"God forbid! Professor Arnold Toynbee is not foreboding!"
I, vividly, recall the caption of an article contributed by Professor Toynbee in early 1950's and reproduced by the daily Pakistan Times, which was a very popular daily of the Progressive Group.
The caption was, 'The force that made Pakistan shall unmake it - Religion.'
This was most probably in context of anti-Qadiyani movement riots in Punjab, which aggravated to the extent that the ever first martial law was imposed to cover Lahore on 6th March, 1953.
Earlier to that, a riotous mob ignited by Molvi Abdus Sattar Niazi had killed a Deputy Superintendent of police, Syed Firdous Shah, who was a first cousin of mine. An inquiry commission to probe into causes and effects of these riots was constituted under Justice Munir Commission. It took him a long time to conclude a report which was made public in 1954.
The conclusion of the commission was, "It shows that our ulema are not even able to agree on a definition of who a Muslim is. Justice Munir had called heads of all Islamic schools of thought and asked them the definition of a Muslim. No two ulema agreed. It also exposes the pusillanimity of our so-called scholars of Islam and their near-total disregard of the beauty and generosity of Islam." This report was never challenged by any sect or denomination of Muslims, either in Pakistan or elsewhere in the world for quashment by superior judiciary.
It is an irrefutable historic fact that disintegration of Pakistan resulting in the establishment of Bangladesh was facilitated by As-Shams and Al-Badr, armed groups of Jammat-i-Islami, who were fighting against Awami League's separation movement led by Mujeeb Ur Rehman.
Recently, the leaders of Jammat-I-Islami, who had sponsored the above two groups in East Pakistan have been convicted for war crimes by Bangladesh court and awarded sentences from death to long-terms of imprisonment.
The present day sectarian riots in Pakistan erect from the controversies about the definition of a Muslim, as pointed out by Justice Munir. This time all the major sects of Muslims, for examples Shias, Sunnis, Wahabis and Kharjites are all available in Pakistan. And each one, not recognizing the other as Muslims. The pro-Saudis, Deobandis, Wahabis and Kharjites openly, in their mosques declare the other sects which are Shia and Sunni to be infidels and culpable of a punishment meant for renegades.
It is for these reasons that on the tenth and eleventh of Muharram, 1435 AH, there have been murders, arsenals and plunders in quite a few cities of Pakistan. There is no religious leader in Pakistan, whose opinion or concern may be accepted by all the Muslims stricto senseo Islamic. To add to this, there is no political leader in the country who may have status of a national leader! Political leadership lacks sagacity. By imposing Zia-ul-Haq on Pakistan, sequel to Saudi-American conspiracy, the present aggravated sectarian situation has been nurtured by both America and Saudi Arabia in Pakistan. Amidst, lack of political wisdom, want of sincerity of so-called religious leadership greed of both religious and political leaders to rob and plunder the country, whether in the name of faith or change in system or factors which are in fact incurable, cancerous ailments!
The Rawalpindi catastrophe of tenth Muharram and the subsequent riots in the various parts of the country are definitely doings of clerics, whether from one sect or the other. And worse, is the fact the same clerics are being treated as the healers of the disease, who caused it. It is blamed that the present party in power in Pakistan has been brought to the corridors of power by the terrorist organizations.
It is also intriguing that on both the critical dates, that is 1st November 2013 and tenth of Muharram, 1435 AH, the Prime Minister was ,coincidentally or conveniently, absent from the country.
God forbid! Professor Toynbee may not be foreboding because when the ship is engulfed in a storm, its captain is elsewhere in a lifeboat!
I, vividly, recall the caption of an article contributed by Professor Toynbee in early 1950's and reproduced by the daily Pakistan Times, which was a very popular daily of the Progressive Group.
The caption was, 'The force that made Pakistan shall unmake it - Religion.'
This was most probably in context of anti-Qadiyani movement riots in Punjab, which aggravated to the extent that the ever first martial law was imposed to cover Lahore on 6th March, 1953.
Earlier to that, a riotous mob ignited by Molvi Abdus Sattar Niazi had killed a Deputy Superintendent of police, Syed Firdous Shah, who was a first cousin of mine. An inquiry commission to probe into causes and effects of these riots was constituted under Justice Munir Commission. It took him a long time to conclude a report which was made public in 1954.
The conclusion of the commission was, "It shows that our ulema are not even able to agree on a definition of who a Muslim is. Justice Munir had called heads of all Islamic schools of thought and asked them the definition of a Muslim. No two ulema agreed. It also exposes the pusillanimity of our so-called scholars of Islam and their near-total disregard of the beauty and generosity of Islam." This report was never challenged by any sect or denomination of Muslims, either in Pakistan or elsewhere in the world for quashment by superior judiciary.
It is an irrefutable historic fact that disintegration of Pakistan resulting in the establishment of Bangladesh was facilitated by As-Shams and Al-Badr, armed groups of Jammat-i-Islami, who were fighting against Awami League's separation movement led by Mujeeb Ur Rehman.
Recently, the leaders of Jammat-I-Islami, who had sponsored the above two groups in East Pakistan have been convicted for war crimes by Bangladesh court and awarded sentences from death to long-terms of imprisonment.
The present day sectarian riots in Pakistan erect from the controversies about the definition of a Muslim, as pointed out by Justice Munir. This time all the major sects of Muslims, for examples Shias, Sunnis, Wahabis and Kharjites are all available in Pakistan. And each one, not recognizing the other as Muslims. The pro-Saudis, Deobandis, Wahabis and Kharjites openly, in their mosques declare the other sects which are Shia and Sunni to be infidels and culpable of a punishment meant for renegades.
It is for these reasons that on the tenth and eleventh of Muharram, 1435 AH, there have been murders, arsenals and plunders in quite a few cities of Pakistan. There is no religious leader in Pakistan, whose opinion or concern may be accepted by all the Muslims stricto senseo Islamic. To add to this, there is no political leader in the country who may have status of a national leader! Political leadership lacks sagacity. By imposing Zia-ul-Haq on Pakistan, sequel to Saudi-American conspiracy, the present aggravated sectarian situation has been nurtured by both America and Saudi Arabia in Pakistan. Amidst, lack of political wisdom, want of sincerity of so-called religious leadership greed of both religious and political leaders to rob and plunder the country, whether in the name of faith or change in system or factors which are in fact incurable, cancerous ailments!
The Rawalpindi catastrophe of tenth Muharram and the subsequent riots in the various parts of the country are definitely doings of clerics, whether from one sect or the other. And worse, is the fact the same clerics are being treated as the healers of the disease, who caused it. It is blamed that the present party in power in Pakistan has been brought to the corridors of power by the terrorist organizations.
It is also intriguing that on both the critical dates, that is 1st November 2013 and tenth of Muharram, 1435 AH, the Prime Minister was ,coincidentally or conveniently, absent from the country.
God forbid! Professor Toynbee may not be foreboding because when the ship is engulfed in a storm, its captain is elsewhere in a lifeboat!