JUI-F's Fazl rejects 'anti-Islam laws'

Declares readiness to face jail or execution for religious principles

ISLAMABAD:

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday warned the government and its coalition partners, saying he would not accept or obey any legislation that contradicts the Quran and Sunnah, even if such laws are passed by a parliamentary majority.

Addressing a gathering in Islamabad, the JUI-F emir said that obedience to laws based on disobedience to the Creator was neither permissible nor binding.

"Our position is very clear," he said, adding that imprisonment or even execution did not deter him. "Jail is a very minor thing, and hanging is also a very minor thing. If there is anything beyond that, we are ready to accept it."

Maulana said he was repeatedly told that politics was no longer the domain of "decent people" and questioned why, as a "respectable man," he remained in politics.

Rejecting this notion, he argued that politics was, in fact, the management of national and collective life and an open field.

He said politics was the inheritance and mission of the prophets, lamenting that it had been reduced to a race for power through rigging and manipulation. "Those who reach power through rigging are called great politicians."

Recalling the ideological roots of his party, the JUI-F chief said that scholars from across the subcontinent, without sectarian discrimination, were part of the movement, and that his party had historically led struggles for both the caliphate and freedom. He stressed that religious scholars were the heirs of the prophets and that just as no one except scholars could stand on the pulpit of the Prophet, no one else was more deserving of the seat of politics.

Slamming opportunism in politics, Fazl said that in today's environment, individuals leave their parties if they do not receive election tickets. He added that while there were no idol-worshippers or Jews in society, their negative habits had seeped into political culture.

Referring to the Quran, he said it also speaks of workers who remain sincere, while others become satisfied when benefits are given and resentful when they are denied. He stressed the need to recognise and confront this self-serving mindset.

He noted that politicians often claim personal piety, such as offering prayers, but questioned the nature of the political systems and laws they were imposing on the country. "We have no objection to anyone's prayers or fasting," he said, adding that the issue lay with laws and governance, not individual worship.

The JUI-F emir said laws contrary to the Quran and Sunnah were often passed through majority votes, and that his refusal to accept such legislation was portrayed as a challenge to the law itself.