Topics and independent views on Pakistani and related issues from an individual Pakistani nationalist
Showing posts with label constitution of Pakistan secularism Pakistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label constitution of Pakistan secularism Pakistan. Show all posts
Friday, January 29, 2010
Pakistan: A secular Muslim state
While the refusal of the provinces of the Indus Valley region to stay as a union with the rest of the subcontinent to ensure protection of the Muslims and their religious rights, nothing more was required to ensure this.
This means that mixing religion with state affairs is not what Jinnah and the constitution of Pakistan stood for.
Articles 20, 21 and 22 of the Pakistani constitution clearly state:
-every citizen has the right to believe, practice and propagate their religion
-every religious denomination/sect has the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions
-no person can be compelled to pay any special tax to be spent on the propagation or maintenance of a particular religion or religious institution other than his/her own
-no person attending any educational institution can be required to attend religious ceremonies, worship or receive education of a religion other than his/her own.
-no discrimination against any community in grant of tax exemption or concessions for religious institutions
-no discrimination in admission to educational institutions receiving public funds on grounds of race, religion, caste or place of birth
(Exceptions: quota system is permissible for advancement of any socially or educationally backward class of citizens).
So clearly this original constitution is proof of Pakistan's secularism. The later Sharia laws imposed by Zia Ul-Haq were irrelevant as he was not a founding member of the Pakistani constitution.
A famous quote by the founder of modern Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah:
"You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed --that has nothing to do with the business of the State."
It is clear from the quotes of the founding father and the constitution that Pakistan owes it's loyalty to anyone other than it's citizens and does not belong to any Pan-Islamist ideologies.
There are Pan-Islamists out there who try to propagate Islam over national identity.
Another quote of his comes as a challenge to these Islamists who have tried to break Pakistan's secularism and impose Pan-Islamism (A 'religious duty' from how they see):
"We are now all Pakistanis--not Balochis, Pathans, Sindhis, Bengalis, Punjabis and so on--and as Pakistanis we must feet behave and act, and we should be proud to be known as Pakistanis and nothing else."
Pakistanis misunderstand the meaning of secularism
When many people in the Muslim world hear the word "secular" they imagine their society totally Westernized and corrupted by the ultra-consumerist culture that's typical to North America. They imagine their people dressed up like punks or imitating Westerners, forgetting their heritage, their history and their culture.
This is a very wrong interpretation of secularism. The actual meaning of secularism is is simple and that is that the state shall not mix itself with any religion or impose any religion on the population.
Religion is everybody's personal issue under secular laws.
No religion should not determine the laws of a multi-religious society where each religious group has it's own distinct set of laws.
The original constitution of Pakistan as laid out by the founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah is still seen in articles 20, 21 and 22 in the constitution of Pakistan.
But still, this is not how many have understood secularism and many in the Muslim world, especially conservatives, have mixed it with Westernization. These are two very distinct and different things.
Indeed, many do turn to Westernization to counter Islamist fundamentalism, but this is not the solution. The only reason why Westernization is used to oppose is Islamitization is because the West has been traditionally non-Muslim.
While it's true that most Western countries are secular while being Christian, the reason for their success is they do not allow religion to interfere in their politics.
Many Pakistanis, including conservatives live up to their own interpretation of Islam. Only under secular laws can they learn to co-exist peacefully and live by their own personal standards.
Let's also not forget that religious parties have never won in elections in Pakistan. This shows that Pakistanis are more secular than they know themselves to be.
Some people have set Turkey as a role model for Pakistan, while others reject it because it's too Westernized. The truth is Turkey is more of a Westernized country than a secular one. Though it's true that Turkey has been successful in pushing out religious extremists and managed to be a successful Muslim country in many areas (ie. population growth control, basic education, women's rights, decent living standards etc.), the country still has many discriminatory laws (like Pakistan) towards minorities. It being a Westernized country and does not serve as a good model for Pakistan.
A country can always be secular without trading off it's cultural identity for a Western-style identity.
When most Muslim countries adopt secular laws, their populations will be able to co-exist peacefully and work to move ahead. Westernization will be kept out and no religious ideology will interfere with state affairs or impose itself on anybody's personal life.
This is the true meaning of secularism. The founding fathers of modern Pakistan intended for it to be this way.
This is a very wrong interpretation of secularism. The actual meaning of secularism is is simple and that is that the state shall not mix itself with any religion or impose any religion on the population.
Religion is everybody's personal issue under secular laws.
No religion should not determine the laws of a multi-religious society where each religious group has it's own distinct set of laws.
The original constitution of Pakistan as laid out by the founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah is still seen in articles 20, 21 and 22 in the constitution of Pakistan.
But still, this is not how many have understood secularism and many in the Muslim world, especially conservatives, have mixed it with Westernization. These are two very distinct and different things.
Indeed, many do turn to Westernization to counter Islamist fundamentalism, but this is not the solution. The only reason why Westernization is used to oppose is Islamitization is because the West has been traditionally non-Muslim.
While it's true that most Western countries are secular while being Christian, the reason for their success is they do not allow religion to interfere in their politics.
Many Pakistanis, including conservatives live up to their own interpretation of Islam. Only under secular laws can they learn to co-exist peacefully and live by their own personal standards.
Let's also not forget that religious parties have never won in elections in Pakistan. This shows that Pakistanis are more secular than they know themselves to be.
Some people have set Turkey as a role model for Pakistan, while others reject it because it's too Westernized. The truth is Turkey is more of a Westernized country than a secular one. Though it's true that Turkey has been successful in pushing out religious extremists and managed to be a successful Muslim country in many areas (ie. population growth control, basic education, women's rights, decent living standards etc.), the country still has many discriminatory laws (like Pakistan) towards minorities. It being a Westernized country and does not serve as a good model for Pakistan.
A country can always be secular without trading off it's cultural identity for a Western-style identity.
When most Muslim countries adopt secular laws, their populations will be able to co-exist peacefully and work to move ahead. Westernization will be kept out and no religious ideology will interfere with state affairs or impose itself on anybody's personal life.
This is the true meaning of secularism. The founding fathers of modern Pakistan intended for it to be this way.
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