Coup détat and pandemonium of extremism — Ali Salman Alvi

Posted by on August 9, 2012 in Pakistan | Comments Off

 Coup détat and pandemonium of extremism — Ali Salman Alvi

The message was loud and clear — that no other religion in Pakistan enjoys the same reverence as Islam does — and thus the only way of survival for the minorities living in the ‘Land of the Pure’ is to embrace Islam

Minorities in Pakistan have long confronted a nexus of numerous grave issues, the likes of intimidation and seclusion, pushing them against the wall. The situation has turned out to be a can of worms for this unprivileged section of society who now strive for their existence as they face the biggest challenge — of survival in the hostile conditions besieging them. In Pakistan, the ratio of Hindus alone is reduced to 1.6 percent of the total population as compared to 20 percent in 1947. The representation of the other minorities at all ranks has been negligible too.

From the case of Aasia bibi, a mother of five, who has been sentenced to death under the Blasphemy laws by a local court, to the deplorable murder of Clement Shahbaz Bhatti, the slain federal minister for minorities’ affairs, the situation seems to spiral out of control. So much so that the prayer leader of the well-known Mohabat Khan Mosque in Peshawar offered Rs 500,000 for killing Asia bibi during one of his sermons at the Friday prayers, adding that the payment would be made from the mosque’s fund. If the unproven case of blasphemy against Aasia bibi and the subsequent murders of Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti were not enough to take the bull by the horns, this statement alone should have set alarm bells ringing in society. Unfortunately, though, no action was taken — neither by the concerned authorities nor by the Supreme Court, which has an eye on any chance to take a suo motu action promptly — against those responsible for making the lives of the beleaguered minorities more vulnerable and thus festering the exponentially growing menace of extremism in our insensitive society. The public mindset that condones this kind of extremism was cultured and endorsed under a decade-long military regime of General Ziaul Haq from 1977 to 1988. A whole generation of Pakistanis has grown up with textbooks producing a mindset that conflate Pakistani patriotism with Islamist ‘exclusivism’ whilst another generation is in the making on the same lines of thought.

Contorted Islamisation of those who have altered it by degrees ad nauseam of extremism, manifests when it comes to a show of tolerance and reverence to other religions. It is a society that fervently hails unjust and unscrupulous practices, such as condoning the extremist mindset and glorification of the terrorist figureheads like Osama bin Laden, terming such praxes a great service to Islam. Oddly, a whopping majority of Pakistanis believes that Islam is exactly what they think and whosoever thinks otherwise would definitely end up in the deepest parts of hell for being an infidel. But is it truly indispensable that we have to give the world a sneak peek into our depleted society regularly? From the sickening display of hero-worship of Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed killer of the governor Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, to the blatant marginalisation of the underclass minorities being broadcast live on television, we never cease to stoop lower and lower. Just when I think it cannot get any worse than the monstrosities I have witnessed, it gets worse, making a mockery of my wishful thinking.

The latest nail in the coffin is driven by none other than the unparalleled queen of sanctimoniousness, Maya Khan, which involved converting a Hindu boy to Islam during a primetime Ramazan special show being broadcast live on national television, taking the issue of intimidation and segregation of religious minorities in Pakistan to another level. In a matter of a few minutes, the 20-year-old Sunil officially converted to Islam under the guidance of a cleric to be followed by a packed studio audience congratulating and yelling suggestions for his new Muslim name prior to being renamed to the consensus choice of the zealous spectators — Mohammad Abdullah. Distressingly, the channel did not realise the message that whole escapade disseminates to the minorities living in a country where they already face a number of grievous issues. To any sane person the message was loud and clear — that no other religion in Pakistan enjoys the same reverence as Islam does — and thus the only way of survival for the minorities living in the ‘Land of the Pure’ is to embrace Islam. The ecstasy with which Sunil’s conversion was hailed and the congratulatory messages that followed clearly depicts that the fever of extremism is growing more and more.

Matters of faith, belief and religion are highly personal and they should not be commercialised. Religion should not be bought or sold through a channel’s TRP ratings. Televising the conversion must have been profitable for the channel but inevitably, it has further strengthened the trend of commercialisation of Islam. Religious beliefs are polymorphous in nature and they do not happen or change overnight. This was exactly the reason why Sunil replied incoherently about his intentions when asked what motivated him to accept Islam, as most of his responses gyrated around praising Sarim Burney Trust where he worked. What his work environment had to do with his conversion remained an elephant in the room. To me Sunil has just landed in hot water, as he has to make some other decisions quite soon. One of them being which school of Islam he would follow as there is a variety of options available, each calling the other inferior and in some cases, ‘infidel’.

I believe it is not just Maya Khan and her escapades of chasing couples in parks or converting Hindus to Muslims; the crisis is definitely more serious. The quandary lies in the mindset that makes many feel that it is in line with the ethical parameters of any civilised society and to get that distorted school of thought on track, a biased and controversial media is barely a solution. A much needed code of conduct, which has been vehemently opposed from the ranks of the electronic media, is found missing. Thus, its absence is one of the major reasons why such bizarre shows are aired without any system of checks and balances. Article 25 of the Constitution states, “All citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of law”, whilst Article 36 maintains, “The State shall safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of minorities, including their due representation in the Federal and Provincial services.” It is high time we as a society recognised the need of living in a culture of respect and tolerance for those who differ ideologically from a particular set of beliefs. Media needs to mend its ways and come up with a code of ethics to be followed by all channels operating under PEMRA. In the holy month of Ramazan, media should be spreading the message of peace and inter-faith harmony instead of airing such codswallop that propagates negative propaganda about Islam, making a mockery of religions followed by scores of people out there. With the psyche represented by the likes of Khan, there is an identity crisis among the minorities, alluring the fanatics rather than admonishing their practices and their diktats. Those who have been trying to gag the voices and slaying minorities — be it Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis (religious minorities) or Shias (populace minority) — in the name of religion, are achieving pyrotechnical Pyrrhic victories against humanity. Religious intolerance will only aggrandize fanaticism because intolerance will eventually make reasoning dead and people parochial in their way of thought.

The writer is a software engineer by profession. He is also a writer and peace activist. He tweets @alisalmanalvi and can be reached at ali.salman.alvi@gmail.com

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C08%5C06%5Cstory_6-8-2012_pg3_2

About K4Kashmir

PROFILE OF Dr SHABIR CHOUDHRY Dr Shabir Choudhry was born in Nakker Shamali (near Panjeri) in District Bhimber, Azad Kashmir. He went to UK in 1966, and holds a dual nationality. Dr Shabir Choudhry has done extensive research on the issue of Kashmir and Indo Pakistan relations. He passed BA Honours in Politics and History, and Mphil in International Relations (title of the thesis, ‘Kashmir and Partition of India’); and title of his PhD thesis is ‘Kashmir- An issue of a nation not a dispute of a land’. Apart from this Dr Shabir Choudhry passed Post Graduates Certificates in Education, and NVQ Assessor’s qualifications; and taught English in London. Political Achievements Founder member of JKLF (Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front established in 1977) and got elected as a Press Secretary in 1984. • Became its Secretary General in 1985, and resigned from this post in 1996. • Got elected President of JKLF and Europe in May 1999, and decided not to contest in elections of July 2001. • Said good - bye to the JKLF as it is in many groups and is largely seen as advancing a Pakistani agenda on Kashmir dispute, and set up a new party Kashmir National Party in May 2008. . At present, he is: • Spokesman Kashmir National Party and Director Diplomatic Committee; • Founder member and Director Institute of Kashmir Affairs; Previously • A founder Member and Trustee/ Director of London based registered charity, Kashmir Foundation International and resigned from this position in August 2001. • Regularly take part in the Sessions of the UN Human Rights (Commission) now Council in Geneva; and address various conferences and seminars to oppose violence and highlight the Kashmir cause. • Have addressed dozens of seminars and conferences in the British Parliament, European Parliament and other important capitals of the world on issue of Kashmir, violence and terrorism. • Addressed as a key note speaker in a Conference at New Delhi arranged by Jawahar Lal Nehru University. • Participated in a Round Table Conference on Kashmir, organised by Socialist Group of European Parliament in Brussels in 1993. • Addressed as a Chief Guest in a seminar on issue of Mangla Dam during the UN Sub Commission’s proceedings in August 2003. • Addressed as a key - note speaker in a seminar on the issue of Gilgit and Baltistan, organised by Association of British Kashmiris. • Addressed as a keynote speaker on human rights conference in Paris in 1991. • Addressed at Cambridge University as a Chief Guest in a conference on Kashmir in 1990. • Addressed as a keynote speaker at New Delhi conference on Kashmir, which was part of Track Two diplomacy in November 2000. • In September 2008, addressed a Conference arranged by Interfaith International in Geneva, topic of which was: “Kashmir Issue, Terrorism and Human Rights”. • Addressed as a speaker in a NGO Conference on Self - Determination in Geneva in August 2000. • Addressed as a keynote speaker in a fringe meeting of Liberal Democrats at their Annual Conference in Brighton in 1995. • Participated in World Human Rights Conference in Vienna in 1993. • Before President Clinton's visit to India and Pakistan in 2000, lead a JKLF delegation to the State Department to discuss Kashmir dispute and situation in South Asia. • Also had two rounds of meetings with senior State Department officials before President Musharraf’s meeting to Washington in June 2003. • Apart from that had meetings with senior officials including Ministers of different countries, and also held many meetings with the State Department and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials on number of occasions. • Played important role in advancing a Kashmiri perspective on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir; and also helped Baroness Emma Nicholson with her report ‘Kashmir: present situation and future prospects’, which was adopted by the European Parliament in May 2007. • Won first prize in an essay competition in Urdu in 1976. It was organised by High Commission of Pakistan in London, and title of the essay was 'Qaaid-e- Azam's role in Islamic History'. • Apart from that have addressed conferences in Brussels, Geneva, Toronto, Islamabad, Delhi, and Publications • Got first Urdu novel ‘Fareena’ published at the age of eighteen. • Second Urdu novel ‘Bay-Khataa’ which was about the problems of Asian youths living in UK published in 1983. • Third Urdu book ‘Pakistan and Kashmiri struggle for independence’ published in 1990. • Fourth Urdu book is also on Kashmiri struggle, 'Is an independent Kashmir a conspiracy?' • Apart from that has twenty five books and booklets published in English on various aspects of the Kashmiri struggle. • Recent publications are: Kashmir dispute as I see it • Different perspective on Kashmir • JKLF visit to Pakistan Administered Kashmir • Kashmir Needs a Change of Heart • If not self - determination then what? • Emma Nicholson report- who has won? • Struggle for independence, Jihad or proxy war (Introduction by Baroness Emma Nicholson) • Why 22 October 1947 is important in Kashmiri history? • New dimensions of the Kashmiri struggle. The following books are published by a German company and available on www.amazon.co.uk • New Round of the 'Great Game', ISBN 978-3-639-33084-7 • Liberation Struggle, Jihad or a Proxy War, ISBN 978-3-639-33424-1 • Kashmir Dispute: New Dimensions and New Challenges ISBN 978-3-639-33566-8 • Kashmir Dispute and Peace in South Asia ISBN 978-3-639-33732-7 • Terrorism, Kashmir Dispute and Possible Solutions ISBN 978-3-639-34239-0 • Kashmir And The Partition of India, (my Mphil research) ISBN 978-3-639-34801-9 • Kashmir – an Issue of a Nation not Dispute of a Land, (my PhD research) 978-3-639-35593-2 • Are Kashmiris part of the Kashmir Dispute? 978-3-639-37225-0 • A brief background Dr Shabir Choudhry was born in a small village called Nakker Shamali (near Panjeri) in District Bhimber, Azad Kashmir. He went to UK in 1966, and like other people from the region, holds a dual nationality. He left secondary school in 1970 with no qualifications and began his life as a textile worker. In 1975 he started part time studies and passed Matriculation from Government High School Panjeri, passed ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels from UK, and resumed full time degree course in 1981, and passed BA (Hons) in Politics and History in 1984. He continued full time and part time jobs until he got his Mphil. He passed his PGCE (Post Graduates Certificate in Education) in 1990, and then started full time job as a Lecturer. Due to health problems he resigned from teaching in 1999. At present he is self - employed, provides private tuition, translation and interpretation and consultancy. Through out his adult life he has actively worked for the cause of Kashmir, and even during long illness he effectively carried out his responsibilities as a leader of the JKLF, a ‘prolific writer’ and consistent campaigner of Rights Movement and peace in Jammu and Kashmir and South Asia. Dr Shabir Choudhry Email:drshabirchoudhry@googlemail.com Telephone: 0044 (0)7790942471

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