Following are excerpts from Razi Azmi's article:[1]
"At a time when enlightenment is seeping through the Islamic heartland in the Middle East, jahiliyah (stubborn arrogance) is taking Pakistan by the throat. If the founder of the country, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, were alive today, he would live in fear, like the millions of others who share his secular ideology.
"Murderous thugs control the country in the name of Islam, from Khyber to Karachi and from Lahore to Lasbela. This is no accident; it has been a long time coming. The chain of actual events and the process of constitutional and mental regression that have led to this can be traced back to Pakistan's beginnings.
"Intolerance and bigotry first began to creep rather innocuously into Pakistan's body politic with the passage of the Objectives Resolution under Liaquat Ali Khan [the first prime minister of Pakistan]. It gathered pace under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's politically expedient concessions to the Islamists. Ziaul Haq's constitutional amendments and propaganda on the pretext of Islamization turned it into a fearsome juggernaut."
"Followers of… [Islam] that Means 'Submission' and 'Peace' and Preaches Tolerance First Systematically Got Rid of the Hindus and Sikhs who Chose to Live in Pakistan…"
"At the mundane level, followers of a religion that means 'submission' and 'peace' and preaches tolerance first systematically got rid of the Hindus and Sikhs who chose to live in Pakistan after Partition [creation of Pakistan in 1947]. Then they began to bay for the blood of Ahmadis, a minority sect of Islam at the time, and did not rest until they were put on par with infidels or worse.
"With the known 'infidels' out of the way, religious fundamentalists needed new enemies to keep their fires stoked and their hateful hunger satiated. So they turned on themselves, creating a whole new set of heretics, apostates, blasphemers and infidels.
"The Wahhabi/Deobandi sect, organized variously as Jamaats, Jamiats, Taliban, and Lashkars [armies], went after Shias, Christians, and Barelvis. Now it is the Barelvis, organized as Tehriks [movements], Jamiats [groups], etc, who have vowed to physically liquidate all real and alleged blasphemers – Sunnis, Christians, Hindus, Shias, and Ahmadis. Only Allah knows where and when this will end."
"Secular-Minded… People, Even If They Constitute the Majority, are No Match for These Fanatical, Armed Marauders When the [Pakistani] State Itself Cowers Before Them"
"Secular-minded, peaceful and tolerant people, even if they constitute the majority, are no match for these fanatical, armed marauders when the state itself cowers before them. Not that the majority can claim to be totally blameless in the acceleration of this descent into mayhem. As long as Pakistan's blasphemy laws were primarily directed against non-Muslims, the majority did not care and even welcomed these laws. But soon it turned into a Frankenstein ready to devour its own creators.
"Over half of the nearly 1,000 persons charged under the blasphemy laws are mainstream Sunni Muslims. Some accused have been killed in jail or outside the court. Many rot in jail for years before they are released without a conviction, only to be killed later.
"A qari (cleric) was burned alive some years ago after being thrown out of a police station where he had taken refuge to escape a lynch mob. A doctor has recently been arrested for trashing the business card of a medical salesman, part of whose name happened to be Muhammad. Even as I write, a Muslim, who had been acquitted by a court about a year ago after being accused of blasphemy, has been shot dead near Rawalpindi."
"Leaders of Mainstream Islamic Parties Represented in the Federal and Provincial Parliaments and Cabinets Openly Extol Murderers and Suicide Bombers…"
"Leaders of mainstream Islamic parties represented in the federal and provincial parliaments and cabinets openly extol murderers and suicide bombers, government ministers, and security officials blame the 'foreign hand,' and Urdu newspapers and TV anchors rant against the West.
"It has to be admitted that the so-called silent majority is in general agreement with them as far as the 'vile' West is concerned, somewhat ambivalent on the issue of suicide bombings since it began to hit home, a little embarrassed about the harassment of our poor Christians but in total agreement on the persecution of Ahmadis and the physical liquidation of alleged blasphemers.
"One recoils even to think that in the country founded by Jinnah, tens of thousands of people would join processions led by politico-religious parties demanding the death sentence for a Christian mother [Aasia Bibi] of four for some words she is alleged to have uttered but which she denies, and that lawyers would applaud the cold-blooded murderer of a provincial governor [Salman Taseer] as a hero."
"Contemporary Muslims… Like to Boast about the Contribution of Earlier Muslims to Science and Civilization; [But These Scientists] Suffered Persecution at the Hands of Fundamentalist Rulers and Religious Bigots"
"Contemporary Muslims, one and all, like to boast about the contribution of earlier Muslims to science and civilization. Not many know that the Muslim scientists who give them a sense of pride in their past were invariably secular-minded rationalists who were able to pursue their chosen interests under enlightened caliphs or kings.
"A London-based Wahhabi journal has denounced them for precisely that: 'The story of the famous Muslim scientists of the Middle Ages, such as Al Kindi, Al Farabi, Ibn Al Haytham and Ibn Sina shows that, aside from being Muslims, there seems to have been nothing Islamic about them or their achievements. On the contrary, their lives were distinctly un-Islamic. Their achievements in medicine, chemistry, physics, mathematics and philosophy were a natural and logical extension of Greek thought.'
"Add to the list the name of Al Razi, called the 'most brilliant genius of the Middle Ages' for his contribution to medicine, and that of Ibn Rushd, the great rationalist Muslim philosopher. All the above-mentioned suffered persecution at the hands of fundamentalist rulers and religious bigots.
"In India itself, the brightest periods of Muslim rule are associated with secular emperors like Akbar and Shah Jahan. The decline of the Mughal Empire commenced when Aurangzeb began to push orthodoxy, punishing free thinkers and persecuting minorities.
"There is a famous statement attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller that tries to explain how the Nazis were able to purge all who opposed them one by one, while everyone who was not immediately affected remained silent. It goes like this: 'First they came for the communists; and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists; and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews; and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me; and there was no one left to speak out for me.'
"Unless the majority immediately and forcefully speaks out against the religious inquisition and witch-hunting, for the acceptance of religious diversity, and in support of tolerance of dissenting and minority viewpoints, Pakistan is fully on course to push itself into the dark pit of jahiliyah."
"A Generation of Pakistanis Grew up Believing, Quite Inaccurately, that Pakistan was Achieved So that Muslims could Establish an Islamic Theocracy…"
Following are excerpts from Yasser Latif Hamdani's article:[2]
"Pakistan, as a state, has always been conscious of its Muslim identity but until 1977, at least, this Muslim identity was not at odds with modernity, democracy, and human rights. The 1956 and 1962 constitutions significantly did not have a state religion. The 1973 constitution made that concession [under Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto] but, in the pre-Zia form, it was still arguably a liberal Islamic constitution. Bhutto's compromises notwithstanding, it was General Ziaul Haq who laid the foundations for a rabidly fundamentalist society by confusing Pakistanis about their history. A generation of Pakistanis grew up believing, quite inaccurately, that Pakistan was achieved so that Muslims could establish an Islamic theocracy and be governed by Shariah law.
"It is not uncommon to hear the argument that Pakistan must be an Islamic theocracy because Pakistan was founded on religion, not nationalism. Indeed, this fallacious argument has been accepted by the courts in the Zia era [during the 1980s] and beyond. It is also argued that if not for the establishment of an Islamic theocracy, why did the Muslims of the subcontinent opt for a separate country? While these assertions require proper rebuttals, they also betray infirmity on the part of those making them.
"First of all, undeniably, Pakistan was created on the basis of group nationalism and not religion. Group nationalism can contain many elements including common religious beliefs and common historical experience. If Pakistan were to be founded on religion, there would be no need to articulate the Two Nation Theory [i.e. that Hindus and Muslims cannot live together], especially in terms of culture, history, customs, and language. Ostensibly, it would have been enough to say that we wanted to create an Islamic state but, strangely enough, that was never claimed by the Muslim League [which steered the movement for Pakistan as a homeland for Indian Muslims]. In fact, one Muslim Leaguer who made a claim of this kind was expelled from the League by Jinnah himself.
"The one occasion that the idea of the League being committed to the establishment of an Islamic state was presented as a resolution, Jinnah vetoed it, calling it a 'censure on every Leaguer.' As a politician, Jinnah of course attempted to speak in a language that was comprehensible to his constituency. Hence he spoke of the Islamic principles of equality, fraternity and justice and claimed that democracy was ingrained in Islamic theory and practice. Yet, as a statesman, he ensured that references to Islam were kept out of resolutions and constitutional documents. So long as he was alive, the first president of the constituent assembly did not allow a single move to Islamize the then largest Muslim country in the world."
"We Need to Revisit Social Studies, Pakistan Studies, History and Islamiat Curricula First…; The [Pakistani] State Must Drop Its Excess Ideological Baggage"
"It is for this reason that Maulana Maududi [the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami] summed up his opposition to Pakistan by saying that the 'objective of the Muslim League is to create an infidel government of Muslims.' Yet today his party, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), is in the forefront of the claim that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam. The underlying concern for those working to establish Pakistan was the economic and political future of Muslims, who they feared would be marginalized in a united India. Today, thanks to the religious right-wing of Pakistan, our economic and political future looks bleak anyway.
"M. J. Akbar, an Indian author, recently said that for there to be a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan, the children of Jinnah must defeat the children of Maududi. For this to happen we need to revisit social studies, Pakistan studies, history and Islamiat curricula first and foremost. A concerted effort has to be made to better explain the historical events leading up to Pakistan but for that to happen, the state must drop its excess ideological baggage and instead opt for ideas that are universally acceptable as the basis for nation building.
"Indeed, that is the battle-line that has now been drawn. Here one may add that the current wave of fundamentalism and extremism is, in any event, unsustainable over a longer period of time. The world is in the throes of a grand global information revolution. In an integrated world where information travels in seconds and not minutes, to continue to espouse retrogressive notions of religiosity is tantamount to shooting yourself in the foot.
"The recent assassinations of Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti are indicative of an increasingly frustrated mentality that is acting out in desperation. No bullet, no army and no state can stop an idea whose time has come. The question before us Pakistanis is whether we want to delay the process and make it painful for us as a nation or if we want to reform sooner rather than later and make the process painless…"
"Shahbaz Bhatti's Bloodstains can Be Found on the Hands of the Writers of Those Textbooks that Glorify Murders By Presenting the Killers as Heroes"
Following are excerpts from Dr. Haider Shah's article:[3]
"Investigators are again busy digging out who had planned and executed the gruesome murder [of Shahbaz Bhatti]. Regretfully, we are all linked to the conspiracy to a varying extent. Shahbaz Bhatti's bloodstains can be found on the hands of the writers of those textbooks that glorify murders by presenting the killers as heroes to the impressionable minds of young students. Blood is dripping from the hands of those religious and political leaders and media persons who enjoy issuing inflammatory statements and play the sport of jingoism.
"The government, by dragging its feet after the murder of Salmaan Taseer, and following an appeasement policy, also facilitated the plotters of this gruesome murder. And, last but not the least, we are all also part of this foul murder by giving the hate-mongers a free hand to operate amongst us with impunity.
"In the 1980s, General Ziaul Haq, at the behest of the then U.S. government, turned Pakistan into a recruiting ground for the U.S.-sponsored jihad against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. This necessitated the deep rooting of the jihadi culture in all sections of Pakistan's social life. The constitutional and legal system also became infested as a result… The only offence committed by Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti was that they suggested that we should revisit and re-examine the distortions made by Ziaul Haq in our legal codes as those had been made with the malicious intent of gaining cheap popularity and legitimacy. They had never said anything on record that even remotely could be suggestive of blasphemy. It is the duty of parliament to continue updating the laws in accordance with the needs of the changing environment. If taking dictation from external governments [e.g. the U.S.] is against sovereignty, how can we ever claim to be sovereign if we abdicate parliamentary sovereignty to a bunch of extremists and allow ourselves to become a terrified hostage?"
"If We Do Not Wish to Follow Western Countries, We can At Least Look to the Example of the Gulf Arab Countries and… Show Zero Tolerance for Those Who Incite Violence through Writings or Speech"
"Extremism is not just devouring liberal thinkers alone. Like a jungle fire does not discriminate among the trees, the rising flames of extremism have swallowed people like [anti-Taliban clerics] Maulana Hasan Jan, Dr. Mohammad Farooq and Mufti Sarfraz Naeemi, and have forced scholars like Ghamidi to seek refuge elsewhere. The target of extremism, therefore, does not remain restricted to what a pro-Taliban media personality calls 'liberal fascists' but rather all, irrespective of caste or creed, will be affected by this fast spreading malignant cancer.
"If we do not wish to follow Western countries, we can at least look to the example of the Gulf Arab countries and, like them, show zero tolerance for those who incite violence through writings or speech. It is high time we, as a nation, decided that glorification of terrorist crimes has no place in Pakistan. In the face of imminent danger, we need to stop playing double games… [of supporting militants against Afghanistan and India] and instead utilize our energies and taxpayers' money on exorcising our society from the demon of extremism.
"The government, unfortunately, seems to be too obsessed with accomplishing a one point agenda, i.e. completing its five-year tenure. In books on Chinese history, we read about ancient governments that were effectively run by eunuchs. If the present government does not want to be counted as one, it needs to come down heavily on those who instigate and glorify violence. It must announce boldly a zero tolerance policy and use the Anti-Terrorism Act's provisions to arrest and prosecute all leaders who misuse their position to glorify terrorism. The appeasement of Hitler did not work in the 1930s, as we all know today. Appeasing terrorists also never works…"
