Let me at the outset record my severest condemnation of the attacks on churches and homes of Christian community in Jaranwala which manifested extreme religious bigotry on the part of those who executed that nefarious plan. Unfortunately it was not the first incident of its kind. We have seen several such acts of bestiality in the past where minorities have been attacked by charged religious fanatics on the pretext of desecration of Holy Quran and Blasphemy. There is absolutely no justification whatsoever to indulge in such acts and if at all anybody is guilty of desecrating the Holy Book and of blasphemy it is for the state to punish him according to law of the land. Mob justice is the most abhorrent act from the constitutional, legal and religious point of view.
My discourse is aimed at reminding all those who are ignorant of their duties as citizens and as Muslims towards their fellow citizens, particularly minorities, as well as to the state in this regard. Allow me to begin from what was promised for the minorities in the Pakistan Resolution. The resolution while demanding grouping together of Muslim areas into an independent state also made mention of the rights of the minorities in these words “That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards should be specifically provided in the constitution for the minorities in these units and in these regions for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests in consultation with them.”
I would also like to mention excerpts from the address to the constituent Assembly of Pakistan by the Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, on 11 August 1947, in which he emphasized the equality of citizens and how Pakistan could become a prosperous state. He said “The first duty of a government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the State. You are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed— that has nothing to do with the business of the State. If you will work in cooperation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make.”
The Constitution of Pakistan also gives due protection to the minorities. Article 20 (a and b) of the Constitution says “Every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice and propagate his religion and every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions”. Article 25 says, “ All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law”.
“The Christians are my allies and they will enjoy my protection against all those whom they hate. Nobody will force them for travel or war and instead the Muslims will fight for them. No Christian woman will be forced to marry a Muslim and if any marries a Muslim of her free will she will not be stopped from going to the church. Their churches will be respected and protected.
In the light of the constitutional provisions, the Protection of Religious Minorities Rights Act 2020 prohibits interfaith forced marriages; grants freedom to profess religion and to manage religious institutions; prohibits discrimination and makes it obligatory on the government to maintain and protect religious heritage of minorities. The Act also prescribes various penalties in the form of imprisonment for violation of these rights of the minorities. There are also several courts decisions on this.
But the reality is that the constitutional guarantees and Acts providing protection to the minorities have not succeeded in deterring the religious extremists from attacking and persecuting minorities, especially the Christian community, on the pretext of desecration of Holy Quran and blasphemy. These ghastly acts have not only brought a bad name to Pakistan and portrayed the religion of Islam in dismal colours but have also threatened social harmony. In the attacks on churches in Jaranwala, reportedly copies of the Bible were also desecrated which takes away the moral element from our protestation against desecration of Holy Quran in other lands. It can also have serious consequences for the country at the global level.
According to the Punjab government what happened at Jaranwala was a sequel to a conspiracy for fomenting riots in the country. If that is the case and it has irrefutable evidence in this regard then no leniency must be shown to those who are responsible for it. The state should make an example of them so that nobody could even think of repeating the act ever again.
However, leaving aside everything, I would also like to remind the religious fanatics and extremists that what they are doing is also bereft of religious endorsement as is evident from the letter that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) wrote to the Christian community. The teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his words are part of the faith of all Muslims and their implementation is a religious obligation of an Islamic State.
The text reads “This message is from Muhammad (PBUH) son of Abdullah for Christians whether living near us or at far off places. It is a pledge that we are with them. Indeed me, my servants, my associates, my helpers and followers will protect them because Christians are also my citizens. By God I will refrain from anything which makes them unhappy. They will not be coerced or persecuted. Neither their judges nor any of the preachers will be removed from their positions. Nobody will destroy their religious places and damage them or remove anything from there and take it to the worship places of Muslims. If anybody removes anything from there he will be guilty of breaching the pledge of God and disobedience to the prophet.
“The Christians are my allies and they will enjoy my protection against all those whom they hate. Nobody will force them for travel or war and instead the Muslims will fight for them. No Christian woman will be forced to marry a Muslim and if any marries a Muslim of her free will she will not be stopped from going to the church. Their churches will be respected and protected. They will not be prevented from repairing their churches or abiding by their agreements. Nobody belonging to the Muslim Community will deviate from this covenant till the day of resurrection.” In the light of the contents of the Prophet (PBUH)’s letter the religious extremists must do serious rethinking about their Islamic credentials and judge their acts accordingly.
