PAKISTAN’S Constitution is very Islamic in nature; the renowned Ulema not only participated in its formative phase, but they also took an oath of allegiance to protect it by becoming a Member of Parliament, the supreme legislative body in the country. The democratic system of government empowers every Muslim to strive for further Islamization peacefully by joining Parliament.
Therefore, many religious political parties are part of the democratic process with the slogan of Sharîah and they have always had a significant presence in the Senate and National Assembly of Pakistan to promote Islamic ideology in law-making. Moreover, mainstream political parties have Ulema at the top level, and they also support their becoming members of Parliament to participate in the legislation.
Hence, a popular movement for Islamization is required under the democratic Constitution of Pakistan, and the propaganda of banned terrorist outfits and violent extremist ideologies against the social contract of the people of Pakistan is misplaced in this regard. As a matter of fact, the heavy criticism of liberal and secular forces on the Islamic nature of the 1973 Constitution proves that Islamic ideologies could grow under it and could also be implemented with public consent. Against this backdrop, the role of democratic values and Islamic provisions of the Constitution in the implementation of Sharî?ah laws is further elaborated in the article.
Democracy is a completely compatible system with Islam; as terrorist leaders have no public acceptance, they oppose the democratic system in Pakistan. Islam is against heredity monarchies and it supports peaceful change in government with the consent of the people, which is only possible in a democratic system. Therefore, many muftis and Ulema have participated in the elections in Pakistan and other Muslim countries such as Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh. They remained a part of democratic governments and they produced literature to make it evident that democracy is a completely compatible system with the Quran-o-Sunnat.
The Quran instructs Muslims to manage public affairs with consultation, “Shura,” and a modern parliament in a democratic dispensation is its best form to develop consensus in matters of common interest. In this regard, a parliamentary democratic system in Pakistan is the best form of government to run public affairs with consultation. Similarly, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) often followed the principle of majority for important decisions, which is the basic value of democracy. Moreover, voting is the modern equivalent of “bait,” and elections could be related to the tradition of four guided caliphs who became rulers after the public expression of the consent of Muslims.
Therefore, a Muslim could practice the teachings of Islam very effectively under a democratically elected government. The Constitution of Pakistan provides safeguards for basic human rights and the superior judiciary is always forthcoming to give relief in matters of public interest. To the contrary, terrorists kill Muslims who dare to disagree with them in Pakistan, and they know that they could never survive in a democratic system. They believe only in violence and they have killed more than 84 thousand Muslims in Pakistan for a deviated ideology.
Terrorist outfits and violent extremist ideologies justify attacks on the false pretext of the implementation of Islamic laws in Pakistan for nefarious self-serving agendas. The 1973 Constitution is very Islamic in nature; it recognizes the Almighty’s sovereignty and the people of Pakistan would exercise legal authority as a trust within the limits set by the Quran-o-Sunnat. The Constitution professes Islamic identity openly; it declares “Islamic Republic of Pakistan” as the official name of the state and Islam as its official religion. According to the given definition, “Muslim” is someone who believes in the oneness of God and the finality of prophethood.
Hence, the state of Pakistan is completely religious. In addition, the president and prime minister of Pakistan must be Muslims and all constitutional appointments require an oath to protect Islamic ideology. Moreover, the qualifications for these institutions demand that aspirants be free from major social evils prohibited by the Quran-o-Sunnat as great sins. Thus, the Constitution empowers every Muslim to elect pious leaders for the functions of the government to promote Islamic ideology in the country.
The democratic nature of Pakistan’s Constitution and the precedence of Quran-o-Sunnat in enacting laws empower every Muslim in the country to make a peaceful struggle for the implementation of Sharî?ah; therefore, a popular democratic movement is required to win hearts and minds in the national elections for this purpose. Terrorist outfits and violent extremist ideologies are the propaganda of deviated individuals destined for rejection in Pakistan.
—The writer is MPhil, IR, from Quaid-i-Azam University and frequently contributes to the national press on issues of violent extremism and militancy.
views expressed are writer’s own.
