Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada has offered asylum to Asia Bibi. She was released from the Pakistan Jail last month but was living in incarceration fearing the lynch mob who call themselves protectors of Islam. Both in India and Pakistan, the culture of religious justice is growing. Pakistan and Bangladesh have this and the Hindutva lunatics are learning from them. So, while Pakistanis and Bangladeshis will want their nation to be Islamic only, their cousins in the Sangh Parivar want India to be a Hindu Rashtra. Frankly speaking, this is not a Hindu vs Gandhi vs Jinnah war, clandestinely, it is a caste war. The caste discrimination is a part of the South Asian culture, whether you are a Hindu, Muslim or Christians.
 
Asia Bibi faced untouchability and when she challenged it, she was charged with blasphemy. The thugs in the streets were baying for her blood. Kudos to Pakistan Supreme Court which rejected the review petition in this regard, paving the way for her to leave Pakistan. After all this, Asia Bibi cannot live in Pakistan as the Islamic goons will kill her. So the only option for her was to leave. Of course, in Canada too, she will have to live in anonymity for several years as Europe and America are also the new battlegrounds for these religious thugs who do not like the liberal societies but go there to earn money.
 
Our good wishes to Asia Bibi and hope she will bring up her children well without facing any discrimination. Despite all theories of conspiracy, the western world is still a far superior choice for all those who see their fundamental rights challenged based on their caste, race, gender or ideologies such as being atheists, humanists or anything else, which our states feel threatened by.
 
Many of our friends yesterday remembered Jogendra Nath Mandal, the first Law Minister of Pakistan and chairman of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. Mandal belongs to Namoshudra community in Bengal which was an untouchable community. He organised the Dalits in Bengal and followed the path shown by Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar. He ensured that Baba Saheb Ambedkar is sent to the Constituent Assembly from Bengal as he lost from Bombay Presidency. Unfortunately, the seat that Baba Saheb won from Kulna shifted to Pakistan after partition and Baba Saheb had to re-contest for the Constituent Assembly from Bombay to get into it.
 
Mandal was hopeful that in the new Pakistan, Dalits would get fair share as he felt that Muslims will be much more sympathetic to their cause but within three years of independence on October 8th, 1950 Mandal resigned from Liaquat Ali Khan’s cabinet against the maltreatment, discrimination and violence against the Scheduled Castes in general and among Hindus and Muslims.
 
The fact of the matter is, the Punjabi and Sindhi Muslims never considered Bengalis, both the Muslims as well as Scheduled Castes, as their equivalent and Mandal’s resignation never made Pakistani elite learn from their mistakes. Excluding communities resulted in mass unrest in East Bengal ultimately resulting in the bifurcation of Pakistan. Mandal was deeply disappointed with the attitude of Pakistani ruling elite towards the Dalits as well as the Muslims and Hindus in East Bengal who faced regular discrimination and violence.
 
Unfortunately, we are not ready to learn from these lessons. Exclusion of any community leads to deep distress and mass violence. Political middlemen gain from such acts. Mandal died as an unsung hero and though he returned to India, he could not re-establish himself as a leader of the Dalits. Caste discrimination is rampant in South Asia even after so many years and yet we never want to do away with it. Blasphemy laws, cow protection laws, are nothing but to protect the caste hierarchies among the Muslims and Hindus. Religion is basically a tool for the powerful castes in South Asia to control people and perpetuate discrimination in the name of religion.
 
Canada has shown us the mirror but we will still not learn any lesson because then the religion traders will have to shut shops.
 

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As an observant Muslim, I am offended by the mockery of any faith or religious figure including my Prophet. In addition, 1.6 billion Muslims are also offended and being offended is our right. I respect their freedom to be offended.

However, taking the liberty of drawing offensive cartoons is also the right of those who reside in the free world. I respect this freedom to offend…

Read the full report here. http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-society/raheel-raza/blasphemy-law-practiced-in-pakistan-is-evil,-obsolete-and-a-way-of-victimizing-its-minority-communities/d/116278
 

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Image: Reuters

Notably, the terrorists attacked the church in Quetta city when the Church’s Sunday services had just opened. Hundreds of worshippers were attending the church ahead of Christmas. But suddenly and quite tragically, two suicide bombers attacked the church in the Pakistani city, as the home minister for Baluchistan province has clearly stated. According to the church’s Facebook page, it had organised different programmes all throughout December to mark Christmas, and was holding a ‘Sunday School Christmas Programme’ at the time of the attack.

Clearly, the Quetta church attack was a direct strike on the increasing communal cohesion between the Christians and Muslims in Pakistan. General Qamar Javed Bajwa, while condemning the attack has aptly called it, “an attempt to cloud Christmas celebrations/create religious cleavages.” Indeed, it was an attempt to cloud Christmas celebrations and create religious cleavages. But is the Pakistan army genuinely interested in tackling the onslaughts of the contagious religious extremism in the country?

Though the ultra-extremist Salafist terror group, Daesh (Isis) has claimed responsibility for the attack via the al-Aamaq media outlet, it has not yet provided evidence-based statement to substantiate its claim. But Baluchistan, a strategically important region bordering Iran as well as Afghanistan, has long been in the grip of deep-rooted sectarian groups linked to the Taliban, al Qaeda and now ISIS.

The first thought that emerges on this gruesome incident is that if the terror attack on the Church in Pakistan was carried out by the ISIS, it was clearly a systematic attack to counter the growing unity of Muslims and Christians, as some moderate Muslim thinkers have rightly pointed out.

Pakistan is on top of the Muslim majority countries where religious minorities are persecuted for their religious beliefs and rituals. Christians make up an estimated 1.6 per cent of Pakistan’s 200 million people. But besides systematic attacks by extremist groups, they face institutional persecution and violence from the majority-Muslim members who are brazenly violating the basic human rights as well as the essential Islamic values. The famous Islamic historian and Hadith scholar Imam Bukhari quoted the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as saying: “Whoever kills a Muaa’hid (any peaceful citizen) will not smell the fragrance of paradise”. Speaking generally about all the non-Muslims living in a Muslim state, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “Anyone who kills a non-Muslim citizen of a Muslim country will not smell the fragrance of the paradise.” (Nasaa’i). He is also quoted as saying: “If anyone kills a man whom he has granted protection pre-maturely, Allah will forbid him to enter paradise.” (Abu Dawood)

But ironically, the self-styled ‘Islamic’ Republic of Pakistan remains in brazen violation of the holy Prophet’s traditions. Pakistan’s most notorious blasphemy laws are ill-designed to target the religious beliefs and practices of various faiths and sects, eventually leading to smear the face of Islam, Qur’an and the holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the global media.

With the blasphemy laws, extremist goons in Pakistan are often underfoot to justify mob violence against liberal-thinking individuals as well as the non-Muslim minorities.

Along with other minority communities, Christians in particular, have long been held hostage to religious persecution, discrimination. Sidelined into lowly paid jobs and often the target of trumped-up blasphemy charges, this religious minority in Pakistan has always been hit by the radical Islamist ideologies over the years. Courts require a higher burden of proof for Christians to prove their innocence and some have been imprisoned on the testimony of their accusers.

Following the latest attack, dozens of Christians protested in the north-western city of Peshawar and called on officials to protect religious minorities. Similarly, last year Lahore suffered one of Pakistan’s deadliest attacks during the Easter season — a suicide bomb in a park that killed more than 70 people including many children. In 2013, 82 people were killed when suicide bombers targeted a church in the city. The bombing was later claimed by the Jamaat ul Ahrar faction of the Pakistani Taliban.

Thus, it seems that Pakistani police and troops have been less serious in battling the radical Islamist groups in the country. This is utterly tragic state of affairs in a society which prides itself in its Nizaam-e-Mustafa (prophetic rule of governance).

Nevertheless, the Prophet of Islam avowedly advocated the rights of Christians whom he adored ad “the people of the book” as well as other non-Muslim citizens in his state. During his lifetime in the Arabia, the non-Muslim citizens were protected even against the foreign invading enemies. He stated in categorical terms: “He who hurts a non-Muslim citizen of Muslim state hurts me and he who hurts me annoys Allah.” (reported by Imam Tabrani). Another Hadith reporter Al Khateeb quoted the Prophet as saying this: “Whoever hurts a non-Muslim, I am his adversary, and I shall be an adversary to him on the Day of Rising” and “On the Day of Resurrection I shall dispute with anyone who oppresses a person from among the non-Muslims, or infringes on his right, or puts a responsibility on him which is beyond his capacity or takes something from him against his will.” (reported by Abu Dawood).

Noted classical scholar of the fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), Imaam al Quraafi comments on the above Hadith reports: “The covenant of protection imposes upon us clear obligations towards the non-Muslims living in our states: they are our neighbours under our shelter and their protection is upon us. Whoever violates these obligations against any one of them by even an abusive word, or by slandering their reputation or by causing them a harm or assisting in it, has breached the guarantee of Allah, His messenger and the religion of Islam.’ (Kitaab al Furooq).

Even going by the Islamic laws enunciated in the state of Pakistan, Muslims have no legal superiority or privilege over non-Muslims. There are compelling evidences in the sources of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) that establish the full liberty for non-Muslims to practice their religions, follow their cultural customs and rites and lead their lives as per their own choice. No coercion or restriction can be inflicted upon them.

Despite these unequivocal Islamic traditions in favour of religious minorities, Christians in Pakistan are the worst hit, that too during the Christmas season. Their churches are the target of extremist Islamist zealots, especially during Christian holidays.

Tellingly, an AFP reporter at the scene saw shattered pews, shoes and broken musical instruments littered across the blood-smeared floor of the church in Quetta. The dastardly attack on innocent Pakistani Christians praying in Quetta’s church on Sunday was not an isolated instance. Earlier, in March 2016, more than 70 people died in an attack on a Lahore park where many Christians were celebrating on Easter Sunday. The deadliest attack against Christians in Pakistan happened in September 2013, when two suicide bombers targeted All Saints Church in Peshawar, killed more than 80 people. But these xenophobic acts can bring no gain to Islam or Muslims. They can only fuel the fire of global Islamophobia or further the nefarious ends of the extremist fringes in the country.

Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is a scholar of classical Islamic studies, cultural analyst and researcher in media and communication studies and regular columnist with www.NewAgeIslam.com

Courtesy: New Age Islam

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Jinnah Institute releases its second report on the sorry state of religious freedom in Pakistan

Discrimination and violence against minorities and vulnerable communities in Pakistan poses a grave threat to society, and a change in mindset is needed to ensure that the life, dignity and rights of minorities are protected. This was the fundamental assertion made at the launch of Jinnah Institute’s latest report, ‘State of Religious Freedom in Pakistan” and the screening of its documentary “Strangers in Their Own Land” aired at the Marriott Hotel, Islamabad on January 19 (2016).

The report, which is the second report in a series on religious freedom, examines the state of Muslim and non-Muslim minorities in Pakistan through quantitative and qualitative research based on reported incidents on discrimination and violence, along with interviews and focused group discussion with vulnerable communities across Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Jinnah Institute President Senator Sherry Rehman noted that while discrimination against minorities is part of a larger regional trend across South Asia, this was no justification for the distressing state of religious freedom in Pakistan. She called on all stakeholders to recognize the real and present danger posed by prejudice, bigotry and exclusionary practices towards the state’s vulnerable citizens. She emphasized the need of incorporating Quaid-e-Azam’s August 11 speech in curricula to ensure that future generations uphold the principles of a tolerant and plural Pakistan. As such Senator Rehman welcomed Jinnah Institute’s report, and painstaking research that included over 100 interviews, as an important step in the country’s quest for a tolerant and inclusive society.

Ali Dayan Hasan, who supervised and edited the report, noted that the state’s response to discrimination has become more nuanced in recent years. He noted that it was important for policy think-tanks in Pakistan to speak to minority rights issues in indigenous voices. Executive Director Christian Studies Centre, Jennifer Jag Jiwan took the opinion that bigotry, prejudice and bias cultivated the space for discrimination against marginalized groups. Religion is just one of several vectors responsible for discrimination in Pakistan. It is the foremost responsibility of any state to protect its citizens and not discriminate when it comes to different groups.

Ramesh Kumar Vankvani, MNA Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), noted that the Supreme Court in its seminal June 2014 judgment has given a roadmap to the government for ensuring that the rights of minorities in Pakistan are upheld according to the Constitution. He lamented that despite the passing of a year and a half, the SC judgement had yet to be implemented in its entirety. He highlighted that curricula reform was also essential to cultivate societal change.

Human rights advocate Tahira Abdullah praised the report as a significant contribution to the debate on minority rights. She urged the government to convene an inter-provincial meeting of education ministers to ensure that hate material is expediently removed from curricula across Pakistan.

Forced marriages, abductions and rape of Hindu girls were the overriding concerns of the Hindu community of Pakistan.  In 2015 alone, at least ten incidents of forced conversion, one case of rape and abduction, and two cases of desecration of worship places were reported. Shia Muslims continue to face some of the gravest consequences of religious intolerance in Pakistan

The report notes that recent years have witnessed an escalation in the persecution of minority communities in Pakistan. Faith-based violence and discrimination against non-Muslims is only half the story. Over time, extremists have also targeted Muslims from the minority sects of Islam. During the period, 2012-2014 at least 351 incidents of faith-based violence were reported across Pakistan. 43 attacks of varying intensity targeted the Christian community; seven churches were damaged; and 14 people were charged with blasphemy. 39 Ahmadis lost their lives in faith-based killings; the highest number of targeted killings were carried out in Sindh and Punjab. Little improvement was noticed in the socio-cultural attitudes of majority Muslim sects towards Ahmadis in Pakistan. Mass desecration of the Ahmadi graveyards was also reported.

Forced marriages, abductions and rape of Hindu girls were the overriding concerns of the Hindu community of Pakistan.  In 2015 alone, at least ten incidents of forced conversion, one case of rape and abduction, and two cases of desecration of worship places were reported. Shia Muslims continue to face some of the gravest consequences of religious intolerance in Pakistan. During 2012-2015, 23 attacks on the Imambargahs and 203 targeted killings took place. In addition, 1304 lives were lost in bomb blasts.

Until the launch of the National Action Plan (NAP) in December 2014, there was no high-level policy by the state to tackle the menace of faith-based violence and discrimination, even now progress on safeguarding minority groups remains uneven. Civil society, human rights advocates and sections of the media have been highlighting faith-based violence; and there were some gains made too. For example, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment in 2014 on minority rights, and a young Christian Rimsha Masih was acquitted of blasphemy in 2013. Similarly, the National Commission for Human Rights has been activated with a retired judge as its head, however its powers and remit remain limited.

The report highlights the following recommendations, among others, to improve the status of minorities in Pakistan:
1.   A parliamentary committee should undertake a review of constitutional provisions that spur discrimination against minority groups including the oaths administered to the office of high level officials of the state.
2.    The National Commission on Minorities should be given authority to take suo motu notice of discrimination and violence against minorities, with the ability to pursue public interest litigation to protect the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.
3.     The implementation on the June 2014 Supreme Court judgement should be carried out in its entirety and the progress of provinces monitored diligently.
4.     Full implementation of job quotas for minorities and protection of businesses owned by non-Muslim groups.
5.      Hate speech and hate campaigns need to be curbed by further strengthening existing legislation and policies.
6.       Curriculum reform through inclusion of messages of religious tolerance, and shunning of violent methods against non-Muslims is urgently required in support of the Supreme Court ruling.
7.       Intensive training of police forces across all provinces to ensure that they are equipped to deal with faith based violence in their areas with sensitivity.

Click here for full report in PDF format.

(Source: http://jinnah-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Minority-Report-2016.pdf)

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