Thank you for your post but Im not sure it would pay off banging your head against the goat filled tummies of the beduin mentality. There are not many sane pakistanis on these boards.
I feel like giving up on them.
Many on this thread do not realize that in Islam there are two kinds of duties/rights.
- Haqooq Allah (your duties to Allah) like Hujj, salat, aqeeda, length of beard, roza, pardah, hijab niqab etc.
- Haqooq Ibad (your duties to fellow human beings). paying zakat, speaking truth, honesty, tolerance, lawfulness, driving within lanes, no-backbiting etc.
Allah never says that a so called Islamic state MUST enforce Haqooq Allah. Why? because if you do not offer salat, then it is between you and Allah. And no Mullah can come around and punish you for not offering salat. Same thing with Hujj, roza, etc. It is upto Allah to judge if we have faith being a Sunni, Shia, Ahmadi, Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Jew etc. No Mullah can do an open heart surgery and figure out someone's faith. Only Allah knows. And thus Haqooq Allah must be judged by Allah and Allah alone.
Haqooq Ibad on the other hand is something that the "society" aka Pakistani quom should observe. because if we don't then we'll punished for these on the day of judgement for sure. Why because we as mere mortals can judge in a reasonable manner, that a person didn't pay his taxes (zakat), or lied, or was dishonest, or was intolerant to fellow human beings, or he didn't drive within lane.
So whatever system you enforce be it Islamic or secular must be concerned with Haqooq Ibad and cannot and should not enforce Haqooq Allah.
Mind you stopping someone from practicing a faith is under Haqooq Ibad But how you practice a faith is in your heart and your private matter.
Thus a good system ensures that you could practice your faith.
If our Kalima says "Only Allah swt is worthy of our worship, and Mohammad pbuh is the Messenger of Allah", then that's the ONLY thing we seek.
And no JUST government should stop us fro believing that. If a Muslim is offering a prayer at his home, then no just government should stop him. If a Muslim is fasting, a just government will be OK with that.
Mind you that a government can in the interest of society "designate" or "regulate" certain practices if they are done in public.
A Muslim may not be allowed to park his car in the middle of road (or other public place) and offer a prayer if it is against the law. However a just government would offer an alternative by designating an area, a building etc. that allows a Muslim to pray.
Any government that allows Muslims to fulfill Haqooq Allah in our homes or in designated areas, is a good government and we don't care if it is called Islamist or secular.
Any government that protects Haqooq Ibad from being trampled by other citizens, is acceptable to us regardless of its name.