy condemned it, labelling it
anti-Islamic and the product of an anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistani agenda,
before going entirely mute on the subject.
Following
the Jaranwala tragedy, Allama Tahir Ashrafi participated in a press conference
where he delivered condemnatory words in Urdu. By rendering it into English, we
are giving it to our readers and addressing the question of whether it is
enough to just condemn such cases and put them in cold storage. The second
question is that if this catastrophe was the consequence of a clandestine
anti-Muslim conspiracy, how and why did such a large group so easily fall prey
to this Muslim plot?
----
The Jaranwala
Event Has Caused Harm To Pakistan And Islam: Tahir Ashrafi
Report
published by Dawn News in Urdu
Translated
into English by New Age Islam Staff Writer
In a press
conference with Lahore's Christian community leaders, Maulana Tahir Mahmood
Ashrafi stated that Pakistan as a whole is mourning right now. Islam has
experienced it, and we are humiliated. Today, we have travelled to this Lahore
church to express our regrets to our Christian leaders.
Despite the
fact that Muslims make up the majority in Pakistan, he said, we should not use
this as an excuse to deny Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, or any other local
minorities the right to exist. Whom did they do this to please? The Christians
of Najran had access to the mosque of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him)
for worship.
According
to him, those responsible for this behaviour violated the agreement made with
the Christians of Najran in the presence of the Prophet Muhammad and
disregarded the provision requiring protection for traditional houses of
worship and those fitted with bells.
According
to Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, Muslims and the government have a duty to defend
people's lives, property, honour, and dignity. We are aware that what occurred
in Jaranwala yesterday was caused by our disdain for our duties as older
brothers. We are ashamed of this and
regret it.
He said he
wants to know who is responsible for these acts every two or three months, as
well as who their followers and associates are. By Allah, this is not Islam.
The Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him), did not support hurting
other people. Islam vehemently rejects oppressing anyone.
He said he
was sorry to them on behalf of the state of Pakistan, the prime minister, the
cabinet, the Ulama, the Sheikhs, and the Muslim population of the nation. We
are ashamed of the fact that these Christian girls spent the night in fields
and on public streets after fleeing their homes out of fear of harm or
vandalism.
The
Chairman of the Pakistan Ulama Council declared that if the Joseph Colony
offenders had received justice, the current situation might not have arisen.
"I want to ask this question to our judiciary and to our governments
today," he continued.
He said
that sometimes we grieve for Jaranwala, sometimes for Shanti Nagar, and
sometimes for Kasur. The entire country
calls on the Chief Justice of Pakistan to set up the court in the same church
where a cross was broken and conduct trials within a month. The country intends
to punish these offenders. We are exhausted, and we don't want you to drag out
this case like the May 9 perpetrators.
He asserted
that although we had all gathered here to protect the purity of the Holy Quran,
the Gospel and the Psalms had been set on fire today. Today, the Torah was
burned. My suffering now is equally as severe and excruciating as it was when
the Holy Quran was burned. These are also the books of Allah. The Quran and the
holy books are both sacred to me. My grief is comparable to the burning of the
Holy Quran. I am experiencing the same level of sorrow over the destruction of
churches as I did over the destruction of mosques or crosses.
According
to Allama Tahir Ashrafi, those responsible for this heinous deed have
undermined our case. We were grieving over the happenings in Sweden and
Denmark, but by doing this in Jaranwala, they have undermined our position.
He
requested that all destroyed Christian churches, shrines, and residences be
rebuilt by the Pakistani government. As the head of the Pakistan Ulema Council,
“I demand that the government build these buildings, repair the harm done, and
rebuild the destroyed and incinerated homes.” In order to reassure the rest of
the world that we had nothing to do with the suffering and terror, he advised
that the Prime Minister go there personally.
During this
particular press conference, Archbishop Sebastian Shah stated that it was a
really sad time and that Christians were suffering and concerned about what had
happened to them. The sadder sensation is that just two days prior, on August
14, the nation celebrated its birthday and everyone sang the national anthem,
"Under the shadow of this flag, we are one," but after this Jaranwala
incident, children fled their homes out of fear.
According
to him, the commotion and the process of departing the homes began at around
six in the morning. Who set it all afire? Whoever wrote their names there? I
believe that this was accomplished after careful, covert preparation. He claimed that while Christians make up just
2% of the population, we live among 96% Muslim brothers and sisters. There are
5 or 6 Christian families in a village of about 100 Muslim families. As a result, they cohabitate without
incident, go to each other's homes to eat, and take part in weddings. Every
Christian, according to the archbishop, is aware that the Holy Qur'an mentions
Jesus Christ more than 20 times, dedicates an entire chapter to Maryam, and
mentions the birth of Jesus in Surah Aal-e-Imran. Therefore, no Christian is permitted to speak
against or burn the Holy Qur'an.
Given that
laws, 295 A, B, and C are in force in the country and that their Muslim
brothers have an unwavering love for the Holy Qur'an and are willing to devote
their lives and make the ultimate sacrifice for it, he questioned how one of
them could burn the Holy Qur'an and leave his name on it. He said, “I believe
that everyone who does this is fully aware that they will be eaten alive here.”
He claimed
that people have personal grievances about a variety of topics, including
business dealings and other similar matters. Therefore, whoever did this did so
to cause pandemonium. First of all, the
burning of the Holy Quran makes me feel extremely guilty, and we both apologise
and condemn it. He continued by requesting his Muslim brothers to exercise
patience and recognise that the Pakistani government is governed by law.
Furthermore, he advocated for an investigation in the event of such an incident
rather than its announcement inside mosques, which is what caused the crowd to
assemble and rush to assault.
Following
the announcement in the mosques, more than 20 churches, according to the leader
of the Christian community, were set on fire. In this township, there were only
5 or 6 churches, and nearby were a few tiny villages. But the same thing
happened there as well. After the church was set on fire, the Torah, Psalms,
Gospel, and other holy writings were also burned. Crosses were also broken off
of towers. Finally, tombs in a cemetery were largely destroyed. The crowd was
so incensed, he claimed, that even the police were unable to assist the
victims, demonstrating their incapacity.
He asserted
that while this attack specifically targeted Christians, it also had an impact
on Pakistan as a whole and Pakistan's standing abroad. The archbishop demanded
that this act be investigated and that those responsible for it face equal
punishment in order to stop such incidents from happening in the future.
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Source for
Urdu report: https://www.dawnnews.tv/news/1209927
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