Reha
September 18, 2013, 10:47am
57
Re: What if -
This myth has been discussed hundred times on these forums that not mixing of Government and religion solve the problems like minority exploitation. OP’s just saying solution of removal of Islamic constitution (which is not Islamic. Call it choo choo ka murabba , but its not Islamic. correct me if I’m wrong). How would you people see Indian Constitution, which is not religious.. Has it solved problems of minorities. What changes would you suggest for that constitution?
Our culture is a very twisted and warped version of Islam - that is what I meant.
And here’s another one of our issues: instead of looking over at the neighbors - let’s fix our own problems first.
Even more than 200 years ago, the United States, for example, had the Bill of Rights, and the very first amendment to the US Constitution in 1791 besides enshrining freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of peaceful assembly and to petition the government, also enshrined freedom of religion while ensuring at the same time that the state would not* favor *one religion or one sect/religious denomination over another.
And that’s important. So if Pakistan had a secular constitution, the state (i.e. the government) would be ‘neutral’ or non-discriminatory but people would have been free nonetheless to practice their religion as they deemed fit. Yes, secularism alone may not have solved all problems/prejudices afflicting minorities in Pak but the absence of that secularism in the country’s constitution, as well as the subsequent fixation with (Sunni) Islam by the powers that be in Pakistan have been especially to the detriment of religious minorities, who are *constitutionally *relegated to second class citizens if they are Christians, Hindus, Parsis or Sikhs, or third class citizens of if they are Ahmadis.
I do feel bad about the plight of minorities in Pakistan. They are just like the rest of us so what is their fault exactly? That they were born in a non-secular country where they follow a different faith than majority’s and therefore are not seen by the government as equal citizens as others and they can’t escape that country either because if you were, say, a poor Ahmadi from Rabwah or a poor Christian maid living in a slum in Lahore where could you go? I think it’s sad that Pakistani law-makers and many among the country’s majority community seem indifferent to the plight of minorities. All the more so because these people are not even some recent arrivals or something. They have been living in Pakistan for generations so it’s not like we would be doing some “favor” to the minorities if they had the same rights and the same status as the majority community under Pakistan’s constitution.
:k:
Personally, I think that if you were to discount religion out of the equation, people would find other ways to discriminate; race, ethnicity, social status and so on.
Even if Pakistan were to eliminate Islam from its constitution what makes you think that people would killing in the name of it? lol in order to eliminate Islam from the constitution and actually have some peace - which I doubt, knowing how menial and pathetic the Pakistani mentality is - you would first have to eliminate corruption, many honor killings and what not go unnoticed in Pakistan every year due to lack of proper integration of our system and more importantly wide-spread corruption.
Religion has nothing to do with ill-mannered behavior, whatever it may be, its lack of several other things, such as education, morals, patience, etc…
Religion has everything to do with it because people in general become ill mannered when their faith is attacked and/or under question. Religion is TOO sensitive to run an entire nation based on it especially when you have minorities! You simply cannot be a Muslim country if you want to be fair to your people - its not right.
Corruption is also based on religion right now. You’re right that people would find other ways to discriminate BUT those ways would at least come under question eventually because of the removal of religion. The nation would at least have a chance at evolving…not like it is right now.