By keeping silent, my Sindhi Muslim brothers are contributing to the crime of forced conversions of Hindus.
KARACHI: This is apropos to forced conversions of Hindus in Sindh, which has been widely reported in the media. I would like to ask my Sindhi Muslim brothers a few questions. Are we, the Hindus of Sindh, not the sons of the soil of Sindh? Have we not stood up and marched and demonstrated together for the cause of Sindh? Or are we lesser Sindhis?
Why then are Sindhi Muslims watching passively as our women, like Rinkle Kumari, are being ‘kidnapped’ and ‘forcibly’ converted to Islam almost on a daily basis? Does Islam permit conversion by force?
I have read ‘there is no compulsion in Islam’ and that it is the responsibility of an Islamic state to protect the lives and properties of non-Muslims. Why then is a Member of the National Assembly (MNA), Mian Abdul Haq, also known as Mian Mitho, being allowed to continue with his campaign of forced conversions?
If the brother of Rinkle Kumari converts to Islam will a Shah family permit the new Sheikh boy to marry their daughter? Will Mian Mitho do the honours of nikah as he did proudly in Rinkle’s case, or will the medieval law of karo kari be applied.
By keeping silent, my Sindhi Muslim brothers are contributing to the crime of forced conversions of Hindus, encouraging their kidnapping and extortion, and causing their exodus from Sindh. If things continue in this manner soon there will be no Hindus in Sindh. Barring religion, we share everything — dress, food, folklore, poetry, songs, dances, ajrak, etc.
We cherish our great sufi poets like Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast and Sami. I urge Sindhi Muslims to stop their co-religionists from killing us the way they killed three young Hindu doctors in Shikarpur recently.
If you want us to leave then tell us and the world that there is no place in the motherland for us. We will leave behind whatever we possess. Just ask us, but don’t kill us or take our children away. Do not destroy our spirit.
A FRIGHTENED SINDHI HINDU
(Name withheld on request)
Published in The Express Tribune, March 15th, 2012.
