Islam is a religion which brought light to darkness of ignorance and gave guiding principles to spend a successful life. It is a religion of peace and preaches tolerance. People who have distorted Islamic ideology to fit their own agendas do not realise that extremism is a way to ignorance rather than martyrdom. A true Muslim could never be in favour of killing anyone in the world. Guardians of extremist should know that they are not just collecting money but fire of hell as well.
National interests of Pakistan have been affected far more than any other country due to the extremist’s activities. Education is the only weapon to defeat extremism. Our national media can play a vital role to fulfil this purpose. It is the need of the hour to teach our young generation the value of harmony and tolerance. “Seek knowledge whether you have to travel China” is one of the famous quotes of Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). But these so-called Taliban destroyed the educational institutes in different cities by rebelling against the state. These so-called Taliban ask people for charity and then killed their loved ones by purchasing weapons from that very money. Can these people be called Muslims?
These extremists are busy weakening Pakistan. We cannot allow a few extremist to hijack Pakistan. People should help the state to get rid of this tumour of extremism. For the moment, Pakistan has more of an internal threat than an external one. It is the extremists who are a threat to Pakistan rather than the allies operating in Afghanistan. These are forces of ignorance and we should use the power of education to combat them. Education is one of the most neglected areas in the country but that must change as it is the only long-term solution to the menace plaguing us.
SAIMA SHAHZADI
Lahore
