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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>Has Nawazuddin Siddiqui ever faced religious discrimination in Bollywood?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2474496/has-nawazuddin-siddiqui-ever-faced-religious-discrimination-in-bollywood</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2474496/has-nawazuddin-siddiqui-ever-faced-religious-discrimination-in-bollywood#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 27 Jun 24 07:24:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[News Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2474496</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Actor slams certain media outlets for spreading divisive and untrue narratives about religion]]>
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				<![CDATA[Famous Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui emphasised that Bollywood sets an example globally on religious tolerance within the industry.

According to reports from Indian media, Nawazuddin Siddiqui recently joined a podcast where he discussed the importance of respecting diverse religions in Bollywood.

Nawazuddin , noting his Muslim identity, expressed that he has never faced discrimination based on religion in Bollywood, where every actor and filmmaker has shown him respect.

The actor highlighted his longstanding association with Bollywood, expressing gratitude for the love and respect he has received, unmatched by any other place, from fans of all faiths.

Nawazuddin shared his experiences traveling across India, encountering love and acceptance in every corner, and questioned why certain media outlets spread divisive and untrue narratives about religion.

The actor suggested that global society could learn from Bollywood about how to foster respect for all religions.

He further mentioned that Anupam Kher, known for his strong religious convictions, deeply respects Naseeruddin Shah, showcasing mutual regard despite differing beliefs.

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Hindu group toughens stance on India's mosque-temple disputes</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2454587/hindu-group-toughens-stance-on-indias-mosque-temple-disputes</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2454587/hindu-group-toughens-stance-on-indias-mosque-temple-disputes#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 27 Jan 24 13:29:17 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2454587</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[RSS asserts mosques in India built over razed Hindu temples, deepening sectarian tensions]]>
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				<![CDATA[A powerful Hindu group said several mosques in India were built over demolished Hindu temples, apparently hardening its stance in a decades-long sectarian dispute just days after a huge temple was inaugurated on the site of a razed mosque.

The comments from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Hindu-nationalist party, come after Modi and the RSS chief led Monday&#39;s consecration of the temple on the site of a 16th-century mosque demolished by a Hindu mob in 1992.

The fight over claims to holy sites has divided Hindu-majority India, which has the world&#39;s third-largest Muslim population, since independence from British rule in 1947.

Four days after the temple was inaugurated in the northern city of Ayodhya, a lawyer for Hindu petitioners said the Archaeological Survey of India had determined that a 17th century mosque in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi, in Modi&#39;s parliamentary constituency, had been built over a destroyed a Hindu temple.

The Archaeological Survey did not respond to a request for comment.

Read also:&nbsp;India court allows survey of centuries-old mosque to look for Hindu relics

Late on Friday, senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar questioned whether Varanasi&#39;s Gyanvapi mosque and three others, including the razed one in Ayodhya on the site where many Hindus believe Lord Ram was born, were mosques at all.

&quot;Whether we should consider them mosques or not, the people of the country and the world should think about it,&quot; Kumar told Reuters in an interview, referring to the sites in Gyanvapi, Ayodhya, one other in Uttar Pradesh state and one in Madhya Pradesh. &quot;They should stand with the truth, or they should stand with the wrong?&quot;

In the group&#39;s first reaction to the Gyanvapi findings, Kumar said, &quot;Accept the truth. Hold dialogues and let the judiciary decide.&quot;

Raising questions about the mosques does not mean Hindu groups comprise &quot;an anti-mosque movement&quot;, he said. &quot;This is not an anti-Islam movement. This is a movement to seek the truth that should be welcomed by the world.&quot;

&#39;Nothing political&#39;

Muslim groups are disputing the assertions of Hindu groups in court.

Zufar Ahmad Faruqi, chairman of the Sunni Central Waqf Board in Uttar Pradesh, said the group &quot;have confidence in the judiciary that it will do what is correct.

&quot;We want to live in harmony and peacefully while protecting the monuments as they are,&quot; he said. &quot;Nothing political about it, we are in the court and facing it legally.&quot;

The Modi-led opening of the Ayodhya temple fulfilled a 35-year-old pledge of his Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of a general election due by May. He is expected to win a third straight term, the longest stretch since India&#39;s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Read:&nbsp;Hindus throng Ram temple in India&#39;s Ayodhya as it opens to the public

The razing of the Ayodhya mosque sparked riots across India that authorities say killed at least 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. Hindu groups have for decades said that Muslim Mughal rulers built monuments and places of worship after destroying ancient Hindu structures.

Indian law bars the conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of places of worship as they existed at the time of independence - except for the Ayodhya shrine. The Supreme Court is hearing challenges to the law.

The court this month halted plans for a survey of another centuries-old mosque in Uttar Pradesh, the country&#39;s most populous and politically important state, to determine if it contained Hindu relics and symbols.

The RSS&#39;s Kumar, who is also the chief patron of the group&#39;s Muslim wing, said Islamic law requires mosques to be constructed on undisputed land, or the land should be donated by someone who has bought it or the people building the mosque should buy it.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan issues 3,000 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2447735/pakistan-issues-3000-visas-to-sikh-pilgrims-from-india</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2447735/pakistan-issues-3000-visas-to-sikh-pilgrims-from-india#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 23 Nov 23 14:54:34 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[news.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Visas issued for Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji's 554th birthday celebrations]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan has issued approximately 3,000 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India on the occasion of the 554th Birthday Celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The pilgrims are set to attend the event in Pakistan, including visits to significant religious sites such as Dera Sahib, Panja Sahib, Nankana Sahib, and Kartarpur Sahib.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi facilitated the issuance of these visas for Sikh pilgrims, allowing them to participate in the birthday celebrations scheduled to take place in Pakistan from November 25 to December 4, 2023. The visa allocation is part of the ongoing framework established by the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines in 1974.

Read also: All set for Guru Nanak&rsquo;s birthday celebrations

The Sikh Yatrees from India visiting Pakistan will have the opportunity to observe various religious festivals and occasions during their pilgrimage. The pilgrimage holds special significance for followers of Sikhism, particularly during the birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji, a revered figure in the Sikh faith.

Aizaz Khan, the Charge d&rsquo;Affaires, extended heartfelt felicitations to the Sikh pilgrims on this auspicious occasion. He conveyed warm wishes for a safe and meaningful journey as the pilgrims embark on their visit to the religious shrines in Pakistan.

The issuance of visas to Sikh Yatrees from India to visit Pakistan during religious festivals is part of an annual tradition. This tradition reflects the commitment to promoting people-to-people exchanges, fostering religious harmony, and facilitating individuals in observing their religious practices.]]>
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			<title>Court to rule on French abaya Muslim dress ban</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2434629/court-to-rule-on-french-abaya-muslim-dress-ban</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2434629/court-to-rule-on-french-abaya-muslim-dress-ban#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 07 Sep 23 14:28:05 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2434629</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[State Council to rule on abaya ban school ban, sparks debate on secularism, discrimination and Muslim rights]]>
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				<![CDATA[France&#39;s highest administrative court is to rule on Thursday whether a school ban on abayas, traditional over-garments worn by some Muslim women, is legal.

President Emmanuel Macron&#39;s government announced last month it was banning the abaya in schools, saying it broke the rules on secularism in education that have already seen Muslim headscarves banned on the grounds that they constitute a display of religious affiliation.

But an association representing Muslims filed a motion with the State Council, France&#39;s highest court for complaints against state authorities, for an injunction against the ban on the abaya and the qamis, its equivalent dress for men.

The association argued the ban was discriminatory and could incite hatred against Muslims, as well as racial profiling.

The State Council has been examining the motion, filed by the Action for the Rights of Muslims (ADM), since Tuesday, and said it would rule on Thursday.

France&#39;s Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), established to represent Muslims before the government, warned that banning the abaya could create &quot;an elevated risk of discrimination&quot; and said it was considering putting its own complaint before the State Council.

The absence of &quot;a clear definition of this garment creates vagueness and legal uncertainty&quot;, it said.

ADM&#39;s lawyer, Vincent Brengarth, argued during the court hearing that the abaya should be considered a traditional garment, not a religious one.

He also accused the government of seeking political advantage with the ban.

Read also:&nbsp;Muslim schoolchildren in France often denied halal food options

ADM president Sihem Zine said the rule was &quot;sexist&quot; because it singles out girls and &quot;targets Arabs&quot;.

But the education ministry said the abaya made its wearers &quot;immediately recognisable as belonging to the Muslim religion&quot;.

French schools sent dozens of girls home for refusing to remove their abayas -- a shoulder-to-toe over-garment -- on the first day of the school year on Monday.

Nearly 300 schoolgirls defied the ban, Education Minister Gabriel Attal said.

Most agreed to change garments but 67 refused and were sent home, he said.

In 2016 the State Council overturned a ban in a French Riviera resort against the burkini, saying it failed to see any threat to public order from the long bathing suit worn by some Muslim women.

Around 10 percent of France&#39;s 67 million inhabitants are Muslim, according to official estimates.

Most have origins in northern African countries Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, which were French colonies until the second half of the 20th century.]]>
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			<title>Sweden police grant permit for protest entailing desecration of Holy Quran</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2428588/sweden-police-grant-permit-for-protest-entailing-desecration-of-holy-quran</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2428588/sweden-police-grant-permit-for-protest-entailing-desecration-of-holy-quran#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 31 Jul 23 07:29:57 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2428588</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Protestors say want holy book banned; neighboring Denmark explores legal options against such demonstrations]]>
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				<![CDATA[Swedish police granted a permit on Monday for a protest outside the parliament in which the organisers plan to burn the Holy Quran, according to local media.

The protesters told the media that they wanted to see the Muslim holy book banned in Sweden.

&quot;I will burn it many times, until you ban it,&quot; organiser Salwan Najem told Expressen newspaper.

Najem had joined Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika at two previous such protests in Stockholm - outside the city&#39;s main mosque and later outside Iraq&#39;s embassy.

The protest was scheduled for 1pm (1100 GMT) on Monday, according to the police permit.

Sweden has seen its diplomatic relations with several Middle Eastern nations strained over previous protests involving Holy Quran desecrations.

AFP requested a copy of the application in addition to the permit from police, but did not immediately get a response.

Swedish police have previously stressed they only grant permits for people to hold public gatherings and not for the activities conducted during the events.

Read&nbsp;Desecration of Holy Quran only serves to hurt inter-faith relations: PM

In late June, Momika, 37, set pages of the Holy Quran alight outside Stockholm&#39;s main mosque.

A month later, he staged a similar protest outside the Iraqi embassy, stomping on the Holy Quran but leaving before burning it.

Both incidents led to widespread outrage and condemnations.

Last week, Sweden ordered 15 government bodies including the armed forces, several law enforcement agencies and the tax office to strengthen anti-terrorism efforts.

On Sunday, neighbouring Denmark said it would explore legal means of stopping protests involving the burning of holy texts, citing security concerns following backlash over incidents that saw the Holy Quran desecrated in the country.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said a similar process was already underway.

Both Swedish and Danish envoys have been summoned by a slew of Middle Eastern nations.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq have called for a meeting, expected to be held on Monday, of the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to address Holy Quran desecrations in both Sweden and Denmark.]]>
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			<title>Unknown persons vandalize Ahmadi place of worship</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2427798/unknown-persons-vandalize-ahmadi-place-of-worship</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2427798/unknown-persons-vandalize-ahmadi-place-of-worship#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 25 Jul 23 08:30:07 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Sameer Mandhro]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2427798</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Third such attack in Karachi, 11th in country in this year alone, says community spokesperson]]>
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				<![CDATA[An Ahmadi place of worship was vandalized by unidentified individuals&nbsp;in Karachi on Monday.

Community elders lodged a complaint at Shah Faisal Police Station in this regard, seeking action against those responsible as per the law.

According to the complaint, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, the incident took place at around 3.45 pm. Around seven to eight persons entered the site, named &#39;Baitul Mubarak&#39;, and climbed up using wooden ladders and damaged a portion of the building.

The miscreants then fled the site.



Speaking to The Express Tribune, a spokesperson of the Ahmadi community, Amir Mehmood, said that the police complaint was registered soon after the incident. &ldquo;This is the third [such] incident in Karachi and 11th in Pakistan in this year so far,&rdquo; he said.

He added that the police have not yet arrested any persons involved in the last two attacks in the city. &ldquo;We have CCTV footage of the attacks and police can easily identify the miscreants,&rdquo; he said.


According to Mehmood, the site of this recent attack was built in 1948.

Meanwhile, a video of the incident showed a group of men damaging the worship place with hammers while a ladder can be seen leaning against the wall.



&ldquo;The government has utterly failed to provide security to Ahmadi places of worship in clear violation of Justice Jilani&#39;s 2014 ruling,&rdquo; lamented Mehmood. &ldquo;Despite a wave of attacks on Ahmadi centres in Karachi, the government [has done] nothing to protect them.&rdquo;



&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>US puts Pakistan among ‘countries of concern’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2389271/us-puts-pakistan-among-countries-of-concern</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2389271/us-puts-pakistan-among-countries-of-concern#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 03 Dec 22 05:38:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2389271</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Iran, China and Russia in the list on religious freedom]]>
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				<![CDATA[The United States on Friday designated Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Russia and many others, as countries of particular concern under the Religious Freedom Act over severe violations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Friday.

Blinken said those designated as countries of particular concern &ndash; which also include North Korea, Myanmar, Cuba, Eritrea, Nicaragua, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan &ndash; were engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.

Several groups, including the Kremlin-aligned Wagner Group, a private paramilitary organisation that is active in Syria, Africa and Ukraine, were also designated as entities of particular concern. The Wagner group was designated over its activities in the Central African Republic, Blinken said.

Algeria, the Central African Republic, Comoros and Vietnam had been placed on the watch list. &ldquo;Around the world, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, jail, and even kill individuals on account of their beliefs,&rdquo; Blinken said in the statement. &ldquo;The United States will not stand by in the face of these abuses.&rdquo;

Blinken added that Washington would welcome the opportunity to meet with all governments to outline concrete steps for removal from the lists. The US Religious Freedom Act of 1998 gives Blinken a range of policy responses, including sanctions or waivers, but they are not automatic.

The US Religious Freedom Act requires the president &ndash; who assigns the function to the secretary of State &ndash; to designate as countries of particular concern states that are deemed to violate religious freedom on a systematic and ongoing basis.]]>
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			<title>Taliban condemn UN official's 'disrespectful' statement about Islamic penal code</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2388305/taliban-condemn-un-officials-disrespectful-statement-about-islamic-penal-code</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2388305/taliban-condemn-un-officials-disrespectful-statement-about-islamic-penal-code#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 26 Nov 22 07:18:00 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2388305</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[IEA spokesman says individuals should not make 'irresponsible and provocative statements' on behalf of organisations]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Zabihullah Mujahid took to Twitter on Saturday to condemn a statement by a UN official as &quot;disrespectful&quot; to Islam.

A day ealier, the spokesperson of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights and representatives of Western Countries had called the punishment of flogging an &quot;inhumane and cruel act&quot;.



The Statement of the Spokesperson of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights and Representatives of Western Countries regarding the implementation of the Penal Code of Islam, calling the punishment of flogging as inhumane and cruel act&hellip;
&mdash; Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) November 26, 2022


Mujahid said that this remark on the implementation of the penal code of Islam was &quot;disrespect to the Holy Religion of Islam and against the international standards&quot;.

Further, he stated that countries and organisations should not allow individuals to make &quot;irresponsible and provocative statements&quot; on their behalf regarding the &quot;blessed religion of Islam&quot;.



The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan calls it disrespect to the Holy Religion of Islam and against the international standards. Countries and organizations should not allow people to make irresponsible and provocative statements on their behalf about the blessed religion of Islam.
&mdash; Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) November 26, 2022


This response came following the UN Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani&#39;s statement on Friday against corporal punishment in Afghanistan.

Read Taliban treatment of women could be crime against humanity: UN

Shamdasani said that the UN Human Rights Office was appalled by the mass floggings in public by the de facto authorities, calling an end to this &quot;abhorrent form of punishment&quot;.

The statement termed corporal punishment to be cruel and inhuman, adding that it is prohibited under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which Afghanistan is party to.

Shamdasani noted that since the Taliban rule began in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, the UN Human Rights Office has documented numerous cases of such punishment given in public, often for alleged violations of religious codes.

The statement concluded that corporal punishment is a human rights violation under international law.]]>
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			<title>App in development for info on holy sites</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2381262/app-in-development-for-info-on-holy-sites</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2381262/app-in-development-for-info-on-holy-sites#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 22 19:21:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2381262</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Once launched, it will guide visitors to Sikh and Hindu places of worship]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) announced a mobile app to provide information about Temples and Gurdwaras across the country and provide guidance on their location. 

Domestic and foreign tourists will be able to reach and learn about the holy places of Sikhs and Hindus with the help of this app. 

The supervisory body for religious sites of Sikhs and Hindus in Pakistan, the ETPB took another important step in promoting religious tourism in the country. 

Speaking to The Express Tribune, ETPB Chairman Habibur Rehman Gilani said this app will have information about all historical and ancient temples in Pakistan, shared in the form of photos and written information. 

This app will also provide guidance regarding any important historical and religious places within one to two kilometers of any site. 

A digital map will be available in the app.

Additionally, tour operators will also be able to provide information on accommodation, food and transportation facilities near these sites through the app.

Gilani said that the use of digital platforms to attract and guide tourists is essential and that in the second phase, 3D images and videos of the holy sites will also be shared in this mobile app. 

For this purpose, the Board is currently seeking funding and a company that can develop these features.

The chairman reiterated that the aim of these initiatives is to promote religious tourism in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13th, 2022.]]>
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			<title>Pious greed</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2344175/pious-greed</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2344175/pious-greed#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Feb 22 19:53:57 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Farrukh Khan Pitafi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Where the rich get richer and the poor do not realise things are being taken from them, religious manipulation works]]>
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				<![CDATA[We have read much about the confluence of religion and politics, militancy and politics, and why even military and militancy. But one topic flying under the radar and hovering almost beyond the edge of sight is the collusion between the business class and religion. This might be the most important factor yet to define the contours of our reality.

Have you ever wondered why in every polity where an overwhelming majority is usually moderate bordering on liberal, conservatism keeps winning? Why is it that despite a lot of evidence to prove that the clergy of each nation usually ends up undermining its national interest, states and institutions seem helpless before its onslaught? Need evidence?

Just imagine if a bunch of people with nothing to do with religion, living in a compound mostly built on state-owned land in Islamabad was to declare autonomy, hoist the flag of the country&rsquo;s known enemies, hold citizens hostage and unleash violence on the streets. How do you think the state would treat it? Needless to say that they would be uprooted and brought to the book in no time. Now, remember we are not judging the state right now. The purpose of these lines is to highlight the paradox we call religious politics in this country. The Red Mosque lot is still relevant despite its showdown with the state a decade and a half ago. Likewise, of the three major sit-ins that paralysed the federal capital two were totally led by religious groups and one partly by one of them. We saw how little resistance they encountered. And in all of this, the sympathies of the vernacular media mostly remained with them. Likewise, the Waco Siege in Texas instantly became a religious right talking point despite mainly being a law enforcement issue. 

Bearing in mind countless similar examples from around the world you are compelled to wonder if the game is so rigged that the religious right can never lose. Perhaps it has something to do with how religious identities have shaped over the years in each of these countries. That is one explanation although, as we will see later, not a comprehensive one. 

In India, Akshaya Mukul&rsquo;s brilliant book Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India tells us the tale of an affluent Indian trading class vying to assert its identity and driven by devotional sentiment laid the foundation of the country&rsquo;s religious right. Likewise, during Faizabad dharna, you might have heard accounts of Rawalpindi&rsquo;s trading class bringing food and supplies to the protesters. But while these examples show you the sympathies among traders for such causes this is not what I mean by the confluence of the religious right and the business interests. These sympathies underscore the symptoms and not the cause. The traders of any country, hailing mostly from the middle class, only represent the dominant narrative instead of setting it. To see who sets the narrative you will have to cast a wider net for the bigger fish. 

The regular readers of this space would remember a book I mentioned in one of my pieces. Kurt Andersen, the American writer and the host of the Peabody-winning public radio programme Studio 360, wrote Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire. A breathtakingly original tour-de-force, it is a vivid survey of American history that brings key nodal points to light that while making the country unique also contributed to all the ongoing weirdness in the nation today. The use of religion as a grift finds a special mention. Time and again countless men and women conned the unsuspecting, the simpletons, and the gullible out of their wealth. But that too is not the comprehensive explanation we are looking for. A more recent book by the author at least launches you in that direction. 

Andersen&rsquo;s Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America is less impressive in scope than the previous volume but it instinctively, if unwittingly, touches the nub of the gist of the problem. Instigated by a personal epiphany where the author realised how little the fashion sense had changed between 1987 and 2007 he dove deep into the inner workings of the American economy and re-emerged with one word &mdash; nostalgia. Nostalgia not just as the visceral sensation that haunts us all occasionally but the distress caused by the change that compels you to long for a pristine if make-belief past, simpler times, which in turn can be exploited by big businesses. 

The radical transformations of the 1960s were too distressing for many. The liberal policies back then were taking America in a more equitable direction when sensing the onset of a cultural shock morphing into nostalgia, the economic right led by Milton Friedman and Lewis Powell pounced. Popular TV series in the 1970s were all set in the 1950s. Nostalgia as a construct led to Reagan&rsquo;s economic policies resulting in permanent exploitation by the rich and ossification of inequality as an accepted reality of the society. Religious right also banks on guilt, cultural shock, and fear of social change. 

In her book Strangers in Their Own Land, American sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild does a sterling job of unmasking the unholy alliance between the clergy and corporate greed. So much toxic waste is dumped in Louisiana&rsquo;s waters that the locals do not eat the red parts of the fish and yet the population remains deeply conservative wedded to the Republican party&rsquo;s pro-rich policies. How? Through the indoctrination of the right-wing punditry. For the poor the kingdom of heaven, for the rich and the religious elite everything on earth. Collusion to manufacture consent in plain sight.

Then you should not be surprised when you hear about the collusion between Modi&rsquo;s BJP, Ambanis and Adani. In his recent column, Jawed Naqvi saheb brought up an interesting opposition slogan: &ldquo;India is ruled by four men from one state. Two are selling the country. The other two are buying it.&rdquo; All four are from Gujarat and religion is their favourite weapon to addle your brains and manufacture consent. Likewise, why be shocked when you learn that a renowned property tycoon sheltered the Red Mosque people from the consequences of their actions? 

In a world where the rich get richer and the poor do not realise that things are being taken from them, religious manipulation works like a charm. And because the rich have money this collusion sets the agenda which eventually envelops the state institutions. Because we all are primed to do what is easy, not what is right.

Let me now break the tension by bringing up a laughable episode of karmic humour. Remember I once mentioned how India under influence of its corporate elite kept pushing for the suspension of patents on Covid vaccines and when it did not get its way conspiracy theories about alleged chips in the vaccines exploded in the world. India is known for its influence campaigns and all of this had Ajit Doval&rsquo;s fingerprints on them. A few days back a man rammed into Doval&rsquo;s high-security residence and claimed that he did it because he was being controlled remotely through a chip in his body. Yeah, life comes at you fast. But you haven&rsquo;t heard the funniest bit. They actually scanned his body for the non-existent chip!

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2022.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>PM using religion to cover up ‘massive economic breakdown’: Shehbaz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2339132/pm-using-religion-to-cover-up-massive-economic-breakdown-shehbaz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2339132/pm-using-religion-to-cover-up-massive-economic-breakdown-shehbaz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 17 Jan 22 17:07:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[News Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[PML-N leader says such a self-serving approach will wreak greater damage upon the polity]]>
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				<![CDATA[Opposition Leader in the National Assembly and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of using religion &ldquo;as a cover up for the massive governance and economic breakdown&rdquo;.

He was referring to the premier&rsquo;s opinion piece titled &ldquo;Spirit of Riyasat-i-Madina: transforming Pakistan&rdquo;, published in The Express Tribune on Monday.

&ldquo;Really concerned with the way Prime Minister [Imran] is using religion as a cover-up for the massive governance &amp; economic breakdown the country has suffered in decades due to his policies,&rdquo; the PML-N leader wrote on his official Twitter handle.

&ldquo;Such a self-serving approach will wreak greater damage upon the polity than is being understood,&rdquo; he added.



Really concerned with the way Prime Minister is using religion as a cover-up for the massive governance &amp; economic breakdown the country has suffered in decades due to his policies. Such a self-serving approach will wreak greater damage upon the polity than is being understood.
&mdash; Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) January 17, 2022


In a statement, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said the premier was trying to take unfair advantage of sacred Islamic teachings. &ldquo;He [PM Imran] is a religious exploiter,&rdquo; she alleged.

Aurangzeb said the article reflected that PM Imran was in a state of &ldquo;extreme denial, stubbornness, arrogance and shamelessness&rdquo;.

She said during his three years in power, PM Imran&rsquo;s every step was against the principles of state of Madina.

The PML-N spokesperson said after making the lives of masses miserable due to inflation, writing an article on justice and principles is a &ldquo;shameful and hypocritical&rdquo; act.



بہتان ، الزام بغض ، نفرت عدم برداشت اور جھوٹ کا مجسمہ کس بے شرمی اور ڈھٹائی سے مدینہ کی ریاست پہ مضمون لکھ رہا ہے

مہنگائی سے عوام کا گلا کاٹ کر انصاف اور اصولوں کا مضمون لکھنا بے شرمی اور منافقت ہے
&mdash; PML(N) (@pmln_org) January 17, 2022


PM Imran shared the article on his official Twitter handle with caption: &ldquo;Explaining guiding principles of Riyasat-i-Madina as laid down by our Prophet PBUH creating the foundation of the greatest civilisation of all times. In Pakistan, to realise our potential today we have to struggle to embody these principles as a nation &amp; state.&rdquo;



Explaining guiding principles of Riyasat-i-Madina as laid down by our Prophet PBUH creating the foundation of the greatest civilisation of all times. In Pak, to realize our potential today we have to struggle to embody these principles as a nation &amp; state.https://t.co/U06hriykou
&mdash; Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) January 17, 2022


Minister of State for Information Farrukh Habib said PM Imran&rsquo;s article on the establishment of state of Madina is a guiding principle for every Muslim to follow.

&ldquo;These rules were setup for all times, for the betterment of an individual, a society and a nation.&rdquo;



PM Imran Khan&#39;s article on the establishment of State of Medina, the fundamentals for every Muslim to follow. These rules were setup for all times, for the betterment of an individual, a society and a nation.https://t.co/gVNzmvFqTC
&mdash; Farrukh Habib (@FarrukhHabibISF) January 17, 2022


&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Covid plays spoiler to mosque tour for non-Muslims in India</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2323567/covid-plays-spoiler-to-mosque-tour-for-non-muslims-in-india</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2323567/covid-plays-spoiler-to-mosque-tour-for-non-muslims-in-india#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 06 Oct 21 17:49:17 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[Anadolu Agency]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[As part of initiative to foster understanding, Muslim groups invite non-Muslims to mosques for raising awareness]]>
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				<![CDATA[Although communal tensions often hog the headlines from India, a Muslim organisation has been attempting to bridge the gap between religious communities by arranging a tour of non-Muslims to mosques.

But like other activities, Covid-19 related restrictions have halted the Visit My Mosque Programme as well, according to organisers.

Coinciding annual Mosques and Religious Officials Week which is being observed in Turkey from October 1, the organisers Rahmat Group &ndash; a charitable trust in the southern Indian city of Bangalore &ndash; said that last year they had managed to bring several hundred non-Muslims to see Muslims praying at the city&#39;s historic Modi Masjid.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency Vinay Sahai, a Hindu said that he got a chance for the first time to see the mosque from the inside and learned what is happening there.

Also read:&nbsp;Pakistani Hindus &lsquo;sad&rsquo; at Babri Mosque ruling in India

He described it as a very good initiative since it allowed non-Muslims like him to interact with the Muslim community. He said the programme has also helped to remove the negative stereotyping build around the community.

&quot;It was a new and different initiative,&quot; said Sahai, who had visited a mosque in Bihar Sharif, the seat of the Nalanda district in the eastern state of Bihar, last year.

&ldquo;Our initiative had received significant support from diverse communities as people wanted to learn about Islam,&rdquo; said Mohammed Suhaib Usmani Qasmi, an office-bearer of Rahmat Group.

Afternoon prayers were also shown to the participants in this half-day programme so that they could know about Muslim prayers.

Also read:&nbsp;Assam Muslims fear for their future under Indian regime

&ldquo;Practical Islam was shown to the visitors as they were welcomed and taken inside,&rdquo; he said, adding that there was a separate area for women and that this encouraged more ladies and families to visit the mosque.

Qasmi, however, said that because of coronavirus restrictions, his organisation has been unable to organise such programmes for the last one and a half years.

&ldquo;People frequently ask us questions, but the government has placed restrictions on religious places, and we are not permitted to host such events,&rdquo; he said.

Encouraging feedback

&ldquo;No one put a negative comment in a feedback form before leaving,&rdquo; he asserted.

Last year, a similar programme was organised in India&rsquo;s commercial capital Mumbai. The tour was conducted by the socio-religious Muslim organisation Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH).

&ldquo;We wanted people to see what Muslims do inside mosques directly. People learned and experienced everything firsthand rather than being told about it, and they recognised that a mosque is a good place where nothing improper is taught,&rdquo; Akhtarul Iman, president of JIH in Kalyan locality of Mumbai, said.

He believed that with such programmes non-Muslims would gain an understanding of the place of worship and remove misconceptions about Islam.

The majority of those who took part in these activities stated in their feedback that visiting the mosque made them feel peaceful and relaxed and that they would like to return if they get the opportunity in the future.]]>
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			<title>Advancing acting careers using religious extremism seems to be quite in: Armeena Khan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2323523/advancing-acting-careers-using-religious-extremism-seems-to-be-quite-in-armeena-khan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2323523/advancing-acting-careers-using-religious-extremism-seems-to-be-quite-in-armeena-khan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 06 Oct 21 08:01:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Entertainment Desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[TV]]></category><category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Actor has taken a dig without naming names and we're forced to wonder who she's referring to.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Armeena Rana Khan, who&rsquo;s no stranger to needless trolling, calling spade a spade and time and again, taking to Twitter to pen down her thoughts and latest disappointments, has once again shared her feelings about extremism playing its way into Pakistan&rsquo;s entertainment industry.

Without worrying about the consequences and rightfully so, the actor pointed out in a tweet yesterday, &ldquo;Advancing acting careers using religious extremism seems to be quite the &lsquo;in&rsquo; thing these days.&rdquo; She then asked with a giggling emoji, &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t make it without huh?&rdquo;



Advancing acting careers using religious extremism seems to be quite the &lsquo;in&rsquo; thing these days. Can&rsquo;t make it without huh? 🤭
&mdash; Armeena 🦋 (@ArmeenaRK) October 5, 2021


The Bin Roye star elaborated on her jibe in another tweet, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve also observed that no matter what religion you follow, if you&rsquo;re an extremist then your interpretation of that religion will be extreme also.&rdquo; On the contrary, she reinstated how a &ldquo;well-balanced person&rdquo; will interpret their religion with just that; &ldquo;balance.&rdquo;



I&rsquo;ve also observed that no matter what religion you follow, if you&rsquo;re an extremist then your interpretation of that religion will be extreme also. Conversely, a well-balanced person will find just that in every religion - balance.
&mdash; Armeena 🦋 (@ArmeenaRK) October 5, 2021


Although Armeena didn&rsquo;t name anyone, quite a few celebrities have recently either quit acting to follow a religious path &ndash; case in point, Sanam Chaudhry &ndash; or are&nbsp;still a part of the industry to&nbsp;further the &lsquo;paighaam&rsquo; of religion &ndash; case in point, Feroze Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi.

In September 2020, Hamza had clarified in Express Entertainment&#39;s Kasoti Online, &ldquo;I haven&#39;t left acting. In fact, I am currently working on two projects. My perspective of life has been changed since I realised that I have to meet my God. With this realisation, I now wish to talk to people, spread the message.&rdquo; While Feroze had told Something Haute in December 2020, &quot;My Sheikh ordered me not to quit showbiz. My mentor believes this industry is also a medium to spread the &lsquo;paighaam&rsquo; of religion.&rdquo;

Nevertheless, to counter her claims, a few&nbsp;netizens have accused Armeena of using &quot;western white feminism&quot; &ndash; if that&#39;s even a thing &ndash;&nbsp;to gain popularity.&nbsp;&quot;What an imperialist mindset!&quot; mocked a user. In response, Armeena tackled, &quot;I don&rsquo;t expect people like you to understand and neither should you engage with me. Thanks.&quot;

A user sharing Armeena&#39;s views, however, quipped, &quot;Unfortunately it still doesn&rsquo;t seem to be working for Sadaf and Shahroz. Both only seem to be working in terrible dramas.&quot; But to clarify, Armeena replied, &quot;See I&rsquo;m not making a comment on individuals, I never do but rather on the trend as a whole. The damage being inflicted on the public for short term gains is astronomical. It is alarming to watch, quite frankly, how brazenly this is being done.&quot;

Another user pointed out, &quot;Religion sells. If nothing else, a garb of religiosity endears them [public figures]&nbsp;to the public.&quot; Adding to the remark, the Janaan star continued, &quot;I swear! Normally, I don&rsquo;t have an issue with how people conduct their business but the damage here is so deep that it becomes imperative for good people to speak out. Otherwise, these people will ruin the world for the rest of us and they already are. Look at the violence.&quot;

In another tweet she quipped, &quot;Religion use kerkay logon ko ullu banao (Use religion to make a fool out of people).&quot; She also clarified that this remark of hers is A-political. &quot;This is a non-political tweet. I am commenting on my industry.&quot;

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.]]>
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			<title>Sanam Chaudhry quits acting to follow a religious path</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2317627/sanam-chaudhry-quits-acting-to-follow-a-religious-path</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2317627/sanam-chaudhry-quits-acting-to-follow-a-religious-path#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 29 Aug 21 06:37:51 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Entertainment Desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Former starlet replaced 'Actor' from her Instagram bio with a 'Muslim mother' and removed all her photos.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Sanam Chaudhry, who used to be a regular face on television, took to her social media on Thursday to mark her birthday with a special announcement.

She replaced the &ldquo;Actress&rdquo; in her Instagram bio with a &ldquo;Muslim mother,&rdquo; who&rsquo;s &ldquo;learning Islam,&rdquo; and removed all photos of herself from her feed. Taking to her Instagram Stories, she announced that she has &ldquo;turned towards Allah.&rdquo;

Known popularly for her role in Ghar Titli Ka Par, the starlet wrote, &ldquo;Those following the religious path have such pure hearts. Everyone is congratulating and welcoming me to the right path with beautiful words. And everyone is ready to teach me from the Quran. So much motivation already! May Allah guide us all!&rdquo;





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A post shared by Mrs. Chohan (@sanamchauhdry)




Sharing a clip of what appeared to be a celebratory surprise from her family, who are supporting her decision, Chaudhry added, &quot;My family welcomed me this way on turning to Allah &hellip; this is so heartwarming, thank you.&rdquo;

Married to singer Somee Chohan, Chaudhry has only kept photos from her Nikkah ceremony on her Instagram for public viewership.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.]]>
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			<title>‘Politics uses religion to serve interests’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2314692/politics-uses-religion-to-serve-interests</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2314692/politics-uses-religion-to-serve-interests#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Aug 21 10:42:22 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[News Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2314692</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Webinar highlights relationship, impact on society]]>
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				<![CDATA[&ldquo;Religion and politics have an independent causal effect on each other. This relationship impacts both negative and positive on the development of society,&rdquo; observed renowned historian Prof Dr Aslam Syed while responding to a question on the relation between religion and politics.

&ldquo;Throughout history and contemporary societies, religion has played a major role in political development in the world. The relation between religion and politics continues to be an important theme in political philosophy,&rdquo; Dr Syed elaborated during a webinar on &lsquo;Discourse in History and Religion&rsquo; held here on Sunday.

He emphasised that religion and politics complement each other. This was the seventh online session exclusively dedicated to discussing religion and history. It was arranged by the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research, Centre of Excellence, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, attended by over 1,000 participants including students, teachers and researchers.

Responding to a question, Dr Syed remarked that society becomes free when the hold of religion is weak; in the reverse case, it reverts society to old traditions and reduces the role of modernity. &ldquo;However, whenever religion relegates under political, social, or economic pressure, society contributes in philosophy, art and literature and music. In history, such were the periods of the Abbasid rule whose caliphs patronised men of letters and scientists. Akbar&rsquo;s period in the Mughal rule was significant because during this period new ideas were allowed to flourish,&rdquo; Dr Syed said.

Replying to another question, Dr Syed said that the real strength of religion lies in the belief in its truthfulness and not in patronisation and protection of the state. History is evident that whenever politics is called in to help religion, it uses it for its interests and makes an effort to subordinate it which subsequently weakens religion and its beliefs.

Moreover, whenever, religion tries to interfere in the economy or politics and cannot keep pace with changes, it becomes the butt of criticism. &ldquo;Religion and politics have one common goal: that is to acquire political power and use it to fulfil their aims.

However, to achieve this object, their methods are different. Religion mobilises religious sensibilities of people in order to get their support to capture power; while politics uses intrigue, diplomacy, and makes attempt to win public opinion either democratically if the system allows it or usurps power if the society is under-developed and backward,&rdquo; Dr Syed said in answer to another question.

Elaborating further, Dr Syed said that in a power struggle, politics and religion attempt to dominate each other. If religion holds political authority, its ambition is to exploit it to fulfil a divine mission. It claims that it derives authority from divinity and therefore its mission is holy, motivated to reform society under spiritual guidance.

Politics, on the contrary, bereft of any value, direct its policy on the needs and requirements of society whereupon, it is obliged to change laws and system of government accordingly, he concluded. Prof Dr Syed is currently serving the Centre for Religious Studies, Ruhr Universit&auml;t, Bochum, Germany. He remained Chairman, Department of History, Quaid-iAzam University, Islamabad and served NIHCR as its Director.]]>
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			<title>Religion and Science</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2314294/religion-and-science</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2314294/religion-and-science#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 06 Aug 21 17:58:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Aneela Shahzad]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[It appears that behaviour and perhaps laws of nature change at every level]]>
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				<![CDATA[Science is facing a problem in explaining why tiny electrons and subatomic particles in the quantum realm seem to be behaving under sets of laws that have no correlation with the sets of laws that they behave under when these particles combine to make a biological world of living cells &mdash; and why there are completely different sets of laws when they combine to make the physical world of non-living thing &mdash; or why the laws in the earthly environment and the laws of the cosmos lightyears across would have no semblance at all. 

It appears that behaviour and perhaps laws of nature change at every level, and there is a change of characteristics, so large, that the lower level is unable to explain the higher level. Like, the quantum realm of &lsquo;quanta of energies&rsquo; cannot explain the realm of the world of chemistry, wherein atoms interact to form bonded molecular structures; nor can chemistry explain the various complex functions performed inside every living cell in a body; nor the cellular realm can explain how it forms different structural organs that perform entirely different functions. The gap between each level is simply so wide that as yet science is unable to claim how it would ever bridge it. 

One explanation that has come forth is of &lsquo;emergence&rsquo;, a phenomenon that claims that whenever elements of one level act as groups a new set of &lsquo;emergent&rsquo; behaviour arises. Like in human societies, the way a single person behaves is very different from how he/she will behave in a community or in a political gathering; the behaviour of people will be different as in their neighborhood, as a part of their ethnic population, as part of their nation, and as a nation in the community of nations. As the group to which a person belongs becomes bigger and complex, different sets of behaviors emerge in those groups. 

With time, as discovery opens upon us so many different levels of complexities in so many realms of existence &mdash; one does think that perhaps one day, even though at this time we seem to be just scratching on the surface of so many sciences, that seem to be becoming more complex the more they are sought &mdash; that perhaps one day the links between any two seemingly disjoint phenomenon will be found! But will that change the fact that any type of individuals, be it electrons or atoms or people, have this incredible quality of suddenly acting with a different set of patterns that they are completely unaware of consciously, rather it seems that that behavior was embedded in the unconscious levels of those existences, and that its spontaneous &lsquo;emergence&rsquo; must only be an illusion, when the whole program was already there in the deep. 

But Einstein went another step forward, when he said, &ldquo;the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible&rdquo;, meaning that in this extremely complex universe, with multiple levels in a multitude of diverse, widely spread and intricate systems, how is the human mind capable of understanding, or at least be aware of all these systems, and moreover, how the human mind possesses tools, such as language, mathematics, analytics, historical accumulation, machine-making and so on, and how these tools are exactly the right ones that have opened up so much information about everything that is so far known &mdash; tools that are based in the mental faculties and in human language. 

Linguist Noam Chomsky is of the idea that language is &lsquo;abstract&rsquo; in nature. Though humans have many cognitive systems, like, our capacity to organise visual space; to deal with abstract properties of the number system; our ability to make sense of the social structures in which we play a role etc, but the spoken language, whose seat is the mind, not the brain, is &lsquo;abstract&rsquo; &mdash; because the mind deals with abstractions, and these abstractions are communicated via language. The metaphysical framework, thus developed, deals with issues that transcend sense experience and are founded solely on reason, because &lsquo;reason&rsquo; is the playing field of the mind, for it is the mind that thinks of the nature of things as they really are rather than as they appear. 

So, human language and thought, both exhibit a universality, wherein all that appears to the senses are gladly accepted as reality, but wherein there are immense number of abstractions that talk of phenomenon that are not sensual yet real, and of realities yet to be explored. Chomsky also deems another property of human language, &lsquo;creativity&rsquo; &mdash; which is the capability of producing and understanding sentences never uttered or heard before! This &lsquo;creativity&rsquo; of language testifies of the creativity of the mind from where it has originated, meaning that the mind is capable of creating new ideation, conceptualisation and phenomenalisation &mdash; which all help in understanding our world better. In fact, ideas are &lsquo;emergent&rsquo;. As new phenomenon grow over old ones and the landscape of knowledge becomes more and more complex, new, unprecedented ideas emerge at their pinnacle!

Coming down from complexity and diversity to emergence, and the awesome possibility of a body-aided soul that surprisingly understands it all, and &lsquo;emergence&rsquo; that makes it possible to assimilate different levels and make them workable, one is awed especially for the fact that how is there so much connection in so much diversity. And above that all, the human mind&rsquo;s ability to understand it all! 

This all seems to emerge out from the human mind&rsquo;s universality which it is predisposed of. And this &lsquo;universality&rsquo; depicts that somewhere out there, there is an agent that causes such a &lsquo;universality&rsquo; to be contrived and rationalised into a single brain-aided mind &mdash; and the belief in that agent is religion!

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2021.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>‘Early Muslim historians saw Quran as a source of history’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2312163/early-muslim-historians-saw-quran-as-a-source-of-history</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2312163/early-muslim-historians-saw-quran-as-a-source-of-history#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 25 Jul 21 20:29:06 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[News Desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Speakers address fifth exclusively dedicated webinar on Muslim history]]>
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				<![CDATA[Muslim historians were primarily influenced by the Quran in their historiography, renowned historian Prof Dr Aslam Syed observed the other day while responding to a question on the contribution of Muslims in historiography during the early period of Islam.

&ldquo;The Quran contains records that constitute the basis of the history of humankind from Adam through the last Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Another valuable resource for Islamic historians is the Hadith (the traditions or sayings of Muhammad (PBUH), which is arranged in such a way that lines of transmission can be traced back to those who knew the Prophet. Chains of authorities were introduced as integral ingredients to early Islamic theology and historiography,&rdquo; he said in response to a question during a webinar on the &quot;Weekends of Discourse in History.

This was the webinar&rsquo;s fifth session exclusively dedicated to the early period of Muslim history. The webinar was arranged by the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (NIHCR), Centre of Excellence, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. It was attended online by over 1,300 participants including students, teachers and researchers who were keen to hear the guest speaker&rsquo;s views.

He recalled the role of Al-Ṭabari, Rashid al-Din and Ibn Khaldun in the Muslim historiography. The early Muslim historian, al-Ṭabari was reputed to have memorised the Quran and also produced a 30,000-page commentary on it and an equally long universal history, he said.

Read&nbsp;Govt makes Quran teaching compulsory in schools

&ldquo;His contributions as a historian were his accurate chronology and his scrupulous faithfulness in the reproducing authorities, he added.

The Persian scholar Rashid al-Din composed a more truly universal history, Jami al-Tawarikh (Collector of Chronicles), which covered not only the Islamic world but also included data on the popes and emperors of Europe and on Mongolia and China, Dr Syed maintained.

The sophistication of Islamic historical thought was dramatically illustrated by the Muqaddimah (Introduction) of Arab historian Ibn Khaldun. This introductory volume of a universal history reveals Khaldun&rsquo;s ideas about history &mdash; something chroniclers hardly ever did, he stated.

He further opined that there were no fixed and specific methods that were followed regarding the preservation and compilation of historical events. Rather it was preserved through oral traditions and odyssey.

&ldquo;This system helps preserve religious rules and regulations, restrictions and others social rules. But it is not sufficient to establish a permanent system of the preservation of all historical data and events,&rdquo; he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th, 2021.]]>
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			<title>Know thyself</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2308488/know-thyself</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2308488/know-thyself#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jul 21 18:36:31 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[farrukh.khan.pitafi]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[The politics on religion only fosters a culture of insecurity and creates an environment of fear]]>
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				<![CDATA[For the third time in two years the short-form video sharing portal, TikTok, finds itself banned in Pakistan. The ban came as a result of a case that is being heard in the Sindh High Court. The next hearing is on July 8, and I have no intention of discussing a sub-judice matter in this space. But this provides me with a segue into a bigger, broader debate on culture, technology, the relationship of the citizen and the state with them, our perceived moral code, the inflexible positions we take and our future generations. We procrastinate sheepishly when this debate is imminent for the sheer want of courage and I believe deferring it will result in the next grand radicalisation of the society. I write these lines not as a journalist or an analyst but as a father, a citizen and a member of the mainstream religious community.

Before we start here is another caveat for you. The infusion of politics in religion has convinced many in this society that there is more than one team and the other team is an enemy. This has led to unnecessary culture wars and the shaping and reshaping of public sensibilities. If you are a religious political party with a declining vote share like the Jamaat-e-Islami, the JUI-F or many others it is useful to otherise all interpretational differences and declare the othered community as the enemy. It has nothing to do with the religion and much to do with politics. In the four decades of my consciousness, I have travelled far and wide in this society and found sentiments on major religious issues to be the same. There is no conspiracy against the main religion and Islam is definitely not under threat in a country of 96% Muslim population.

The politics on religion only fosters a culture of insecurity and creates an environment of fear which makes the job of societal evolution nearly impossible. Look around. There is no grand secret plan to socially engineer this country, transform it into something alien. The cluelessness of the moderate and liberal political parties, when they come to power, is a dead giveaway. And since with every passing day our religious outlook is being shaped by religious politicians or political ambition among the dominant clerical class, we are doing incredible injustice to the free spirit of Islam which as a system of evolving jurisprudence had so openly embraced change and transformation through the institution of ijtihad. As someone who has read many tafasir (Quranic commentaries) and the Sihah Sittah (the authentic six of hadith) along with countless other original texts cover to cover, unprompted at an early age, I can tell you that you are being misled by a misinterpretation of faith by a politically charged community. Of course, the journey did not end there and since then I have read foundational texts of almost all major religions, works of some leading atheists, agnostics and self-proclaimed heretics. Reading always comes handy and if someone wants you to be so emotionally charged all the time that you stay away from your own faith&rsquo;s main texts, they obviously do not have the interest of your faith at heart.

In The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, Iqbal identifies three sources of knowledge that the Quran promotes: the divine inspiration (wahi), history (examples of many past civilisations) and science (references to the celestial bodies, flora and fauna and nature). One of the most fascinating insights Iqbal derives is from the instance of the bee which carries in its nature the blueprint to grow and behave in accordance with a pre-programmed pattern which the Quran calls wahi. Decades later, Steve Jobs would have a similar epiphany when he witnessed the birth of a calf and was seized by wonder when he noticed how the newly born calf found his legs and source of food without any guidance. When you look at this remarkable scope of your faith and the range of politically charged religious elite available in the society you get the distinct feeling of someone trying to solve complex calculus equations with an outdated and underpowered calculator if not abacus.

Perhaps the clerics do not want you to know your faith in depth because then they would be the first to lose power. How so? Well, there is no concept of priests in Islam. In Christianity and many other faiths when you commit a sin you go to the priest, confess and get the directions for penance. In Islam, there is only one stop solution, a direct window to God. Unfurl your prayer mat, repent before Him and seek guidance. That&rsquo;s it. Originally the prayer leaders were supposed to be the community leaders with good repute, not a permanent religious class. So, you get the simple economy of obstruction at play in our society.

Why is this important? Because of the times we live in. Technology is redefining the contours of society. Social media, the internet and globalising economy have made the world consciousness an indivisible whole. Anyone who tells you that this trend can be reversed is lying to you. Many give you the example of the great internet wall of China. They neither understand technology nor the shape of things to come. And that&rsquo;s not all. With an ever-growing population, technology has already usurped many traditional roles. Parenting is one of them. Wrap your head around the emotional consequences of that statement.

The state has many responsibilities. But its first responsibility along with self-preservation is to stamp out poverty, ensure that the citizens stay safe, sheltered, healthy and always have an opportunity to excel. Don&rsquo;t get me started on how badly broken this society still is. If you want to talk about the decaying edifices of shame, honour and family values we will need to have another long conversation. But given that states have limited resources they cannot be asked to squander them on moral policing. Islam says that God is the ultimate judge of everyone&rsquo;s character. Who are we to interfere then?

Whenever Islam rose as a cultural force, in say Cordoba, Baghdad, Constantinople, Cairo, Delhi, elsewhere, it did so by embracing pluralism and creating a safe space for every citizen regardless of their individual choices. If Pakistan wants to grow, it will have to do the same.

Consider the first of the three Delphic maxims: know thyself. The other two are also worth mentioning. Nothing to excess. And surety brings ruin. Together these three have served humanity well for millennia.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2021.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>The flattening of the Pakistani mind</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2306040/the-flattening-of-the-pakistani-mind</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2306040/the-flattening-of-the-pakistani-mind#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 Jun 21 04:49:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[farrukh.khan.pitafi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2306040</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[There was a time when an effort was made to popularise science in Pakistan]]>
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				<![CDATA[When was the last time you saw a science show or documentary on a Pakistani television channel? It is a serious question. There was a time when an effort was made to popularise science in Pakistan. In General Zia&#39;s time when Pakistan Television was the only network catering to the viewers&rsquo; needs, I recall that documentaries translated into Urdu were aired every weekend. This is how I first came across Carl Sagan&#39;s Cosmos &ndash; which would lead me to his books and leave me with a lifelong enthusiasm for science and science fiction.

Make no mistakes. There always were compromises. I remember in a documentary about the origin of the universe when it came to the big bang theory a voiceover artist hastened to slip in that this for us was Kun Fayakun (God&#39;s command for the universe to come into being). You know my views on mixing religion with science. It invariably harms religion in the long run. It is in the nature of science to challenge what it believes today which leads it to abandon old positions by the speed of light. It may sound convenient to you today but tomorrow you will not want your religion to be associated with outdated or redundant scientific assumptions.

But the broader point here is that an effort was made to draw attention to science. That does not seem to be the case anymore. Five years ago, a Pakistani scientist working abroad approached me with a proposal for a pop-science show. I took it to my boss who had the powers to greenlight such projects. I vividly remember the extreme prejudice with which this project was rejected. Science apparently was not for the Pakistani television audience.

I bring up the matter because we badly need critical thought in our society today. While no nation can expect to progress without a significant investment in STEM education and that cannot happen without students who enjoy these subjects, the story does not end here. In the past two decades, you must have noticed that our society is a fertile ground for conspiracy theories and pseudoscience. This must have gone on for time immemorial but recently given the onslaught of the new media and theatre of the absurd that accompanies it, we have witnessed a spike in misinformation. In the age of Covid and other superbugs, this becomes an existential threat. Ignoring cautionary tales from the US to India will only come at a grave cost. And to be honest we have been lucky. India, the US, and many other parts have far better knowledge infrastructures. In these emotionally intense times if pseudoscience, paranoia, and superstition can wreak havoc on them think what kind of tragedy would have befallen us had the virus spread exponentially in this society.

Back to pop science. Growing up I recall many science magazines in Urdu that were available at the newspaper stalls. Nothing extraordinary. Stuff mostly lifted and translated from a number of western scientific magazines but still something to feed the curious minds who did not have access to English content. Now even when I look, I don&rsquo;t find such accessible content. I am not claiming that no such magazine exists. But I have not come across any and if there is one it certainly is not that widely available.

Let me now remind you of the times we live in. We have around 50 news channels in this country. A host of FM radio stations. Countless newspapers and magazines. This piece is being written on a handheld mobile device that would have looked like magic or unrealistic science fiction in my childhood. As per a statement by the PTA in April this year, a hundred million Pakistanis now use broadband internet. Then look at the websites hosting free content online. There are boundless platforms online to host free video, audio, text, and image content. Then each smartphone houses several free apps that can provide you live streaming content from cloud services. Think how many resources are we squandering away. Now think what a revolution we could cause in the educational sector if we were to make optimum use of these gifts.

Then you will come across the lamest of all lame excuses. There is no market for such content. That people do not read anymore. They don&rsquo;t have the patience to sit through a long documentary. Forgive me for asking when was the last time you tried. TV series take time to garner attention and gain traction and momentum. Even if an executive allows you to air such content it is to make the above-mentioned point rather than to create appetite and consequently, such pilots are killed in infancy. Also, why haven&rsquo;t we come across one-minute TikTok videos to popularise science?

Then there is the matter of approach. If you think people are not watching your content, have you checked if you are doing it right? If you subscribe to a cable service, I am sure you must have come across the channels operated by Virtual University. In their admirable haste to make the content remind of the classroom lectures the creators forget that television is a visual medium and if you look at one face, no matter how attractive, for an extended period you are unlikely to escape the soporific effects of the said programme. If a lecturer insists that his voice be accompanied by his image on the screen then at the very least you can use the picture-in-picture functionality to shrink the talking head to a corner and use the remaining screen real estate to air eye-catching and corresponding visuals.

Likewise, the books. In my travels to the rural and underdeveloped parts across the country, I haven&rsquo;t come across a single town or moderately sized village where I have failed to find a bookstall or two that are still happily selling or renting out books. People still read them. We have just used it as an excuse to abandon printing quality content. And junk literature is replacing it.

Here is another book test. Even those who cannot read or will not read can use the audio versions. Go to any of the online app stores. Just search and see how many Indian/Hindi audiobook apps you find there. Now try finding one with Urdu content. You are unlikely to find a single one. Why? Because we just don&rsquo;t want to do it.

And this one breaks my heart. Science fiction. We have many entertainment channels. Have you come across a single decent attempt to create a science fiction show? Or even a translated one? Why not?

If this is simply about market economics then there shouldn&rsquo;t be a big problem for the state to incentivise the sector. At all three tiers of government endowment funds and awards can be created to support the creation of quality scientific content. Subsidies, tax breaks, even emoluments can be instituted to inspire people. There is a perfectly beautiful and effective message of critical thinking out there. We are just failing to convey it to our people. This sorry state of affairs cannot go on for long.

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Call for promoting research culture</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2284936/call-for-promoting-research-culture</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2284936/call-for-promoting-research-culture#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 21 20:45:13 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2284936</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Seminar on Religion and Challenges of the Scientific Age’ at the International Islamic University (IIU).]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Iqbal International Institute for Research and Dialogue (IRD) on Thursday held a one-day seminar on &lsquo;Religion and Challenges of the Scientific Age&rsquo; at the Faisal Masjid Campus of the International Islamic University (IIU). 

It was addressed by IIUI leadership, intellectuals, researchers, religious scholars and social experts. Sardar Ateeq Ahmed Khan, former PM AJK addressing the seminar discussed topics such as the evolution of human life and universe and theory of relativity in the light of science and religion. 

Speaking on the occasion, IIUI Rector Dr Masoom Yasinzai said there was a dire need to address the confusion prevailing in the minds of youth regarding religion and science.

&ldquo;Both religion and science are interlinked and the people, particularly the youth, must be told that religion and science are not against each other,&rdquo; he added.

He called upon the universities to educate young minds both in religion and contemporary science.

Dr N B Jumani of the IIU, in his speech at the seminar, called upon the Muslim world to promote research on comparative religions. He stressed the need for quality research on the scientific bases.

IRD Executive Director Husnul Amin, in his welcome address, said this was the age of reasoning and freedom of discussion. &ldquo;That is why the debate on religion and science has increased.&rdquo;

The seminar was also addressed by Khurshid Nadeem, Allama Ammar Nasir, Dr Khalid Masood, Dr Bibi Ameena and Dr Ayesha Qurat-ul-Ain. On the occasion, a book published by the IRD on the topic of &lsquo;Sainsi dor aur Mazhabi Biyaniye (the age of science and the religion narrative&rsquo; by Abid Tihami was also launched.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2021.]]>
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			<title>Why Naseeruddin Shah never asked wife Ratna Pathak to change her religion</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2280422/why-naseeruddin-shah-never-asked-wife-ratna-pathak-to-change-her-religion</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2280422/why-naseeruddin-shah-never-asked-wife-ratna-pathak-to-change-her-religion#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jan 21 09:37:57 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Entertainment Desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2280422</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Actor expressed angst against the term 'love jihad' and relayed how his marriage set a 'healthy precedent']]>
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				<![CDATA[Veteran Bollywood actor&nbsp;Naseeruddin Shah&nbsp;has expressed concerns over the divide being created in India&nbsp;between Hindus and Muslims. In a recent&nbsp;interview on&nbsp;Karwan-e-Mohabbat, the 70-year-old actor shared his two cents on &lsquo;Love Jihad&rsquo;.

&quot;I am really furious with the way divisions are being created, like the love jihad tamasha in UP. Firstly, the people who coined this phrase don&rsquo;t know the meaning of the word jihad.&rdquo; He then reinstated that no one would be &lsquo;stupid&rsquo; enough to that Muslims will overtake the Hindu population. &ldquo;It is unimaginable,&rdquo; he remarked. He felt how for that to happen, &ldquo;Muslims will have to have so many babies.&rdquo;

In November 2019, Uttar Pradesh (UP) became the first state in India to pass an ordinance against forcible and &lsquo;dishonest&rsquo; religious conversions, reported the Hindustan Times. Following this, states like Haryana and Madhya Pradesh also revealed plans that would counter alleged attempts to convert Hindu women to Islam in the guise of marriage &ndash; which Indian political leaders often refer to as &lsquo;Love Jihad&rsquo;.

The Bandish Bandits actor believes the term adds to the stigma surrounding inter-faith marriages and prevents social interactions between Hindus and Muslims. &ldquo;They not only want to discourage inter-faith marriages but also curtail social interactions between Hindus and Muslims,&rdquo; he added.

Shah, who is married to seasoned actor Ratna Pathak Shah, said he always believed that his marriage to a Hindu woman would set a &lsquo;healthy precedent&rsquo;. &ldquo;We have taught our children about every religion. But we have never told them that they belong to any particular religion. I always believed that these differences would slowly fade away. I believed that my marriage to a Hindu woman would set a healthy precedent. I don&rsquo;t think this is wrong,&rdquo; he added.

He then confessed that when he was about to tie the knot, his mother had asked if he would want his would-be wife to convert to his religion. But he refused. Shah recalled how even though his mother was uneducated and brought up in an orthodox household, she was completely against the idea of changing one&#39;s religion.

&quot;My mother who was uneducated, brought up in an orthodox household, prayed five times a day, observed Roza all her life, went for the Haj pilgrimage, she said, &#39;the things that have been taught to you in your childhood, how can that change? It is not right to change one&rsquo;s religion&#39;.&rdquo;

The critically-acclaimed performer then expressed his sadness towards the way young couples are harassed these days in the name of &lsquo;Love Jihad&rsquo;.

&quot;This is not the world I had dreamt of,&rdquo; he concluded.&nbsp;

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Faith as a weapon</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2278662/faith-as-a-weapon</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2278662/faith-as-a-weapon#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jan 21 17:43:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Hassan Niazi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2278662</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Decades of work can be burnt to ash by the words of one religious zealot]]>
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				<![CDATA[Light the torches; join the mob; kill the infidels.

If national mottos were an accurate representation of a nation, then these words would replace unity, faith, discipline. 

In the district of Karak, located in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Hindu community has been fighting for decades to restore the shrine of Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj. Initially destroyed at the hands of a local mob, the shrine was then illegally occupied by a religious cleric who refused to vacate the property. Since then, the Hindu community went through a Kafkaesque ordeal involving Jirgas, the district administration, the Evacuee Property Trust Board, and the Ministry of Religious Affairs to try to reclaim the shrine. It wasn&rsquo;t until the Supreme Court of Pakistan, in 2015, ordered the provincial government to restore and reconstruct the shrine that the issue was finally put to rest. 

But as religious minorities have learned from this country, decades of work can be burnt to ash by the words of one religious zealot. 

Last Wednesday, spurred on by a local cleric, the shrine was set ablaze and damaged by a mob that also included members of the JUI-F. The FIR registered against the cleric reports that he told the crowd that whoever died while demolishing the mosque would be a martyr. This promise of paradise was enough to motivate over a thousand people to descend upon the shrine and tear it apart. 

This is not an isolated incident. The list of incidents of violence against religious minorities is long and full of loss. 

Many of these attacks are actually motivated by private disputes; religious animus is merely a convenient weapon to wield when the dispute is with a member of a religious minority. Aasia Bibi&rsquo;s case was more about her act of drinking from a communal cup that gave rise to an argument, the blasphemy allegation came later. In 2013, a mob attacked a Christian neighbourhood in Lahore setting fire to 150 houses and two churches after a local barber accused a Christian sanitation worker of blasphemy shortly after a heated argument between them. In 2014, a dispute between lawyers and police in Jhang led to 68 lawyers being accused of blasphemy by the police as a means to settle the score.

Much like these incidents, the attack on the shrine in K-P was caused by a private disagreement. In this case, a dispute regarding a contract for the shrine&rsquo;s extension. 

Religion has therefore become a weapon that allows people to settle personal vendettas. Ably assisted by Pakistan&rsquo;s many laws that have a zero tolerance policy for any kind of disagreement with the majority religious faith. &ldquo;Blasphemy has become a political battle,&rdquo; IA Rehman once said to The New York Times. &ldquo;It is no longer just a criminal or religious problem &mdash; it&rsquo;s become a political issue that is used to silence voices and create a climate of fear.&rdquo;

These laws are no doubt a problem, and their continued existence is a barrier to any progress towards religious harmony in the country. But to focus only on laws would be a shallow way of looking at things because this is a broader social problem.

A problem in which religious minorities are persecuted not just through violence, but through discrimination that robs them of their dignity. Slurs against them are common and freely used; and they are relegated to jobs that nobody else wants. 

To be sure, the government has responded to last week&rsquo;s incident with arrests and proclamations of accountability. However these are reactive measures to a problem that requires proactive steps. Steps that no government, no political party, has been willing to take since this country was created. 

Nelson Mandela once pointed out that no person is born hating another; they are taught to hate. So, to counter hatred, we have to identify where hatred is nurtured. 

Educational institutions are one place where this occurs. In school textbooks, children are taught how Christians, Hindus, and Jews are the natural enemies of Muslims, and that it was Muslim heroes who vanquished the infidels from the land, emancipating it from their tyranny. Eliminating these narratives before they are taught to impressionable minds is one way to trim the numbers of future lynch mobs. And if the government is insistent on making our children gulp down even more religion through the single national curriculum, then it should at least focus on Islam&rsquo;s ideas of tolerance and respect for diversity. 

Political leaders must be held strictly to account for any peddling of hate, regardless of whether hate helps rake in the votes. Last year, Fayyazul Hasan Chohan made demeaning comments against Hindus which resulted in a mere slap on the wrist. He was soon back in the Punjab cabinet. Hate speech, it appears, does not disqualify a person from cabinet positions (meanwhile, holding a permanent residence of another country means you have to step down from a special adviser role). 

We will also have to address the socio-economic inequality that makes religious minorities an easy prey. People are able to weaponise the law against religious minorities because they often occupy the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder in Pakistan. In Sindh, for example, forced conversions happen in the majority of cases against religious minorities who are trapped in the vicious cycle of bonded labour.

This only compounds the problem because the criminal justice system in Pakistan protects you only if you have a specific social and economic status. In the absence of money, power, or influence, the system is your worst enemy regardless of what the law says. 

Tackling this problem will require the political will and vision to introduce a broad swathe of legal and policy reforms. It cannot be solved by slapping on new laws or by one court case. It is a hard road, but after letting this country&rsquo;s religious minorities suffer in neglect for decades, it is what we owe them.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2021.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>Hamza Ali Abbasi, Imran Khan talk journey to Islam, counterculture and media's responsibilities</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2274877/hamza-ali-abbasi-imran-khan-talk-journey-to-islam-counterculture-and-medias-responsibilities</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2274877/hamza-ali-abbasi-imran-khan-talk-journey-to-islam-counterculture-and-medias-responsibilities#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 06 Dec 20 10:16:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Entertainment Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2274877</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Abbasi recently sat down with the premier to have an elaborate discussion about his multifaceted life]]>
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				<![CDATA[Popular actor Hamza Ali Abbasi may be on a break from showbiz, but he is writing a book about God and interviewing the Prime Minister Imran Khan.

&ldquo;Watch PM Imran Khan in conversation with Hamza Ali Abbasi,&rdquo; tweeted the PM Office on Saturday, revealing no further details. But as the interview, from a local TV channel, surfaced on social media last night, heads turned and we surely were surprised to see how similar the interests of both the personalities were. 






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Diving straight into a discussion about the former cricketer&rsquo;s journey to God, the two went on to highlight how the media and pop culture influence peoples&rsquo; perspectives about religion, family values, and ethics altogether.

But since Abbasi was the one hosting, Khan did most of the talking &ndash; still, much about both the personalities came to the fore. 

Imitation to transformation

&ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t even allowed to speak Urdu while I was studying at Aitchison College,&rdquo; started off Khan, after Abbasi asked him to narrate his journey to God following his own transformation. &ldquo;This is because slavery leads people to be influenced by those that enslave them,&rdquo; added the premier, leaving viewers wondering how all this could have anything to do with his religious beliefs.

&ldquo;So during my early days as a student in one of Pakistan&rsquo;s very few English medium schools, everyone wanted to be like the British. The post-colonial influence had led the products of English medium institutions to become prototypes of the British,&rdquo; he added.

Abbasi then recalled how even in 2010, upon visiting the CSS academy, he came to know that students there had to wear suits five days a week. &ldquo;This is a Pakistani academy,&rdquo; he complained.

&ldquo;And when we were growing up, you couldn&rsquo;t enter the Punjab club or Gym Khanna wearing Pakistani clothes,&rdquo; recalled Khan. He even pointed out how up until 1974, Pakistani clothes were not allowed inside Sindh club. &ldquo;So when I went to England I realised, no matter what I or anyone from here did, we could only become a replica of the British.&rdquo;

&ldquo;So I started observing the advantages our society had compared to theirs. And I realised our advantage was our belief in God and the hereafter. This kept our morals and family values intact,&rdquo; added Khan, who has emphasised on the advantage of keeping a family system intact on numerous occasions.

&ldquo;On the contrary, when I was in England, the education there led me, among many others, to believe that religion was outdated. I don&rsquo;t know about right now, but during my time, God and hereafter were outdated concepts,&rdquo; he went on to reveal, hinting at his own zeal for Marxism. &ldquo;But I realised our advantage after I saw the consequence of the absence of the fear of accountability over there.&rdquo;

Consequence of a counterculture

Khan went on to address the American Counterculture of the 1960s: Sex, Drugs, and Rock &lsquo;n Roll. &ldquo;This movement had become a part of their pop culture. Their artists, their celebrities, started propagating it. Our religion for a reason tells us to hide each other&rsquo;s flaws, but when flaws are advertised, they&rsquo;re justified, and then they become a part of society,&rdquo; continued the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman.

So irrespective of its many flaws, Khan lauded how our society, at the time, did not &ldquo;advertise fahashi (vulgarity) and immorality.&rdquo;

Speaking off, Abbasi then claimed that the family system of Pakistan, which Khan was taking so much pride in, was now collapsing as well. &ldquo;Every other day we hear about another marriage ending. What would you suggest is the reason for that?&rdquo; he inquired.

On that note, taking off from where left off, Khan reminisced how the trend of Sex, Drugs and Rock n&rsquo; Roll had seeped its way into Hollywood in the 70s, following which it was adapted by Bollywood. He then sighed, citing our content now. &ldquo;Unfortunately it has made its way into our products too, and as a consequence, in our society,&rdquo; noted the former cricket captain.

&ldquo;I saw how badly the culture of sex, drugs and rock&amp;roll had affected the lives of pop stars there. I saw so many celebs going to rehabs, their marriages falling apart, their children would suicide or they would suicide. I watched their lives fall apart,&rdquo; he continued

The media&rsquo;s role

Upon acknowledging his reasons, Abbasi then asked what the media&rsquo;s role should be if that was becoming the case, adding that &ldquo;banning was never the solution.&rdquo;

To this, Khan, unsurprisingly cited Diriliş: Ertuğrul once again. He went onto claim that the reason he made Ertuğrul accessible on PTV, was to show the media houses and their sponsors that even a religiously inclined show like that could bring in the numbers.

&ldquo;The media has the power to dumb down or educate the masses; but there is always a choice. There are always two paths. I acknowledge one cannot ban,&rdquo; Khan agreed, addressing what Abbasi insisted earlier. &ldquo;No one even has that kind of control,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;But I just wanted to provide an alternative, so makers can realise shows like Ertuğrul can also be created and watched by millions,&rdquo; noted Khan.

He then told Abbasi that history never remembers the rich or the successful if all they did was serve themselves. &ldquo;History always remembers people who worked for the betterment of the society. Similarly, there are few individuals in the media who ensure their messages are for the betterment. Look at Ashfaq Ahmed sahab,&rdquo; he pointed out, citing the late literary figure.

&ldquo;He was such an intellectual and I will always respect him. And he is remembered because everything he did was to right the wrongs in the society,&rdquo; concluded Khan with Abbasi nodding in agreement.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.]]>
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			<title>Site of razed temple declared ‘private’ property</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2274547/site-of-razed-temple-declared-private-property</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2274547/site-of-razed-temple-declared-private-property#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 03 Dec 20 20:21:47 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sameer.mandhro]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2274547</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Report states it does not belong to Hindus; community claims site no longer sealed]]>
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				<![CDATA[A report on the alleged demolition of Lyari&#39;s Hanuman Mandir declared the property &quot;private&quot; and not &quot;Hindu property&quot;, amid claims by Hindu residents of the area that the temple was no longer sealed, as it had been after the dispute emerged.

The pre-partition Hanuman Mandir on Fida Hussain Shaikha Road was allegedly razed by unidentified persons in the wee hours of August 17. Hindu families had accused a builder, who had recently purchased the property where the temple was located, of the demolishing the religious site.

&quot;We were assured by the builder that the temple would not be destroyed,&quot; a Hindu resident, Heera Lal, had told The Express Tribune back then. Following the fiasco, the local administration had sealed the site with the police&#39;s assistance and launched an investigation into the matter. It submitted a report on the matter to the deputy commissioner&#39;s office after three and a half months on Wednesday.

&#39;No more sealed&#39;

Meanwhile, a Hindu community leader, though he expressed ignorance about the report, claimed the site was no longer sealed and the &quot;influential builder&quot; had been allowed entry to it.

The Hindu activist, who requested anonymity, said they were being &quot;pressurised by officials to remain silent.&quot; However, he said, &quot;We need justice and want to know who razed our sacred place where holy idols were kept.&quot; 

A shopkeeper who runs his business near the temple also claimed to have been seeing a security guard visiting the place over the past couple of days. &quot;I don&#39;t know how and when the seal was removed,&quot; he remarked.

However, Lyari assistant commissioner Abdul Karim Memon, who had sealed the site&#39;s main gates in the presence of police and area residents, maintained that the property was still sealed.

&#39;Private property&#39;

With regards to the report on the matter, Memon said it had concluded that the site was a &quot;private a property and not a Hindu property.&quot;

He further claimed that it was proved during the investigation that one of the two Hindu families, who had been residing in compound for years, had removed one of the idols from the temple.

But Hindu residents have the right to get a case registered against anyone they want on the matter, Memon further remarked.

According to the assistant commissioner, 11 out of the 18 families living in the building near the temple had vacated the apartments after receiving cash payment from the new owner.

&quot;The [Hindu] tenants have admitted that the property is private,&quot; he said, adding that the new owner had also offered to rebuild the temple while drawing up the agreement.

It was a small temple of two square feet, according to Memon, who also ruled out that any of the Hindus in the area were being threatened by anyone, including office staff.

Refuting Memon&#39;s claims, though, a Hindu from the area commented, &quot;The temple belongs to us, not to the handful of families residing in the [nearby] building.&quot; He insisted that all Hindu families visiting the temple should have been taken into confidence before the property was sold, alleging that the officials&#39; attitude during the investigation had been &quot;inhumane&quot; towards them.

As per the investigation officer, the previous owner, before selling off the property to the builder, had offered to sell it to the area&#39;s Hindus. But they were not in a position to purchase it, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th, 2020.]]>
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			<title>The hinge of prejudice</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2266712/the-hinge-of-prejudice</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2266712/the-hinge-of-prejudice#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 20 18:11:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[farrukh.khan.pitafi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2266712</guid>
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				<![CDATA[The world society is far too intermingled to sustain a push for homogeneity]]>
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				<![CDATA[On September 30, a special court in Lucknow robbed India of its democratic credentials. Democracies usually have fully functioning institutions where some semblance of impartiality is always maintained. The verdict of the Babri Masjid demolition case, which came after 28 years of the incident, was unique. All 32 accused in one of history&rsquo;s most well documented fanatic campaigns, which left 2,000 (mainly Muslims) dead and incurred a loss of around $3.6 billion, were acquitted citing absence of evidence. In 1992, LK Advani, flanked by the ruling BJP&rsquo;s leading lights including one Narendra Modi, had led a chariot march which culminated into the mob frenzy that brought the Babri structure down and a bloodbath all in plain sight. If a couple of them were spared it would have been expediency, if only a few of them were punished it would have been tokenism, but when all of them walked free this had to be a message. The stranglehold of the RSS and its inspired political parties on Indian state and society was complete. I have already pointed out in a separate piece that in 1988, Girilal Jain, the then editor of The Times of India and a far-right ideologue, had used the term &ldquo;clash of civilisations&rdquo; to describe the Babri Masjid dispute.

On September 29, at the debate stage, President Trump shocked a global audience when he visibly and unambiguously failed to condemn white supremacy. While it may further lend credence to the &ldquo;Trump is a racist&rdquo; narrative, the reality is far more complicated. When invited to condemn it, he asked the moderator to give him a name so that he could denounce it. When he was offered the name of Proud Boys, the best he could do was to ask the group to &ldquo;stand back and stand by&rdquo;. Since then the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist, male only group with white supremacist roots has gone to town in celebration and printed T-shirts with Trump&rsquo;s words. Originally a part of the alt-right, Proud Boys soon split ways with the big tent movement citing its reservations about the focus on race. They claim to defend the Western civilisation and Western values rather than the white race. The group is connected to Trump campaign&rsquo;s high-profile surrogates like Roger Stone and is often the first to confront any far-left protest rally challenging President Trump. You can see why he would be reluctant.

On September 25, a 25-year-old man of Pakistani origin was arrested in Paris for carrying out a knife attack ostensibly to protest Charlie Hebdo&rsquo;s decision to reprint the contentious caricatures. Charlie Hebdo&rsquo;s decision was apparently meant to mark the trial of those involved in the 2015 terror attack. Usually when an attack of this sort takes place the media usually mentions the country of origin not the city of origin. But reports about the apprehended man, who initially lied about his name and age but remarkably not the country or city of origin, carried the name of the city of his origin &mdash; Mandi Bahauddin. And while the Pakistani media was still wrapping its head around the development, the Indian media was already running the interview of the said man&rsquo;s father claiming how proud he was of his son. Granted India is very close to France these days, because of the Rafale deal of course, and it habitually obsesses about anything that brings the Pakistani state and society into disrepute but this whole affair appeared too picture perfect. It does not hurt that such events further enhance the current Indian ruling elite&rsquo;s claim that a clash exists between Islam and the West.

On July 24, Turkey&rsquo;s President Erdogan led the first prayer in Hagia Sophia to mark its conversion into a mosque. When asked to comment on the subject, I told the questioner that I did not see the reason behind the move because right next to Hagia Sophia stands the historic Blue Mosque which can accommodate 10,000 worshippers at a time, where prayers are organised five times daily and has never been seen running to capacity. Erdogan&rsquo;s decision reverses the order of modern Turkey&rsquo;s founder and a personal favourite Kemal Ataturk who decided to give it the status of a national museum and ties neatly into the incumbent President&rsquo;s project of connecting directly to the Ottoman past. Naturally, it also convinces Huntington&rsquo;s followers that they are on the right path. 

You may notice three major trends here. First, the rise of far-right stronger around the world. Two, a push to homogenise their respective societies. Three, an attempt to other anything that does not reinforce this homogeneity, demonise heterogeneity and weaponise cultural boundaries. And while studying these patterns you are shocked by another interesting aspect. The Indian media&rsquo;s obsession with such stories. Take for instance the above-mentioned stories and google them. You will be surprised to find a disproportionate coverage of all four. This despite the fact that stories like over one year of continued Kashmiri suffering, cow vigilantism in rural UP, the unfolding human tragedy in Indian Assam, economic meltdown and similar major issues are often dropped to accommodate such coverage. What is going on? Has India&rsquo;s hatred towards China and Muslims in general created a blind spot which does not let it see the plight of its own citizens? Or is it a manifestation of Ajit Doval&rsquo;s Defensive Offence doctrine? I know it can be dismissed as paranoia but sadly many in the Indian diaspora have not been able to extricate themselves from the negative influence of Modi and his cohorts especially now that they control the powerful Indian state. And while the South Asian diaspora remains deeply divided it has gained a lot of power and influence in the West. It would be great if it could for once decide that it will not support extremism of any kind.

I bring this matter up again and again because my long-held belief is now proven beyond any shadow of doubt. Divisions created by a paranoid worldview never sustain tenable identities. They give birth to the ever-growing sickness of prejudice which tears societies apart. In India, this may lead to casteism, provincialism and linguistic divides, in the Muslim world to sectarianism and in the West to racism. 

Like microbes crawling on a tiny pebble ashore an infinite ocean, we sit on planet earth and bemoan shrinking resources and plot against each other when we know it all will hurt us in the end. Instead of investing in hate, prejudice and paranoia true national security concerns ought to invest in the scientific, humanitarian and pluralistic enterprise. The world society is far too intermingled to sustain a push for homogeneity. That way lies only ruin.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3rd, 2020.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>Qureshi urges UNGA to declare 'International Day to Combat Islamophobia’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2266322/qureshi-urges-unga-to-declare-international-day-to-combat-islamophobia</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2266322/qureshi-urges-unga-to-declare-international-day-to-combat-islamophobia#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 30 Sep 20 06:48:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[news.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2266322</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Reaffirms Pakistan's stance to promote religious tolerance, understanding and cooperation]]>
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				<![CDATA[Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday urged the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to declare an &#39;International Day to combat Islamophobia&#39; and to build a resilient coalition to end the scourge.

Addressing the meeting of the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations via videolink, the foreign minister called for declaring willful provocations and incitement to hate and violence as universally outlawed.

The minister cited growing populism and mainstreaming contempt through unregulated social media platforms as two major reasons for the rise in&nbsp;Islamophobia.

&quot;Freedom of speech does not give a person liberty to insult or hurt others,&quot; he said adding that state-sponsored violence on the basis of religion or belief is the most worrying.

Appreciating the UN Alliance of Civilisation for all its work, Qureshi said its job is far from over as the world experiences a resurgence in intolerance, discrimination, racism, hate speech and violence on the basis of religious beliefs.

Qureshi emphasised Pakistan&#39;s commitment to promoting&nbsp;religious tolerance, understanding and cooperation in the country and across the globe.

He informed the participants&nbsp;that Pakistan took the milestone step of opening the Kartarpur Corridor last year to facilitate Sikh pilgrims from India and elsewhere.

Earlier this month, the foreign minister urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum (ARF) members to raise voice against the rise of &quot;Islamophobia&quot; and extremist tendencies in the region and around the globe.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>A woman’s independent legal identity</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2261375/a-womans-independent-legal-identity</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2261375/a-womans-independent-legal-identity#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 20 17:14:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Durdana Najam]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2261375</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Any notion of a woman’s dependability on men for her survival has been dispelled by the Quran in various places]]>
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				<![CDATA[Islam gives women the right to make independent choices and full legal protection to use those rights for the benefit of their financial and social lives. It was therefore perplexing when the Federation&rsquo;s lawyer in a recent high-profile case &mdash; while quoting from verse 4:34 of the Quran, which makes men the provider for the wellbeing of women within the family &mdash; argued before Supreme Court that a woman can neither own property nor make economic decision without the consent, approval and involvement of her husband. How this verse has relevance to the argument is anybody&rsquo;s guess. The bench was rather quick to reject the reference to the Quranic verse because of its inapplicability to the case, but the questions of the rights of women in law and in Pakistan and what difference a woman&rsquo;s financial independence and empowerment makes to a society need to be addressed.

Any notion of a woman&rsquo;s dependability on men for her survival or her self-esteem has been dispelled by the Quran in various places. Such as when it says that all human beings are equal in the eye of Allah and that punishment for sin shall be administered accordingly irrespective of the gender. Every ruling and law delineated in Islam applies to men and women on the scale of parity. The only exception where women are placed higher in position to men is the realm of motherhood. Which is an act of creation, and deserves to be honoured, appreciated, and respected by the children and society at large. 

The renowned scholar, jurist, and authority on Muslim law, Mr Justice Syed Ameer Ali, in his classical work Muhammadan Law (Volume-2), has expounded that marriage is a contract between two people and does not give any one of them the right to each other&rsquo;s property. He further explains that a husband cannot overshadow the legal identity of his wife, in fact, she retains full right to own, use, and dispose of her property at her discretion. By virtue of this provision of entitlement, a woman does not require the consent of her husband to do business or make financial deals. He further clarifies that she is not under her husband&rsquo;s legal guardianship and may even sue him. 

Fortunately, all these rights are also protected by the Constitution of Pakistan and the law operating under it. It must be borne in mind that any misinterpretation of law or ruling that impinges on the rights of Muslim women could also make legal battles difficult for non-Muslim women who are equal Pakistani citizens, with constitutional and legal rights. 

This myopic approach will also adversely affect the struggle of women for freedom from oppression and male domination. Whether we like it or not the fact is that a woman with the drive to have financial independence is more productive and beneficial for society than otherwise.

According to a survey conducted by the International Monetary Fund in 2018, Pakistan&rsquo;s GDP can rise up to 30% with increased women empowerment and their enhanced role in the labour force. According to another analysis by the global investment bank, Goldman Sachs, with the inclusion of women in financial activities the underdeveloped and developing countries could increase their per capita income by 14% by 2020 and 20% by 2030. As Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein stated, &ldquo;We are disciplined in our investment, and when you get to the topic of trying to invest and create GDP, there is no better or more efficient investment &mdash; no lower hanging fruit in the world to pick &mdash; then the investment you make in women.&rdquo; 

In its latest report titled, &ldquo;Pakistan @100: Shaping the Future,&rdquo; the World Bank argues that Pakistan has only used 40% of its human resource potential which translates into poor economic growth. To reverse this situation, Annette Dixon, the World Bank&rsquo;s president suggests Pakistan &ldquo;to unlock women&rsquo;s potential.&rdquo; 

Gender is no more considered the sole determinant of a person&rsquo;s success or failure. The social, economic, and political milieu together becomes the deciding factor. With this new pivot women&rsquo;s entrepreneurship rights have gained legal support. The world has moved from &ldquo;what is wrong with the women&rdquo; to &ldquo;what is wrong with the system&rdquo;. 

For an inclusive society, Pakistan has to create a system free of structural violence that does not impede development and self-enhancement, especially of women. For this to happen, one has to be careful in the interpretation of laws and understanding of Islamic jurisprudence. 

This scholarly debate on women empowerment both within the religious and economic context has ceded her enormous space to prove her talent, mental prowess and abilities to excel. Any remark that tends to damage or take this fire away will only be a disservice to the greater cause of unlocking the shackles that restrain progress and development.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2020.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan always at forefront of all international initiatives for promoting peace: FM Qureshi</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2260714/pakistan-always-at-forefront-of-all-international-initiatives-for-promoting-peace-fm-qureshi</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2260714/pakistan-always-at-forefront-of-all-international-initiatives-for-promoting-peace-fm-qureshi#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 22 Aug 20 08:36:57 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[NEWS DESK.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2260714</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[FM says present government has taken a number of steps domestically to protect minorities]]>
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				<![CDATA[Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday said that Pakistan will continue to advance international efforts to protect individuals against xenophobia, intolerance, discrimination and violence based on religion or belief.

In a message on the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, FM Qureshi said Pakistan has always been at the forefront of all international initiatives for promoting peace, tolerance, intercultural and inter-faith harmony.

&quot;The present government has taken a number of steps domestically to promote freedom on the basis of religion or belief and protect minorities,&quot; the foreign minister said.

In July, Pakistan told a UN panel that a deliberate campaign of hatred by the Indian government in the region was targeting adherents of a particular religious group that led to state-sponsored violence against them and stepped up attacks on their places of worship.

Speaking at the launch of a &lsquo;Group of Friends of Victims of Acts of Violence based on Religion or Belief&rsquo;, Pakistani representative Qasim Aziz said that hateful political rhetoric and incitement to violence in Pakistan&rsquo;s neighbourhood was routinely used as a weapon against vulnerable minority groups, while also expressing grave concern over the alarming rise of Islamophobia worldwide.

Pakistan became the founding member of the new group formed in pursuance of last year&rsquo;s General Assembly resolution that it jointly tabled with Poland, along with other cross-regional member states.

Under the terms of the resolution, August 22 was designated as International Day in support of the victims of violence based on their religion or belief.

In his comments, the Pakistani representative drew attention to the rising global Islamophobia that he stressed represented the contemporary manifestation of a similar kind of age-old hatred that spawned anti-semitism, racism, apartheid and many other forms of discrimination.

&ldquo;Today, Islamophobia is slowly overtaking other forms of religious bigotry and violence,&rdquo; Aziz told the group. &ldquo;Indeed, it is becoming increasingly difficult to practice, look and live as a Muslim in many parts of the world,&rdquo; he said, pointing out that the Christchurch, New Zealand, attack last year was a grim reminder of this fact.]]>
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			<title>Science or religion — the need to choose?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2258305/science-or-religion-the-need-to-choose</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2258305/science-or-religion-the-need-to-choose#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 06 Aug 20 16:46:18 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Aneela Shahzad]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2258305</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[What needs to be expounded is, why/if the fields of science and religion are anti-thematic to each other]]>
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				<![CDATA[The debate between science and religion has become age-long. And the mindset of having to choose between the two or at least keeping them impassably apart has been burdensome on those who feel initiated by the wonderous possibilities that humanity has found in the sciences and who want to look forward to so much more yet to be explored &mdash; yet they find themselves bound in the love for an even more possible &lsquo;God&rsquo;. 

What needs to be expounded is, why/if the fields of science and religion are anti-thematic to each other; why does believing in science require one to become atheistically skeptic to belief in &lsquo;creation&rsquo;; and does logic of one necessarily cancel out the logic of the other? To find this we must delve into the philosophical basis of the difference between &lsquo;pure&rsquo; science and what we are made to &lsquo;believe&rsquo; it is.

To start with, science, at its core, is based on three basic assumptions, that; there is an objective reality shared by all rational observers; this objective reality is governed by natural laws; and this reality can be discovered by means of systematic observation and experimentation. In essence these assumptions do not deny other objective realities that the rational observer cannot observe nor does it say anything about all the subjective realities that we live in every day, but simply that science will have nothing to do with those other realms. 

But Europe, where all the Enlightenment and Renaissance happened, had become abhorrent of the dogmatic beliefs of a Church that was a complete mismatch with logic, reason and the progress that science was promising. This hate for inconsistent dogma that was simmering in Europe&rsquo;s scientific and progressive community, was eventually brought forth in the Vienna Circle (1922-38) that advocated Logical Positivism (LP) &mdash; which said that &ldquo;only empirically verifiable or falsifiable propositions&rdquo; are &ldquo;meaningful&rdquo; &mdash; &ldquo;everything else is nonsense&rdquo;. This symbolic embrace of a purely material aspect of reality, while trashing everything else, has been a problem from the beginning, as the duality of the mind-body that we all have to practically live day in day out, defies the perception of an objective world without belief in a subjective realm that perceived it in the first place. 

The thought, the conscience, the passion that drives us into inquiry and exploration, are sublime, non-objective entities, informing us of the very existence of the material world. Thought defines matter, matter does not define the thought, therefore matter and its laws are a subset of the thought. And to say that the set is necessarily equal to its subset, just because we can&rsquo;t touch or smell the other things in the set, is like being stubborn and anti-science. 

Religion, or at least Islam, claims to cater for the whole thought, it hints on the beginning of the material world and its end; it asserts accountability of the tangible and of the sublime heart, alike; it talks of having a count of the tiniest atomistic specks, of the heavenly bodies, and of the whispers of the inner self, alike. So, is religion as a faculty, disproven by logic and reason? Is religion a storytelling and science pure facts? Is religion dogmatic and science not? 

The case of science being dogmatic is actually a case of men of science being dogmatic, especially in their earnest faith in preserving LP, no matter how much factual evidence goes against it. This tale can be traced back to Newton (1727). Known for his Law of Gravitation, the difficulty Newton faced in explaining the non-material aspect of gravity is rarely mentioned. Newton found that &ldquo;bodies have an intrinsic power enabling them to attract one another from a distance, without any intervening medium&rdquo;, meaning that gravity is a non-material entity. The scientific community of the time accused Newton of being an occultist for putting forth such a heretic idea and Newton ended up declaring his ignorance of gravity&rsquo;s cause. Since then several forces of the sort have been discovered, yet the scientific community is not ready to approve of a force that could have put all these sublime forces into work. They approve of &lsquo;laws&rsquo; that are perceived by consciousness but not of a conscience that perceived those laws.

Darwinian Evolution is an interesting case, scientists have consistently proven its impossibility. Renowned scientist Stephen Meyers writes, &ldquo;Rarity of functional genes&hellip; versus all the gibberish&hellip; ones&hellip; is one is to 10 to the power 77&rdquo;, multiply that with 10 to power 40 unique organisms yet found, and then add several or 100s of million years of &lsquo;waiting time&rsquo; for each possible mutation &mdash; all this would need 100s of billions of years to occur, when the Universe is only about 14 billion years old, yet we keep Darwin&rsquo;s theory in our text books because it supports LP. 

Is this not dogmatic behavior? Has the Western scientific community not become a church of no-God? 

The truth is that most of science is hypothesis &mdash; an &lsquo;explanation&rsquo; based on available facts, later the most plausible explanations become theories, which are by principle extrapolations dependent upon the imagination (or storytelling) of the learned. For this reason, Bohr drew an atomic model from his imagination of the Solar System. Today in Quantum Theory we have no orbits but only a &lsquo;probability&rsquo; of finding the electron &lsquo;if someone is looking&rsquo; as if the rest of the time it lives in the phantoms. Einstein said of Quantum Physics &ldquo;if it is correct, it signifies the end of physics as a science&rdquo;, meaning that subatomic particles lack objective existence. 

So, if the core of all truth is absolute sublimity, and over that sublimity stands the humungous fa&ccedil;ade of a law-bounded 3D universe, does the sublime thought not have the right to go for the most plausible theory-of-all-things, the Theory of God! Which can explain that the beginning of the Universe was not an abrupt explosion left to &lsquo;chance&rsquo;; that new organisms are formed by intricate design, with no &lsquo;waiting time&rsquo; and without billions of wasteful and painful mutations; and how the once entangled subatomic particles still communicate when they are billions of miles apart &mdash; and why the sublime soul can and does also communicate across distances like that!

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2020.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan’s actual fault lines</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2257631/pakistans-actual-fault-lines</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2257631/pakistans-actual-fault-lines#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 20 17:26:37 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[farrukh.khan.pitafi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2257631</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[We need to find a way to fix our faultlines or we will not progress an inch]]>
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				<![CDATA[If you are a Pakistani fascinated by the country&rsquo;s history there is a good chance you have been brought up on a controlled diet. There is one narrative that is set by the state. The one that starts with Bin Qasim&rsquo;s attack on Sindh and ends with the countless explanations for the country&rsquo;s existence. You know that version because it has been scrutinised constantly. But then there is a counter narrative. A meta narrative that emerged in defiance. About the country&rsquo;s chequered history, it&rsquo;s civil military imbalance, its misplaced priorities and at times the ridiculousness of its existence. Both these narratives grew in reaction to something and are therefore incapable of doing justice to the very complex reality of this nation&rsquo;s existence. The beauty of these narratives is that they very effectively hide the real fault lines and centres of power. Let us focus on some of these fault lines to comprehend what is holding us back.

Pakistan&rsquo;s first fault line is called ideology. You would think that a country with a Muslim population of over 96% would have no trouble on that front but then you would be wrong.

Consider this: On August 11, 1947, only days before the birth of the country, its Founder delivered an illuminating speech on the country&rsquo;s future promising religious freedom to all citizens amid other things. The speech was heavily censored before release and the audio record of it is still not found. Ask yourself why. Because somebody in the government thought that this speech by the country&rsquo;s Founding Father contradicted the ideology of Pakistan. Let it sink in. The words of the only man who won you freedom through a democratic and legal struggle were not palatable for somebody who was already interpreting ideology for you.

But what is this ideology? The two-nation theory? Islam as the state religion? The Quaid&rsquo;s words did not contradict either. The Indian majority that was viewed as a constant threat was nearly packed away into a separate nation. Gone. Done away with. Now the minorities that still lived in the country had opted to stay here. They had a right to expect some reward for their faith. Also, a nation that was founded to escape the majoritarian fanaticism currently on display in India could not subject the minorities it inherited to the same kind of absolutism. Notice I do not bring up the matter of fundamental human rights because in the mid-40s the world was a different place with the vestiges of Nazism and fascism still dividing the global discourse. And the Nazis had already shown the world how minorities could be othered and deprived of all human rights. The fact that real interpretation of Islam had stopped a millennium ago, much before the emergence of modern states, did not help. In fact, Allama Mashriqi&rsquo;s Nazi-inspired Khaksar Tehreek had attacked and beheaded a member of the Ahmedi community in the formative years of the country. So, an argument existed at the time in support of stripping minorities of all their rights. But Jinnah knew better. And his views were not contradicting either of the two ideologies. But somebody thought they were.

Could it be the permanent ruling class of the country which Hamza Alvi once dubbed as the &ldquo;salariat&rdquo; and we now call the bureaucracy? The answer to this would take us to the second fault line. But let us first handle this one. Why Pakistan was created and why the country&rsquo;s bureaucracy thought that censoring its Founding Father was a good idea were two different things. The first is settled for good by Narendra Modi&rsquo;s government in India today. The second has shaped how Pakistan has grown to this day. In 1947 the country may not have too many great examples of pluralism to emulate but countless exist since then. This was supposed to be a dialogue between the state and society but a permanent class which co-opted the term &lsquo;ideology&rsquo; for its own survival has doubled down on the first raw draft and refuses to budge. From there the interpretation has bled into curriculum books, other institutions of the state and even the Constitution. Until it is allowed to be updated with time, we will stay lost in the jungle. This matter becomes of urgent nature when we take into account what we went through during the War on Terror when a group of Muslim Pakistanis killed around 80,000 co-religionist fellow citizens because of the different interpretations of ideology.

The second fault line is not the civil-military divide, although that too exists to a lesser degree. The second fault line exists between untrained politicians and an experienced bureaucracy. Pakistan is ruled by the latter. No matter who sits atop the greasy pole called the executive, it is invariably the bureaucracy which runs the machinery of governance. That is why General Musharraf could do precious little without the help of his old friend Tariq Aziz. That is why every prime minister&rsquo;s principal secretary is considered so powerful. When we choose to criticise the men and women at the top we deliberately ignore who actually wields power. The example of the Musharraf era devolution comes to mind. The ruler back then was powerful. The bureaucracy did not approve of the plan to change dynamics at the grassroot level. Who would if it meant losing control on ground? It quietly went along and waited till the time the amendment lost the Sixth Schedule cover and then recaptured the lost space. 

You are fascinated by all this talk of reforms. During Nawaz Sharif&rsquo;s time the then planning minister often spoke about bureaucratic reform. But we did not even see the first draft of the proposals. Now, Dr Ishrat Hussain talks about these reforms. We still await a coherent and comprehensive set of proposals to this effect. An interesting case study in this context is of Daniyal Aziz, the man who knows the weaknesses in the structure by heart. When the Musharraf era ended and the National Reconstruction Bureau headed by Aziz was dismantled, he failed to return to the parliament in the following elections. And when he did somebody had convinced the ruling PML-N that he should be kept away from projects relating to reform and instead be asked to defend the government like an ordinary if aggressive spokesman. The total deconstruction of an able man with the knowledge of all bodies ever buried was to ensue. And where is he now?

Our third fault line is of the feudal mentality. Not feudalism but of the feudal mentality. Feudalism has waned with the natural course of land redistribution over generations, but the feudal mindset still survives. How should the rich and powerful behave is predetermined by society&rsquo;s powerful elite and that&rsquo;s why hardly anything ever changes.

There are other fault lines like racial and lingual prejudices and overpopulation but we will return to them another time. For now, we need to find a way to fix the above three or we will not progress an inch.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1st, 2020.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>Green all over</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2253661/green-all-over</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2253661/green-all-over#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 20 19:38:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Hassan Niazi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2253661</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The religious mob has a veto, a final say, over questions of fundamental rights it seems]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Paint the flag green all over.

If something as innocuous as a temple for members of the Hindu faith invites so much controversy, then we might as well drop all pretence and remove the strip of white from the green cloth.

For a moment, there was hope. It was a brief, blink and you&rsquo;ll miss it, kind of hope, but it was there. The Prime Minister approved a grant of Rs100 million, and construction began. What happened next is sadly familiar to anyone who has followed the history of religious minorities in this country. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) laid out its patented red tape, and the Prime Minister referred the issue of government funds to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CCI) &mdash; that paragon of religious tolerance.

But it is the backlash, the outrage, and the eventual glee with which the temple was opposed that should give us pause &mdash; not because, as some have suggested, where we are headed, but rather where we currently are as a nation.

Maulana Fazlur Rahman manoeuvred a fatwa against the construction of the temple, while the speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Mr Pervaiz Elahi, said: &ldquo;Pakistan was created in the name of Islam. Construction of a new temple in its capital is not only against the spirit of Islam, but also an insult to Riyaset-e-Medina.&rdquo; He followed this statement by patting himself on the back for respecting the rights of religious minorities.

In the eyes of people like Mr Elahi, members of the Hindu faith could at best ask for old temples to be repaired, but not, heaven forbid, ask for new ones. This is a great metaphor for what most people believe Article 20&rsquo;s guarantee of religious freedom means in Pakistan. Minorities are given dilapidated old temples, often nowhere close to where they live, and told: &ldquo;Here are your rights, don&rsquo;t be greedy and ask for more.&rdquo; Muslims are granted shiny new mosques on every street corner.

That is not freedom, that is discrimination.

Most people, our politicians included, seem to believe that Pakistan is a bastion for religious harmony. Members of the Hindu faith, whose temple is causing such unnecessary controversy, would beg to disagree. They have been the scapegoats for pent-up fury by Pakistanis at the actions of India in the past. When the Babri Masjid incident happened in 1992, the reaction in Pakistan was for mobs to destroy over a 100 Hindu temples in their best impression of our national hero Mahmud of Ghaznavi.

In Sindh, young Hindu girls are abducted and forced to marry their captors. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), more than 20 Hindu girls are kidnapped every month. When a bill against forced marriages was proposed in Sindh to curb this practice, religious leaders had it blocked.

The religious mob has a veto, a final say, over questions of fundamental rights it seems. Perhaps even dwarfing the final say of the Supreme Court. According to a landmark judgment in 2014, the Supreme Court pointed out that Article 20 gave no preference to the Islamic faith: &ldquo;Article 20 makes no distinction between Muslims and non-Muslims; it gives all religions equal protection without forcing the Muslim faith on any sects.&rdquo; Yet, that is not the interpretation of Article 20 that endures in Pakistan.

Through history textbooks that glorify the destruction of Hindu temples, to colonial narratives that pitted the Hindu as the destined enemy of the Muslim, we have embraced a version of religious tolerance so distant from fundamental rights and the very sources of Islam that it makes it incomprehensible to people that they should give rights to others. Children are taught in schools that the Hindus oppressed Muslims in the Subcontinent, the Hindus took away their freedoms, and the Hindus could never accept them as equal. When in fact, it was the coloniser that oppressed both faiths, the coloniser who took away their freedoms, and the coloniser that refused to accept the people of India as equals.

To counter this distortion of young minds we need to rethink how we educate people about our past in this country. But we also need to introduce concepts of religious harmony into our schools rather than tales of conquests. To achieve this, let me reiterate what I once wrote for this paper: We must engage with and integrate into our discourse Islam&rsquo;s tolerant ideas and historical accounts of its views on religious plurality. For example, historically Islam was seen as a welcome antidote to the repressive papal laws that would often lead to the persecution of Jews; while the Abbasid Caliphs had many non-Muslims serving as senior government officials. Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), in Medina, aligned his community with the Jews and even set the day for Muslim congregational prayer to Friday afternoon. Reza Aslan writes that this was done because the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) wanted it to coincide with, but not disrupt, Jewish preparations for the Sabbath, hence bringing the community together.

Nothing justifies the opposition towards the construction of the temple &mdash; neither our Constitution, nor the Islamic faith. The intolerance within our society means that we are hypocrites if we go before international forums and decry what is happening in India when we ourselves are unable to do better.

The lesson here is simple: Constitutional promises, national symbols of tolerance, and grand speeches mean nothing until we commit to educating and perpetuating tolerance within our massive population. The population whose votes Mr Pervaiz Elahi is soliciting when he opposes the construction of new temples in the country. The people of Pakistan have been taught to believe in a fragile version of Islam; an Islam constantly under threat that must be fiercely protected at all costs. Our national priorities must change to address this problem. Until that happens, no constitutional promises, no white strips on green, can save us.]]>
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			<title>I don't need serials or films to learn about my religion: Shaan Shahid</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2242455/dont-need-serials-films-learn-religion-shaan-shahid</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2242455/dont-need-serials-films-learn-religion-shaan-shahid#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 20 11:06:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Entertainment Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category><category><![CDATA[Gossip]]></category><category><![CDATA[TV]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2242455</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The actor responded to criticism over his views on 'Dirlis:Ertugrul']]>
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				<![CDATA[In a recent and now deleted tweet, actor Shaan Shahid had pointed out how much PTV charged for airing a show that was already available on Netflix. 

He wrote, "PTV charged 7 billion a year to show us a product that's already available on Netflix."



He received flak from several users as many explained how the channel aired a dubbed version of the serial in Urdu for the majority to understand, whereas Netflix streamed the Turkish serial with English subtitles.

Others pointed out how Netflix was not affordable for everyone but PTV was available on everyone's television.

Following this, a user also told Shaan to learn about his religion through the serial instead of criticising it. To this Shaan responded, "Main apna deen dramoon or filmon sai nahee sekhtaa. (I don't need films or serials to learn about my religion)"

"Alhamdulillah, mujhay mairee Amma jan nai sikhaya hai. (Thank God, my mother has taught me that). Or waisay bhi yeh bhai, ye Turkish actor, paisay lai ker wuzu ker rahaain hain. (Not to mention, this Turkish actor is charging money for performing wudhu on television.)"

https://twitter.com/mshaanshahid/status/1271557137790119936

To this another user trolled him saying, "Tou ap kya duain lay k Films banaty ho (So do you take prayers in return for making films?) Aj tk ap nay hamain kya sekhaya, manji vich daang pherda, yahe dekha Hai hum nay ap logo ke kaam men bachpan se."

https://twitter.com/MehndiDesigner7/status/1271566269670711296

To tackle this Shaan said, "Lagta hai bachpan khatum nahee huwa, (It seems your childhood hasn't ended yet)."

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below. ]]>
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			<title>Madrassas likely to commence classes from June 12</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2232305/wafaq-ul-madaris-likely-hold-classes-june-12</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2232305/wafaq-ul-madaris-likely-hold-classes-june-12#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 31 May 20 10:15:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[​ Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2232305</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Maulana Qazi Abdul Rashid says a final decision will be taken in a meeting with Ittehad Tanzeem-ul-Madaris]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The federation of Islamic seminaries announced that madrassas will begin admissions from June 2, whereas classes will begin from July 12, on Sunday.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the Wafaq-ul-Madaris Al Arabia,Pakistan, chaired by Maulana Qazi Abdul Rashid at Jamia Ashrafia.

The meeting decided to take private schools on board and pressurise the government to reopen Tableeghi centres and resume Tableeghi Jamaat activities.

Addressing a press conference, Maulana Rashid said a final decision regarding the matter will be taken by the leadership of the Wafaq-ul-Madaris Al Arabia and the Ittehad Tanzeem-ul-Madaris, adding that madrassas could not afford to remain closed any longer.

He complained that no department implemented the 20-point standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by President Arif Alvi, except mosques.

He further questioned the reason to keep madrassas closed if mosques, shopping malls, markets and Nadra offices were given the go ahead.

It was reported on May 28 that religious education organisations had planned a meeting to decide reopening of madrassas, which were shut down along with other educational institutions as part of government’s directive to prevent students from catching coronavirus.

The central leadership of Wafaqul Madaris had said in a press release that it was determined to save the future of the students in collaboration with the government.

The future of students was at stake due to delay in the annual examinations which were scheduled in March, 2020, the press release stated.  

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			<title>Churches across Punjab open doors for Sunday service</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2223335/churches-across-punjab-open-doors-sunday-service</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2223335/churches-across-punjab-open-doors-sunday-service#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 17 May 20 08:09:19 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Asif Mehmood]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2223335</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Worshippers wore face masks, maintained social distance]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[After the Punjab government announced relaxation in the lockdown, churches across the province opened doors for worshippers to attend services on Sunday.

The churchgoers were asked by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations Lahore Rai Babar Saeed to ensure strict implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) during the church services.

Worshippers wore face masks and maintained social distance to avoid the risk of contracting the virus.

[caption id="attachment_2223358" align="alignnone" width="640"] PHOTO: EXPRESS[/caption]

After almost two months, large groups of the Christian community arrived at the Cathedral Church on Lahore Mall Road.

Provincial Minister for Minority Affairs Ijaz Alam Augustine welcomed the government's decision to open churches.

He said bishops must ensure the implementation of SOPs issued by the government, adding that strict security arrangements have been made in churches across the province.

He said the Christian community must wear face masks, use hand sanitisers and maintain social distance.

"No one can stop you from worshipping, but caution is the only solution to end this pandemic," the minister added.

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[caption id="attachment_2223343" align="alignnone" width="625"] PHOTO: EXPRESS[/caption]

In consideration of the ban imposed on congregational gatherings amid the growing Covid-19 threat in April, several worship places in the country decided to suspend congregational prayers to help control the spread of the disease.

In the same vein, Karachi’s Christian community too vowed to spend the Easter Sunday at home.

They attended ceremonies at various churches through video links, due to the lockdown.

Special arrangements were made in churches across the city to facilitate people to attend celebrations and prayers through online ceremonies.

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			<title>Blind faith</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2202838/blind-faith</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2202838/blind-faith#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 21 Apr 20 04:24:13 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Hassan Niazi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2202838</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The abandonment of human reason and adherence to scientific fact has been one of the chief victims of this movement]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[A man once approached the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and asked whether he should tie his camel or put his faith in God to protect it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) responded, “tie your camel, and trust in God” (Al Tirmidhi).

Faith in Islam was never meant to be a suicide pact. Muslims are not supposed to succumb to a fatalist interpretation of religion devoid of common sense. And no Muslim holds a license to expose other members of the community to harm based on their own religious interpretation. A stubborn fidelity to praying in mosques contradicts both these principles.

This piece is not an indictment against faith. It is an indictment against the triumph of blind faith over reason. Faith is important in times of crisis as a fount of hope and optimism. Religious teachings of community and charity help drive philanthropy and serve as important coping mechanisms in times of isolation.

But the peddling of blind faith, coupled with an irrational commitment to how things were done in the 7th century, has led to the colossal detriment of this country. The abandonment of human reason and adherence to scientific fact has been one of the chief victims of this movement. No time of the year displays this more than the beginning of Ramazan, when we will once again celebrate its starting point on different dates purely because the religious right continues to resist being supplanted by the scientific method. Rigid fundamentalism in Pakistan continues to eclipse the use of reason to address modern day problems.

This latter group’s religious leaders have succeeded in being influential throughout Pakistan’s history. They have gotten constitutional amendments that deprive minorities of religious freedom, have resisted the rights of women, and even succeeded in forcing the federal government to not appoint a world-renowned economist as an adviser. Now they have convinced the PTI to enact a 20-point plan for dealing with an issue that should not be an issue at all if common sense prevailed.

Praying five times a day, every day, in mosques will continue during the reign of Covid-19. So will the Tarawih in Ramazan. The 20-point plan spells out all the precautions that will be taken, which sound about as reassuring as Nero’s fiddling.

This is happening despite Muslim nations around the world suspending congregational prayers. Saudi Arabia shut down Islam’s holiest sites. The Al Azhar University issued a fatwa asking people to pray at home. In Kuwait, the traditional call to prayer has been altered to ask people to refrain from coming to mosques. Closing mosques seems to be one of the few things that the Muslim world agrees on — well, except Pakistan.

There is recognition across the globe that communal prayer gatherings can serve as super-transmission sites for a virus that thrives on densely packed groups of people. The Catholic Church suspended services in Italy as the outbreak engulfed the nation, while Jewish communities are also encouraging people to stay at home.

Those who have flouted the social distancing rules have borne the cost. Mustafa Akyol describes how in Israel, ultra-orthodox Jews refused the call to close yeshivas, where students study religious texts, insisting that “cancelled Jewish study is more dangerous than corona”. These mavericks have the misfortune of accounting for half of Israel’s confirmed infections. Meanwhile, the Tabhleegi Jamaat’s congregation has proved to be one of Pakistan’s largest clusters for the virus.

Still, the clerics refuse to accept that we should shut down mosques until the threat of the virus passes.

Once upon a time, Islam was known for the use of reason over blind faith. Practical reason was the hallmark of early Islamic jurisprudence, demanding that we weigh the situation in front of us to come to the best decision. When weighing the risk of exposing our community to a deadly pathogen against communal prayer, the outcome should not be difficult. Prayer can happen at home, and if congregational prayer is seen as mandatory then people can pray in groups with their families. If a khutbah (sermon) before prayer is necessary, then any member of the family can deliver it.

The disregard for social distancing in times like this is at odds with Islamic teachings. Here I draw from the excellent collection of sources on this topic by Mohammed Nizami, a consultant scholar based in London. For example, the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to ask his followers to pray at home during occurrences of heavy rainfall. He also once said, “If you hear of a plague in a land, then do not go into it. If it happens in a land where you are, then do not go out of it.” (Bukhari). Notice how there is no mention of putting the lives of others at risk for something which can be done at home. Especially since many people can be asymptomatic and risk infecting others even though they feel healthy. These teachings value responsible behaviour, not recklessness.

Even if someone does not care about being infected and is driven to be a martyr in the name of communal prayer, the Quran states for them, “Do not contribute to your destruction with your own hands.”

The teachings of Islam, at their core, never ask us to put our lives at risk in order to go to a mosque. Prayer can happen at home. After all, prayer is simply a believer’s connection to God. God exists everywhere as per Islamic belief. Your local mosque does not have a monopoly over God’s presence. The Quran itself says that God is closer to the believer than their jugular vein. Pray at home and he will hear.

Too many politicians in too many instances have caved before the religious right’s failure to use common sense. Of course, in the end it is all politics, but to play politics with people’s lives is a dirty game that people do not forget. If cases rise because of this decision, then people will hold the PTI accountable, not the religious clerics. That, if nothing else, should make the PTI reconsider what it is doing.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2020.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>PTI govt to allow congregational prayers after consulting ulema</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2198798/govt-allow-congregational-prayers-consulting-ulema</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2198798/govt-allow-congregational-prayers-consulting-ulema#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 20 17:12:44 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[​ Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2198798</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Religious affairs minister says president to meet scholars on Saturday]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri has said the government will grant permission to organize congregational prayers – including Friday prayers and Tarawih – as well as Aitkaf – ten-day stay at a mosque during Ramazan – in consultation with religious scholars.

“Prominent scholars of all sects and politico-religious leadership will be taken into confidence in a meeting to be chaired by President Arif Alvi on Saturday. A decision will be made after consultation and understanding with the Ulema,” the minister said on Wednesday.

The minister’s statement came a day after prominent scholars of all schools of thought announced to resume congregational prayers at all mosques, stating that lockdown did not apply on mosques.

All provincial governments officially restricted congregations in mosques, including for Friday prayers, to five people or less in the last week of March in order to stop the spread of novel coronavirus.

Lockdown to be stricter than before: Sindh CM

The restriction on congregational prayers has provoked a backlash in the country, with police officials attempting to halt Friday prayers being attacked by mobs at least twice in Karachi.

On Tuesday, prominent ulema and religious scholars from across the country met and later announced that congregational prayers – including 5 time daily prayers as well as the Friday prayers – would be held in mosques from now.

“Restriction of three or five people at mosques is not proving practical. Those who are sick, elderly should not come to mosques,” Mufti Taqi Usmani, one of the top religious scholars in Pakistan, stated at a media briefing in Karachi.

Japan urges citizens to isolate as reports warn of 400,000 deaths

They, however, said mosques will take precautionary measures – including that of social distancing – as advised by the government. The ulema’s statement came as the government said it would continue the lockdown but eased restrictions on some industries, described as “low-risk”.]]>
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			<title>We support the senate's decision on 'Zindagi Tamasha': Chairman CII</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2174607/support-senates-decision-zindagi-tamasha-chairman-cii</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2174607/support-senates-decision-zindagi-tamasha-chairman-cii#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 20 09:02:08 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Adnan Lodhi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category><category><![CDATA[Film]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2174607</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The council had been barred from reviewing the film by the Senate Function Committee on Human Rights]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) was stopped by Senate Function Committee on Human Rights on Wednesday from screening the film Zindagi Tamasha. CII Chairman Dr.Qibla Ayaz has agreed to not resist the committee's decision over the issue.

"It has come to our knowledge that the Senate Function Committee on Human Rights has bared us from reviewing the film. We have no objection over this decision. In case the committee wants us to play a role in deciding the fate of the film, we will gladly offer our assistance. But we wont object if they don't take us into the loop. Earlier on we were told to review the film but we were yet to do it," Ayaz told the Express Tribune.

The Senate Function Committee on Human Rights took this decision after an in-camera session was held to discuss  Zindagi Tamasha on Wednesday. The panel, chaired by PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, got briefing from officials of the central and provincial censor boards.

Speaking to media after the meeting, Khokhar said the committee has barred the CII from reviewing the film and directed the Central Board of Film Censors to provide a copy of the film for screening.
“A screening of the film will be arranged on March 16. The panel will decide if the film needs to be sent to the CII for approval. If we do not find the film objectionable, orders will be given for the film’s immediate release,” Khokhar said.

Khokhar said only parliament has the authority to refer matters to the CII and no ministry can consult the advisory body on its own. “The law defines this in clear terms,” he said. “Going by the details provided in the in-camera briefing, there appears to be nothing objectionable in the film.

Have something to add to the story? Share in the comments below.

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			<title>Hamza Ali Abbasi praises Feroze Khan for turning to Islam</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2172367/hamza-ali-abbasi-praises-feroze-khan-turning-islam</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2172367/hamza-ali-abbasi-praises-feroze-khan-turning-islam#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 20 08:55:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Entertainment Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category><category><![CDATA[Film]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2172367</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Both actors had revealed that they will not entertain offers that conflict with their religious values]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Actor Feroze Khan recently announced that he was quitting the showbiz industry in order to make way for religion in his life. Khan's decision was lauded not only by fans but by a fellow celebrity as well.

The approval came from non other than Hamza Ali Abbasi who himself made a similar career turn a few months ago.

https://twitter.com/iamhamzaabbasi/status/1236706616587833344

In a tweet, Hamza equated Khan's decision with his own as he prayed for both of them gaining the strength to pursue their new found goal. "Masha Allah. I pray that may Allah help us to keep our intentions pure and give us guidance to spread his message to the best of our abilities and understanding. May Allah bless you brother,"he said.

Khan in his announcement had noted  that from hereon, he will only entertain monetary offers that promote the teachings of Islam.

https://twitter.com/ferozekhaan/status/1235890444606812160

“My fans have been waiting for a statement from me. I announce that I quit the showbiz industry and will only act and provide my services for the teaching of Islam through this platform if needed else anything but this InshAllah, Request you all to pray for me and my loved ones,” he said.

&nbsp;

The Tich Button star's announcement came after three months Abbasi had revealed that he will only participate in those productions that further the message of Islam and promote Pakistan. The actor had claimed that his productions will not have any vulgar content, nor will it be obscene.

Have something to add to the story? Share in the comments below.]]>
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			<title>Estranged Jew reconnects with Lahore</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2162468/estranged-jew-reconnects-lahore</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2162468/estranged-jew-reconnects-lahore#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 23 Feb 20 04:28:36 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Muhammad Shahzad]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2162468</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Khan explains family’s migration from country to country]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Hazel Khan, a member of a Jewish family from Lahore shared her ordeal while speaking at the Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) in Alhamra Hall.

In a session titled ’55 Lawrence Road - Memoirs of a Jewish family that left Pakistan in 1973’, she stated that she tried her best to improve the country’s image in her capacity. “Pakistan provided refuge to my family after we were devastated following the holocaust by Nazi dictator Hitler.”

The session was moderated by Nayyar Ali Dada. Other speakers included Shireen Pasha and Aliya Naseer Farooq.

Khan’s family, spanning three generations, had passed through the different diaspora. The family had migrated to different countries including Germany, Poland, Britain, Israel, British India and Pakistan.

Jews demand action from Germany after deadly anti-Semitic attack

She spoke about her family’s ordeal and affiliation before the LLF audience through a presentation. Khan added that she had delivered the presentation a couple of times in Germany and other European countries. “This was for the first time that I shared my story in the provincial capital.”

She narrates that her father, Hermann Marcus Selzer, and mother, Kate Neuman, studied medicine.

In 1937, the family left Europe for British India and stayed there till 1940. In 1940, they were arrested for being enemy aliens and were transferred by train to Purandhar Parole Centre. Two years later, they were shifted to Satata Parole Centre and Internment Camp.

In 1946, the family shifted to the provincial capital. Khan shared two pictures in her presentation of when her family moved in and of the current state of 55 Lawrence Road, the house her family had settled in.

She highlighted that her father was a doctor. “His practice continued and in a few years my family entered Lahore’s elite circles, eventually moving to Gulberg.”

Six key periods in Jewish history

As part of her photographed memories, she shared more pictures of her growing up in Pakistan as well as family pictures of occasions such as Eid. Khan claimed that her extended family lived in Israel.

She also shared an invitation in which the family was invited to meet a foreign dignitary. She further said that in 1972, Khan’s family flew to Israel and stayed there till 2007 before leaving for the United Kingdom. She explained that after 1973, her family never reunited under the same roof again.

Khan said that after 40 years she felt a compulsion to return to the house and made a mission to find 55 Lawrence Road. In 2011, she returned to the said place.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2020.]]>
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			<title>Unchecked intolerance can lead to Modi-like regime in Pakistan: Hamza Ali Abbasi</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2152693/unchecked-intolerance-can-lead-to-modi-like-regime-in-pakistan-hamza-ali-abbasi</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2152693/unchecked-intolerance-can-lead-to-modi-like-regime-in-pakistan-hamza-ali-abbasi#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 08 Feb 20 09:43:21 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Entertainment Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category><category><![CDATA[TV]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2152693</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The actor condemned calls to ban 'ZIndagi Tamasha']]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Hamza Ali Abbasi has shared his two cents on the whole Zindagi Tamasha ordeal. In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Hamza condemned protesters threatening to wreck havoc if the film was to release in Pakistan.

He maintained that the subject matter of Zindagi Tamasha doesn't, in anyway, insult the discipline of Naat recitation but rather presses on the respect of religious scholars in society.

"I wont take names cause I don't believe in finger pointing but a certain religious political group is trying to ban the release of Zindagi Tamasha. I would generally like to request all those that are against the film to first look at the subject matter. It doesn't in anyway disrespect Naat Khwans (Naat reciters) or religion in general. In fact it talks about the  greater set of responsibilities on religious figures in a society, as a result of which they have to impose certain restrictions on themselves," Hamza said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaGUfvpSmjM&amp;t=6s

According to Hamza, those who are displaying intolerance in the form of violent threats are going against the teachings of Islam. He went on to say that the film-makers, actors and those working for the censor boards are Muslims themselves  and as such don't carry any malicious intent.

Furthermore the Alif star talked about how unchecked intolerance can eventually lead to Pakistan reaching a place where an "extremist terrorist" like Narendra Modi could become the country's Prime Minister.

"If you have any objections to the content of Zindagi Tamasha, then raise them vocally. Its your right.  However, if you justify your intolerance then their is no difference between you and a RSS worker in India," said Hamza.

"Please, for God's sake, abstain from such behaviour. I would also like to tell the relevant authorities that for whatever reason, if you keep on tolerating such calls from non-state actors, then the day is not far that an extremist terrorist like Narendra Modi rises to power in Pakistan," he concluded.

Have something to add to the story? Share in the comments below.]]>
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			<title>‘Palestinian struggle is not based on religious identity’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2150925/palestinian-struggle-not-based-religious-identity</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2150925/palestinian-struggle-not-based-religious-identity#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 06 Feb 20 04:02:00 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[z.ali]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2150925</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Shibli terms newly-proposed two-nation formula for Palestine conflict as an 'offensive joke']]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Palestinian struggle for freedom is not based on religious identity; rather, the nation has rooted its fight on a historical origin and a piece of land called 'Palestine.'

Palestinian novelist Adania Shibli expressed these viwes at a 'Meet the Author' interaction with civil society representatives at the Khanabadosh Writers Cafe in Hyderabad on Wednesday, where she juxtaposed the Palestinian freedom struggle with the Israeli occupation. Introducing the author, the cafe's Prof Amar Sindhu said that Shibli was leading a literary resistance for the cause of Palestine.

"Israel is a racist regime. The occupation of Palestine is a colonial project," said Shibli, adding the Palestinian struggle did not seek revenge for the atrocities meted out to them by the decades-long Israeli occupation.

Trump plan for Mideast will die before he does: Iran leader

She termed the recent two-state solution, propounded by United States President Donald Trump and accepted by the Israeli government, as an 'offensive joke.'

"It is difficult to visit Palestine and it is even more difficult to meet and interact with the local writers," she said. "The Christians living in Palestine are also part of the freedom struggle; the vision is not limited to establishing a Muslim country in the region."

Shibli is the author of an award-winning novel, Touch. Her other significant works include Minor Detail, Keep Your Eye on the Wall and We Are All Equally Far From Love. "My novels, plays, short stories, and essays are not limited to the cause of Palestine but they encompass a range of society's issues," she stated.

She also spoke about the significance of the native language and explained how she feels while writing in the Arabic language.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6th, 2020.]]>
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			<title>Religious tourism registered spike</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2131733/religious-tourism-registered-spike</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2131733/religious-tourism-registered-spike#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jan 20 03:52:56 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[​ Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2131733</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Governor says after Gurdwara renovation, focus will be on other places of worship]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[For the first time in Pakistan, a Committee on Religious Tourism and Culture under my chairmanship is actively working to promote religious tourism, said Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar. Tourism is the biggest industry in the world, and the country gave a peace message to the world through the Kartarpur Corridor project, he added.

He expressed these views while addressing the International Conference on Punjab History and Culture at the University of Lahore (UoL) on Monday.

Addressing the conference, the governor said that after the renovation of Sikh worship places, the focus will be laid on Buddhist tourism and people from across the world will be attracted towards Pakistan through religious tourism. He cited that by focusing on Maryamabad, Christians from other countries will come to the country and steps are also being taken in this regard.

Kartarpur Corridor: PM Imran waives off two requirements for Sikh pilgrims

Speaking to the media, the governor said that, the United Nations and the Muslim community must work together to avert a US-Iran conflict, as it will be destructive for the region. The hysteria of war must come to an end and all countries should respect each country’s integrity. “All minority communities in Pakistan will fully be protected according to the law.”

No one will be allowed to take the law into hand and there is no doubt that it is the government’s responsibility to protect the lives and properties of minority communities living in Pakistan, he further said.

Ensuring protection to minorities’ lives is the topmost priority of the government, he maintained. “No leniency will be tolerated in this regard.” The governor explained that war has never been a solution to problems. “Rather, it intensifies terrorism and extremism, which claims innocent lives.”

Today, minorities are safer in Pakistan than the rest of the world. “It is very unfortunate to say that the Indian government is resorting to suppression of minorities by targeting them through controversial laws.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2020.]]>
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			<title>Dozens injured as students clash with Delhi police in citizenship law protests</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2118772/dozens-injured-students-clash-delhi-police-citizenship-law-protests</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2118772/dozens-injured-students-clash-delhi-police-citizenship-law-protests#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 16 Dec 19 07:00:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2118772</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Indian police launch a brutal crackdown against university students, famed Jamia Millia under siege]]>
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				<![CDATA[More than 100 students and activists protesting against the contentious Indian citizenship law were injured in New Delhi on Sunday as they clashed with police who used tear gas and baton charges to disperse demonstrators at a major university.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government says the new law will save religious minorities such as Hindus and Christians from persecution in neighbouring Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan by offering them a path to Indian citizenship. But critics say the law, including the United Nations, which does not make the same provision for Muslims, weakens India’s secular foundations.

[caption id="attachment_2118781" align="alignnone" width="625"] Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against the new citizenship law. PHOTO: REUTERS[/caption]

Sunday was the fifth straight day of protests across the country against the law enacted earlier this month, and the third day running in the Indian capital.
Eyewitnesses claim Indian security forces are using live ammunition against unarmed protesters at Jamia Millia University.#CitizenshipAmendmentAct pic.twitter.com/5yyPCNI4vr

— CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) December 15, 2019
Six dead in protests against Indian citizenship law

Delhi Police tried to contain thousands of protesters, including locals and students, who had gathered near the Jamia Millia Islamia University in southeast Delhi. Clashes erupted and authorities said protesters torched buses, cars and motorbikes.

Officials at two local hospitals said more than 100 people with injuries had been brought in following the clashes.

“Many of them have fracture injuries. We are running out of plaster of paris for casts,” said Inamul Hassan, an official at the Alshifa Hospital located near the university, adding more than 80 people with injuries had been brought to the hospital.

A spokesperson for Holy Family Hospital told Reuters’ that it had treated 26 students suffering from injuries.

POLICE STORM CAMPUS

Police resorted to baton charges and firing tear gas on the protesters to disperse them, according to a Reuters witness. Officers stormed the campus grounds to confront protesters they said fled into the university.

“About 4000 people were protesting and police did what they did to disperse them when the crowd burnt buses,” claimed Chinmoy Biswal, a senior police officer in the area.

Videos and pictures circulating on social media presented a different picture, show a brutal crackdown by police and plainclothes individuals, said to be activists of the right-wing RSS.
Visuals from Aligarh Muslim University.

Security Forces throwing stones and using tear gas on AMU students who were protesting against #CABBill2019 .

From #JamiaMilia to AMU, they are trying to muzzle our voice. #JamiaProtest pic.twitter.com/LIoDd4DXFW

— sufi siddiqui (@sufi_siddiqui3) December 15, 2019
[caption id="attachment_2118780" align="alignnone" width="625"] A woman reacts after she was injured during a protest against a new citizenship law, in New Delhi. PHOTO: REUTERS[/caption]

However, some students and officials at Jamia Millia, a storied institution almost 100 years old, decried the police action.

“Police have entered the campus by force, no permission was given. Our staff and students are being beaten up and forced to leave the campus,” Waseem Ahmed Khan, a senior faculty member of the university, said.

Student Tehreem Mirza said students took shelter in the library after police on the campus fired tear gas.

BJP-CONGRESS BLAME GAME

The protests have raged particularly in some eastern states such as Assam, Tripura and West Bengal, where resentment toward Bangladeshi immigrants has persisted for decades.

Authorities have shut down internet access in several parts of the affected states in an attempt to maintain law and order.

Modi, speaking at a rally in the eastern state of Jharkhand on Sunday, blamed the opposition Congress party and its allies for inciting violence against the citizenship law.

The Congress party, in turn, slammed Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party on Twitter saying, the government “has failed at its duty to maintain peace in the nation.”

Local authorities ordered all schools in southeast Delhi to remain closed on Monday. Jamia Millia university had already said, on Saturday, that it was closing early for the winter break. The Aligarh Muslim University in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh also announced that it was shutting early for the break after student protesters clashed with police on Sunday.

[caption id="attachment_2118779" align="alignnone" width="625"] Demonstrators run for cover as smoke billows from a tear gas shell fired during a protest against a new citizenship law. PHOTO: REUTERS[/caption]

Pakistan rubbishes India’s fudged numbers on ‘shrinking minorities’

Hundreds of activists gathered outside the New Delhi police headquarters on Sunday night to protest against alleged police brutality and the detention of students.

A lawyer, who is trying to negotiate the release of detained students, said at least 28 were being held at one police station in South Delhi. A police spokesperson did not respond to a call, or message asking about the number of people detained.

Meanwhile, protests against the law continued in parts of eastern India. A highway connecting West Bengal and Assam were blocked in several places on Sunday when protesters burnt tires, demanding the law be scrapped. Violence was also reported in Patna, the capital of the eastern state of Bihar.]]>
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			<title>'Every faith enjoys complete religious freedom in Pakistan'</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2094289/every-faith-enjoys-complete-religious-freedom-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2094289/every-faith-enjoys-complete-religious-freedom-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 06 Nov 19 05:29:44 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[​ Our Correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2094289</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[K-P minister accuses JUI-F chief’s protest to be supporting India’s stance on Kashmir]]>
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				<![CDATA[All faiths enjoy complete religious freedom in the country and those interested in religious tourism in Pakistan are welcome to visit.

This was stated by Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa (K-P) Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai on Tuesday while addressing an event organised in Peshawar by the Sikh community in the city to celebrate the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor.

Yousafzai noted that Pakistan is a democratic country where all minorities enjoy their rights and that there is no religious restriction, with every community free to practise their religious beliefs.

He asked those interested in religious tourism to visit Pakistan without any fear.

“It is unfortunate that Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism for the past 15 years which led to Pakistan being labelled as an extremist country,” Yousafzai said, adding that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was trying to improve the image of the country around the world.

He further said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s address in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly presented the right face of Pakistan and Islam and that Islam is not an extremist religion in which all minorities have the freedom to practise their beliefs.

Yousafzai also took the opportunity to take a swipe at the Azadi march led by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).

“Unfortunately, some forces who do not want to see Pakistan stabilise, are once again on the march,” the K-P information minister said, adding that the ruling PTI will fight these forces in the province and the centre to ensure the progress of the country.

He said that Pakistan is heading towards economic improvement with exports creeping upwards while the fiscal and current account deficits falling and investment rising owing to the rupee stabilizing.

Yousafzai said that the government needs support from the other political parties to further stabilise the country but “JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman wants to destabilise the country for his vested interests.”

He said that at a time when the Kashmir cause should be supported, the JUI-F rally was damaging the Kashmir cause.

“Maulana Rehman did what [Indian Prime Minister Narender] Modi could not do, as he has supported the Indian stance on Kashmir,” Yousafzai claimed.

He added that Pakistan’s peace-loving image has been enhanced by Prime Minister Imran Khan's efforts to strengthen ties with its neighbours and the prime example of this is opening of the Kartarpur Corridor and the Afghan border for around the clock trade.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2019.]]>
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			<title>Muslims, Jews and Christians sign joint paper against euthanasia</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2089191/monotheistic-faiths-sign-joint-paper-euthanasia</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2089191/monotheistic-faiths-sign-joint-paper-euthanasia#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 29 Oct 19 06:11:53 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2089191</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The three Abrahamic monotheistic religions are in complete agreement in their approach to end-of-life situations]]>
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				<![CDATA[Christian, Jewish and Muslim envoys signed Monday and submitted to Pope Francis a joint document that denounced euthanasia and assisted suicide as "inherently" wrong acts that should be forbidden.

"The three Abrahamic monotheistic religions share common goals and are in complete agreement in their approach to end-of-life situations," the document said.

"Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are inherently and consequentially morally and religiously wrong and should be forbidden with no exceptions."

"Any pressure upon dying patients to end their lives by active and deliberate actions is categorically rejected," it added.

German court hears debate over commercial euthanasia

It was signed at the Vatican by David Rosen for the American Jewish Committee, Vincenzo Paglia for the Vatican, a representative for the Orthodox Church, and Samsul Anwar from the Indonesian Muhammadiyah, an Islamic social and cultural association.

The idea came from Avraham Steinberg, co-president of the Israeli National Council on Bioethics.

"I think it's by itself a historic event that the three major religions come together, talk to each other, agree on something and even sign on it," Steinberg told a press conference

Paglia, who is president of of the Pontifical Academy for Life, added that while death could not always be avoided, "we don't want to help it on its dirty job."

Wildlife dept gives nod to mercy killing of paralysed lions

Finally, Marsudi Syuhud, secretary-general of the influential Islamic association Nahdlatul Ulama, said: "Protecting life is one of the purposes of Islamic law, that's why we don't stop protecting life until the end of our life."

The document urged medical personnel to listen to their conscience, saying: "No health care provider should be coerced or pressured to either directly or indirectly assist in the deliberate and intentional death of a patient through assisted suicide or any form of euthanasia, especially when it is against the religious beliefs of the provider."

"Moral objections regarding issues of life and death certainly fall into the category of conscientious objection that should be universally respected," it added.]]>
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			<title>Diwali celebrations begin in Karachi</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2087907/diwali-celebrations-begin-karachi</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2087907/diwali-celebrations-begin-karachi#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 27 Oct 19 04:04:22 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[​ Our Correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category><category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Karachi]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2087907</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Prayer services, ceremonies organised at temples across the city]]>
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				<![CDATA[A ceremony and prayer service have been organised at Shri Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir, located in Soldier Bazaar, to celebrate the festival of Diwali today (Sunday).&nbsp; Meanwhile, ceremonies and prayer services on a smaller scale, marking the religious festivals of Hindus, will also be held at other temples in Karachi.

Members of the Hindu community have decorated their houses and temples with lights, candles and lamps on the festive occasion, and the celebration of the festival of lights will continue till late in the night today.

Yesterday (Saturday), in preparation of the festival of lights, special prayer services were arranged at temples across the city.

Speaking with regards to the Hindu&#39;s religious festival, Shri Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir Head Shri Ram Nath Mishra Mahraj said the Diwali holds immense significance for the community as on this day, Lord Rama began his journey from Lanka and returned home to Ayodhya. The temple&#39;s head further said that Rama fought against lies and stood for the truth and on this day truth had won against lies.

Talking about the relevance of lights on the occasion of Diwali, he said that Hindus light their houses in hopes that Rama will visit and stay at their houses. Moreover, sweets are also distributed on the occasion to spread loves, he added. On&nbsp; Diwali, members of the Hindu community also exchange gifts.&nbsp;

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2019.]]>
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			<title>Traditional Chehlum processions end peacefully in Rawalpindi</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2083927/traditional-chehlum-processions-end-peacefully-rawalpindi</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2083927/traditional-chehlum-processions-end-peacefully-rawalpindi#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Oct 19 05:43:01 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[​ Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2083927</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[All roads and streets leading to congregations were sealed off]]>
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				<![CDATA[Amidst tight security arrangements, processions were held to mark the chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) and other martyrs of Karbala with traditional zeal, fervour and reverence in the garrison city on Sunday.

The main procession emerged from Imambargah Baltistania. It passed through its traditional, pre-determined routes and culminated at Imambargah Qadeemi after evening prayers.

Mourners carried battle standards - alams – and recited nohas. Some also performed self-flagellation. A large number of women and children also participated in the processions.

Stalls for 'sabeels' of milk and 'sherbet' were also set up along the route of the processions.

Religious leaders and speakers also paid homage to Imam Hussain and his companions and urged the participants to promote unity within their ranks and shun sectarian differences.

The district administration had devised a stringent security plan to maintain law and order. A control room was set up in the offices of the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) to monitor the security situation. Thousands of police officers were deployed while walkthrough gates were installed to check suspects.

All roads and streets leading to congregations were sealed off.

All traditional processions routes were cordoned off for all kinds of private and public transport including at Committee Chowk, Trunk Bazaar, Sarafa Bazaar, College Road and Jamia Masjid Road.

Police had cleared the routes of the processions in various parts of the city with the help of bomb disposal squads for the safety of mourners.

Police and law enforcement agencies strictly monitored the people staying at hotels and guesthouses in the city as well.

Rescue 1122 had made arrangements to deal with any emergency, besides providing medical treatment to those self-flagellating.

Meanwhile, City Traffic Police (CTP) had prepared a traffic plan for Chehlum to facilitate the mourners.

According to the plan, there was a complete ban on parking any vehicle, motorbike and handcarts on the route of Chehlum processions. Chief Traffic Officer (CTO)/SSP Muhammad Bin Ashraf said and informed that three DPs, 14 inspectors, 152 traffic wardens and 32 traffic assistants special were deployed on the occasion to maintain traffic flow. APP

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2019.

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Chehlum procession culminates peacefully in Karachi</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2083839/chehlum-procession-culminates-peacefully-karachi</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2083839/chehlum-procession-culminates-peacefully-karachi#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Oct 19 03:53:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[​ Our Correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2083839</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Thousands of mourners participated in the procession on Sunday]]>
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				<![CDATA[The central procession of the Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) culminated peacefully under tight security in Karachi on Sunday.

Led by the Buturab Scouts, the procession set off from Mehfil-e-Shah-e-Khurasan, passed through its traditional route and culminated several hours later at the Hussainian Iranian Imambargah in Kharadar.

Before the mourners started marching, Maulana Muhammad Raza addressed the central majlis at Nishtar Park, where he highlighted the great sacrifices rendered by Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) and his family members.

The procession then started at Mehfil-e-Shah-e-Khurasan and reached the Mazar-e-Quaid's VIP Gate, where the participants offered Zuhrain prayers lead by Allama Ahmed Iqbal.

Later, the procession continued along the route and was joined by several smaller processions from different areas of the city.

Medical camps and water stalls, known as sabeels, were set up along the route of the procession while strict security arrangements put in place. More than 5,000 police personnel were deployed on security duty while a large contingent of Rangers personnel was also part of the security arrangements.



Snipers were posted on the rooftops of buildings along the route, while the procession was monitored via CCTV cameras from the central command and control centre. Meanwhile, the procession was also monitored via helicopters and mobile phone services were blocked in the surrounding areas.

All roads and streets along the route of the procession were barricaded by placing shipping containers. All markets and shops along the route had already been sealed a day earlier.

Rangers DG Major Umar Bukhari inspected the security arrangements before the procession commenced. Speaking to the media, DG Bukhari said that no one will be allowed to disturb the peace in the city. He added that there were no tangible threats to the Chehlum procession, but they had nevertheless inspected the route and found the security arrangements to be satisfactory.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2019.]]>
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			<title>Incomplete underpass in Karachi forces change of Chehlum plan yet again</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2083366/incomplete-underpass-karachi-forces-change-chehlum-plan-yet</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2083366/incomplete-underpass-karachi-forces-change-chehlum-plan-yet#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 19 03:44:56 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ashraf.ali]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2083366</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Mourning procession will take an alternate route due to long delayed development work]]>
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				<![CDATA[Given the ongoing construction of Numaish Chowrangi underpass, the mourning procession for the Chehlum of Imam Hussain (RA) will be taking an alternate route. The rerouted procession, which will start from Nishtar Park and conclude in Hussainia Iranian, will also touch Karachi X-Ray Lab, Peoples Chowrangi, Preedy Street, Regal Chowk, Tibet Centre, Radio Pakistan, Lakshmi Building, Bombay Bazaar and Kharadar on its course.

“The long-standing development work at Numaish has rendered the original route unfeasible for the processions as it poses a security risk and isn’t a safe terrain for children,” said Syed Shabbar Raza, one of the procession organisers, while speaking to The Express Tribune.

Chehlum Processions: 6,000 cops to perform security duty

The construction of the underpass, which has remained a perennial issue in Karachi, has also previously been responsible for the rerouting of processions throughout the month of Muharram. But according to Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (SIDCL), all preparations for the Chehlum processions along with Numaish Chowrangi’s roof work have been completed. “Although there’s some work going on at MA Jinnah Road, we’ve barricaded it to ensure safety of the route and the organisers can let the procession pass through Numaish Chowrangi and MA Jinnah Road” told a relevant SIDCL engineer.

However, another SIDCL engineer on the basis of anonymity revealed that Commissioner Karachi, DC Karachi, police officials and rangers had inspected Numaish Chowrangi with the procession organisers. After inspection, police officers expressed their apprehensions about the narrow passages being unsafe and inadequate for the procession and left the final decision to the organisers.

Phase-1 of the federal government’s Green Line Bus Project, Numaish Chowrangi Underpass, still remains a distant reality amid the differences between Sindh and federal government over the project’s design. According to the proposed plan, the roof work of the underpass was to be completed five months ago and had the project followed its timeline, the entire project would’ve been completed by September of this year.

Safe and sound: Chehlum proceeds without incident

Nevertheless, the federal government has been unable to implement the project according to the announced schedule due to certain reasons. According to relevant engineers from SIDCL, the carpeting work at Numaish Chowrangi is likely to be completed after the Chehlum and the road from Britto Road to Shahrae Quaideen will be opened for traffic from November 15. Whereas, Numaish Chowrangi and MA Jinnah Road will be opened for two-way traffic by December of this year; completing the entire project by the year 2020.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2019.]]>
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			<title>‘Islam gives special place to humanitarian laws’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2079574/islam-gives-special-place-humanitarian-laws</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2079574/islam-gives-special-place-humanitarian-laws#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Oct 19 05:29:04 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[News Desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2079574</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Dr Al-Draiweesh highlights IIUI’s work in human rights awareness]]>
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				<![CDATA[Islam, as a religion, gives special importance to humanitarian laws and discusses all the prerogatives of humans in detail.

This was stated by International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) President Dr Ahmed Yousif Al-Draiweesh on Monday as he chaired the concluding ceremony for a four-day regional course on Islam and International Humanitarian Law (IHL).

Former Express Tribune staffer wins CEJ Humanitarian Reporting Award 2019

The course had been organised by the Shariah Academy of the IIUI in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and was attended by the Islamic scholars hailing from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and all the provinces of Pakistan representing various universities.

Dr Al-Draiweesh highlighted IIUI’s work in human rights awareness and recalled past programmes held in collaboration with the ICRC. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2019.]]>
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