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.
Now wait a minute. Don’t we advocate freedom of speech!. So why is it that religious parties be denied their right of free speech here. And to ‘engineer’ religious parties out of the assemblies!. Is there not enough ‘engineering’ in the assemblies done already. For once let the people decide whose back they will like to see in the next elections. It is for the people to decide and chose their representatives and not for some privileged pseudo intellectuals writing black and white opinion pieces. The talk of deporting citizens to the neighboring countries and throwing them into the Arabian Sea is childish no matter how passionate. And about hanging political opposition; had not enough of that been done already. And let us not discredit Ayub totally just because he was a military dictator. He was a visionary leader and he did a lot for Pakistan of 1958. Religious leaders did not like him either. Karachites do not like Ayub for various reasons, but let us look at the country wide picture and not just from Karachi perspective. And one more thing. Do we ever think that Pashtoon perspective on independence of Pakistan may not be the same as that of those from Punjab or for that matter from the Ganges Valley. The need of the time is to take in all perspectives and create a national perspective on all thing Pakistan. Pakistan is not only where we live; where others live that is Pakistan too. We need to be inclusive and not exclusive.
I think people here are confusing the issue. Maulana never said that Jinnah wasn’t responsible for Pakistan, he said he wasn’t responsible for freedom. In a way, he’s right.
Freedom from the British didn’t come to India because of the actions of Indians, whether they be the Gandhis or the Jinnah’s (or any maulanas or shaheeds for that sake); it came because of the losses they suffered in WWII, after which the entire British Empire withered away. What Jinnah was responsible was to get a separate country for the muslims, a feat for which he and only he is responsible.
Despite this, I’m still for throwing the maulanas into the Arabian Ocean.
This is just another CHEAP STUNT on their part to get support from their ‘base.’ But ordinary Pakistanis who disagree with this will be playing right into the JUI’s hands if we start ridiculing the people in rural areas, etc.
Thanks Adnan. The strong message will not be sent by this government because of what I outlined earlier. Consider this, this government has not been able to vacate a library taken over by religious thugs recently and could not defend itself in the national assembly either…
Instead it is imporant that the people react to JUI strongly and voice their opinion in every possible manner. Let us not forget that English press has very limited readership and does not permeate at a level that is necessary for a strong reaction.
Kamal was able to implement his agenda because Turks had gotten sick of the caliphate.. The Grand Mufti was former Ottoman (appointed by Kamal) and later sidelined. So, even Kamal’s action against theocracy took time and political arm twisting backed with military might… (A recent book by Tom Reis “The Orientalist” is highly recommended)
Conditions in Pakistan are approaching that point where the public pressure will undo the evil created by our generals (and accepted by people). Unfortunately it can turn out to be another bloody mess considering the global geo-political conditions.
Although I am opposed to several initiatives taken by Mustafa Kemal Attaturk, yet the fact that he sunk the mullahs was a commendable feat that Pakistan should take lesson from.