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08 Apr 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com
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The founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, wanted a separate country for Muslims but his political upbringing in a pluralist society prevented him from declaring Pakistan an Islamic state. Contrary to the general perception in India, Mr Jinnah was arguably a secular and liberal Muslim who wanted a Pakistan where all citizens would be equal in the eyes of the constitution irrespective of their religion, caste or creed. But leaders like Liaqat Ali Khan and power hungry opportunistic religious leaders wanted it to be otherwise. In this beautifully written series titled, "Objectives Resolution and Secularism", Mr Wajahat Masood delves deep into history to find out how Jinnah's dream of a secular and democratic Pakistan was shattered. – Editor
In Muslim sultanates many a anti-Shariah step would be taken in the presence of ulama and oppressive orders and instructions used to be issued. But except some bright examples, the ulama never dared to oppose them. During the kingdoms after the fall of the Abbasid caliphate the ulama had enjoyed the status of advisors ( and of course, declared jihad as and when required.)but they did not have the courage to demand that the reigns of the kingdom be handed over to them so that they could run the government according to the Islamic sharia system.
This is a historical fact that in Muslim governments the army enjoyed greater powers and influence than the religious peshwas. In fact, the demand for the Islamic laws by the religious peshwas after the formation of Pakistan got the fillip from some specific conditions and circumstances which arose accidentally and which had no relation with the original plan of the division of the country. Before going into the detail, let's have a look on the demands for forming the government of Pakistan on the basis of Islamic shariah. -- Wajahat Masood
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| Objectives Resolution and secularism—Part VIII | |
By Wajahat Masood
(Translated from Urdu by Sohail Arshad)
In Muslim sultanates many a anti-Shariah step would be taken in the presence of ulama and oppressive orders and instructions used to be issued. But except some bright examples, the ulama never dared to oppose them. During the kingdoms after the fall of the Abbasid caliphate the ulama had enjoyed the status of advisors ( and of course, declared jihad as and when required.)but they did not have the courage to demand that the reigns of the kingdom be handed over to them so that they could run the government according to the Islamic sharia system.
This is a historical fact that in Muslim governments the army enjoyed greater powers and influence than the religious peshwas. in fact, the demand for the Islamic laws by the religious peshwas after the formation of Pakistan got a fillip from some specific conditions and circumstances which arose accidentally and which had no relation with the original plan of the division of the country. Before going into the detail, let's have a look on the demands for forming the government of Pakistan on the basis of Islamic shariah. -- Wajahat Masood
In Februrary 1948, Maulvi Shabbir Ahmad Usmani gave a notice to the speaker of the Legislative Assembly to present two resolutions. The first resolution said," Since the Muslims had demanded Pakistan with the purpose to establish an independent state where they could live according to Islamic laws and shariah and shape their society based on them and since the citizens of Pakistan have been waiting to achieve these noble objectives anxiously and the constitution will be based on Islamic shariah, the Assembly presents this resolution that an advisory committee should be constituted comprising prominent ulama and Islamic thinkers which will make recommendations for the preparation of the constitution according to Islamic Shariah."
It should be mentioned that February 1948 was the time when the serious differences on the question of the national language had come to the fore and Qaid-e-Azam had faced harsh criticism on this issue during his visit to the East Pakistan in the first week of February.
It is interesting to note that the resolution presented by Shabbir Ahmad Usmani did not mention federal units, economy, education and the foreign policy because the understanding of these complexities was not expected from an imam of Hyderabad Deccan. This is to put the historical records straight that the proposal to include Qaid-e-Azam's name in the address of Friday prayers also occurred to Maulana's mind. Maulana's second proposal was also in direct accordance with the interests of the religious peshwas. Please have a look at the text:
"To take the first immediate step towards the fulfilment of the desire of the people of Pakistan to mould their life according to the Islamic shariah, the Legislature presents the resolution that a legislative body be constituted which will perform duties relating to the functioning of Islamic religious institutions and Awkaaf, the advancement and propagation of Islamic education and other affairs."
Please pay attention to the term 'legislative body'. People wrongly pull Maulvi Zafar Ahmad Ansari's leg. Maulana did not think it necessary to explain when and where the people of Pakistan expressed their 'desire' to Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. Today the TV channels are unjustifiably criticised for presenting their own 'desires' as the people's demands.
On March 29, 1948, a resolution was passed in a conference at Jama Masjid Kalan Wazirabad, presided by Maulvi Bahaul Haque Qasmi Amritsari (famous columninst Ataul Haque Qasmi's father) in which it was demanded that foremost it should accept this basic principle that Pakistan was an Islamic state, its official religion will be Islam and the Quran will be its law.
It was a surprising demand. Faith is something which belongs to human conscience and understanding. Inanimate objects and living beings other than human beings cannot be blessed with faith. State is only the name of a collective arrangement and within the confines of a state, citizens having different beliefs live. The establishment of a state comes into existence with the help of a social agreement of individuals, groups and logics inhabiting within a particular geographical limit. In this social agreement, the followers of different beliefs have the status of constituents. The official religion of a state is synonymous with discriminatory treatment of citizens having beliefs in religions other than the official religion.
The other angle of this issue is that in every ancient and organised religion in the world internal differences in beliefs are found. This gives birth to sects. These sectarian differences cannot be ignored as superficial. These sects come into existence because one sect considers the beliefs of the other wrong and against its own beliefs. In Christian history the Catholics and the Protestants fought with each other for centuries. In Muslim history, different Muslim groups have shed each other’s blood without blinking an eye due to the differences in beliefs. It's not surprising then that in a meeting under the Jafri Conference in Lyallpur in March 1948, it was demanded that "While working on the Constitution of Pakistan, the Shia fiqh( jurisprudence) should also be kept in mind and two Shia ulama should be included in the Legislative body."
On this occasion the leader of the Jama'at-e-Islami, Abul Ala Maududi also thought it necessary to revise his stand that "Pakistan will necessarily be formed as a democratic secular state". His view was that after the evacuation of non-Muslims from West Pakistan, an Islamic government based on his concept of the government of Allah could be established. Later when the committee investigating the Punjab riots in 1953 asked him the reasons of his political somersault, he replied, "In 1946 the percentage of the non-Muslim population was 26 (in Punjab it was 44--W. Masood).Now these non-Muslims have gone from here. Moreover, in East Pakistan too, the proportion of non-Muslims has come down. If a separate state was established out of the East Pakistan, it would be difficult to impose Islamic system because the non-Muslim population is still 25%."
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9:34 PM
Sultan Shahin
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