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John Manohar Yaqub The most celebrated poet of Pakistan, Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) dreamed of having a separate homeland for the Muslims of India. This dream was fulfilled by Mohammad Ali Jinnah in 1947 in the formation of newly born country Pakistan. Along with the Muslims, the minorities also inherited the land. The flag of the country represents it well in white and green. The smaller white portion depicts the minorities. Of 5-6 % 0f all the minorities in Pakistan Christians are second and are only 1.6 % of the country’s population. Mohammad Ali Jinnah better known as ‘Quid-e Azam’ (the great leader) was supported of national unity. In his public speeches he emphasized this very strongly. Bellow are a few quotes from his addresses. 25th October 1947. Interview with Reuters’ Duncan Hooper note: Minorities DO NOT cease to be citizens. Minorities living in Pakistan or Hindustan do not cease to be citizens of their respective states by virtue of their belonging to particular faith, religion or race. I have repeatedly made it clear, especially in my opening speech to the constituent Assembly, that the minorities in Pakistan would be treated as our citizens and will enjoy all the rights as any other community. Pakistan SHALL pursue this policy and do all it can to create a sense of security and confidence in the Non-Muslim minorities of Pakistan. We do not prescribe any school boy tests for their loyalty. We shall not say to any Hindu citizen of Pakistan ‘if there was war would you shoot a Hindu?’ 30th October 1947. To a Mass Rally at University Stadium Lahore. The tenets of Islam enjoin on every Musalman ( Muslim) to give protection to his neighbors and to the Minorities regardless of caste and creed. We must make it a matter of our honor and prestige to create sense of security amongst them. Same Day. On Radio Pakistan. Protection of Minorities is a sacred undertaking. (On Partition Massacres) Humanity cries out loud against this shameful conduct and deeds. The civilized world is looking upon these doings and happenings with horror and the fair name of the communities concerned stands blackened. Put an end to this ruthlessly and with an Iron hand. Of so many other speeches of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, here are only three quotes in which the father of the nation has emphasized for the protection of minorities in Pakistan. In fact he called it a sacred undertaking for the Muslims to provide a sense of security to the minorities. All minorities of Pakistan are to enjoy all the rights as any other community. Sadly this has not been the fate of the minorities of Pakistan! As intended by the fathers of the nation, originally, the state of Pakistan was officially secular. Mohammad Ali Jinnah was only in power for 13 months before he died. With him died the dream of a secular nation. On August 14th Pakistan will be celebrating 63rd year of independence but how independent are minorities in Pakistan. How much of freedom the Christians have to express their faith. Unfortunately they are still treated as second class citizens. In fact on several occasion religious leaders in Pakistan have insisted to have a special colored clothes for the minorities. Even some have said “embrace Islam or leave the country. ” Yet for the worst, some leaders have stated, “become a Muslim or prepare to die!” Every now and then a sense of insecurity has been felt by the minorities of Pakistan and article 295 of the constitution of Pakistan has taken it to extreme. The blasphemy laws as they are now employed derive from amendments made in the 1980s to Pakistan's Penal Code (PPC). In 1980, late president Zia-ul-Haq introduced a Majlis-e-Shura (a council) of unelected advisers – many from the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party – to replace parliament. Later, he enacted sham elections. Zia ul-Haq retained connections with religious extremists, such as Maulana Muhammad Abdullah. As of this law. several sections of 295 forbids damaging or defiling a place of worship or a sacred object. § 295-A forbids outraging religious feelings. § 295-B forbids defiling the Quran. § 295-C forbids defaming Prophet Mohammed. Except for § 295-C, the provisions of § 295 require that an offence be a consequence of the accused's intent. The death penalty option to Section 295-C was added in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, III of 1986, S. 2 More than 96% of Pakistan's 167 million citizens (2008) are Muslims, and none of 1.6 % minority Christian have ever intended to damage or defile a mosque (a Muslim place of worship. None of them have defiled the holy book of Islam, the Quran and none of them have said any ill words to defame prophet Mohammed. Because everyone knows the consequences. In fact all the cases in this regard were without evidence and many innocent Christians have lost their lives. Pakistani Muslims have failed to provide security that the for fathers had intended. They have failed to protect the innocent from being raped in the name of Islam. They have failed to secure the properties of their minorities and they have failed to save the lives of innocents, blood of Christian being shed with false accusations. The blasphemy law has been misused against the minorities and Christians in particular. This law has been used for harassment, threats, and attacks. Shanti Nagar, Gojra and the most recent of Faisalabad in July 2010 are a few examples of these heinous acts. Any Muslim can say they disagree with the for fathers of the Islamic state of Pakistan. But I want them to consider the following. What the Quran itself say about the minorities in an Islamic country. The irony of this reality is that in seeking to impose Islamic law and create an Islamic state, Islamists are actually in direct opposition to the spirit and letter of the Quran. The Quran is very explicit when it says “there is no compulsion in religion,” (Quran 2: 256). Elsewhere the Quran exhorts Jews to live by the laws revealed to them in the Torah. In fact The Quran expresses surprise that some Jews sought the arbitration of the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) rather than their own legal tradition (5:43). The Quran also orders Christians to live by their faith; “So let the people of the Gospel judge by that which Allah has revealed therein, for he who judges not by that which Allah has revealed is a sinner,” (Quran 5:47). In Islamic Moral Stories Akramulla Syed quotes, ‘An Ansar (emigrant) came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and said that he has recently purchased a house in a particular area and that his nearest person was such that he had no hope of any goodness from him and that he felt unsafe from his mischief. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) told Imam Ali (as), Salman Al-Farsi, Abu Zar Ghaffari and Miqdad ibn Aswad to go to the Mosque and announce: "He is not a believer whose neighbour is unsafe from his mischief." From these verses of Quran and the quotes from Hadith, it is abundantly clear that an Islamic state must advocate religious pluralism even to the extent of permitting multiple legal systems. The government of Pakistan needs to eliminate the elements in the judicial system that promote harassment and threats to the minorities and let them have the fundamental rights as enjoyed by the Muslim minorities in western countries. In the light of the above Quranic instructions, I would urge every Pakistan Muslim to take this matter very seriously. Every Muslim has the responsibility to protect the lives of innocents and they have the sacred duty to protect the minorities. “ And he (Jesus) said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets.
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