Daily Times

“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:9-14).

Last month Pakistan’s deputy attorney general, Muhammad Khurshid Khan was photographed and interviewed by many, polishing shoes of worshippers at several gurdwaras in India. Apparently, this gesture was to make amends for the murder of Jaspal Singh, one of the three Sikhs who were kidnapped from Peshawar in 2010 by the Taliban; the other two were rescued by the Pakistan army.

It was reported that Khan was so affected by this calamity that he started studying Sikhism and visited temples and gurdwaras to offer seva to make atonement for the atrocities committed by terrorists. The act of polishing shoes is considered to be unworthy in our culture, especially by those who enjoy some kind of worldly status.

I was educated at missionary schools in East and West Pakistan. At the convent schools, the Muslims comprised of the majority group. During Islamiyat lessons, our friends who belonged to other religions would leave the classroom and go to another one where they were taught their own religion. The Sisters ensured that our faith was protected and promoted; their exemplary self-sacrifice, immense humility and boundless service to humanity have yet to be matched in any regular school. At high school in London, I opted for a subject called ‘Religious Education’ in ‘O’ levels. I was surprised to find that the syllabus comprised of many religions and not just Christianity. We studied ‘Religions of the World’ and learnt about other faiths, all of which teach humility and goodness; no disrespect was ever shown to any religion, the focus was on understanding and respecting diversity of beliefs.

Our children in Pakistan hardly know about the tenets and practices of their own religion, let alone of others. What is fed to them about Islam leaves a lot to be desired. The emphasis is on rote-learning and reading of the Quran in Arabic and no attempt is made to explain and teach the holy book in their own language. The ritualistic attitude towards religion is taking us further and further away from its spirit, its purpose, and is breeding extremism and intolerance as the lines of clarity continue to be blurred.

As a Muslim we are obligated to have faith in Allah and His Angels, His Books, His Messengers (Prophets), the Day of Judgement, the acceptance that all good and evil fate is from Him, and in resurrection. These are the basic declarations of our faith. Aside from the faith in divine books, the Quran specifically states that there is no compulsion in religion. The word ‘compulsion’ is incompatible with religion, which rests its foundations on faith and belief and free will; any kind of force in matters of religion would be lacking the foundations necessary for building of faith. Regardless of the fact which religion one may belong to, divine or non-divine, the believers of the same are free to worship and follow their own religions. “Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure” (Quran 22:40). But when are we going to teach our children this basic concept?

We still live in a society that considers cleaning and sweeping as jobs meant for Christians, while having a Christian cook is still unthinkable in most households. We use derogatory slurs when we refer to minorities and have no shame or remorse in doing so, proudly passing this legacy onto our equally pompous children. We vehemently believe in our religious supremacy, yet we consistently fail to establish it by our conduct lest the world catch a glimpse of it.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah stated: “Minorities to whichever community they may belong; will be safeguarded. Their religion or faith or belief will be secure. There will be no interference of any kind with their freedom of worship. They will have their protection with regard to their religion, faith, their life, their culture. They will be, in all respects, the citizens of Pakistan without any distinction of caste or creed.” The spirit of this declaration was incorporated in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan stating that adequate provisions shall be made for the minorities freely to profess and practice their religion and develop their cultures and to safeguard their legitimate interests. The mind boggles to think that all these provisions are to be made by people who do not have an iota of knowledge about the faith and practice of the religion of others, let alone would take an active step to develop their cultures and safeguard their interests. It is sad indeed that when the Muslim community cannot even accept or tolerate various sects within itself, how can it be open-minded enough to accept those from a radically diverse faith?

A Hadith narrated by Abu Dawud quotes our Prophet (PBUH) as saying, “Beware! Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, or curtails their rights, or burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will, I will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.”

Islam is a religion of tolerance and humility. It abhors vanity and pride. “And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, God likes not each arrogant boaster” (Quran 31:18). “And the slaves of God are those who walk on the earth in humility and calmness, and when the foolish address them (with bad words), they reply back with mild words of gentleness” (Quran 25:63).

Ibn Abbas narrated the Prophet (PBUH): “There will be men who will have the Quran on their lips but it will not go down their throats. They will claim knowledge of it, calling themselves learned qari. They will be from among you my companions, but woe to them, for they will see the consequence of it in Hell.” Teaching our children to have the Quran on their lips, yet not to have it touch their souls is indeed a sin; not teaching them about other faiths, about diversity, about tolerance, about humility is criminal.

Khurshid Khan showed exceptional humility by his actions. He showed respect and acceptance of people from a different faith, but most of all he showed that there were Muslims in this country who were willing to publicly denounce terrorism committed in the name of Islam. The killing of Jaspal Singh was not Khurshid Khan’s fault but he was willing to atone for the sins of others, while our ‘jelly-spine’ government skirted the issue. As Khan said, “I am a Muslim, not a terrorist; I am a Khan, not a terrorist; I am from Pakistan, but not a terrorist.”

The writer is an advocate of the high court