Ban Islam -reply to Romesh Chander

Submitted by Fazal Habib Curmally (Pakistan), Sep 14, 2007 at 00:31

Dear Romesh Chander,

We have come from banning Islam to rape to Shariat Act and now Maulana Fazalur Rehman.. There have been no amputations carried out in Pakistan. The Shariat court struck it down. The reasons for doing this was, to carry out amputations which is the punishment for stealing could only be carried out when conditions for stealing ceased to exist in other words the aspect of need to steal for poverty etc, had ceased. Flogging to the best of my knowledge is still in the law books but recently there have been a very few cases or no cases. Now why are these punishments still in the Law books. The Shari'a laws are better known as the Hudood laws . And stem from the word Hadd or the final limit. So unless the case is extreme enough to warrant it these punishments, they are not carried out or meted. Islamic law is essentially based on Intent and that has to be determined also.

Our law books still differentiate between adultery which is Zinnah and rape that is Zinnah bil Jabr. This is something I explained earlier.

What Pakistan does is no ones business but the Pakistanis. We are proud Muslims and want to be ruled by Islamic laws and we accept secular laws as long as they are in conformity with Islamic laws and this is why the old time Maulanas are ut of business.

As for Maulana Fazlur Rehman and his tens of thousands supporters, frankly they may exist in someones distorted imaginations. The oft called million man marches were no more than a couple of hundred man marches. There is a common and much repeated mistake of equating maulanas for Islam. They don't and have never represented anything but an aspect of Islam and that is Islamic law. All Islamic laws in Pakistan are made by a Government through a Constitutional Body called the Council of Islamic Ideology. Today a Maulana cannot give a fatwa or legal opinion except in matters of family law in my country.

Romesh, I think we have discussed the subject adequately.and should now bring an end to it.

With regards.

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