Adil Najam
Dear Readers,
While All Things Pakistan has remained alive and online, it has been dormant since June 11, 2011 - when, on the blog's 5th anniversary, we decided that it was time to move on. We have been heartened by your messages and the fact that a steady traffic has continued to enjoy the archived content on ATP. While the blog itself will remain dormant, we are now beginning to add occasional (but infrequent) new material by the original authors of the blog, mostly to archive what they may now publish elsewhere. We will also be updating older posts to make sure that new readers who stumble onto this site still find it useful.
We hope you will continue to find ATP a useful venue to reflect upon and express your Pakistaniat. - Editors
Watan Aziz,
Answer to your first five questions is that any state which makes restrictions to any religion is NOT secular.
A state which keeps out all religions from the state is “Laic”.
There is one country, which is Laic by constitution, it is called France where I live.
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The French government is particularly after “Islam” and this is an act of racism. In many cases such racial laws are declared anti-constitutional by the State Counsel (A kind of supreme court without professional judges) and the state had to retreat. This process will continue in future.
Still curious?
Ahsn
Strasbourg
What if a state does not allow opening or building of a house of worship, requires permits or demands a certain size of population to exist before it allows the house of worship to be opened? Is that a secular state?
What if a state imposed limits on the type of construction, the height, the style of construction on for a house of worship? Is that a secular state?
What if a state does not declare day off for religious holiday for a minority population? Is that a secular state?
What if a state does not account for scheduling of games, examination dates, field trips and other related activity for a religious minority attending schools but does account for the religious majority? Is that a secular state?
What if these are real examples from everyday encounters and not a rote concepts repeated for or against nor gleaned from whatever resource fancies the proponents of the for and against arguments?
More curious?
Secularism
The definition of “secularism” by Maulana Maodoodi and by Mr M.A. Jinnah may not be the same. In one definition secularism may be without religion and in another the religion may exist in the secular state. Both of them will be only half true. For the reason of curiosity one should look into a dictionary for its definition.
Secularism is not a religion but it is the concept that government or other entities should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs.
According to this definition any religion is free to exist in the state without any interference in governing system of the state and also the state governing authorities have no right to interfere in religious matters. Both of them are separate and independent entities.
In a secular State even a religious leader (Mulla!) can be elected as a President or Prime Minister; on the condition that he does not use his (or any other) religion in state affair. The state can permit certain religious rituals in state functions, but this will be applicable to all the religions and atheists. The OATH taking is one example.
Mr. M. A Jinnah in his statement:
“You may belong to any religion or caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the State”.
gives only half-definition of the secular state. The other half,
“Any religion has nothing to do with the business of the State”, he simply ignored.
In a secular state there is “Freedom for Religion and Freedom from Religion”.
Long live curiosity!
Welcome to secularism!!
Ahsn
Strasbourg
And what is going on in Abbottabad, Hazara, as an aftermath of the 18th Amendment which is yet to be finally passed. This is because they are trying to use a constitutional amendment as a political tool. In fact they can’t differentiate between the constitution and the petty party politics.
wake up pakistanis wake up what are you doing…………… chose your leader follow the right path. what the hell is going on in our country and we are………………….