Cooling off: The immutable bond between cleric and beard

Son-in-law tortures father-in-law after the latter asked him to return his fridge.

CHOWK AZAM:

A man shaved the head and beard of his father-in-law for asking him to return his fridge on Saturday.

According to Chak 319 TDA residents, Maulvi Muhammad Hanif had recently lent his fridge to his son-in-law Muhammad Imran. “Imran’s fridge was out of order and he had asked to borrow Hanif’s fridge for a few days until he got his fixed,” said Bashir, Hanif’s neighbour. “When Hanif asked for the fridge back on Friday, Imran lost his temper. He said he would come return it in an hour but he came and beat him up,” he said.

Hanif’s servant Jajji told police officials that Imran came into the house screaming and locked the door. “He told all of us to stand back and that he needed to speak with Hanif. Later we heard Hanif yelling for help,” he said. “I found him outside after Imran had pushed him out the window,” he said.

“Before he pushed me out the window, he tied me up and shaved my head and beard. I am a cleric, how am I supposed to show my face in society anymore?” he said.

Local residents gathered in the street where Hanif had been pushed out of the window. “He was lying face down on the street and his face had been blackened. He had been beaten and his face was shaven,” said a neighbour Qudsia.

Hanif told reporters that his son-in-law had asked to borrow his fridge a few days ago. “Later he called me and told me that there was also a fault in my fridge and that he would also give that for repair. After a few days I asked him where it was and he said he was coming to return it,” he said. “It turned out that he had sold my fridge,” he added.

Maulvi Muhammad Hanif said that his son-in-law had broken into his home with the help of his brothers Muhamad Irfan and Javed Ahmed and attacked him. Hanif asked police to register a theft and torture case against his son-in-law Imran.

Sargodha Azam Police came to the scene and transferred Hanif to the local DHQ hospital.

“He was bleeding from his face as well as from his leg. Doctors told us his leg was fractured,” Station House Officer (SHO) Rafaqat Ali said. “I have registered a case and we are searching for his son-in-law, who seems to have fled the area,” he added.

Hospital officials said that Hanif seemed unconcerned with his health and was much more upset about the fact that he would be humiliated in society. “We were trying to reset his cast and attend to his wounds but he was in a rage about the fact that his son-in-law had dared shave his beard,” said Dr Israr Kasb.

“I told him he could always grow his beard back but his health was much more important. He kept repeating that he was a maulvi and nothing was more important,” he added.

Dozens of clerics in the village protested outside the hospital in this regard on Tuesday afternoon. “This is an outrage. His son-in-law should be publicly flogged for chopping off the beard of a cleric,” said cleric Haji Saifullah Sadaat.

Local clerics have convened a meeting to take action against the incident. Tehreek Minhajul Quran, Ayematul Masajid and Jamiat Ahle Sunnah have convened a meeting today to devise a strategy and announce a punishment for Imran, when he is caught. “We will go to the Federal Shariat Court if we have to. This is a criminal act. No one can shave the beard of a maulvi without facing the consequences,”
Sadaat said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2011.