Mullahs – defying logic

They don’t practise what they preach

Last week, Jamaat-e-Islami submitted a long list of ‘objectionable material’ that it found in the KP textbooks to Elementary and Secondary Education Department of KP. Along with the list was a letter by JI chief, Sirajul Haq, requesting the E&SE Minister to take notice of the issue.

“Please remove flaws from the textbooks due to which unrest has been spread at large scale and inform me in this regard,” he wrote in the letter.

The ‘objectionable material’ includes diagrams of human organs in biology textbooks, and pictures of children in Western attire, among others.

JI even objected to the uniform of students, which includes coat, tie, shirt and shoes.

Ironically, Jamaat-e-Islami chief named these to be the reason of unrest in our society. Clearly, this is a non-issue, like Valentine’s Day, which became a part of intellectual debate in the country. Reason fails to comprehend how diagrams of human body or a couple celebrating the spirit of love create unrest in the country?

It is not only Jamaat-e-Islami which objects on such petty things. This has been the case with all of the right wing religious parties as ‘war against Western culture’ is on top of their manifestos.

These parties have historically sympathised with the cause of Islamist terrorists, as well as giving birth to many.

National Assembly Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony recently rejected a bill to curb child marriage after Council of Islamic Ideology declared it ‘un-Islamic’. Can someone tell what is more absurd and vulgar than marrying a child?

Since the main contention of religious right is ‘vulgarity’ and ‘obscenity’, let’s take a look into books of some of the leading religious figures in Pakistan and see what is vulgar and what is not.

Mufti Rasheed Ahmed, often termed as ‘Mufti-i-Azam’ by Deobandis is one of the leading clerics. When reading through compilation of his fatwas, ‘Ahsanul Fatawa’, I found him to be rabidly against women, modernity and attaining education.

When asked if it was allowed for women to pursue studies in medical, Mufti Rasheed’s response was that it was haram due to several reasons; it’s mostly co-education and even if it is not, the teachers are male. He also decreed dissecting a human body for studying anatomy to be against the rulings of Islam. (Ahsanul Fatawa, Page 33, 34, Volume 8)

At another point, he decreed medical education to be forbidden altogether, terming dissecting of human bodies to be the reason. (Page 223)

He further decreed that it is allowed to teach girls how to read and write only if it’s inevitable. Otherwise, if there is a danger of her getting out of hand or cause any fitna, it is not allowed. (Page 35)

A question was asked if children studying in mosques and madrassas could be used for labour. Mufti Rasheed responded that it’s essential to make them work, citing their upbringing to be the reason. (Ahsanul Fatawa, Page 216, Volume 8)

“Save your children from school and college education like you save them from a wolf or a lion,” writes Mufti Rasheed Ahmed in Ahsanul Fatawa. He further added that it was like sending your children to hell with your own hands. (Page 22, Volume 1)

His madrassah, Jamiatul Rasheed, today boasts of modern, state-of-the-art education that includes courses like MBA as well. Ironic enough?

In one of the fatwas, Rasheed Ahmed decrees that it is compulsory to do hijab from transgender as well because they might not have the ability to intercourse but they can see, listen and touch. (Ahsanul Fatawa, Page 35, Volume 8)

Religious scholars from all sects, including Deobandis, appear on TV screens today to propagate their message but Mufti Rasheed decreed it prohibited.

“It is forbidden to watch TV, even for Islamic programmes.” (Ahsanul Fatawa, Page 199, Volume 8)

A question was asked if it was allowed for the doctor to examine a girl’s private parts after the court’s order to investigate for rape. Rasheed Ahmed categorically said it was proscribed, saying, “It is allowed only when there is a danger of death.” (Ahsanul Fatawa, Page 225, Volume 8)

He termed reading news haram because they were ‘absurd’ and ‘meaningless’, causing no good to Islam. (Ahsanul Fatawa, Page 212, Volume 8)

His madrassah, one of the most organised in Pakistan, owns daily Islam, weekly Zarb-i-Momin, and several other magazines – all of which hold a strictly pro-Taliban stance. Would someone care to explain they own newspapers if they are ‘meaningless’?

The fatawa are full of obnoxious and extremely vulgar questions like: “If someone got up with the intention to make love with his wife but touched his 15 years old daughter while aroused, by mistake, is his wife still halal for him?” (Ahsanul Fatawa, Page 84, Volume 5)

Mufti Rasheed Ahmed also labelled democracy to be prohibited in Islam because ‘Quran negates the idea of opposing groups among Muslims’. (Ahsanul Fatawa, Page 24, Volume 6)

Since democracy is haram, can we safely assume all religio-political parties have been committing a sin for decades by taking part in an un-Islamic system?

He also declared women taking part in elections to be forbidden in Islam. “It is prohibited for a woman to take part on election or cast vote. Recommending a woman for a rank is to commit a major sin,” Rasheed Ahmed decreed. (Ahsanul Fatawa, Page 31, Volume 8)

Same is the case with fatwa from all other sects. Most of these fatwas are illogical, regressive and cannot be applied in today’s world. Books like Baihishti Zaiwar are full of absurdities where women-related issues are discussed in slightest details, using explicit language.

Founder of Jamaat-e-Islami Maulana Maududi too had a rabidly anti-woman worldview, which shall be discussed in a separate piece.

With such a limited vision and mindset, it is not advisable for the government to hand over control of matters in their hands because that would lead only to chaos and actual unrest in a society like ours.