Below are my ten points in response to the “10 REASONS WHY I DO NOT WANT SHARIAH IN PAKISTAN”
Source: 10 REASONS WHY I DO NOT WANT SHARIAH IN PAKISTAN
Islam is more than inshaAllah and MashAllah but some in the land of the pure believe that it is good enough.
1. Religion and how I choose to practice it is my business and not that of the State.
1. Sharia law never dictates how you practice your religion at personal level or what you do in your home. It merely gives a framework of rules and laws that should be implemented to run the affairs of a state.
2. Enforcing Shariah will not make me a better Muslim nor will it make Pakistan a welfare state. The world’s welfare states are all governed by secular governments.
2. Yet again, the purpose of sharia law is not to make you a “better Muslim” because Quran clearly dictates that there is no compulsion in religion. And your argument that as all the welfare states are governed by secular governments therefore sharia law is not workable is just childish. It is like saying that as number of male recipients of Noble prize is greater than that of women therefore all women are stupid.
3. I reject the idea that Shariah in any form can be enforced by those who have raped and plundered my country, blown up schools and mosques and beheaded soldiers. I will not give these criminals the right to dictate to me.
3. TTP will not be implementing sharia law, government of Pakistan will. Secondly, implementing sharia law doesn’t mean that you are justifying the evil acts of the few. If evil acts of TTP in past 10 years can be used to undermine Sharia law then we have suffered far longer due to “democracy”. Hence if I accept your logic, democracy is bigger evil than sharia.
4. I will not give up my civil rights, including freedom of thought and expression, under the guise of Shariah.
4. Muslims both at individual level and as a nation contributed more in science, medicine, arts, etc. following laws of Allah. Islam gave right of vote to women 1400 years before the west and abolished slavery long before the “free world”. Islam encourages all aspects of expression unless your definition of “freedom of expression” coincides with the one expressed by Veena Malik.
5. I stand against acts like wife beating and the premise that rape requires 4 witnesses, all of which can be justified under Shariah law. Virtually anything can be justified by quoting religious scripture, and the context or interpretation of quoted text is usually not questioned. An example is a heinous crime like the Peshawar church blast being declared “in accordance with Shariah” by the TTP.
5. How can you equate wife beating/domestic violence with sharia law? But if you really want to go that route than I must accept the challenge. In US, one woman is being raped every two minutes and 1.3 million women were physically assaulted in one year by their significant other. So this proves that democracy is bigger evil than the sharia law!?!? Secondly you have stated that and I quote “virtually anything can be justified by quoting religious scripture”, isn’t it true in the secular legal system where lawyers play all kind of games and twist things to win? I know that finding faults in secular legal system is not enough to prove my point but I just wanted to show the other side of the picture. Just like acts of a killer are his own fault and the state or the legal system is not responsible, same is true for sharia law if one decides to beat up my wife. Blame the player not the game! Last but not least, the 4 witness rule is not for rape but for adultery and formication.
6. I abhor the notion that under Sharia law the State will be classifying its citizens into those who practice Islam and those who don’t. There should be NO minority, and NO majority, everyone should be equal citizens with equal rights under the law.
6. Sharia law doesn’t classify on the basis of majority or minority but on the basis of religion so that those who are not Muslims can live their lives according to their religion, customs, laws, culture, etc. In this way laws related to drinking for example will not be applicable on non-Muslims.
7. I believe that draconian laws under the guise of religion will push Pakistan back socioeconomically and isolate it from the rest of the world. This must not be allowed to happen.
7. If I accept your idea that sharia law will push Pakistan into isolation then my question to you is: Aren’t we isolated now i.e. during the golden age of democracy in Pakistan? Secondly If sharia law will push Pakistan in isolation then why is Saudi Arabia (not supporting Saudis in any way) is not isolated and is considered biggest American ally after Israel?
8. Imposing religion in a country that is already torn apart by religious extremism and sectarianism is like adding fuel to the fire. The criminals who are demanding Shariah are the ones who have taken responsibility for sectarian killings across the country.
8. An evil group asking for something good should never change your stance towards the good thing just because “they” are asking for it. TTP guys also drink water so should that stop you from drinking water ever again just because “they” are drinking it too?!?!
9. We live in a modern world that uses rational thinking, information and science to frame laws which don’t necessarily derive inspiration from religion or religious text. These laws can be amended according to the will of the people. Laws based on religion take away the freedom to choose, criticize or amend. An example is the relegation of scientific and forensic evidence as secondary in cases of rape.
9. This statement of yours basically means that religion is obsolete in the modern world and I cannot argue with you here because I don’t think I need to prove that here. But if you (those against religion or laws dictated by religion) want to kick religion out then you should be ready to give your daughter freedom to sleep around because secular law allows that. There are many other examples but I should just shut up. I agree with use of scientific and forensic evidence in cases of rape. By the way it is really weird that same people who don’t allow their daughters to marry according to their wishes (which sharia law allows) talk about freedom.
10. I believe the actual reason for the demand for Shariah is to simply grab power and territory under religious pretense. I will not give up any part of my country to anyone for any reason.
10. Last but not least we should never judge the statement by looking at the person who is saying it and that each statement or argument should be weighed in isolation from the one who said it.
If I have said something good it is from Allah and if I have made some mistakes then that are from me and I ask for your forgiveness.
Light Upon Light 