Out of sync

Both CII and the present government

The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has taken another controversial decision which is likely to cause uproar among human rights bodies and organisations fighting for women’s rights. Talking to media on Tuesday Maulana Shirani rubbished existing legal provisions to discourage polygamy to be against religious teachings. According to him, as Sharia allows men to have more than one wife the laws need to be amended. Last year the CII kicked up a controversy when it ruled out DNA tests as primary evidence in cases of rape. The CII’s view was challenged by well known Islamic scholar Javed Ghamidi who supported the tests as valid evidence. The CII has also declared the provisions of Women’s Protection Act 2006 as out of line with Islamic injunctions. Last year the Council first approved the draft of a resolution recommending amendments to the blasphemy law to discourage levelling false allegations. However, soon the hardliners in the CII joined hands to strike down the proposed resolution.

The CII is a constitutional body formed to bring all existing laws in conformity with the injunctions of Islam. The constitution however empowers the President to appoint members of the CII from amongst persons having knowledge of Islam as enunciated in the Holy Quran and Sunnah, or having an understanding of the economic, political, legal and administrative problems of Pakistan. The President is authorised to appoint the Chairman of the CII also. The Council is envisioned as a think tank of scholars well versed both in the Islamic teachings and the major socio-economic-juridical issues facing the modern society. One expects it to be manned by outstanding figures specialising in their respective fields and well aware of the needs of the age they live in. Political exigencies on the part of successive governments have however led them to appoint people who share the primitive thinking of the Taliban and are unable to comprehend the complex issues the Pakistani state is called upon to deal with. The appointment of Shirani as CII Chairman, despite protests by civil society organisations, was described by media as an Eid gift by former President Zardari to placate an alienated JUI-F chief Fazalur Rehman. Nawaz Sharif who is far less dependant on allies like JUI-F has given Shirani another three-year tenure presumably on account of shared ideological leanings.

Unlike a theocracy where clerics interpret the will of God, Pakistan is a democracy where the final decision on law making lies with the Parliament. There being no priesthood in Islam, the parliament has to exercise the right of ijtehad in matters related to Islamic faith. There, however, seems to be no end to the country’s misery when the major party in parliament shares the views of the extremist fringe on crucial issues like the rights of women and minorities and economic matters like bank interest.