It is ironic when the
nation is taking small steps to establish the roots of democracy, the newly
formed Difa-e-Pakistan Council, an assembly of Islamists, ultra-right wing
politicians and ex-ISI chief Gen. Hamid Gul are out to derail the process. This
alliance may end the present calm by inciting a new round of chaos, anarchy and
suicide bombings-hallmarks of a ‘failed state’.
The council, an assembly of religious fanatics and old vanguards of Zia’s Islamo-Fascism, is adamant to block all roads to democracy and civil liberties. It is this civil-military oligarchy which claims self righteousness in projecting itself as the defender of the state’s identity through religious and militaristic nationalism. It is sad to say that, as a nation; we have suffered immensely at the hands of khaki-mullah nexus and the ordinary citizens of Pakistan are now caught in the blazing inferno of religiosity. Reasons have been replaced by a false doctrine of patriotism, human genocide and barbarism, justified in the name of faith. I sometimes wonder how the prophets and saints who came to this world to teach love and respect human life would react to the practices of their own followers.
The council, an assembly of religious fanatics and old vanguards of Zia’s Islamo-Fascism, is adamant to block all roads to democracy and civil liberties. It is this civil-military oligarchy which claims self righteousness in projecting itself as the defender of the state’s identity through religious and militaristic nationalism. It is sad to say that, as a nation; we have suffered immensely at the hands of khaki-mullah nexus and the ordinary citizens of Pakistan are now caught in the blazing inferno of religiosity. Reasons have been replaced by a false doctrine of patriotism, human genocide and barbarism, justified in the name of faith. I sometimes wonder how the prophets and saints who came to this world to teach love and respect human life would react to the practices of their own followers.
Today, Pakistan has become
intolerant of its own citizens and religious violence has reached new heights.
The present political scenario existing in Pakistan is the outcome of an
earlier synthesis of Zia’s Islamist belief under the garb of Militarism, and religious
ideologies of Jamaat-Islami to combat the Soviet Empire. It is the American
support of Jihad in Afghanistan and
financial and military support to Zia’ s regime which created a virulent strain
of Islam justifying killing of Hindus in their temples, Christians in their
churches and Sunnis, Shias and Ahmadis in their mosques. This virulent strain
in Islam has destroyed the civil fabric of our society. In the past, Faiz had challenged the seeds
of religious orthodoxy in Pakistan through his famous poem ‘Dua’
or ‘Prayer’ in the following
lines:
Jin ka deen pariw-e-kizb-o riya hai un
ko
Himat-e-kufr milay, jurat-e-tehqeeq
milay
To those
who follow the religion of lies and hypocrisy
Give the courage of heresy and desire
for truth
The present religious inferno
in Pakistan reminds me of the comment made by Rev. Franklin Graham, an American
Evangelist, to NBC, after September11, that, “We are not attacking Islam, but Islam has attacked us”, and
continued further that, “the God of Islam
is not the same God. He is not the Son of God of the Christians or
Judeo-Christian faith. It is a different God, and I believe it is a very evil
and wicked religion”. It seems the Evangelist Gospel of Rev.Franklin Graham
has now been adopted by Muslim theocrats to justify their actions. Should
Muslims kill Hindus, Christians, and Shias, Sufi belief Sunnis or Ahmadis
because they are evil? Or justify their killings that their God is not the same
God and thus a license to kill be justified. It is unfortunate that the tide of
religious inferno has spread in every sector of our society and no attempts are
being made by the saner intellect to get us out of this abyss.
Have we forgotten that Jinnah
had rejected all aspects of religious intolerance? His speech of February,
1948, was a clear reflection of his dream,
Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic State to be ruled by priests with a divine mission. We have many non-Muslims — Hindus, Christians, and Parsis - but they are all Pakistanis. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizens and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan.
Have all the leaders and
politicians who later came to power rejected Jinnah’s dream of Pakistan? Or is
this a case of ‘Dream Gone Sour’? Pakistan, as we know today is on a path of
self-annihilation and if sanity does not prevail it will evaporate as a nation.
What should be done by intellectuals, politicians and state institution to stem
this tide of despair and hopelessness? Can all politicians muster courage to
denounce the ‘alliance’ of religious
fanatics and ultra-right wing politicians? For this to happen Nawaz Sharif,
political protégé of Gen. Ziaul Haque, has to denounce the khaki-mullah nexus, call the parliament to reject and repeal the
draconian laws, such as the Hudood Act and Blasphemy Law. Imran Khan-the new
and emerging voice of the hopeless should be critical of the role of Taliban
and other Islamist in creating the present mess, and Zardari should reject
Benazir’s earlier policies of supporting the Taliban. He should make sincere
attempts to rekindle the secular beliefs of the original PPP manifesto. These
politicians should echo the wishes of the common man in the streets.
In a recent TV reality show
on GEO TV, ‘Awam ki Adalat Mein’, the
audience comprising of young University students voted 97% in favor of
rejecting Islamic extremism-a death knell to Pakistan. Let the leaders of all
colors, including the Difae-e-Pakistan listen to the clarion call of the young
and uncorrupted to correct the past. Our past has been embedded in supporting
the Imperial dictates of United States- first by publishing Islamic thesis on
the role of Muslims in rejecting secularism, social democracy and then serving
as soldiers of God to undo Soviet Empire. The ever increasing influence of
Wahabi clerics in the Military and Police justifies their state-sponsored
terrorism and inaction against perpetrators of these crimes have given strength
to unleash their war in the name of religion. The murders of Benazir Bhutto,
Salman Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti and many others have been at the hands of these
elements. It is time we carefully study Muslim history and the significance of
‘religious pluralism’ which was prevalent in Muslim Spain, Muslim India
and the Ottomans. It is this ‘religious
pluralism’ which became cornerstones of scientific, literary and
philosophical success of Muslim Civilization. The following verse from the Holy
Quran clearly reflect the religious pluralism and should be adopted as part of
the faith and mode of politics for all Pakistanis: "Let there be no compulsion in religion:
Truth stands outs clear from Error", Verse 2:256 of Surat Al-Baqarah. It
has now become increasingly important for all politicians and state institution
to respect Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan, reject the designs of Islamo-Fascism
and provide a platform where affairs of religion and state be separated.
The author is President of Defy Enmity Encourage Peace (South Asian Canadian Forum for Peace) and a known free-lance columnist whose opinions have been published in local newspapers like Edmonton Journal and international magazines and newspapers like Al-Ahram, Al Hayat, Gulf Daily, Viewpoint and Friday Times-Pakistan. He is the President of South Asian Canadian Forum for Peace called DEEP (Defy Enmity Encourage Peace) and can be reached at whaque@shaw.ca
