THE Father of the Nation, M A Jinnah, had warned us about the consequences, and today we are reaping the harvest. The seeds of discord, intolerance, extremism, sectarianism, and ethnicity, sown by the visionless mediocrity that took over the reins of this country after his death, have risen like poisonous reptiles. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) stressed upon the ideals and glorious traditions of Islam, which stresses upon justice and equality for all mankind, with tolerance for beliefs of others. There is an organized campaign in the West against Islam, that it was spread by the sword. The fact is that Islam spread through the teachings of our Prophet (PBUH) and his message of love and peace for all. Yet a few extremist elements, either misguided, or with some ulterior motives, have embarked on a path which serves those who oppose this religion. In essence, Islam has more in common with democracy and the achievement of legitimate rights of all human beings, than an archaic tribal system which advocates use of violence and supremacy of a few, based on their concocted views.
The severity of this poisonous mindset can be gauged from recent so-called Fatwa which offers an award for atrocious murder of the head of the most powerful constitutional pillars of the state, namely CJP. These Fatwa factories have been active in the subcontinent before partition. What is significant is that they never gave a fatwa against Colonial Raj occupation. The extremist elements within Barelvi sect, issued fatwas against Allama Iqbal, MAJ, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Muhammad Ali Johar and to name a few declaring them as “Kufar Murtadeen”. When Fatima Jinnah came to the forefront in 1965, to restore Jinnah’s vision from AK’s dictatorial rule and criticized Indus Water Basin Treaty for being one-sided, to the disadvantage of Pakistan, the government managed to get support of a section of Ulema. They declared that religion does not permit a woman to head an Islamic State. Her modesty and patriotism were attacked by junta and its allies. A paid advertisement, funded by national exchequer, was printed in the Time magazine calling her an Indian agent etc. In fairness, it must be stated that the orthodox Maulana Maudoodi staunchly supported Madre-Millat and so did Maulana Bhashani.
This mindset mirrors the poisonous rhetoric of right-wing Hindu ultranationalists, founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966, who advocate mob violence and lynching of innocent Muslims, Christians and other minorities, notably during Modi’s tenure. Islam, as practiced by the Holy Prophet (PBUH), does not condone such extremism, which allows individuals, rather than the judiciary, to administer capital punishment without trial. Hindu vigilante mobs kill in the name of their version of Hinduism, whereas Gandhi Ji, a proponent of non-violence, led a peaceful struggle to free India from British colonial rule. Similarly, Quaid-e-Azam and other AIML pioneers like Viqar-ul-Mulk, Allama Iqbal, Liaquat Ali Khan, Maulana Zafar Ali, Haji Abdullah Haroon, Malik Barkat Ali, and Qazi Issa never endorsed violence in politics. They achieved a separate nation for Muslims through a constitutional political struggle. As Stanley Wolpert noted, “Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. M.A. Jinnah did all three.
Unfortunately, after MAJ’s death, the adoption of a Constitution by the First Constituent Assembly, created by him on 11 August 1947, was delayed. Pakistan remained a British dominion until 1956, with the Government of India Act 1935 as the supreme law. While India adopted its Constitution by 1950 and became a republic, Pakistan continued to be ruled indirectly by the British Raj. The remnants of the Raj, created to serve Britain, continued to relish lavish lifestyles, creating obstacles and indulging in intrigues to derail Jinnah’s vision of a modern democratic welfare state. In Jinnah’s Pakistan, all citizens were to enjoy equal rights, justice and freedom to practice their faiths, with Islamic jurisprudence emphasizing tolerance and justice for all as guiding principles. Instead, religion was used to divide the Muslim majority along ethnic and sectarian lines, employing the colonial doctrine of “Divide and Rule.” Pakistan’s sovereignty was compromised by mediocrity exploiting religion, justifying foreign bases and CIA-funded proxy wars.
This Fatwa given by a religious cleric of TLP, which announced an award for the killing of CJP, is not the first time they have indulged in this odyssey of hate and murder. In 2017 this extremist group, whose clerics use foul language to incite hatred, by distorting religion, were facilitated to stage Dharna at Faizabad interchange, which effectively paralyzed the federal capital from 8 November 2017 to 18 December 2017. Earlier a 126-day Dharna, co-sponsored by a Canadian national Tahir Qadri, who claims to be a cleric based in Canada and PTI was staged in Islamabad Red Zone. In both these Dharnas violence was used against uniformed law enforcement agencies and vital symbols of the State were demolished and set on fire.
Activists, affiliated with TLP, have been involved in mob lynching of a Priyantha Kumara, a Sir Lankan in Sialkot on fake allegations of blasphemy on 3 December 2021. They have been involved in numerous such mob lynchings and except in the Sialkot case, they have managed to get away. Pakistan faces a serious and grave economic crisis, which threatens its sovereignty and national security. It cannot afford to allow such extremism to flourish and exist.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore.
