Recent acts of violence and vandalism, in the temples situated in the town of Chachhro, district Tharparkar Sindh, draw our attention towards enduring harsh and cruel treatment of non-Muslim minorities in Pakistan. In the month of September 2019, similar acts of desecration of temples followed by the protests of Muslim bigots in Ghotki city, after the principal of the certain school was alleged by a Muslim student of speaking the blasphemous language made breaking news.

For a few years, religious bigotry and intolerance seem to have grown at a faster pace, in the region. In the words of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, “you may belong to any religion, caste or creed, that has nothing to do with the business of the state.” However, the words of the founder of Pakistan appear to have no meaning and importance, for what the state was prohibited to do it has kept doing, and religious extremism has become an integral part of the state’s business.

It should be understood that despite the country was created on the basis of Islamic ideology and on the demands of Muslims, the minority at the same time was given the right to the freedom of practicing its religion and regarded as equal citizens of Pakistan. Nobody was and is allowed to put on their religious practices restraints that aggravate the life of the minority communities. Islam itself brooks no discrimination, prejudice, and persecution on the basis of one’s faith, therefore made it incumbent on the majority to protect the lives of the minority (Charter of Madina Article 20).

Religious extremism in the region is believed to have its root in the government of the then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who, going against the principals of liberal democracy, amended constitutionally the status of Ahmadiya community into a non-Muslim minority. Motivated by Bhutto’s successful efforts in the declaration of Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974, General Zia-ul-Haq after toppling Z. A Bhutto imposed a fascist ideology of Islamization. Since then, religious tolerance has taken a nosedive across the country.

More than often, events of religious extremism in the form of afflictions on non-Muslim minorities are being witnessed. From acts of violence in the temples in Sindh to attacks on Christian churches in Punjab, Pakistan has seen its minority being deprived of the very basic right, that is, the freedom to exercise their religion without the suggestion of fear. Although the citizens from the minority apparently are seen to be enjoying the freedom given by the state, bout of fear always engulfs the minorities. Their living and practicing religion of their own with fear of “being attacked” has become a norm. Their places of worship are susceptible to attacks and desecration, as in the words of the victims, “Muslims glorify the attacks on the holy places of other religions.”

In case we are forgetting how Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan at the events of UNGA’s 74th summit talked about Islamophobia prevailing in the west, with the tongue that spat venom at the blasphemous cartoon contest in the Netherlands, concerned about initiatives to element the scourge, saying that the blasphemy of our beloved prophet hurts each and every Muslim across the world; time is ripe to remember that the way blasphemy hurts Muslims, it hurts the followers of other religions when their holy places are desecrated. They need the same initiatives that can forestall the bigots’ assaults on their holy places.

However, an undeniable fact is the incumbent government, like its predecessors, has failed to protect the minority’s rights that are guaranteed in Article 20(a) of the constitution of Pakistan– “every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice and propagate his religion.” In violation of the above article, the state hardly has sought to redress the injustice in the form of ‘breakage of gods of Hindus and forced conversion of young girls into Islam’ inflicted upon the people belonging to the minority community.

Before it’s too late to recover the loss, the government needs to understand the importance of the minority communities living in the country. The need to disparage and take action against the acts of religious bigotry and animosity can be seen by how the other world perceives it to be. Freedom of practice of religion reveals to what extent tolerant the people of a particular country are. Its importance can also be seen in the realms of tourism, foreign investment, and aid, participation in sports of foreign countries.

Pakistan can be seen, today, lagging behind the world in the above realms. Cricket has long been suspended, foreign investment a distant dream and tourism industry hasn’t done justice to the beauty and strangeness of Pakistan despite the country has been ranked at the top of the list in holiday destinations for 2020, by US-based publication “Conde Nast Traveler”. The more the restraint on religious bigotry the more likely are chances for the foreign investment flowing in the country for the delivery of economic growth and prosperity.

Other reasons apart, religious diversity and tolerance ought to be valued, not because it teaches you about different religious practices and norms; how to maintain coordination and collaboration and develop a sense of tolerance, but because the followers of other religions are also human beings and have similar religious obligations to act upon, as of Muslims. Imran Khan must consider before delivering tirades on Islamophobia in the West the elimination of the persecution of the minority in the state of Pakistan whereof the incumbent PM he is. (Courtesy Daily Times, Lahore)

–by Afaque Ahmed
The writer is a student of M.A English Literature at the Shah Abdul University of Khairpur

https://dailytimes.com.pk/551556/minority-persecution-at-the-hands-of-bigots/