The spectre of violence
From the Blog PkColumnist.com: The spectre of violence - The Muslims of the subcontinent are no strangers to sectarian and religious diversity and divisions. We once lived side by side with the majority Hindus and minorities like Christians and Sikhs. Even after the creation of Pakistan such religious groups were an important part of our social fabric. Linguistics and racial movements also littered this region for a long time, and still exist. However, we never let the "bullet" decide political, religious or sectarian differences among the citizens of this country. Our society had the flexibility to tolerate divergent views and movements. The spectre of violence was not allowed to destroy peace and stability. But why is violence winning the day now? Religion is a very strong natural motive. Islam teaches peace, tolerance and respect for humanity. It abhors forced convictions and stands for reason in matters of faith. The teachings of Islam not only inculcate distinct principles for war and rules of engagement, but also encourage differences of opinion among Muslims. It equally stresses respect for other religions and their followers. But the abuse of religion for individual, sectarian and political objectives has created the worse schisms, which resulted in a number of violent crimes. Unfortunately, religion is misused for these very reasons in Pakistan since the country's inception. A considerable section of our populace earns their living through religion and uses it as a source of sustenance. There are others for whom religion is a political lifeline and matter of social relevance. Historically, sectarian differences had been the subject of intellectual discussion among the leading elites of various sects. These ulema were well aware of the intricacies and impacts of such subjects and were extremely careful in voicing opinions on them. In Pakistan these religious differences entered the social discourse in Zia's era when political parties were established on the basis of sectarian differences. The emergence of the electronic media and relative freedom on the airwaves injected sectarian issues in the overall political and social discourse. Without qualifications and knowledge, anchorpersons picked any divisive issue and pushed the debate into every drawing room. Resultantly, instead of healing divisions and differences, we further bolstered them, to the detriment of society. The geo-political environment in this region is equally to blame as a catalyst for religious and sectarian violence. Disputes with India on the eastern border and differences with Afghanistan on the western borders dominated our political and defence strategies. We fought many wars with India and had been wary of Afghanistan becoming an Indian pawn. Russia's invasion of Afghanistan and Pakistan's choice to oppose Soviet forces through Afghan resistance forces had a long-lasting impact on this country. The Pakistani establishment supported the resistance groups. These groups had necessarily to be motivated for the ultimate sacrifice and hence religion was used as the tonic. Mainstream Arab-Islamic forces were also invited to fight jihad in Afghanistan. Pakistan was the supervisor and launching pad while the US and Arab countries provided dollars and riyals. On the Soviet Union's defeat, the US turned its back and declared the Mujahideen a threat to humanity. In view of disputes with India and instability in post-war Afghanistan, all such elements retained strategic value for the Pakistani establishment. Pakistan is reviewing the utility of such groups now. This is why that at times the state seems to be helpless vis-à-vis the jihadi groups and the religious parties. The religious and sectarian violence will not die down unless the abuse of religion for personal or political gains ceases. We cannot relegate religion, as Turkey did during the era of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. But we cannot allow religious and sectarian differences to make the running of the state difficult. The state must intervene through teaching the true lessons of Islam so that the common people do not fall for the religious interpretations of self-appointed interpreters. The Council of Islamic Ideology should be declared the sole authority on religion and on the enforcement of its teachings. Politically divisive figures should be replaced with undisputed personalities. It would be advisable and beneficial for Pakistani society if well reputed religious scholars of universities were inducted as member of the council. Similarly, the Federal Shariat Court should be declared the sole arbiter in religious matters and in enforcement of religious laws. No one should be allowed to play politics on matters of religion. The media should not discuss sensitive sectarian and jurisprudential issues in popular talk shows. The anchors should not raise such issues for improvement of the ratings of their programmes. If necessary, only authentic and knowledgeable anchors should be allowed to talk to authentic, non-political and undisputed religious scholars. They should discuss religious matters within intellectual limits. The state should adopt innovative devices in dealing with Indian and US machinations on the western border, making certain that these devices do not have a negative impact within Pakistan. We should not even think of wiping out those whom we used as tools in various wars in this region. Rather, these intelligent and ambitious individuals should be rehabilitated and allowed to become part of mainstream society. They should be provided adequate means of living so that they can lead respectable lives. We are obliged to adopt such a programme in order to save ourselves from their rage. The US and Western allies could forget them after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, but we cannot, as every one of them is the son of this soil and a loved one of someone in our midst. . Read Full Post
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