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.
[quote][quote comment=â€
Road-map to the homeland of Indian Muslims, i.e., Pakistan was conceived by our great Philosopher Poet and thinker, Allama Iqbal. It was meticulously followed and transformed into reality by Quaid e Azam. The greatest obstacles he faced enroute were not from Hindus or Indian Nationalists, but from the Jamiat e Ullema e Hind. But Quaid surmounted the hurdles because his road-map contained clear warnings from its architect. Allama and the Quaid are ruefully retested by the so called Ullema because of their comprehensive exposure by Allama in so many specific ways, which allowed the Quaid to avoid the pitfalls on his road. Ironically, we unlearn the hard earned lesson without remorse.
Interesting article about Maulana Diesel (as MQ would say) on BBC; http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2007/02/0 70206_fazal_heart_rs.shtml
JUI is ignorant. All the Maulanas may have played varying roles in the struggle of independence from the British but none of them supported the creation of Pakistan.
[quote comment=”35564″]They should be hanged till death. [/quote]
Wah bahi wah. THat must be the right solution. Isnt this exactly what Maulvi Sarwar did to the lady MNA recently.