Thoughts of an
Ordinary Muslim on Islamisation of Pakistan
Ground Work Has
to be Done First to Implement Shariah
By
Anwaar Hussain
WHENEVER
given a choice, the people of Pakistan have been historically
displaying an acute sense of political wisdom. Since the creation
of Pakistan, they have been continuously drubbing the "religious
Right" at the ballot box elections after elections.
The
people of Pakistan have categorically been rejecting a second
conversion to Islam at the hands of people who recite Allah's
name before slaughtering a chicken yet kill fellow Muslims, prostate
in prayers to the same Allah, without a thought.
Over
exuberant George W. Bush changed all that in a single stroke.
His passion for oil and unquestioning loyalty to the Jews alienated
the Muslim world like never before. The emergence of the mainly
pro-Taliban alliance of the Pakistani religious parties as the
'third force' in Pakistani politics is a direct outcome of George
Bush's so called war on terror. Not in their wildest dreams could
these political parties imagine themselves actually ruling the
North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Baluchistan, a huge over
60 percent of Pakistan's geographic land mass.
With
the women-flogging Taliban smirking from surrounding hill tops,
the ruling MMA (Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal) law makers have begun
to unfold their political agenda in the NWFP. For starters, all
music on public transport has been banned, women have been barred
from being treated by male doctors, men have been urged to grow
beards, trousers have been abolished and shalwar kameez
made the standard school uniform. Furthermore, male coaches have
been barred for women athletes and male journalists from covering
women's sports. Civil servants have been ordered to pray five
times a day. Sale of music and videos has been curbed, the destruction
of posters featuring women and advertising Western products having
already been conducted.
On
the agenda is segregation of women's universities and laws to
persuade youngsters to obey their parents. The assembly is
also considering another legislation called Hasba Bill to establish
a new Department of Vice and Virtue to supervise implementation
of the Islamic code. Simply put, a vice and virtue squad a la
Taliban to "preach to people to adopt good things and
give up bad things."
To
enforce the same on the whole country is MMA's bargaining chip
with President Musharraf. Enforce Shariah as interpreted by the
leading stalwarts of MMA and continue to wear the Khaki.
Pakistan
has always been a hot seat of this sometime vicious debate about
the Shariah. One side of the argument says that if the majority
of a country constitutes of Muslims, then the Muslims have a right
to enact Shariah law. It is argued that if they believe in the
Holy Quran then it is only a logical conclusion to endorse Shariah
law and make it the only law valid for
the country.
The
counter-argument points out the many difficulties that will be
thrown up if Shariah is endorsed in totality in the shrinking
global village. Minority rights, economic, legislative and constitutional
problems are just some of the very serious problems that will
surface with the
enactment of Shariah. These arguments are fit for a dialogue between
the specialists. But how about us ordinary Muslims whose lives
are to be governed by the proposed Law? Let us hear us too.
To
begin with, most of us are far from being ideal Muslims as individuals,
but are Muslims nonetheless. Ironically, in areas where we are
free to practice Islam as we like e.g. the five daily prayers,
we fall way short of the model. If we freely cannot exercise Islam,
how could we be expected to do it by force and decree? And if
we are somehow made to do it, would it be acceptable to the Almighty
as His worship? Are these half-baked Ulemas somehow privy to a
divine secret that it does not matter and the mere motions of
going through the rituals are sufficient to get us into heavens
collectively? Is it of no importance that Allah says in the Holy
Quran? "Let
there be no compulsion in religion. Verily the right path has
become distinct from the wrong path." (ch. 2 : 256) "And
say: the truth is from your lord: Then whosoever wills, let him
believe; and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve."(ch. 18
: 29)
"Say
O mankind! Now truth has come to you from your lord. So whosoever
receives guidance, he does so for the good of his own self; and
whosoever goes astray does so to his own loss. I am not set over
you as a disposer of affairs to obligate you" (ch. 10 : 108)
Let
us see some issues that are inherently bound to the subject. For
instance, if a Muslim country has a right to dictate the laws
of the religion of the majority, then every other country should
have the same right. Imagine if the Hindutva enthusiasts are allowed
to implement in India the laws of the Hindu religion as they see
it. The fate of Indian Muslims and other minorities of India are
sealed. Likewise, imagine Israel enacting the laws from Talmud?
The non-Jews probably will not be allowed to even enter the state
of Israel. Moreover, if Muslim law is imposed in a country, all
the rest of the people who are inhabitants of the same land would
have no say in its legislation and have to be considered as second
rate citizens.
Now
let us come to the problem of many interpretations of Islam as
forwarded by various Imams, scholars and leaders. A large number
of these gentlemen have been using it and twisting it to serve
their own agendas. Islam has become an excuse for committing acts
that have nothing to do with its spirit. The Islam that the West
sees today is not the one that was intended for the whole world;
a religion offering a message of love, peace, tolerance, equality
and compassion to all without distinction. A religion that is
anything but harsh and inhumane.
But
that is not all. The entire problem is further complicated within
Islam itself. Like other leading religions, there are countless
sects, opinions, beliefs within the overall religious parameters
of Islam. It's not just a question of Sunni Islam and Shia Islam
and how they interpret the Shariah. There are at least 70 sects
within these two main offshoots whose interpretation of Shariah
differs with each other. Aren't we witness to leaders of one sect
declaring the murder of the followers of another sect as not only
religiously legal but also divinely rewarding?
To
compound the problem, the qualifications of the interpreters too
have been routinely challenged by the progressive mind set over
the years. In Pakistan's case, for example, the educational qualifications
of MMA legislators already stand challenged in the Supreme Court.
It is being alleged that a great majority of these gentlemen do
not even possess requisite bachelor qualification to be even members
of provincial parliament let alone to interpret the divine and
legislate on fundamental laws impinging upon every sphere of ordinary
Muslims' lives.
It
has been prayed that the MMA members "were neither educated
nor developed enough to
understand Islam and the contemporary issues of the modern world
and have narrow view of the religion." And that "they
belong to a particular school of thought and sect as they are
trained in orthodox and outdated system of Madrassas."
With
that said, let us now proceed to another fundamental question...How
to define a Muslim? The Munir Inquiry Commission, when appointed
to investigate into the reasons of the anti-Qadiani riots in Lahore
in 1953, tried to tackle the issue. No less than twenty-two leading
lights on Islam were invited to define a Muslim. Ironically, no
two given definitions coincided with each other. Yet, all these
leaders were vociferously adamant as to the validity of their
definition of a Muslim and the imposition of their brand of Shariah
given a chance.
Shariah
interpretation of one sect, therefore, would not only strip the
non-Muslims of their fundamental right to legislate in the country
of their birth, but within Islam too there would be many sects
who would stand divested of this entitlement.
Shariah
Law, as seen on the ground, has trivialized the good things about
it, and gave it an expression of a harsh and unthoughtful canon,
that individuals used and still use to enslave women and to turn
the death of, sometimes innocent individuals, into communal display.
Public squares of Saudi Arabia and Kabul stadium have become legacies
of repugnant treatments to ordinary criminals. The killing of
people was turned into a patent pleasure for a people deprived
of all other entertainment in the name of Shariah.
It
seems that the Law has been manipulated, abused, and turned into
an instrument of suppression for those who dare to speak out,
an excuse to keep the status quo of women, and stifle progressive
thoughts. It has been, more or less, turned into a whip of convenience
with which to flog the dissenting views, political or modernistic,
whenever required. No wonder then that in the last couple of centuries
we have produced hundreds of suicide bombers but not a single
Newton or Einstein.
Shariah
Law, as it is used in some Muslim countries or as is proposed
by the MMA in Pakistan, purports as if only women are sinners.
The whole religion has been laser beamed onto women.
While men, with all their multi-marriages, infidelities and cruelty
to women are given a clean break. Women cannot drive, cannot go
out (without the presence of a male relative) cannot play or work
freely, cannot be treated by male doctors even if they are dying,
have to be covered from head to toe at all times regardless of
weather. They are urged, instead, to live within the confines
of their houses and continue to bear children conceived in the
pleasure of their men. They are, therefore, made to look very
powerless and dependent on the goodwill of their male relations.
There
is a difference, a massive one, between Shariah Law as seen in
the Holy Quran and Sunnah, and Shariah Law as forced on millions
of Muslims by a heartless, brutal clergy-cum-ruling-elite combo.
The ideal one is always promised and the adulterated one is always
imposed by these vested interests. Wherever it is imposed as the
law of the land in the Muslim World, it is made to focus on its
penal side. Flogging, amputations and jail-terms are made the
central theme of the law. It boils down to one thing, there is
a large gap between what Shariah stands for in theory, and what
it is made to look in practice.
Narrow
mindedness, rigid thoughts, biased interpretations and bigotry
is what gave Islam its present harsh outlook while taking away
its marvelous values, instructions, and love for mankind and benevolence
for the weak and defenseless.
Why
a whopping majority of Pakistanis have always rejected being governed
by the clergy...is a question that often titillates the mind.
Is it because no one is sure how far this law can be changed into
legislation for running a political government? We ordinary Muslims
recall a few attributes of the Almighty every time we seek His
guidance from the Holy Quran. These are; 1. Allah does not forget.
2. Allah is not shy of His creatures. He can talk to them directly,
without inhibitions and without giving twists and turns in His
Ayahs. 3. Allah is the creator of all languages and, therefore,
is not short of words to say what He wants to say to His creations.
Therefore,
would He leave His commandments on these vital matters ambiguous
and open to the interpretation of some semi-literate Ulema? He
is never in want of words to make clear His orders. Why then are
their no clear injunctions on governance of an Islamic country?
Was it difficult for Him to set out clear rules and regulations
for the rulers how to legislate right down to the nth decimal?
And for the Muslims how to elect their rulers?
Remember..He does not forget. Would it then be wrong to surmise
that He left it out on purpose because:1. He wants the Muslims
to be an integral part of a living, breathing, sprouting world.
2. He wants the Islamic Umma to be dynamic, progressive and ever-evolving;
ultimately becoming an example for the rest of the world of the
faith that they represent. His faith. 3. He is a Seer of all times,
He did not want to bind the Muslims to centuries old rules that
were once valid but no more because of a fundamentally different
world.
One does not require any law to say five times prayers, behave
honestly, speak truthfully, treat others fairly and be morally
upright. A society where there is turmoil, disarray, violation
of others' rights, state injustice, where there is no decorum
left in human behavior, what would one expect Shariah to do? Should
we not first create the right climate by educating the citizenry?
Every Prophet, as Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), first created that
healthy climate for the divine laws to be imposed. Then set an
example of personal conduct. Only thus the society was readied
for absorbing the law of religion willingly and without compulsion.
Shariah
is supposed to be a general guide of how Muslim shall live their
lives as a whole. It guides their private, public, societal, spiritual,
matrimonial and mutual affairs. The people on whom Shariah will
govern must be well informed, educated and enlightened about the
Shariah and their responsibility under the Shariah. Other societal
and economic factors such as illiteracy, poverty and discrimination
that could lead to criminal inducement must be eliminated first.
A
climate conducive for the Shariah to flourish in has to be created.
And please..it is not a
chicken-first-or-egg-first impasse. Both the chicken and the egg
will perish in burning fire or Arctic winter, conditions not being
exactly favorable to their growth. After all the example of Saudi
Arabia, and Afghanistan nearer to home, are before us where Shariah
was implemented without the necessary ground work.
Let
the people observe for themselves the leaders who with dedication,
resolve, honesty, foresight and personal example bring about these
changes. Only then would the people have tangible faith in their
leadership. Only then would they entrust such a leadership with
the task of passing such profoundly impacting laws. Only then
would the society be finally ready to hazard the interpretation
of the divine by these leaders.
No
one was ever made a good Muslim by mere diktat. Let there be no
doubt about that.
The
writer is a former Pakistan Air Force officer, now residing in
UAE. E-Mail: eagleeye@emirates.net.ae
