Adil Najam
Mohamed Ali Jinnah, it seems, was not a “real freedom fighter” and he did “nothing for Islam.” (On Jinnah, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).
So says the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). And by what logic does Maulana Fazlur Rehman and his party come to this conclusion? According to the party spokesman: “Jinnah was not imprisoned during the independence struggle. That is why he did nothing worth remembering.”
I am left rather speechless. So, here is the news item from Daily Times (February 9, 2007) that reports on the matter:
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) will celebrate 2007 by paying tribute to the heroes who played an important role in the independence of Pakistan ignoring Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his companions, JUI officials told Daily Times on Thursday. They said that the party would hold conventions in Peshawar and other cities of the NWFP in March to highlight the services of “real freedom fighters”
“The decision to this effect was taken at the meeting of the JUI executive council in Lahore a couple of days ago. National Assembly Opposition Leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman presided over the meeting,” they added. JUI information secretary Maulana Amjad Khan said that Jinnah and his companions would not be commemorated because they had not done anything for Islam. “Jinnah was not imprisoned during the independence struggle. That is why he did nothing worth remembering,” Khan added.
He said the JUI would remember only those leaders who had sacrificed their lives for the creation of Pakistan or who had been imprisoned by the British Raj. JUI leader Qari Nazir Ahmed said the party would remember Hussain Maulana Ahmed Madni, Maulana Qasim Nanotri, Maulana Ubaid Ullah Sindhi, Maulana Mehmoodul Hassan, Syed Ahmed Shaheed, Shah Ismael Shaheed, Mauala Rasheed Ahmed and other leaders, who had rendered great sacrifices for the creation of Pakistan. “Maulana Qasim Nanotri established the Madrasa Darul Uloom Deoband. The institute produced a large number of freedom fighters,” Qari Nazir added. He said a schedule for conventions in the Punjab had not been decided yet. JUI Lahore chapter ameer Maulana Muhibun Nabi said the party would also arrange programmes in Lahore in this connection.
Interesting, by the way, that it seems that to be a “real freedom fighter” you have ‘Maulana’ prefixed before your name or a ‘Shaheed’ as a suffix.
Note: My thank to Watandost for alerting me to this rewriting of history.
PS: It goes without saying that what Pakistan is today negates those “Islamic principles” of “justice fairplay and equality”.
As people here know, I have researched Jinnah for a long time and much more than a few google searches and quotes out of context… I can safely say that Jinnah would be mortified by the Islamic theocracy that Pakistan has become constitutionally.
Dear Adnan Siddiqui,
The US constitution does not use the word “secular”… does it mean that it is not secular? You are arguing about terms when you ought to be looking at the terms.
Jinnah spoke of Islamic ideals of Equality, Fraternity, justice and fair play for all regardless of religion caste or creed.
Lets see then what Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan (according to you an Islamic visiion) was…
1. Equality of all citizens regardless of religion caste or creed.
2. Impartiality of the state towards all faiths and groups.
3. Faith the personal matter between man and god.
4. Sovereignty resting unconditionally with the people of Pakistan.
Now I believe these are Islamic values and in modern parlance this is what a secular state is. Thus I don’t have a problem with an “Islamic” state based on the four principles Jinnah expressed again and again …
These discussions (this and others here) prove one thing. The question is no longer what the Quaid’s vision of Pakistan was. The real question now is WHAT IS OUR VISION OF PAKISTAN. It is clear that we are a divided nation. These comments prove it. Is Pakistan only for ONE TYPE OF PAKISTANIS or a home for all Pakistanis? Can we think of a Pakistan where those who call themselves mullahs and those who call themselves secular can both coexist without calling each other names and where someone can publish an article of Sir Zafarullah’s service to Pakistan without being labelled a non-Muslim? It seems that from these comments, that Pakistan does not exist yet. Today is Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s birthday, as he would have said:
“challey challo, keh woh manzil abhi nahin aaye”
Why do people have to repeat their points again and again and again. Do you really think someone who was not convinced teh first time will be convinced if you just repeat you point again and again!
[quote post=”566″]secular Pakistan we simply mean a Pakistan inclusive of all its children regardless of religion caste or creed[/quote]
When Jinnah didn’t even use this word then why are you kept blaming resting soul to promote your own theory? I quoted jinnah’s speeches on same forum about his dream about Pakistan that is, ‘establish govt according to Islamic Principals’ , you can keep rejecting it but can’t change it, that is the truth of the day.