ISLAM AT THE CR0SS-ROADS
ISLAM AT THE CR0SS-ROADS
Islam is a basic religion; some would even call it
simplistic. It is a religion of complete surrender and it does
not permit asking questions about the dictates of the holy
books.
In the past, the Moslems formed a body of people, to
whom, spreading the message of Islam by conquest was the
accepted way of life. As long as there were fresh lands to
conquer, non-Moslem rulers to rebel against, kafirs to plunder,
everything went on as usual. Battles were fought, non-Moslem
populations subdued and the codes of Islam clamped down.
However, once the conquest was arrested for whatever
reason, the Islamic countries found themselves in trouble.
Quarrels started between opposing factions. Each side claim-
ed the support of Allah. After the decline of the Arabs, the
Turks took over and the caliphate went to the Turks. Some
owed allegiance to the Turkish caliph but some did not. Thus,
when Aurangzib ascended the throne in India, a powerful
country at the time, he called himself the new caliph without
paying any attention to the then existing caliphate in Turkey.
The current fight between the Shiites and the Sunnis in
the Middle East is a case in point. There are no more Hindus
or Sikhs or Christians worth mentioning in Pakistan any more.
You cannot attack these non-Moslems for the simple reason
that they are not there. It is similar to not being able to have
a headache, if the head is missing. But the previously existing
unity among the Moslems of different factions seems to have
disappeared. Now is the time to fight among themselves. The
new object of persecution are the Ahmediyyas, who are being
dubbed as non-Moslems. The Shia-Sunni fight in Karachi in
recent weeks has taken an ominous turn to the worse.
The real difficulty is caused by the inherent change that
our world is subject to. Islam is a rigid religion and no change
or improvement is permitted in its practice. The other
countries where Islam is not followed, are progressing forward,
leaving the Moslems behind. In non-Moslem countries, pursuits
in science, arts, education, medicine, physical well-being and
intellectual development are being encouraged among men and
women alike. But in a Moslem country, it is forbidden for a
Moslem woman to be a judge or a lawyer or a ruler and
administrator. The world outside seems to get on well with a
leader like Britian's Mrs. Thatcher. The United States seems
to be quite comfortable with women in the nation's topmost
judicial or administrative positions. Several metropolises in
America have women mayors; the number of women doctors,
nurses, educationists, writers, thinkers and other important
professions runs into millions. The progress of women in all
non-lslamic countries has been extraordinary in recent years.
Scientists like Madame Curie, women astronauts and climbers
of the Everest, gymnasts, poets and even executives in big
corporations are accepted by non-Moslem societies as a
matter of course today. But the Koran is dead against Moslem
women undertaking similar responsibilities in Islamic coun-
tries.
Although Ghazzali harped on the so-called weaknesses of
women, he failed to see the strength that is inherent in the
female of the human species. Women who are the mothers of
the human race have a tendency to be a great deal more
compassionate, tolerant and understanding than average men.
The special values of women seem to have been ignored by the
proponents of Islam. If the women in Islamic countries are
still imprisoned in the 'harem' or its modern equivalent 'the
four walls' then the future progress of the Moslem countries is
surely going to be negated.
Improvement of the race can only come from freedom
and more educated mothers. The mother is the best teacher a
child can have. An uneducated or even an educated mother,
who lives in an atmosphere of uncertainty of divorce, feels
very insecure. This insecurity during his formative years,
seeps into the child. He grows up to be a very sad child and
eventually takes out his hostilities on others at the slightest
pretext, when he grows up and faces the world outside. The
extraordinary intolerance, cruelty and selfishness that one
comes across in Moslems, may stem from this unhappy child-
hood environment which created abnormal personality and
behavioral traits passed on by the unhappy mother.
Time has come for the Moslems, in all walks of life, to
rectify the situation, regardless of what the mullah says and
that includes guys like Khomeini of Iran and Bukhari of India.
The alternative is surely going to be as dismal as before. This
is an item of social reform that cannot be postponed ad
infinitum. The price may be too high, if Moslem women are
still left behind in order to propagate the Moslem way of life.
At the same time, the Moslems today must treat the
non-Moslems as equals in their own countries. They should
have the same rights of propagating their religious systems,
cultural values in Islamic countries as the Moslem minorities
demand in non-Moslem countries and enjoy. Chasing them
away has weakened many Islamic countries. Today the Islamic
countries in the Middle East are practically devoid of all other
religious minorities due to the intolerance preached by Islam
and its followers. The rule of the mullah is supreme and even
if a Moslem leader appears who is more liberal than a
fanatical fundamentalist, the mullah seems to succeed in
getting him out or assassinated. The people do not seem to
have any recourse in the matter. The run of the mill Moslem
is really very passive in such matters. The Islamic countries
are thus denied the special contributions that people of
different backgrounds can make. The United States is a good
example. Here a Moslem can practice his religion as long as
he does not impose it on others by force. But a Christian
cannot go to Church in a Moslem country like Kuwait or Saudi
Arabia. They cannot decorate their homes on the happy
occasion of Christmas. All decorations have to be carefully
hidden from public view. Christians have to pray to God in
total secrecy and isolation, devoid of community access to
sharing their beliefs as brethren. There should be a limit to
intolerance! How would the Moslem minorities feel if all non-
Moslem countries imposed similar rules against their religion?
There are important aspects of judging a nation of people, its
religion, and ultimately its sense of morality and relevance to
today's world. A great responsibility lies with the Moslems
themselves, and if nothing is done soon, then Islam will
continue to be synonymous with terrorism, death and bar-
barity.
The news report on Pakistan today taken from Indiats
renowned Illustrated Weekly of India dated February 27,
1983 is illustrative of Islam's treatment of its own followers
especially the women:
Inside Pakistan Today--1
Women Are Not For Whipping
Strange indeed, are the doings of Pakistan's mullahs, moulvis,
and military rulers. The country's new laws have reduced
women to helpless targets.
by Lopamudra
For the first time in Pakistan a few weeks ago a woman
was publicly whipped at Swat, Peshawar. Her husband had
charged her with infidelity. The woman was arrested and a
case against her filed under the Islamic Hudood Ordinance by
the sessions Judge at Swat. She was sentenced to five years'
imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000. Her appeal to the Federal
Shariat Court was set aside. That was not all. She was
publicly given 20 lashes. Pakistani women organised a
Women's Action Forum against this "cruel game" and
voiced
their protest to General Zia but to no effect.
Last year in September an 18-year-old girl, Fahmida,
was administered 100 whips and her lover, Allah Bux, a bus
driver, was sentenced to be stoned to death publicly. This
sentence is, however, yet to be carried out.
Fahmida, a Std X student of the Prince Karim Aga
Khan School, had produced papers of her marriage to the
driver, which were rejected on the ground that at the time
of marriage she was pregnant.
Eight prominent women's organizations in Karachi
formed a Women's Action Forum, collected signatures against
the Shariat order and sent them to general Zia. Fahmida's
sentence was suspended till the disposal of her appeal in
the Shariat Court, but it is feared that, after Swat, it may
fare no better.
Not content with corporal punishment, the mullahs
continue to heap atrocities on hapless women. In October,
a new-born child was stoned to death near a mosque in Karachi.
A, mullah on seeing a crying child on the stairs of the mosque,
gave the 'fatwa' (without making any inquiry) that the child
divas illegitimate, and should be stoned to death. The first
Stone was thrown by the mullah himself. Thereafter a mad
crowd showered the child with stones. When a few passers
by tried to save it, they too were injured. The daily 'Dawn'
further stated that witnesses were threatened with dire
consequences if the news was leaked to the press. Fortunately,
however, the press 'aid' get the information.
Strange are the doings of such mullahs, moulvis and
military rulers. Dr. Asrar Ahmed, one of the leading religious
scholars, has petitioned the 'Majlis-e-Shoora' (Federal Council)
that since women are responsible for the growing rise in
sex crimes they should not be appointed to Government
posts or selected for the 'Majlis-e-Shoora' and other
institutions,
but confined to their homes.
It is also proposed to reduce the marriageable age
for girls in Pakistan under the Islamic law from 18 to 15.
Besides, a demand has been tabled in the Federal Council
to rescind the Family Law Ordinance which says that a man
cannot marry a second time without the first wife's permission.
The Woman's Value
General Zia has further issued a law which fixes a
woman's value as half that of aman's. According to this law,
if a man is murdered, the victim's next of kin can demand
either the death of the murderer or accept in lieu of it 4.36
kg of gold as compensation. If the victim is a woman, only
half this quantity of gold is to be paid.
There is also a strong movement all over Pakistan
for keeping women in 'purdah'. Yet another indignity is
an order instructing female TV announcers to keep their
heads covered. In fact, a popular TV announcer was sacked
for failing to comply with it. The mullahs propound a ridiculous
justification. If women remain bare-headed, they emit rays
that harm men.
An inevitable consequence of these harsh rules (of
confining women within the four walls of their homes) is
the phenomenon of kidnapping. Even worse is the actual
sale of girls by their parents, another common occurrence.
Not only is crime against women in Pakistan on the
rise, with an ever-increasing number of rape incidents and
wife-burning, but it is only the women who are the helpless
targets of new laws.
Only recently a lawyer, Ansari Barri, had filed a petition
in Pakistan's Federal Shariat Court that women's appointment
to the posts of judges, etc. should be declared illegal. Fortu-
nately, the full bench of the Federal Shariat Court gave a
decision that it is not against Islam to appoint women as kazis,
judges and magistrates.
Though the women have won this battle, there is no
end to the prejudices against them. Two separate medical
colleges have been opened for women. But according to
a prominent teacher, Anita Gulam All, the girls grduating
from these colleges will get fewer opportunities than men
to further their career.
At present only 11 per cent of the total population of
women in Pakistan is literate. Of the 6S lakh school-going
children, only 20 lakh are girls.
Women doctors, lawyers, professors, judges etc. are
being continually discouraged from providing serious competi-
tion to their male counterparts. In the same strain, women
athletes have been forbidden to participate in international
sports competitions, the Asiad being the most recent example.
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