KARACHI: A couple of months ago, three religious scholars of the Jamia Binoria were killed in broad daylight on main Sharae Faisal, near the nursery area. To make funeral arrangements of the deceased and to accommodate the visiting mourners, the road opposite the Binoria Town Mosque was closed for three days initially. Several weeks have passed now but the road still remains blocked, thus creating traffic jams and hurdles for shopkeepers while they try to conduct their businesses smoothly.
As I write this letter, the road opposite the Binori Town Mosque is still closed for vehicles and pedestrians and it appears that it will now remain permanently closed. There is no doubt that the Binori Town Mosque has produced religious scholars of very high stature but I would like to question the learned scholars of the Jamia Binoria if it is legal and permissible by religion to block or encroach upon a road in the name of security for their own safety, thus putting the lives of other people in danger. If not, then I expect the mosque administration to remove all the barricades placed outside the Binori Town Mosque immediately and pave the way for free movement of traffic and pedestrians. One person’s pain can never be other person’s gain — at least not in our religion.
M Rafique Zakaria
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2013.
