All such dubious shrines and their custodians should be dealt severely under the law
FAISALABAD: A tragic incident happened in Sargodha on April 2 when the custodian of a Sufi shrine tortured to death 20 people with the help of men wielding batons and knives. This is inhumane and cruel act done in the name of our great religion. In Pakistan, there are a number of shrines where the message of love, peace, harmony is taught.
For centuries the famed shrines of Ali Hujwiri, Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Bahauddin Zakariya and Lal Shahbaz Qalandar have helped to spread the religion throughout the Indian subcontinent.
Thousands of devotees visit these shrines for spiritual and mystical guidance. Yet in stark contrast, we also find different unscrupulous people using a few shrines for illegal & immoral activities. They are minting money by means of religion. Furthermore, they receive donations, gifts and cash from visitors. The poor people are being deceived by bogus defenders of shrines. This is the ugly face of our country where not only politicians, dictators, and the elites have plundered the nation but so-called spiritual leaders have also deceived them. It is a big tragedy that a few shrines are being used for politics as a small number of shrine custodians are even members of the National Assembly. It is high time we regulated shrines in the country. All such dubious shrines and their custodians should be dealt severely under the law.
Engineer Mansoor Ahmed
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2017.
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