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Road to religious harmony

FOR over three decades now, the twin plagues of sectarian terror and religious violence have
caused immeasurable harm to Pakistans social fabric, taking thousands of precious lives and
causing evident fissures within society.
Much of the blame for this falls on the state for either promoting ideologies that have nurtured
extremism, or for looking the other way as violent actors with unabashedly toxic agendas have
caused havoc in society.
Indeed debates within and between religions have been taking place for centuries, but in todays
Pakistan belonging to the wrong sect or religious group can have dire consequences, thanks to
the space provided to extremists.
Also read: Religious scholars stress interfaith harmony
The state has made a few attempts to reverse the tide of intolerance, with mixed results. Among
these efforts have been attempts to foster interfaith dialogue along with bringing Islams
different schools of thought together on one platform.
On Tuesday, the federal religious affairs minister organised a conference in Karachi which
brought together clergy and representatives from different faith groups.
Participants of the event discussed the problems faced by minorities in Pakistan, as well as ideas
about how to alleviate these concerns.
Earlier in the week, the minister in a written reply to a lawmakers question in the National
Assembly said his ministry was taking various steps to tackle sectarianism in the country.
These included forming a committee on sectarian harmony, holding conferences and naat
competitions, as well as issuing a uniform azan calendar for all sects to follow in Islamabad.
While all the aforementioned steps may be commendable, it is essential to ask how successful
similar efforts have been up until now in tackling intolerance and promoting harmony.
For example, are the warm, positive messages espoused at such interfaith meetups and intrareligious events filtering down to the preacher in the neighbourhood mosque?
For it is here where matters are most sensitive, where loudspeakers can easily be misused to
foment trouble and which need to be monitored particularly.
Equally important is the states attitude and actions towards clamping down on hate literature
and speech, which is probably the biggest driver of faith-based violence in Pakistan.
Indeed there have been convictions related to hate speech over the past few months, particularly
in Punjab, while numerous suspects have also been reportedly arrested.

Simply put, unless the state and the ulema in their respective spheres both work towards
punishing and isolating, respectively, rabble-rousers who demonise any sect or religion, there
will be no change on the ground.
Organisations such as the Milli Yakjehti Council have stated that they will monitor Friday
sermons in order to promote sectarian and religious harmony.
Do the clergy have the wherewithal to isolate and report those preachers who spew hate and
promote violence?
As for the government, in order to really promote harmony, it must prosecute and punish hatemongers across the board.
Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2015

Religious scholars stress interfaith harmony


KARACHI: In a bid to introduce a saner narrative amid widespread destruction levelled by
extremist forces, an interfaith harmony conference was held on Tuesday where intellectuals
belonging to different religious communities gathered to discuss the importance of tolerance in
the public and political spheres.
Organised by Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Mohammed
Yousaf, the purpose of the conference was to give religious minorities a space to feel at ease and
express their beliefs, reservations and problems they faced.
It was a sight to behold with men and women sitting together, representing their religious
communities, without fear or paranoia. This, in a country where religious commemorations are
usually marked by a sense of fear of the unknown, was a welcome sight and must be mirrored in
the day to day happenings of the country. And the responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of
the countrys leadership.
Though the conference would have benefitted from being more nuanced, it is definitely a
positive step in the right direction, provided all the issues discussed and their potential solutions
are implemented and followed-up on.
Chairman of the Karachi Parsi Anjuman Byram Avari shared that the Parsi faith was one of the
oldest and other religions that came after have picked up influences from it. Appreciating the
efforts of the organisers and participants for taking part in the interfaith conference, he added that
no matter how many such conferences you host and attend, you must educate the children of
this nation to allow their intolerant outlook to change.

Pir Syed Hamdani of the All Pakistan Ulema Council reiterated: Islam is a religion of peace as
it turned enemies into brothers and it not only preaches love among humans, but also expects the
same treatment to be extended to all living beings.
He added that such behaviour was a top-down order and must be openly propagated and
practised by the countrys leaders for it to trickle down to the general public. However, it seems
that the heart of the politician is very different.
Siddique-ul-Farooq, chairman of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), took an active part
in the conference and spoke about how all religions have similar fundamental beliefs and all
were trying to make their hereafter better. Then why are we trying to make each others present
life so difficult, he questioned.
Mr Farooq played a positive role in highlighting the efforts of the present government in
resolving issues faced by religious minorities, from the matter of forced conversions, the
blasphemy law, as well as the destruction of temples and churches. However, he kept interjecting
different speakers time and again, even though he had been given ample time to speak.
Despite time constraints, each speaker spoke at will and gave insight into the milieu they
belonged to.
Prof Pascal Roberts, speaking on behalf of the archbishop of Karachi, shared concerns about the
legacy we were leaving for our children. We must not allow intolerance to thrive and instead
should teach our children peace and acceptance of diversity in the way we think, the way we live
as well as in the way we practice our different religion, he said.
Intolerance cannot be challenged by intolerance; instead we need love, respect and forgiveness.
And for that, we need to make sure we extend the basic rights and freedoms to people belonging
to different religions, he added.
Dr Deepak Kuman, general secretary of the Pakistan Hindu Council, very firmly stated that
every human being is superior to any and every religion. Citing examples of tolerance and
acceptance from the lives of Shams of Tabriz and Rumi, he said all religious practiced empathy
and forgiveness which is unfortunately lacking in Pakistan.
Be it Muhammad [PBUH], Jesus, Ram, Krishna, Buddha or Guru Nanak; regardless of what
religion these men brought forward, they all espoused the message of peace, love and tolerance.
Advocate Kalpana Devi, the only female voice in the male-dominated panel, highlighted how a
few lone extremist voices were creating discord between different religious groups. We need to
step beyond mere talk and do more to drown out the voices.
Giving the example of the burning of a Hindu temple in Larkana last year, she said that such
perpetrators have no humanity, no nationality and certainly no religion.

She also expressed the necessity of a positive exchange of histories, as well as teaching children
about other religions to encourage a sense of respect and tolerance.
At the end, a declaration outlining the constitutional and social rights of all religious minorities
was read out and signed by all the participants.
Though all the speakers were in agreement on the necessity of battling extremism from a united
front, some did raise the issue of making such interfaith conferences more accessible to the
common man. This, they believe, is important as the majority outside intellectual circles need to
be overtly informed of the rights of religious community, especially in smaller towns, schools,
colleges and universities.
Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2015

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