Islamabad
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said there was no precedent in Islamic history for forcefully converting others, and those who do so “know neither the history of Islam, nor their religion, the Quran or Sunnah.” The premier made the remarks while addressing an event around the National Minority Day hosted at the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad.
The premier said that Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) life was a road map for people to follow till the day of judgement. He explained that the Prophet himself had given minorities religious freedom and protected their places of worship, “because the Quran orders that there be no compulsion in religion”.
“How can we then take it into our own hands to forcefully convert someone to Islam — either by marrying [non-Muslim] women […] or on gunpoint or to [by threatening to] kill someone because of their religion?” he asked.
“All these things are un-Islamic. If God hadn’t given his messengers the power to impose their beliefs on someone, who are we [to do so]?” he asked, explaining that the messengers’ duty was only to spread the word of God. The premier said that since coming to power, he had said that the Riasat-i Madina was the only model for Pakistan, which had been created in the name of Islam.
Imran shared that Allama Iqbal had said that when a Muslim rises, they aspire to this model (the model of the state of Madina), and when they fall, they deviate from this model. “This is why I want this model to be studied in the country. What was the Riasat-i-Madina? We are trying that universities teach courses on the Riasat-i-Madina,” he said. Prime Minister Imran also said that though the government was merely implementing the law against previous leaders, they were raising a hue and cry.—INP
