Religion refers to a
code of life shared by a group of people worshiping the same god, beholding the
same beliefs, and forming a community to help and relate to each other. The
word Islam means peace. Incidentally, Islam is the largest religion in
Pakistan, yet ironically the country sometimes lacks the presence of peace,
tolerance and humanity, which are the basics of the religion. But why is it
that a religion that promotes peace and tolerance is accused of spreading
terror?
Perhaps, it is a result of a lot of factors that have
resulted in this consequence, and has thus yielded an unfriendly situation for
Muslims and Pakistanis, giving them the stereotype of being extremists and
generalizations associated with terrorism.
In the Pakistan,
religion is more than just a personal way of living. Your religiousness is not
just an affair between you and god, but rather a concern of the whole society.
In other words, religion is often used as a tool to manipulate people, to show
power, influencing arguments, winning people's hearts, and portraying a
positive of oneself for popularity. From the education we acquire at schools,
to our progress at work, our political beliefs, and even the political career of
some people, from somewhere of the other religious belief manages to penetrate in our
daily lives.
Unfortunately, just like in medieval times when the church
enjoyed special unjustified privileges in society, the mosque still does, to
quite a great extent in Pakistan. Although Pakistan isn't an orthodox country,
the lack of control on mosques has enabled them to get away with almost
anything they want. While aware citizens do question the unjustifiable acts of
local clergy and mosques, the government mostly hesitates in order to prevent
violent opposition by those elements of society. The fact that many of
Pakistan's religious leaders lack education, and the government is abundant in
corruption leads to radical Muslims using mosques, such as the Lal Masjid, to
not just spew hatred for minorities and for giving out sexist remarks, but it
also gives them the courage and opportunity to harbor and support terrorist
organizations. Moreover, the blasphemy laws lead to illegal violence against
minorities on basis of alleged disrespect of the Quran or the prophet (pbuh).
Hundreds of non-Muslim Pakistanis have been the victim of such violence, one of
the very barbaric ones is that of the Joseph colony. Likewise, our politics is
also overwhelmingly influenced by religion. On many occasions, religious
politicians have accused others of having a bad character or being bad Muslims,
as a stunt to defame them in the eyes of the religiously inspired majority of
Pakistan.
What's more tragic is the fact that despite being aware of
these elements in society we tend to remain quiet and live as if it does not
even exist.
Upon Pakistan's formation, Mr. Jinnah said in his speech,
"You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go
to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan.
You may belong to any religion, caste or creed - that has nothing to do with
the business of the State." Unfortunately this speech, which should
have been the mantra of all Pakistanis, has been conveniently forgotten by the
citizens of our beloved country.
It's high time that we realize this problem and do something
about it. As a concerned citizen, who is patriotic enough to wish for a better
future for Pakistan and is eagerly waiting to outlive the current turmoil in
the country, I request the government to regulate strict rules to question and
control the activities of everyone, from politicians to clergymen in order to
make sure that we are free of sexism and all other forms of discrimination.
It is indeed not Islam that preaches hatred, but the
illiteracy that prevails among many Pakistanis that has led to extremism,
sectarian violence and persecution of minorities. The fact that people are
uneducated is the reason why they do not question their leaders about their
wrongdoings and blindly support them regardless of what they are giving back to
the people. Once we get rid of this plague of illiteracy will we be able to
progress as a thoughtful nation where everyone can enjoy coexisting with each
other despite having differences between them.
As a Muslim Pakistani, I strongly believe that my religion
would never preach the kind of Islam that is mostly preached in our country,
and if we do not bother worrying about it, speaking against it, and taking
action, it is going to direly affect the image of Pakistanis and Muslims
internationally.
That said, as privileged and educated
Pakistanis, who have the platform to voice our opinions around the world, let’s
make sure that we do not let the efforts of the founding members of this
country in vain, and work for a better, prosperous Pakistan.
