Source/Credit: FA Better Together Blog
By Amtul Mussawir Mansoor | December 1, 2010
Pakistan is notorious for its religious extremism and this extremism is fueled by the anti-blasphemy laws of the government of Pakistan. The most recent victim to this law is a 45 year old mother, of five children, Asia Bibi. She is a Pakistani Christian and has been condemned to death for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhummad. Bibi denied this allegation, declaring she never defiled the Prophet or ever commenting against Islam. She affirms her innocence but asked for forgiveness, after already serving 15 months in prison. But the judge condemned her to be executed and now the decision lies in the hands of the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari. Fortunately, he has said, “Pakistan is a nation of many religions and all Pakistanis, no matter what their faith, are equal under the law.” Further, he “will grant clemency to Bibi to insure that she is neither incarcerated nor harmed.” However, this is not final until confirmed by a higher court.
But my question to the judge and to the ‘Muslim’ extremists of Pakistan, that doesn’t Islam preach forgiveness? Prophet Muhummad himself has said, “the best of people are those who are slow to get angry and quick to forgive. On the other hand the worst of people are those, he said who get angry quickly but are slow to forgive”. Similarly, God says in the Holy Quran, “those who suppress their anger, and pardon men; and Allah loves those who do good” (Holy Quran, 3:135). And again, “but whoso forgives and thereby brings about an improvement, his reward is with Allah. Surely, He loves not the wrongdoers” (Holy Quran 47: 41).
There is an urgent appeal to the government of Pakistan to repeal these blasphemy laws. A study by the National Commission for Justice and Peace reports that a total of 964 people have been charged under this ordinance: 479 Muslims, 340 Ahmadi Muslims, 119 Christians, 14 Hindus and 10 of other religions. There is no Quranic basis to these laws, it is a human rights violation, and most importantly these laws hinder religious freedom and religious pluralism. In addition, Muslims in Pakistan, need to follow the true teachings of Islam, and not follow the extremists, who have no basis to their claims.
There is a dire need to build interfaith relationships between Christians and Muslims, between Muslims and Muslims, between Muslims and Hindus, in Pakistan. Interfaith is the way to peace in the 21st century. Due to the technology, a development anywhere in the world can be heard in the matter of minutes to the remotest parts of the world. Interfaith actively promotes respect of religious/philosophical identity, building mutual relationships, and cooperating to serve the common good. It’s mission is to build bridges, not bombs. Through these simple values, we can make a better world for our future children.
What if the young people of Pakistan came together to solve the many social problems of Pakistan? What if a Hindu, Muslim, and Christian worked together to serve the poor of Pakistan? What if they offered disaster relief together and prove that they are better together? No step is too small!
The College of New Jersey is doing exactly this. Students of all different faiths, be they, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, Buddhist, Baha’i, are coming together to revive an abandoned part of Trenton, and give back to the community. This is happening across the colleges and universities in United States as part of the “Better Together” campaign, lead by Interfaith Youth Core. Let’s set an example for Pakistan and all the other countries in the world that are in dire need of a religiously pluralistic society!
-- This blog was written by Amtul Mussawir Mansoor, IFYC Fellow at The College of New Jersey. Read Amtul’s blog here. Follow Amtul on Twitter at @amtulmansoor
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