Ardently called Quaid-e-Azam (The Great Leader), the Founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah gave us a free country, with this declaration to the first Constituent Assembly, on August 11, 1947, “You are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in the state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed; that has nothing to do with the business of the state.”
Instead of following the golden words of the Quaid that would have given us a place of respect and honour among the nations of the world, we have sowed the seeds of hate that grew into a crop of fear.
Take a look at the record of our anti-minority activities. We must admit that we are increasingly becoming intolerant towards followers of other faiths who we must protect by all means.
Some communities are frequently targeted. We barely talk about those who are under constant threat for their lives, honour and businesses.
In Lahore, recently, at least 14 conferences were held where speakers spoke out against Ahmadis, instigating the audience to boycott, banish or even kill them, or to make their lives hard at the very least. Loud-speakers blared and fiery speeches were delivered. No state machinery took any action against the organisers even though the administration could do so under Section 153-A of the Pakistan Penal Code. Large police contingents were deputed there but they took no action against the hate campaign.
The world, generally tolerant about us, keeps a watch over how we treat our own minorities. It will certainly pressure us if we do not take the alarming situation seriously, and soon. If we continue to harass the members of minority groups, they will continue to migrate and take refuge abroad. Pakistan’s image will thus be tarnished.
A US mission, during May this year, urged their country to step up pressure on Pakistan over religious freedom, warning about the risks faced by its minorities and the crisis level they have reached. The mission stressed that religious freedom violations in Pakistan have ‘risen to unprecedented levels’.
Before it is too late for us, we must wake up and take some hard decisions. We cannot allow any segment of society to alienate us from the comity of nations and undermine the pluralistic ideas of our founding father. If we follow the guidelines of our Quaid, we would contribute to the progress of our country. If not, we would be playing a role in driving the country towards the blind alley from which there is no way out.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 18th, 2013.
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Muhammad Ali Jinnah, May God bless him, was way ahead of the people of his time and aeons ahead of the Mullahs. Indeed a true leader always is.
I find it shocking, and I've been raised in the West, at the history of Pakistan and what is has become. I find myself often pondering that I never would have thought as I was growing up, that such religious intolerance would exist in the world. I never would have thought that someone could have so much hatred for someone else based on their harmless religious belief- and yet deem it as a right they have to exercise under divine law- almost as a divine calling to eradicate what they fail to understand. People forget that God Himself deals with impostors to religion and punishes them for the forgery they spread. "And if he had forged and attributed any sayings to Us, We would, surely, have seized him by the right hand, And then, surely, We would have cut his life-vein, And not one of you could have held Our punishment off from him. And verily, it is a reminder for the righteous." - The Holy Qur'an (69:45-49)
Why then do we see these extremist groups attack Christian and Muslim minorities? It is simple- a lack of education. Education fosters open minds. And open minds are tolerant. It is interesting to see that the level of education in Pakistan is in direct proportion to the level of corruption existent in the most important aspects of a country- government and policing. Interestingly enough the only Nobel Laureate Pakistan ever produced belonged to a minority- Ahmadiyya.
So, what does the future hold? More corruption, in my opinion. Pakistan has gone way beyond the tipping point and now it's only a matter of time before God Himself decides it's fate.
@Ahmed: The author failed to provide proof of this. Just in case you were educated at a madrassa, where they brainwash kids, let me remind you that there is plenty of obvious proof that minorities are discriminated in the Land of the Pure. Just in case you did not know there was East Pakistan until 1971 and the reason it broke away was that leaders of West Pakistan did not recognise the election victory of East Pakistan because they were "Bengalis". In the end there was a war and Pakistan was defeated in record time. The defeat was so severe that even West Pakistan could have been wiped out but as they say "who wants Pakistan?". Today there are attacks on Ahmadiyas, Christians and Hindus. Ask yourself why has the population of minorities fallen since partition in Pakistan but it has actually risen in India? I live in the West and there are numerous studies suggesting that the future of Pakistan is bleak. By 2025 it is not going to exist. Also, have you asked yourself why does the constitution require only muslims to be PM or Presidents? In the outside world evidence suggests that muslims are most illiterate (also agreed by Pervez Musharraf) although we want to show outside world that we are superior. Are we? Check the crime statistics of the West and you will note that we are the biggest criminals. We are doomed.
@Ahmed: Saying that anyone should be harassed, outlawed, shunned, killed or otherwise harmed because of their quiet religious beliefs (or lack of them) is tantamount to admitting that the relevant deity being "protected" cannot personally punish the perpetrators, if said deity deemed it necessary. Ditto blasphemy laws.