Re: Sharia Law in NWFP
^Read your own words posted above and you'll understand what I meant.
Re: Sharia Law in NWFP
Because Pakistan was designed to be a secular state, not a shariat-dictated state. And its obviously been established that Pakistanis are unable to apply the real shariat, and therefore religion is left best at home.
Who on earth suggested Pakistan was intended to be secular? Jinnah bent over backwards to obfuscate on the matter, and at no point in time said such a thing...and all and sundry who supported the idea of Pakistan had no real notion of separating Islam from the state. What was certain is that the Ulema, who for the most part would had rather have seen a unified India, would not be given a defacto position of power within the newly created state.
The idea that Shariat would be infused with 'culture' is a non-starter...and in no way shape or form does a secular setup afford us any kind of safety from this. One look no further than the tribal Jirga system...which is secular in that the primary principles that motivate 'justice' do not all come from Islam.
If anything, justice systems need to evolve...they need their slavery...they need their "women-aren't human" phases. Invariably culture and laws change in a self-feeding cycle. The very fact that the Islamist discours among urban movements and rural movements is entirely different (contrast the Taliban no-education policy for women with the JI's professional working women meetups) puts to a lie that such a cycle can't exist within Pakistan. It is indeed much more difficult, as Pakistan's central government is weak...and the urban/rural divide is great with no clear industrialization initiative on the horizon.
Had the government not sponsored a bunch of brainwashed automaton illiterates, and given them know-how and a faux cause, perhaps things would go more peacefully...instead, the influence of a few has been grossly magnified.
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Pakistanis have to choose which system they want. If they want shariah, there are already many countries executing shariat, and they can move there.
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LOL...it's not much of a choice if one choice means exile. So much for individual freedom...the fact is that pakistan is an Islamic republic...and the constitution clearly states that no law can contradict Islam...regardless of what that means, if we correctly apply your logic it suggests that Pakistanis do indeed have a choice...and if they want a secular system where Islam has no business as part of the state aparatus...there are countries aplenty they can move to.
Anyhow, at no point in time have Pakistanis rejected Shraiah. If anything, they've rejected laws in general...don't confuse not obeying laws (which include Islamic ones) with dissent on obeying Shariah. If there had indeed been a clamp down, say Iranian style, I think the average Pakistani would shrug it off. No big deal. Perhaps the burgers would be the only ones who complain...but hey, they can afford to leave...
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Why aren't they deemed hot spots? Because living in those countries is suffocating.
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Unh...no...Pakistanis go to KSA in droves. Migration is mostly dictated by economic concerns. Religious concerns don't seem to play a factor, unless we're talking about Ahmedis or other minority groups. And the fact is....I don't see these guys heading to India or China either...they end up in (wealthy) Western states...again...economy seems to be the sole reason people decide to pick up and leave.
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You can't pull out shariat out of your behind when your people don't understand Islam very well and then go around shoving your interpretation of it (note, INTERPRETATION) down others' throats. It has almost always resulted in loss of individual freedoms, and this is evident in places like Saudia Arabia. :-)
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Either nobody understands Islam.....or there are those who do...why not advocate a position where they could at least enforce some version of Shariat, no matter how "liberal" or "enlightened"? Please don't say because the more conservative would disagree...it's not as if they'd accept secularism as a viable alternative...if the choice was between secularism and (what they would consider) flawed or partial application of Shariah...most conservatives would choose the obvious....
Secularimsm would by definition fly against all possible interpretations of Islamic law, thus antagonizing the most number of people...it's simply a cart blanche for the irreligious to dictate what is and is not allowed in society.
Re: Sharia Law in NWFP
it is impossible to implement sharia as law of thE land in modern times. Questions of human rights, certain types of freedoms that did not exist a millenoia ago etc will force major changes and the argument can never be settled as to what can and cannot be changed.
The only feasible means then is have a fully controlled govt such as taleban did; that will set it in loggerheads with the federal govt of 0pakistan.
This is therefore a recipe for disaster of Pakistan as it exists. The g.o.P doesn't want the added pressure of more huge conflagarations and violence and therefore under the guise of a 'settlement' have surrendered.
Can't blame them too much either - what do you do when soldiers started laying down weapons and "allow themselves to be kidnapped"!
Re: Sharia Law in NWFP
^True possibly..
But some may argue that The Muslim nations and ahl Sunnah are going that way because there's no Sharia in place. How will you argue that?
It isn't as simple as that. Muslim society prospered because the shariat in place back then matched the times. Shariat of 1400 or even a 1000 years ago will hinder progression for a muslim society in 2008! That much should be obvious. Laws and society in general must be redefined to match the times we are living in. The internet, cellular phones and space travel were never dreamt of before and don't have clear definitions in terms of Halaal/Haraam in Islam for example.
What I am saying I suppose is, that muslims aren't being held back because of not following Islam...I think they are being held back because they are trying to follow ancient ways of following islam as opposed to a more modern way of following it.
Re: Sharia Law in NWFP
^
Re: Sharia Law in NWFP
I thinkits about time these people were told that sorry your brand of Shariah is not wanted by most pakistanis as they actually have varying political and religious views.
Large parts of Sindh and Punjab are basically Barelvi and they will never acept a Deobandi/Wahabi view of Shariah. The Balochies have always been more secular politically. The non-pashtun areas of NWFP and the peshawar valley are probably more anti-shariah than the rest of NWFP. There is also little support within the northern areas and azad kashmir.
Re: Sharia Law in NWFP
^ I don't think they are interested in knowing the "consensus" of larger population, they just want to "hand" it to us.