Religion Belongs in Mosque

Submitted by Naeem Din (United States), Feb 16, 2006 at 11:24

Dear Dr. Pipes:

Yes, you are quite right. Having grown up in Pakistan and experienced discrimination as a member of the minority Ahmadiyya community, I have always felt that religion is not the business of the state.

It is a radical thing to say but I think the greatest misfortune that fell the people of Pakistan was that they achieved independence.

When I see how ordinary people have suffered since the departure of the British, I think they would have been a lot better off if they were still ruled by the British. I don't think this quite applies to India because they have built a thriving democratic secular state.

Yes they have communal problems but they are far better equipped to deal with them, i.e. they have a rule of law. I am afraid the only solution for Paksitan is Ataturk-style modernization forced on society at the point of the gun.

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