A very interesting story caught my attention on Wednesday. Media outlets reported that more than 2,000 women gathered at the Red Mosque in the Pakistani capital yesterday, vowing to raise their children for holy war. Ume-Hassan, wife of the mosque’s former firebrand leader, Abdul Aziz [who was jailed last year], told the rally, “We will take revenge against those who killed innocent men, women and children during the operation…Our protest will continue against the forces of tyranny.” Reuters quoted Abdul Aziz’s daughter, who told the gathering, “Our mujahideen (fighters) laid down their lives for the enforcement of the Islamic system in Pakistan. We are left behind to carry forward their mission.” She declared, “We should prepare our children and men for jihad,” to which the crowd of burqa-clad women chanted, “we are ready,” and “al jihad.” According to the Arab media outlet, the Gulf Daily News, ume-Hassan told supporters that President Musharraf should be punished for the Lal Masjid siege last year, emphasizing, “This man is the enemy … I want this man to be severely punished before I die…We are not terrorists. Islam does not teach terrorism … America and its stooges are terrorists.”
Today is the first anniversary of the storming of the Red Mosque [Lal Masjid], when more than 100 people were killed in the fighting to evict militants who had taken sanctuary there. According to BBC News, “The raid on the mosque triggered a series of revenge suicide bombings and other attacks by militants across Pakistan, killing hundreds of people.” Lal Masjid has long had a reputation for radicalism, “mostly attracting hard-line Islamic students from North West Frontier Province and tribal areas where support for the Taliban and Al Qaeda is strong,” noted the BBC.
The Jamia Hafsa Madrassa, one of the largest religious schools for women in the Islamic world, is attached to the mosque, [the male madrassa is nearby]. According to the BBC, “Several thousand students are housed at the two seminaries despite the damage from the fighting of last July.” Last year, many of us watched as the female students of the madrassa launched their very own mini jihad, appointing themselves the vice and virtue police. Armed with sticks, they kidnapped a woman from her home who they said was a brothel owner, as well as Chinese nationals who they accused of running an underground brothel. Images of burqa-clad women wielding batons and publicly burning DVDs [due to their Western influence] were published by various media outlets in their coverage of the developments.
In cases like these, where religious extremists are allowed to make dramatic declarations of jihad from the safety of their firebrand mosques and madrassas with virtually no repurcussions, the line between freedom of speech and censorship seems blurred. The radical nature of Lal Masjid and its corresponding seminaries are problematic for this country, and this brand of extremism is constantly reinforced, both by the missteps of past governments, [which provides these madrassas with more legitimacy and a vacuum of power], as well as their failure to act appropriately against these forces. [Images from the AFP]
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Really scary.
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Revenge. Does Islam asks for revenge?
They basically use the term jihad to legitimize revenge, when in reality, the “greater” jihad is the internal struggle within one’s own self. Most proponents of violence and revenge in Islam tend to look more to the “lesser” jihad (external) struggle to legitimize their claims.
appreciate it
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This is completely ridiculous. No one wants this sort of islam. If they wanted they would voted for these people. Why are they shoving this stupid thing down the throat of everyone? The problem is no one wants to talk abt it either. Everyone is so scared for their lives and kids and family. These barbarian acts has to end. These stupid brainless people has to go back in their caves. This is no islam. They lie through their teeth. I’ll never endorse such stupidity at any cost. I am glad that they were bombed in this terrorist center (I won’t call it mosque). Enough is enough. People have to raise against all these brainless people who is against education. I feel that the situation is similar to the one when dacoits used to come to the village and return after loot and taking few people with them as slaves. Ultimately they would become part of the gang. These stupid people are doing the same. They should be broght to court and should face law in accordance with the laws of the country. Someone has to do the justice.
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@ Lal Masjid massacre must be brought out before
International court for crimes against humanity,
The Military, as well as the leftist Stalinists secular
journalist/ intellectual be brought out and tried in
the court,
every evidence is there, recorded announced,
they incited the murder of those in Masjid, the leftist
intellectuals and journalist are equally responsible for
such Genocide !
The Goolagist and Roshan khayyals Gastapos are the only
responsibles. Musharraf has to answer that !
@Kalsoom,
Have you invented another Islam ? perhaps suffist.
In Pakistan the religious culture that you try to
propogate is only limited to the Stalinist circle of
” enlightened ” progressists whoes ideolgy ended
up in the most terrible Genocide of Russian citizens
in Siberia by the very “Secular ” Stalin. I am sorry,
the KGBist Islam can not work, neither in Afghanistan
nor in NWFP or elsewhere, astonishing revelations on the
subject of Jihad on your blog, distorted and secterian
definitions of Jehad heard before in early 18th century in
Qadian. Your ideology DOES NOT
REPRESENT PAKISTAN not even within PPP ruling party
perhaps only at the level of ANP’s 85 members.
Your editorial on lal Masjid is more or less a photo copy of
Musharraf’s reflections on this hideous operation, killing
thousands.
@ Rafay
Excuse me, but I’ve studied Islam and every assertion I make is one agreed upon by most scholars of the religion. Check yourself – before you accuse others of not representing a country’s ideology of Islam, remember that not everyone thinks along the same lines as yours, and everyone is entitled to that right to express that opinion. That is why, if you’ve noticed, I didn’t delete your comment, as much as it goes against what I think. You’re entitled to your own opinion and I’m entitled to mine.
@Thanks for reminding me of your ” Martial Law ”
regulations article ” Chup “.
Normally one should quote those Scholars in any
specific topic like Islamic Nazaria-e-Pakistan approved
by general public except the seculars and marxist, (0.003%)
but the existing constitution of Pakistan is presently a
proof to the contradiction you have brought in your own
argument.
I have noticed that one of my comment is been
put to death ” silenced “.
@CAPTAINJOHANN &
@ Kalsoom,
Revenge is a ‘right’ as it belongs to Human-faculty of anger,
thus Islam does’nt nullify it, it has offered a better
replacement, i.e. forgiveness which is the highest human
attitude, Islam has called it noble, revenge is lower than
nobleness, but still a recognized human right by ISLAM.
Therefore part of Islamic Law & order and justice, every where
in the world it is known ” dura lex” law take “revenge” i.e
punishes without mercy.
Revenge has nothing to do, what so ever, with Jihad, there
are three degrees of Jihad (efforts)
– Jihad fi-n-nafs Greater as Kalsoom said (efforts against
oneself ). ego, inside evil etc. Always WITHOUT ARMS.
– Jihad-e- saghir, is efforts against social evils, corruption,
injustice, violation of rights, drugs, alcohol, debauch,
prostitution, imoralities, but always WITHOUT ARMS.
– Third degree Jihad is in self defence, protecting your life,
that of your family, of your house, property, country,
nation, against organised invasions, family defence
etc. ARMED STRUGGLE is allowed & permitted.
All the five fiqh agree up on the above minimum points,
the Malikit/Shafai branch “Salafist” beleive that Jihad is also
in propogating religion, based on Quranic interpretations
e.g. 2nd Sura by the later ” jurists” of radicalist fuqaha.
I might refresh my knowledge, long time ago in college I
discovered the detail of Jihad from a booklet written by
the Great Scholar of our century Sayed Maudoodi. I, then
studies my own Fiqh i.e. Hanafi, later on Maliki, Hambali
Shafai, and Shia. Although Hanafi is the largest Fiqh in the
world today, about more than 1 billion of muslims follow it,
but if you study all Fiqhas, there is nothing there to be
attracted towards division, only Faroo’at divided us. It has
become for the last 500 years nothing but sects. Sorry
I wonder why the spirits of Jihad is systematically and
frauduously discarded by all Anti-Islam jokers. That is why
the coalition armies of evil are still killing lots of muslims
everyday.