Misconceptions about the Jamaat
KARACHI: This is with reference
to the article “Misconceptions about the Jamaat” (April 17). I was once a
supporter of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), but when I saw its activists disrupting
musical functions and beating up male and female students seated together on
benches in Karachi University, I became disillusioned with the party. From what
I have observed, the only intelligent head of this party was the late Qazi
Hussain Ahmed.
Once, during an hour-long chat with him, he told me that an
Islamic society is permitted to punish only those who are guilty of theft,
murder and illicit sex. There is no punishment in Islam for ‘sins’ like being
clean-shaven. He also said that there is no punishment (neither in this world
or the Hereafter) for a woman who does not observe purdah. Compare this with
former JI chief Syed Munawwar Hassan’s fatwa about rape victims or his
statement that soldiers who were killed by the Taliban cannot be called
martyrs. Because of such radical elements in the party, it is very likely that
if the JI ever gets a two-thirds majority in Parliament (in coalition with
other religious parties) it will immediately ban all forms of entertainment
(like movies, theatre and television).
Shakir Lakhani
Published in The Express Tribune, April 18th, 2014.
Post a Comment