Rejection of many candidates’ nomination papers for not being good enough Muslims is indeed shocking.
KARACHI: The rejection of many candidates’ nomination papers for not being good enough Muslims is indeed shocking. It has been reported that most, if not all, returning officers are acting as judges, which is alarming, because only men of the law are able to interpret legal issues correctly. But apparently, these gentlemen have radically different views on the subject of who is a good Muslim and who is not. According to the Munir Report, all scholars called to assist in the anti-Ahmadi issue of 1953 had different views on who is a Muslim and who is not. Most people in Pakistan have not been able to memorise even a few verses from the Holy Quran, which we saw when the former interior minister was not able to recite a well-known surah in a cabinet meeting and needed prompting from his colleagues. Secondly, does the ability to recite from the scriptures make a person an honest man? Obviously not, since there have been several instances of rape and sodomy committed by clerics. By the way, the Council of Islamic Ideology a few years back declared that Muslims who were not bearded were guilty of committing a heinous sin. According to this yardstick, many prominent candidates would automatically be disqualified, and only bearded men will be allowed to contest.
Shakir Lakhani
Published in The Express Tribune, April 9th, 2013.
